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The Cowon Q5W straddles the line between feature-rich hard drive based portable media player and a stripped down laptop. Running off of the Windows CE 5.0 operating system you can access features such as MSN messenger and an Internet browser, with flash support. Interaction with the player is done through the 5" touch screen with a resolution of 800x480. Accessing the Internet is achieved through the player's integrated WiFi B/G connection. Cowon has also added a wealth of expandability options such as Bluetooth support for accompanying headphones or speakers, and video out capabilities for displaying your media on your television. The Q5W also continues Cowon's trend of format support, handling pretty much every consumer level audio and video codec around.

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Pros & Cons

Pros:
8 people have already voted. Do you agree?

Tons of expandable options compared to other media players
+5agreedisagree

Does everything and anything you'd need to do with a portable media player
+4agreedisagree

Flash support on the web browser
+4agreedisagree

Supports numerous audio and video formats
+4agreedisagree

Can be used for other things like messenger with Windows CE
+3agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?

No high-def support even when using the video out
+4agreedisagree

Does not support recharging via USB
+2agreedisagree

OS is on ROM (must be flashed to upgrade) despite HDD in unit
+1agreedisagree

WinCE 5.0 and not Windows Mobile 6
0agreedisagree

Cobbled together UI (some WinCE, some Cowon)
0agreedisagree

Overkill for a media player
-3agreedisagree

Competing products

Cowon Q5W is ranked 3rd.  See the top picks in MP3 Players

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More information

Spec list

  • 5" touch screen with 800x480 resolution
  • Windows CE 5.0 operating system
  • Internet Explorer browser, with flash support
  • 40GB for $549 | 60GB for $599
  • Audio formats: MP3, WMA, ASF, OGG, WAV, FLAC, APE, MPC
  • Video formats: DivX, XviD, MPEG4, WMV7/8/9
  • Battery life: 13 hours audio, 7 hours video
  • Remote control included

The maximum video resolution supported is 720x480 which is the same as DVD discs. For video out, the connections available are S-Video, Composite and Component. Cowon also includes a remote in the box for controlling the player from across the room. The remote is infrared based so you will need to ensure the player is setup properly with a direct line of site to the IR receiver.

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3 comments about Cowon Q 5 W

1.  avatar desjardinsy001  Dec 07, 2007 12:57am

Since this device is running Windows CE 5 can we install 3rd party applications built for Windows CE on it? Can we install the .Net Compact framework on it?
2.  avatar ISanych  Dec 22, 2007 8:36am

Yes, you could install 3rd party soft. But there are very few WinCE 5 MIPS applications now. Hope situation will change. I've got error during .Net CF install but I think it should be possible.
3.  avatar gaki  Feb 12, 2008 9:00pm

Too bad they didn't go with Linux like they originally planned. This machine would rock and we hackers could tear it apart.
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Key Features:

Capacity 60 GB
Manufacturer Cowon
Price $599.00
Release Date Dec. 1, 2007

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Product page stats

2517 views and 97 edits (see all)
Created: 11/30/2007 - 11:58
Modified: 07/19/2008 - 10:23
Model # variations:

Q, 5, W, Q5, 5W, Q5W