August 25 - 7:55am EDT   Cowon as of Monday launched a concerted campaign to improve its touchscreen players with three new models. Headlining the move is the S9 Curve; the device is the first narrow-format touchscreen player from the Korean company and also the first to use an active matrix OLED (AMOLED) touchscreen. The switch from LCD both improves color output (up to 16 million colors) and also battery life: despite a 3.3-inch display, the S9 is capable of 40 hours of continuous music while remaining slim. [full story]

July 23 - 8:00am EDT   Cowon on Wednesday added a new entry to its touchscreen players with the P5. Targeted more at video users, the device has a 5-inch, 800x480 touchscreen with a new customizable "shelf" interface with widgets; haptic feedback that simulates physical button presses through vibrations. A new, faster 700MHz processor gives the device both a quick interface as well as the power to decode full DVD-resolution video that includes both offline formats (AVI, DivX, MPEG-1/4, WMV, XviD) as well as digital over-the-air TV through a built-in DMB tuner. [full story]

January 11 - 2:30pm EST   Cowon is already in the midst of developing a sequel to its relatively well-received D2 touchscreen player, representatives from the company's CES booth have said. The D3 should mark a performance upgrade and may be the first to play video beyond 320x240 despite its small frame. This size is also expected to shrink and will see both the overall surface area shrink as the device gets thinner, Cowon says. [full story]

January 11 - 9:45am EST   Cowon today added to its steadily growing portfolio of US players with the shipment of the iAudio U5. The Korean firm's exported player is designed to undercut the iPod nano, Zune, and other players in the class by offering a handful of features that are not found on the higher-profile players, such as a voice microphone and an FM radio tuner with scheduled recording for listening to shows after they air. Where other players' audio equalizers only offer presets, the U5's settings are fully customizable, Cowon says. A 1.8-inch screen keeps the device comparable to the Zune 4/8 in size. [full story]

December 27 - 11:25am EST   Cowon today finished its device upgrades for 2007 with the launch of the N3. An upgrade to the N2, the N3 is built to be used either at home or in the car as a multi-purpose tool: though it includes a GPS unit with full navigation tools, the device also uses its 7-inch screen for playing back music and video. A picture-in-picture feature allows users to watch a smaller video window while keeping track of the route ahead, Cowon says. At 800x480, the display is sharp enough to play DivX, MPEG 1/4, Windows Media, and XviD movies at greater than DVD resolution. It also includes a DMB tuner for digital over-the-air broadcasts and will even accept input from a portable ... [full story]

November 29 - 12:20pm EST   Cowon has revealed that its Q5W media player, announced for the US earlier this month, will at last ship in early December. The player is unique in several respects; it supports 802.11b Wi-Fi for instance, but unlike Apple's iPod touch, can browse websites with and without Flash. The player also has a five-inch, 800x480 touchscreen, which can be optimized for either fingers or a stylus. [full story]