Portable Media Players: Can A New Competitor Touch the iPod Touch?

                       

      Recently, I read fellow blogger Kellie’s post called “Competition for the iPod Touch.”  I wondered how the Cowon Q5W matched up against the latest touch screen iPod model, so I thought I would respond by writing my own post comparing these portable media players.  I don’t actually own an iPod or any other similar device and to be honest I never really wanted one all that much…until I saw my brother’s new iPod Touch in action.  Its small size and clean lines sold me right away.  I was really surprised at how user-friendly it was as well.  A lot of the touch screen devices I’ve tried in the past were too difficult to use.  I found that they just weren’t “touch-sensitive” enough.  You know, like on some laptops where you have to keep scrolling your finger down over the little pad over and over just to get the cursor to move half an inch.  However, the iPod Touch allows you to move effortlessly between pages and songs with just a glide of the fingertip. 

      So what about the new Cowon Q5W?  Well, I’ve never actually tried using one or seen one up close, but from the pictures of it I do notice some disadvantages with regard to the look of it.  First of all, the the Q5W seems slightly “clunkier” than its main competitor.  Granted, it’s not as bulky as some other portable media players out there, but it still doesn’t capture that same sleek look of the iPod Touch.  To me the Q5W looks more like a handheld videogame of yesteryear than the latest new media music and video player.  With that aside, the Q5W boasts some great features including a 5-inch high resolution screen, Microsoft CE 5.0, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities, Adobe’s Embedded Flash Player 7, and numerous supported file types.  You can even add a GPS navigation system if you’re willing to shell out an additional $200.  However, with an average price tag of $550 to $600, you might not want to opt for any extra features.  As Kellie noted, the biggest draw of the Q5W is its storage capacity.  The 40 or 60GB options seem downright massive compared to the iPod Touch’s puny 8 or 16GB worth of space.

      The Cowon Q5W has some great features, but I guess the real question is: Will people be willing to pay a higher price to get them?  And an even better question: Will they be willing to pay more for something that doesn’t hold as much value as a status symbol in today’s society?  Personally, I think the Q5W would be a great buy if you have the money, but I just don’t see it being able to shake the hold Apple has on the portable media player market.  Ultimately, it’s going to take a lot more than extra storage capabilities to even make a dent in the empire Steve Jobs has created.

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