Those settings *are* in the settings menu. They're also there. Many MP3 players (and CD players too even) let you change the repeat/shuffle mode with one button press, this is essentially just that feature.
We can have this (and more) with the new feature that we discuss here.
Repeat and Shuffle are the most advanced features you can get on a CD-Player (and cheap MP3 player), no wonder they have their own buttons...
In theory if the status bar were always there, the menu itself wouldn't be needed (except for file view). If you've owned an H100, remember how there was a button that would change the Shuffle mode? D, A, D(Repeat) A(repeat) DA(repeat) or whatever? It should basically be thought of more like that, except that it requires two buttons to change the modes (one held, one pressed) rather than one.
I only used the original iriver FW for a few days, so I don't remember much about it. And this is of no relevance to Rockbox, as others have often pointed out.
It would be even worse for me if the menu would vanish instantly, because the feedback what settings was set would be gone (especially with the repeat options, for on/off settings it would be ok.)
What I am trying to say is, the quick menu is very different from the rest of Rockbox. It seems like a 'cool' hack to me that somehow survived from the Archos.