Video on the go

The iPod video sparked a lot of interest in the idea of a portable multimedia device – one that not only plays music, but can also handle television programs.

It’s a tough ask to have a device that has a big enough screen to make television watchable, but is also small enough to be genuinely portable, but Cowon is having a crack at finding the perfect balance with the A2. The A2 can handle a wide range of media formats, including MP3, OGG and WMA audio, DivX, XviD and WMV movies as well as text files and JPEG images. It can also record programs straight from your television. All this is stored on the internal hard drive, which comes in either 20GB or 30GB flavours. These various media are delivered through a 10cm LCD screen, which is considerably larger than the 6cm screen on the iPod video. The whole device is quite a bit larger than an iPod though, measuring in at 13cm x 8cm x 2cm and weighing around 300 grams. This might make it a little on the hefty side to fit in your pocket, but it could be the perfect companion on long trips or in the back seat of the car.