best rockbox'd player...?

[Dark]

Hey all,
first of all, sorry if this is the wrong forum to post this, it seemed right to me

second, I used to own a 2gb Ipod Nano, 1st gen, and I used rockbox on it way back.

I ended up tradin it, and ended up with a 30gb Zune (The halo 3 version... lol)

Anyway, I hate the zune. Almost everything about it pisses me off, but most of all, i hate its inability to act like a reliable USB harddrive, and i especially hate the zune software.

Plus its breaking on me, so I might need a new device in the near future.

With that said comes my question:

Which portable media device modded with rockbox would, in your opinion, be the best to purchase?

I am looking for massive storage (60gb is pretty low, higher would be better if possible), and user friendly design... not so much like the iPod (i hate the scroll wheel garbage) or the new zunes...

pretty much looking for something that makes using the rockbox firmware easier (lots of buttons, etc) and as much storage as possible, and hopefully wont break my wallet but i cant have everything

thanks for your opinions

[(V)3@7Y]

This question seems to get asked more and more frequently on the forums...
Check out the buyers guide (http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/BuyersGuide)  and match a player to your needs.
Based on your memory requirements, your probably going to be looking at an ipod (colour or video) or a gigabeat (F or X, or S when it is eventually supported).

[LambdaCalculus]

Since the original poster mentioned his dislike of the iPod scroll wheel, that would leave the Gigabeat F and S (again, when that is officially supported). Both are available in 60GB sizes, and larger hard drives are readily available in various retail stores online.

[vsl2005]

I'm with GP poster. I don't much care for the ipod design, and the Gigabeats just aren't around enough and what few are available are getting older by the minute.

A while back there was some discussion about working with a hardware manufacturer to build  rockbox enabled DAP from the ground up. I was kind of hoping that with the high profile work during the Google summer of code there might be some nibbles from some hardware manufacturers.

Any news on that front?

[coiley]

I am TOTALLY sold on the Sansa e200 series. Don't bother with the 8G version. Get the 2G version for <$30 at buy.com (free shipping) when it's on sale (remanufactured) - which is regularly. Subscribe to buy.com's "weekly deals" e-mail. They'll tell you when it's on sale. I have bought two there. They have both been v1. I suspect that the 2G version is more likely to be v1 than an 8G version. I have an 8G and a 4G. But like I said - get your plug-in memory in MicroSD format. I use 8G MicroSD with RockBox. 8G MicroSD is <$20 at buy.com (class-4 - on sale regularly). The Sansa memory is just for RockBox as far as I'm concerned.

As soon as they are on sale again, I'm buying a third. They're just too cheap to not buy. They're almost disposable! (Gosh that sounds horrible!)

[AlexP]

I am TOTALLY sold on the Sansa e200 series. Don't bother with the 8G version. Get the 2G version for <$30 at buy.com (free shipping) when it's on sale (remanufactured) - which is regularly. Subscribe to buy.com's "weekly deals" e-mail. They'll tell you when it's on sale. I have bought two there. They have both been v1. I suspect that the 2G version is more likely to be v1 than an 8G version. I have an 8G and a 4G. But like I said - get your plug-in memory in MicroSD format. I use 8G MicroSD with RockBox. 8G MicroSD is <$20 at buy.com (class-4 - on sale regularly). The Sansa memory is just for RockBox as far as I'm concerned.

If you happen to be in the States of course .

Be aware that whilst there is a greater chance of a refurbished one being v1, there is no guarentee and any e200 you buy new is more than likely a v2, which is not yet supported by Rockbox, although work is ongoing.

[Dark]

I am TOTALLY sold on the Sansa e200 series. Don't bother with the 8G version. Get the 2G version for <$30 at buy.com (free shipping) when it's on sale (remanufactured) - which is regularly. Subscribe to buy.com's "weekly deals" e-mail. They'll tell you when it's on sale. I have bought two there. They have both been v1. I suspect that the 2G version is more likely to be v1 than an 8G version. I have an 8G and a 4G. But like I said - get your plug-in memory in MicroSD format. I use 8G MicroSD with RockBox. 8G MicroSD is <$20 at buy.com (class-4 - on sale regularly). The Sansa memory is just for RockBox as far as I'm concerned.

