COWON was founded in 1995 in South Korea. The company’s first product was Jet-Audio, a software for processing and playing sound, which later won prestigious awards from CNET, ZDNet, TUCOWS. The first major customers of its products were such well-known IT companies as Fujitsu and NEC, which in 1999-2000. equipped their PCs with Jet-Audio software.
In 2000, the first compact MP3 player iAUDIO CW100 was released, weighing only 40 g. In 2001-2002. iAUDIO CW200 and CW300 went on sale, differing from competitors in their miniature (at that time) size and rich functionality. In players weighing 40 g with LCD displays, the functions of an MP3 and WMA player, radio, and voice recorder were implemented for the first time. In 2003, COWON was ranked among the 50 fastest growing high-tech companies and was awarded as the best company in Korea in the Product Quality category.
In 2004, iAudio M3, an ultra-compact audio player on a hard disk, as well as flash players iAudio 5, U2, G3, entered the market. New models receive prizes from various publications, both Korean and international. 2005 – the stylish iAudio F1 MP3 player, the iAudio M5 slim hard drive audio player, the iAudio X5 media player, the iAudio U3 video-enabled MP3 player and the company’s first PMP player, the Cowon A2, were released.
In 2006, COWON entered into large export contracts in Europe. European IT experts (T3 Magazine) award the A2 model the highest rating. A miniature multimedia player on a hard drive, iAudio 6, is released. Currently, the company’s product line has been significantly expanded. That is, now it also produces chargers, car video recorders and navigation equipment, communications equipment, headphones, and speakers. The company produces software for audio processing and playback. The company’s products have been repeatedly awarded by leading agencies and publications.
COWON portable equipment is distinguished by its very high sound quality. This became possible due to the fact that the company, from its very founding, relied on the development and improvement of technology. As an example, it is enough to say that iAUDIO players were the first and only ones in the world to use unique music playback technologies. COWON created them together with a partner in the person of BBE Sound Inc. Let us remind you that this company is a recognized leader in the field of sound processing. The first product of the company, that is, immediately after its formation, was software that was designed to process and reproduce Jet-Audio sound. Subsequently, this equipment won prestigious awards from ZDNet, CNET, TUCOWS. Let us emphasize that the first major customers of the company’s products were such well-known IT companies as NEC and Fujitsu. It was they who equipped their personal computers with Jet-Audio software in 1999-2000. In 2000, the production of the first compact MP3 player iAUDIO CW100, which weighed only 40 grams, was launched.
