I just got my P3 in Korea (Seoul's Technomart) last week. It cost me KRW300,000 (about RM795 at the exchange rate last week) for the 16Gb version. I think the 8Gb version was only slightly cheaper. My local friend brought me to Technomart (many ppl hate Yongsan now) and we walked around to find it. It was interesting to see that almost all stalls had a Cowon S9 on display but no P3s. However, they only brought out the P3 upon request.



Brief comparisons with the S9
- P3 was more solid feeling due to the metal case. The S9 is well made but just didn't attract me like the heft of the P3 plus the chrome sides of the S9 (I didn't see the Ti version) was an added fingerprint magnet.
- I think S9's sound (BBE+ etc) and video was slightly better (due to the AMOLED on the S9 and also S9's varied video capabilities).
- Upon initial demo, I must say that the UI for the S9 was a bit bland (though customizable) and didn't blow me away.
- The S9 is made in Korea. The P3 8Gb is made in China and my 16Gb version is made in Indonesia.
- S9 had a G-sensor and the P3 has none. The Haptic on the P3 is interesting and gives one feedback when a touch action is successfully done.
- Bluetooth capabilities on the P3 are superior due to ability to make and receive calls with the P3 paired with a mobile.
- 16Gb version of the S9 was KRW330,000 I think.

So why did I decide on the P3? I think it was the worry of after sales support and also the solid feel of the P3 (definitely sleeker).







I've updated my P3 to the latest 2.07KR firmware and the touch response was definitely more accurate and faster now. It was a bit sluggish earlier.

Music and SQ
- Navigation is quite easy and I like the album flip display with the new firmware.
- You can drag and drop files into the P3 without using Emodio. Just like an external drive. I believe there's a way to switch between UMS and MTP as well with different firmwares.
- I paired the P3 with a new pair of ATH-EW9. Earlier, when the earphones were not burnt in, the sound was a little flat. Now, after a week, I felt that the EW9 is beginning to show the full potential of the P3.



- The SQ still cannot match the SQ of my Sansa Clip but I think giving the EW9 some more burn in time will only improve things. I will also be adding a Fiio E5 to the setup. At the moment, without the mini amp and at this point in time, the P3 just falls slightly short of the Clip's SQ.
- DNSe 3.0 does help a lot. Tweaking definitely needs to be done in order to get the best out of the P3.

Display and Video
- The LCD screen is still pretty darn impressive. Colours pop up!
- I've not had much time to play with video yet. With the new Firmware, there are more video formats supported bringing it closer to the S9.
- There is also a new mosaic navi interface to allow you to quickly jump to a particular scene.
- Playback is smooth. I've yet to push it.

Software
- Only Emodio and the manual are included on the disc.
- Emodio is a little prone to crashing on my laptop especially when tasked with handling some large video files. I think my laptop needs a change!

Other features
- Widgets are cute but mostly not very useful (except for Sleep Cat) but I hope that more new widgets will come.
- There is an on board speaker with VibeWoofer feature (vibrate during bass).
- The current flash games on the P3 are not very fun.
- Subway maps are pretty useful (of course in countries with subways like Singapore and Korea). It was useful for me since I go to Korea sometimes.
- The Korean English dictionary is definitely useful. Since I speak some Korean, this helps me a lot.
- Text To Speech works wonderfully.
- FM radio - from what I've toyed with, no issue with local channels.

Cases

I knew that I also wanted to find an affordable case. If I didn't find one, I would have ordered a Noreve one. There were about 4 options there.
- Plastic crystal
- Silicone
- An all black leather case (most shops had this). Sleek and not badly designed but the quality was a bit lacking for KRW30000
- I got this Zenus one for KRW35000 which to me was the best one available.



That's it for now...

niceeee! if nothing else Samsung is certainly stylish - mikey likey

wow, p3 is out.. the bluetooth connectivity is fun, too bad the firmware not support to show text messages, hopefully future samsung will do something.

currently using T10 only

would be looking forward for the further update on ESW9 + E5 + P3.
btw u got the ESW9 at Kor?

it's the Ew9 not ESW9. and yes i got it at Korea.

I owned P2, and I am really satisfied with it. Comparing to Ipod nano 3rd gen and Ipod Touch, i like P2 the most due to it's sound quality, and the SQ is effective enough for me. I believe the P3 would be more superior than the P2, and of course for me, better than the rest

i must say that after the latest firmware updates for the P3, the interface touch response has improved a lot and tweaking the custom EQ settings allow for some really nice SQ.

Kelvin, do you able to use the P3 as a PDA? Can you add/edit the calendar function? You can't do that with P2.

nope. still not possible. it's a stupid function to have the calendar there without this capability. maybe with a future firmware update.

This post has been edited by lanatir: May 5 2009, 11:36 AM

You tempted me to buy this babe. ^^ . lol

Wish Malaysia will come fast as been waiting for quite some time d. How bout the MKV compression. Can see MKV file as can't wait to convert my MKV blue ray dvd on da go. ^^ .

Anyone saw P4 screen. Using OLED and can bend the screen. Wicked. ^^

http://media.generationmp3.com/lebellium/P...ecification.xls

u can use this file as the spec file for the P3

is it released in Malaysia yet???

suda ada ka in lowyat?

the star has a review on this. available in msia now. 4Gb - RM869

http://star-techcentral.com/reviews/story....&cat=9&rid=1278