| Cowon Systems, Inc. 코원시스템 | |
| Type: | Public |
| Traded As: | KOSDAQ |
| Foundation: | April 1995 |
| Founder: | Park Namkyu Jung Jaewook |
| Location: | Seoul, South Korea |
| Area Served: | South Korea, United States, Japan, India |
| Key People: | Park Namkyu (president) |
| Industry: | Consumer electronics Computer software Online services Cell phone accessories |
| Revenue: | KRW 121.2 billion (2010)[2] |
| Operating Income: | KRW 9.1 billion (2010) |
| Net Income: | KRW 7.4 billion (2010) |
| Assets: | KRW 72.4 billion (2010) |
| Num Employees: | 193 |
| Subsid: | JetAudio, Inc. LIAAIL idea & art |
| Homepage: | COWONGLOBAL.com |
| Hangul: | 코원시스템 |
| Rr: | Kowon Siseutem |
| Mr: | K’owŏn Sisŭt’em |
Cowon Systems, Inc. (simply known as Cowon) is a South Korean consumer electronics and software corporation. The company’s initial focus was software development and microelectronics, specializing in speech synthesis and speech recognition technology.[3] In 2000, with the introduction of the iAUDIO CW100, Cowon expanded into the portable media player industry, which is now the core of their business.
In 2010, Cowon was ranked number one in the PMP category of Japanese Management Association Consultants’ Global Customer Satisfaction Competency Index, and in 2011, it was ranked number one in the same organization’s Global & Great Brand Competency Index.[4] [5]
In the west, Cowon is most well known for its iAUDIO range of portable media players, which has resulted in many people incorrectly referring to the company as “Cowon iAUDIO” or simply “iAUDIO.” Outside the domestic market, Cowon iAUDIO's sales and market share have always been minuscule - however, it gained a certain niche market and retains a loyal following from fans and enthusiasts.[6] [7]
See main article: List of Cowon products.
In its marketing, Cowon distinguishes between "MP3 players" and "portable media players," where the latter are larger and have a greater focus on video playback. The categories differ slightly between the Korean and the global homepage.
All Cowon products are produced domestically in South Korea.
Cowon’s LIAAIL division, founded in 2011, focuses on personal audio and cell phone accessories. Among its products can be found:
Each Cowon player is equipped with a set of software sound enhancement technologies collectively referred to as JetEffect. The latest version of JetEffect, JetEffect 5, was introduced with the release of the Cowon Z2 Plenue.
JetEffect competes with products such as Sony's DSEE, Samsung's DNSe, and the SRS technologies found in products by iriver and Samsung and in products by HTC and HP, where they are branded as "Beats Audio".
In its latest iteration, JetEffect contains the following sound effects and enhancements:
See main article: JetAudio.
JetVD is an Android application for downloading videos from YouTube in a wide selection of formats. It was first introduced to users of the Cowon D3 Plenue with the upgrade to firmware version x.55. An online version of JetVD, called JetToy, exists in beta stage.
Other software developed by Cowon includes the iAUDIO LDB Manager, a small application for tagging music files with timecoded lyrics displayable on Cowon media players as well as in JetAudio.
Cowon also offers a number of freeware utilities, including JetCast, JetMailMonitor and JetToolBar. All of the above are available for free download from the JetAudio website.[8]
Cowon’s ultra-mobile PCs W2 and W2 SSD come with JetToolbar pre-installed.[9]