It’s hard to believe, but there are people on the planet who don’t use an Apple product as their music player. I know this surprises many of you, but it’s true — or so I’ve heard. As you may know, I’m an iPhone guy (16GB, of course), but there are other options out there.

I’ve looked at Microsoft’s entry, the Zune, and today I wanted to take a look at a lesser-known player from a lesser-known company. It’s the S9 8 GB Titanium MP3 player from Cowon. Never heard of Cowon? Neither had I — but now we both have.

One of the things that stands out on the Cowon is its touch-screen interface. Sound familiar? Yep, since the introduction of the iPhone and iPod Touch, it’s become a touchy-feely world. This screen is highly regarded, and is quite sharp. The screen is 3.75″ X 4.25″ and plastic — I prefer the glass screen of my iPhone, but media reviews report that it’s highly scratch-resistant.

The gadget is made mostly of plastic, which is a little concerning in terms of durability, so you’ll probably want to test it out for a bit and see if it feels sturdy enough for you.

The Cowon has a built-in FM tuner, and has the ability to handle audio (it supports a wide range of formats, including MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and APE), videos, photos, podcasts and more, and works with both Macs and PCs. The audio and video quality of the player is reported to be superb, which is one of the most important considerations.

One feature this has that my iPhone lacks is Bluetooth audio. Bluetooth is wireless technology that allows devices like headsets to be paired with other devices like cell phones. To hear audio through headphones on my iPhone, I have to be hardwired.

In all, this MP3 player looks like a solid unit with a lot of features and a reasonable price. Consider checking it out if you’re not hungry for an Apple.