Cowon S9

Having owned the new iPod Touch for a month may I just say how beautiful this portable media player, or PMP, is? I mean come on! This thing is simply gorgeous!

Reading Engadget’s post about the new Cowon S9 made me think back to when I first saw press photos of the player and how much I liked it. Unfortunately it doesn’t look anything like that in real life. Instead you’ll find an odd shaped player with a screen placed off-center. This gives the S9 a Jay Leno look that works for Jay but not for a media player. It doesn’t even come with those shiny metal balls that are shown in the press images.

Seriously though, why are Apple the only MP3/PMP company that seems to truly care about what their products look like in the hands of consumers. My iPod Touch looks as great if not better than the ones shown in Apple’s press photos, their TV ads and online. It’s sleek and beautiful at every angle. The iPhone and iPod Touch are tech wonders for what they bring to the market what with the App Store and the multi-touch screen but they are also designed unlike anything else you can buy today. Apple has set the standard once again for how a product should be designed and now everyone is trying to catch up. Why are they so good at doing this? Maybe it’s because they take chances. Apple is the leader, everyone else just follows.

iTunes has internet radio!

I hadn’t used iTunes much in the past since I never owned an iPod. In fact, I hated the seemingly slow and useless software. It all changed when I bought my iPod Touch and now I couldn’t see me not using it. The iTunes Store is great and the App Store is just fantastic. With over 10,000 apps you’ll likely find something you like. In my case, I already have 3 pages of apps, mostly games.

In my search to discover what iTunes was all about I seen the radio in the upper left of the screen. I think it’s both a nice feature and a bit ironic that iTunes has radio. Even their flagship product, the iPod, doesn’t have one. Once you click on the radio link you are greeted with a huge, no…limitless amount of internet radio stations. I have a good selection of music but I hae always listened to radio to hear current music and possibly discover new artists. Check it out if you haven’t! You might surprised how much enjoy internet radio.