Cowon

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Cowon Systems, Inc.
코원시스템
Public
Traded as KOSDAQ: 056000[1]
Industry Consumer electronics
Computer software
Online services
Cell phone accessories
Founded April 1995[1]
Founder Park Namkyu
Jung Jaewook
Headquarters Seoul, South Korea[1]
Area served
 South Korea, USA, Japan
Key people
 Park Namkyu (president)[1]
Products
Services
Revenue KRW 121.2 billion (2010)[2]
KRW 9.1 billion (2010)[2]
Profit KRW 7.4 billion (2010)[2]
Total assets KRW 72.4 billion (2010)[2]
Number of employees
 193[1]
Subsidiaries JetAudio, Inc.
LIAAIL idea & art
Website COWONGLOBAL.com
www.jetaudio.com
eng.liaail.com
Cowon
Hangul 코원시스템
Revised Romanization Kowon Siseutem
McCune–Reischauer K’owŏn Sisŭt’em

Cowon Systems, Inc. (KOSDAQ: 056000) is a South Korean consumer electronics and software corporation. Established in 1995, the company’s initial focus was software development and microelectronics, specializing in speech synthesis and speech recognition technology.[3] In 2000, with the introduction of the iAUDIO CW100, Cowon expanded into the portable media player industry,[3] which is now the core of their business.

In 2010, Cowon was ranked number one in the PMP category of Japanese Management Association Consultants’ Global Customer Satisfaction Competency Index,[4] and in 2011 it was ranked number one in the same organization’s Global & Great Brand Competency Index.[5]

In the west, Cowon is most well known for its iAUDIO range of portable media players, which has resulted in many people incorrectly referring to the company as “Cowon iAUDIO” or simply “iAUDIO”.

Products[edit]

Main article: List of Cowon products

In its marketing, Cowon makes distinguishes between “MP3 players” and “portable media players”, where the latter are larger and have a greater focus on video playback. The categories differ slightly between the Korean and the global homepage—for example, on the Korean homepage, the Cowon X7 and X9 are listed under “PMP”, while on the global homepage, they are both listed under “MP3”.

All Cowon products are produced domestically in South Korea.

MP3 players[edit]

  • iAUDIO 9+, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2013, available in 4, 8, 16 and 32 GB models
  • Cowon D20, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2013, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models
  • Cowon X9, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2012, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models
  • Cowon Z2 Plenue, Android-based portable media player released in 2012, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models.
  • Cowon iAUDIO 10, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2011, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models.
  • Cowon C2, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2011, available in 4, 8 and 16 GB models.
  • Cowon D3 Plenue, Android-based portable media player released in 2011, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models.
  • Cowon X7, high-capacity Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2010, available in 120 and 160 GB models.
  • Cowon J3, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2010, available in 4, 8, 16 and 32 GB models.
  • iAUDIO E2, ultra-portable digital audio player released in 2009, available in 2 and 4 GB models.
  • iAUDIO 9, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2009, available in 4, 8 and 16 GB models.
  • Cowon D2+, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2009 (successor to the earlier D2), available in 4, 8 and 16 GB models.
  • Cowon S9, Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2008, available in 4, 8, 16 and 32 GB models.

Portable media players[edit]

  • Cowon G7, 7-inch Windows CE-based portable media player released in 2013, available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models
  • Cowon T5, 4.8-inch Windows CE-based portable media player released in 2012, available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models
  • Cowon Q7 Plenue, 7-inch Android tablet (marketed in Korea as a “Smart DIC[tionary]”), available in 16 and 32 GB models
  • Cowon A5 Plenue, 4.8-inch Android-based portable media player released in 2012, available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models
  • Cowon R7, 7-inch Windows CE-based portable media player released in 2012, available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models
  • Cowon V5S, 4.8-inch Windows CE-based portable media player with study capabilities, released in 2011, available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models
  • Cowon 3D, 4.8-inch autostereoscopic (glasses-free 3D) Windows CE-based portable media player, released in 2010
  • Cowon V5W, 4.8-inch Windows CE-based portable media player equipped with Wi-Fi, released in 2010, available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models
  • Cowon V5, 4.8-inch Windows CE-based portable media player released in 2010, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models
  • Cowon O2, 4.3-inch Flash Lite-based portable media player released in 2008, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models
  • Cowon A3, 4.0-inch Linux-based portable media player released in 2008, available in 30 and 60GB models
  • Cowon A2, 4.0-inch Linux-based portable media player released in 2006, available in 20 and 30GB models

LIAAIL products[edit]

Cowon’s LIAAIL division, founded in 2011, focuses on personal audio and cell phone accessories. Among its products can be found:

  • Earphones
    • Cowon EM1
    • Cowon EF1
    • Cowon XE1
    • Cowon CE1
    • Cowon SE2
    • Cowon BT2
  • Cell phone cases
    • Bird Case
    • Tree Case
    • Leather Case
    • Jelly Case
  • Cell phone screen protectors

Other products[edit]

Discontinued products[edit]

JetEffect[edit]

Each Cowon player is equipped with a set of software sound enhancement technologies collectively referred to as JetEffect. The latest version of JetEffect, JetEffect 5, was introduced with the release of the Cowon Z2 Plenue.

JetEffect competes with products such as Sony's DSEE, Samsung's DNSe and the SRS technologies found in products by iriver and Samsung, as well as in products by HTC and HP, where they are branded as "Beats Audio".

Features[edit]

In its latest iteration, JetEffect contains the following sound effects and enhancements:

  • Five-band equalizer
  • BBE+
    • BBE+
    • BBE Mach3Bass
    • BBE 3D Surround
    • BBE MP Enhance
  • Special Effects

In JetAudio[edit]

History[edit]

  • JetEffect 2.0
  • JetEffect 3.0
  • JetEffect 5

Software[edit]

Computer software[edit]

Main article: JetAudio

Android apps[edit]

  • JetAudio for Android
  • JetVD

JetVD is an Android application for downloading videos from YouTube in a wide selection of formats. It was first introduced to users of the Cowon D3 Plenue with the upgrade to firmware version x.55. An online version of JetVD, called JetToy, exists in beta stage.

Other software[edit]

Other software developed by Cowon includes the iAUDIO LDB Manager, a small application for tagging music files with timecoded lyrics displayable on Cowon media players as well as in JetAudio.

Cowon also offers a number of freeware utilities, including JetCast, JetMailMonitor and JetToolBar. All of the above are available for free download from the JetAudio website.[6]

Cowon’s ultra-mobile PCs W2 and W2 SSD come with JetToolbar pre-installed.[7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e http://eng.cowon.net/about/about_1.php
  2. ^ a b c d http://eng.cowon.net/ir/ir_2.php
  3. ^ a b http://eng.cowon.net/about/about_1_4.php
  4. ^ http://eng.cowon.net/news/press_view.php?number=116&pageSort=&boardID=A03&keyWord=&startpage=1&page=2&redir=LIST
  5. ^ http://eng.cowon.net/news/press_view.php?number=138&pageSort=&boardID=A03&keyWord=&startpage=1&page=1&redir=LIST
  6. ^ http://www.jetaudio.com/download/ JetAudio Download page
  7. ^ Cowon W2 product page

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cowon.
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