As soon as they are on sale again, I'm buying a third. They're just too cheap to not buy. They're almost disposable! (Gosh that sounds horrible!)

rofl 2gb is no where near enough room, hell 30gb isnt either

[TexasRockbox]

Two of the main reasons I have and use the iPod 80GB video is 1) Parts are obtainable 2) It has 80GB (and could be increased to 120GB).

I'd love to see a 250GB rockbox capable player!

[AlexP]

Toshiba have a 240 GB 8 mm 1.8" ZIF drive announced - when it becomes available I plan to put one in my gigabeat S to replace the 120 GB drive already in there.

[Neff]

I'm thinking about possibly replacing my iRiver H160 (yes 60, it's had the disc upgraded) after seeing my daughter's Creative Zen because something that size would be very convienient to have and pocket. However after having a bit of a Google it seems that apart from the Apple no one seems to make high capacity players anymore until they are media players, which then have a large screen and loose the neatness and portability.

It's probably a foolish quest but does anyone know of anything other than an iPod that would meet the following specifications?

Must have

• At least 60gb of storage.
• Colour display
• Appears as USB storage for file transfers
• Pocketable (i.e a music player, not a media player)

Nice to have

• Audioscrobbler/last.fm compatibility
• Flash/SSD storage. If slot in memory cards are needed to boost the capacity the files should be "merged" not presented as two trees.
• RockBox compatiable, or at least potentially compatible in the future

[soap]

Must have

• 1-At least 60gb of storage.
• 2-Colour display
• 3-Appears as USB storage for file transfers
• 4-Pocketable (i.e a music player, not a media player)

Nice to have

• 5-Audioscrobbler/last.fm compatibility
• 6-Flash/SSD storage. If slot in memory cards are needed to boost the capacity the files should be "merged" not presented as two trees.
• 7-RockBox compatiable, or at least potentially compatible in the future

Ok, let's attack your list.  I inserted line numbers in my quote of you to make this easier.
Most Rockbox targets in contention (including all those in the pipeline (save the Clip) have 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.
So the new list is:
Must have

• 1-At least 60gb of storage.

Nice to have

• 6-Flash/SSD storage. If slot in memory cards are needed to boost the capacity the files should be "merged" not presented as two trees.

Ahh ha - now we see that 1 and 6 are incompatible at this time.  No flash player has 60GB of storage.  You therefore need to buy a HDD player with either a native capacity >=60GB or one you can mod with a CF card.  (are the 64GB cards out yet?)

That leaves every HDD target if you are willing to go the CF route, or the Gigabeat F/X and S along with the iPod Video if you want native >=60GB players.

I'm assuming based on your description of what you found attractive about the Creative player vs your iRiver you don't want even a 1.8" HDD sized player so that means you are out of luck.

EDIT:  Quick thought - Cowon D2 takes full size SD cards which should mean currently you can have a >= 64GB player.

[scharkalvin]

EDIT:  Quick thought - Cowon D2 takes full size SD cards which should mean currently you can have a >= 64GB player.

 You mean that there are now 64GB SD cards out there?
 IF so then put one of them into an SD to CF adapter (looks like a type II CF module), and stuff THAT into a CF to 1.8" IDE adapter, and then use THAT to replace the HD in any HD based player to make a 64GB flash player.

[soap]

I misspoke.  The D2 only comes up to 16GB, not 32.  Therefore the largest SD card (32GB) in a D2 gives you 48GB.

[TexasRockbox]

The D2 looks mighty interesting.  Increasing memory in 32GB chunks is appealing and always expandable and prices will drop.  No need to go running around looking for a compatible drive.  64GB (I think are already here -- but not inexpensively -- yet).

How is the USB transfer rate with Rockbox for the D2?  The new port thread is really long.  Are thery any glaring problems with the D2 port or is it basically usuable and functional including FM?  I guess I need to read the thread.

[Chronon]

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/TargetStatus