Sounds like you gave up without looking for alternatives. The <a href="http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/x5" title="cowonamerica.com">IAUDIO X5</a cowonamerica.com> by Cowon gives you most of what you want, except for the AA batteries. (I'm curious: why would you prefer those?) It's not the best thing ever (iPods are incredibly slicker), but plays more formats out of the box, works as an external HD as far as your desktop computer is concerned, and has a USB Host feature (that I've never used) through which you could transfer files/photos from another USB device.
I'll admit, it was a lot cooler before the color iPods came out, but it's still not Apple, and that's a big plus in my book.
Don't get me wrong; I'm all for Rockbox. Coincidentally, I just installed it on my own IAUDIO X5L this week and am quite impressed. It's even hairier than the iPod's software (the port was only begun recently, and by fewer people) but it solves a number of bugs that bothered me that the Cowon folks didn't seem to care about.
Anyway, damage is done; you already bought your iPod. (So many Newsforge stories end up this way... the author makes these decisions or mentions these limitations/problems, and then the comments unearth a trove of alternatives.)
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What about an IAUDIO?
Posted by: aconkling on April 15, 2006 02:09 AMI'll admit, it was a lot cooler before the color iPods came out, but it's still not Apple, and that's a big plus in my book.
Don't get me wrong; I'm all for Rockbox. Coincidentally, I just installed it on my own IAUDIO X5L this week and am quite impressed. It's even hairier than the iPod's software (the port was only begun recently, and by fewer people) but it solves a number of bugs that bothered me that the Cowon folks didn't seem to care about.
Anyway, damage is done; you already bought your iPod. (So many Newsforge stories end up this way... the author makes these decisions or mentions these limitations/problems, and then the comments unearth a trove of alternatives.)
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