General interest and possibility of a Rockbox-specific DAP/PMP.

[xoxoyn]

I've been following the development of the Pandora handheld UMPC/portable gaming system with some interest (See www.openpandora.org for information on this system and how it came to be for referencing my comments).  Its finally been announced that preorders are expected to be accepted something between 9/15 and 9/30 which is great news considering where this system has come from.

Basically its a homebrew'd handheld console that was brought into being by a handful of people originally interested in another handheld homebrew gaming system (the GP32).  They developed the hardware, tossed around ideas for what should be included with enthusiasts and got it into manufacturing, all without the backing of a large company (Ala Sony or Nintendo).  Granted its too early to tell if it'll be successful, but seeing it being so near at hand (relatively speaking :-P) is pretty exciting.

I was wondering if anyone (Developers or whoever) has ever thought about doing something of the sort with Rockbox in the form of a high-end DAP, PMP or DAP/PMP combo.  Maybe not using 'Rockbox' itself, but something derived from Rockbox development with a more fleshed out and polished interface and commercial or audiophile/enthusiast appeal.

I imagine this would be none too easy, but surely if it can be done with a UMPC-like device it can be done for something devoted purely to audio and video.  You guys have practically built DAPs and firmwares from the ground up using various chips and components already.

I know this is not something easily done and lightly taken into consideration (And probably out of the realm of possibility to be coordinated by the large number of people who have contributed to Rockbox over the years; but I was thinking a small group dealing with the hardware specifics and others chiming in with codec and U.I. development, etc.) but I couldn't help but think this would be something of interest to not a few music listeners and audiophiles in general.

It may be a dream or the seed of a dream requiring ALOT of sun, water and good soil to take root and bear fruit (i.e. intelligent, skilled, talented, hard working and devoted developers and can-do'ers) but I would be very interested to see something like this transpire.

Well, just wanted to toss that out.

[LambdaCalculus]

And I'll toss this one out, as well:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=6751.0

[xoxoyn]

Thanks LambdaCalculus379.  Sorry for being a lazy slob and not searching for it. :-P