Need Portable Media Player

[Sanada]

I'm looking for a Portable media player that'll allow me to install the Rockbox firmware (http://www.rockbox.org/) and can use expandable memory cards like Micro SD/Mini SD etc. I really want one that can support FLAC, hence the need for Rockbox but I would like it also to support as many formats as possible. I've never bought one before so I don't know the things I should look out for and I'm hoping someone who knows can give me some suggestions. I don't want an I-Pod so please don't suggest one.

I'm not really bothered about price but under $200 would be nice, but I'd pay more if it means I'm getting better quality. I live in the UK aswell so some of the ones available in the US might not be here. :|

 

[Cole]

http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-N800-In...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1200157125&sr=8-1
Nokia N800 (What I use) (Note: Doesn't support RockBox but will satisfy everything you need)
-$230
-Any size (gigs) SD Cards (with update)
-Many Downloadable Games/Applications
-Conola (Awesome Media Player)
-Surf the web via Wi-Fi
-Linux
-MPlayer (Flac Support, basically supports everything)
-Camera (Can take pictures through a download application)
-SKYPE Support
-IM Support via pidgin
-Soon native IM support coming in future updates
-RSS Feeds and E-Mail Client
-Touch Screen
-On screen keyboard and handwriting
-Bluetooth Keyboard support
-Can control main computer from N800
-2 SD Card Slots
-Download Torrents
-Nicotine provides you P2P
-Flash 9 Support (latest update)
-Internet Radio
-Camera (Can take pictures) (Can record videos depending on what OS you use)
-Easily download and watch Youtube videos through MPlayer(watch) and UKMP(download/watch)
-800x400 resolution for surfing
-Both mini opera and a mini firefox browser
-I've had it play 8 hours of music straight
-Python support
-Was one of the top-selling PC's this year (through it's really small)
-Credit-Card Sized Screen
-Built in Stand for easily watching movies and the such
-Torrent... I mean buy movies off iTunes and watch them like SuperBad!
-Consistently updated and a growing community

Of course if you are looking for just a music/video player that supports RockBox...
iRiver H10.
-5 gigs
-no SD Card support.
http://www.amazon.com/iRiver-H10-Pl...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1200156916&sr=1-2

Otherwise go through that RockBox page and look up each media player it says it supports on your favorite *buying site* like amazon or newegg.

Also keep in mind RockBox is a full out firmware. Meaning lets say you did buy an iPod. It will replace everything. You wont have an iPod interface it wouldn't be able to sync with iTunes etc.. I guess the only reason I'd imagine you throwing the iPod out would be because it doesn't support SD cards and there a bit overpriced.

 

[Sanada]

The Nokia N800 looks really nice and fits everything I need. I only wanted Rockbox because of it's support for more file formats. The only thing is it costs much more here at like ?189 which is like $350 dollars I think. What about the newer N810? is it a lot more expensive?

I have nothing against the I-Pod but like you said, it doesn't have SD support and installing Rockbox means it will no longer work with iTunes. I can also get ahold of SD cards for free so it makes more sense if I can use them.

 

[Cole]

The 810 has a flipout text-messaging cell phone style keyboard and GPS. The camera is also placed in a better position on the 810. The 810 comes with 2gigs of space but only has 1 SD card slot. Those are the only differences, the N800 got an OS upgrade to the N810's OS. It's not on sale as much as the N800 so it would cost a bit more ($450 - $499 US).

The only thing with the n800 is that compared to a decent mp3 player the battery life will suck as it's a little bit more than just an mp3 player. But it's better than lugging a laptop around to wireless hotspots and I can usually get twice the battery life out of this than out of my laptop.

$350 - $400 is the N800's base selling price. There must be some UK site that has it on sale like all the U.S.sites do.

If you wouldn't mind a computer-in-your-pocket look for the n800. If you don't really need a computer-in-your-pocket then i'd tell ya to get an mp3 player listed on the rockbox site.

 

[Sanada]

I know this thread is old now but I decided to go and buy the N800, it just come today. Managed to find it a bit cheaper. I glad you suggested it otherwise I would've probably overlooked it. It's an excellent piece of kit. I've crammed two 1GB MicroSD cards into it giving me enough space for now. I've downloaded mplayer and it's quite good other than the crashing. It often crashes when trying to play a FLAC file but it's no big problem. Overall I'm very pleased with it. Worth every penny.

 

[Cole]

Try upgrading it to the latest OS (OS2008) if it didn't come with that. To check just plug it into your computer and let the Nokia Update Software run. It uses less power along with a new AMD Cool N Quiet type upgrade (CPU changes speed to conserve power). Things like Canola 2, Pidgin, and mPlayer are already ported to it. My only problems with mPlayer is playing MP4 files, but the basic Media Player plays them.

Heres the main application site for the Nokia N800. http://maemo.org/downloads/
The top right lets you look at applications depending on the OS you run(I think it should come with 2007, maybe 2008).

I highly suggest looking at Canola 2 or UKMP(If your music is organized by albums correctly). If you have mPlayer installed they will act as an mPlayer frontend for playing video and probably FLAC music.

 

[Sanada]

I updated to OS2008 as soon as I got it so it can't be related to that. However, I've downloaded Mediabox which seems to play the FLAC files without crashing. I will try the other two you suggested also. All I need now is some earphones that can be amplifide with batteries or something if they ever exist. The audio output isn't very much even at max and with the standard Nokia earphones.

 

[Asus]

Get a headphone amp (uses battery) and a good set of headphones.