So I've been a Sansa Clip Zip user for a long time, about 10 years ago. Long story short, I lost it mysteriously when it was clipped to my belt loop. Then I realized they dropped the ball when the Clip Sport was released, and used much different hardware than before, meaning Rockbox support was practically out of the reasonable range.
However, over the years, mobile and portable hardware has gotten
so much better, although we still use the terms novelty and niche to describe PMPs in 2024... this still has a tinier resolution as well.
This thing has a 1-and-a-half inch IPS display and runs full Linux. It has a 1050mAh battery. Compared to the miniscule 290mAh found in the Sansa Clip Zip, that is almost 3 times larger. Granted, the CPU and GPU are more demanding.
Now I know there's things like the Funkey S and the Miyoo Mini v4. But I think what makes this a really good middle ground between those two is the fact that the Funkey S has much less practical use cases IMO, and the Miyoo Mini v4 is already great because of OnionUI and the underlying firmware is good enough, and can run at least 6 hours or more on its 2000 mAh replaceable battery. No real reason to replace the firmware on that, I think.
The biggest downside is that there is no headphone jack. A USB-C converter must be used. I think this is where the Miyoo Mini V4 has a bigger advantage overall, because it does have one.
But the RG Nano could be a really great port if the ARM Cortex-A7 is a decent choice for Rockbox. The firmware could improve battery life, have gapless audio playback and all those very nice options that Rockbox provides, and the Rockbox games and software could work fine on there as long as the buttons can be mapped well enough.
What do you all think? Is this device still too powerful for Rockbox, or is it just the right fit for it? I'd like to know some teardown of the audio chip (DAC/DSP) specs and ratings, just to know if it's good enough for the chance of being a dedicated music player, that happens to have gamepad-style controls.
- Company Product Webpage -
https://anbernic.com/products/rg-nanoSome videos and reviews:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVQpDR8s6oc (General review)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WCnHODmWKc (Audio and sound quality review)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y54-Vqjw14c (Preview using external speakers)