Cowon iAudio Q5W Cowon's attempt to steal Archos's crown

There aren't many fields in the tech industry that you could argue are dominated by a particular make and model of hardware, but we believe the PMP (portable media player) market to be one of them. So impressive has Archos's range of players been over the last couple of years that it's difficult to see how someone else could compete.

A high-profile launch into this market would be a ballsy move then, but it's one that Cowon hasn't shied away from with the release of the iAudio Q5W. It's finished in black with a dominating 5-inch display and a nice range of connectivity that includes a full sized USB port - so you can transfer content from devices such as digital cameras or MP3 players - and a proprietary connection for A/V output through the supplied composite/component lead. The latter is a nice touch since it means you can hook the device up to your TV or audio system directly.

On starting it up for the first time we were impressed by the clarity and vibrancy of the 800 x 480 screen, which makes good use of the Cowon Launcher software to offer a nice degree of access and control over your media. This interface actually runs over Windows CE 5.0, which is a bit disappointing considering how long version 6.0 has been around for.

Your media options include video, music, an FM radio and flash player, though you'll also find a photo and text viewer. The range of customisation and control options for playing back all forms of media is excellent: you can adjust everything from the aspect ratio, subtitle size and speed at which a video file plays back, to custom equalizers using the iAudio JetEffect settings and full slideshow control for photos.

When you hook the thing up to an external device such as a TV, you can use the supplied remote control to access the Q5W from a distance. We found it to be quite unresponsive though, with a rather bizarre key layout that involves repeated trial and error to get the Q5W to behave as you'd like. While playback quality is pretty good, the rather complex menu structure doesn't make for friendly operation, at least not with a remote that's as poorly conceived as this.

In addition to standard media playback the Windows CE interface can be accessed directly to view contents, run games and applications and browse the Internet. There's wireless built in, which is fairly easy to set up if you know what you're doing, along with Bluetooth so you can pair with compatible devices such as headphones or external speakers.

Despite an impressive feature set that, at least on paper, might send a chill down the spines of rivals, it doesn't all come together as well as you'd think. From a multimedia point of view everything works nicely, in large part due to the excellent display, but building a front-end on top of an accessible operating system does make things seem a tad clinical.

Specifically, we noticed that application switching was rather sluggish, it's very difficult to operate the device cleanly with your fingers - though there is a built-in stylus to help - and perhaps most damning of all it's very expensive. On the upside the iAudio Q5W is extremely customisable, there's a fantastic degree of media control and excellent format support, making the final verdict a rather difficult one to call.(itreviews.co.uk)