Rockbox Digital Audio Player Buyer's Guide

Quick Feature Table

For Rockbox supported players that are currently available for purchase.

Make	Model	Type	In Production	Available	Recording	FM Radio	Rockbox Battery Life	Dual Boot	Screen Size	Colours	Storage	~Price (in USD)
Archos	Studio	HDD	NO	SOME	NO	NO	- 9-11h (Stock batteries)	NO (can RoLo OF)	Character 11x2	B&W	6/10/20 GB	20GB - $50
Archos	Recorder v1	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	NO	- 9-11h (Stock batteries)	NO (can RoLo OF)	112x64, 30x24mm	B&W	6/10/15/20 GB	15GB - $70 20GB - $100-125
Archos	FM Recorder	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	YES	?	NO (can RoLo OF)	112x64, 30x24mm	B&W	20GB	?
Archos	Recorder v2	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	NO	?	NO (can RoLo OF)	112x64, 30x24mm	B&W	20GB	?
Archos	Ondio 128 FM	Flash	NO	SOME	YES	YES	- 8-10h (Alkalines)	NO (can RoLo OF)	112x64, 30x24mm	B&W	128MB + MMC slot	?
Archos	Ondio 128 SP	Flash	NO	SOME	NO	NO	- 8-10h (Alkalines)	NO (can RoLo OF)	112x64, 30x24mm	B&W	128MB + MMC slot	?
Toshiba	Gigabeat F Gigabeat X	HDD	NO	SOME	NO	NO	- 16-20h - 12-16h	NO	240x320, 2.2in 240x320, 2.4in	16-bit colour	10/20/40/60GB 20/30/60GB	F10 - $40 F20 - $50 F40 - $90 F60 - $115
Apple	iPod 1st/2nd Gen.	HDD	NO	SOME	NO	NO	- 10-12h	YES	160x128	2-bit greyscale	5/10/20GB	$45-$200
Apple	iPod 3rd Gen.	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	NO	?	YES	160x128	2-bit greyscale	10/15/20/30/40GB	$65-$85
Apple	iPod 4th Gen.	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	NO	- 6-7h	YES	160x128	2-bit greyscale	30/40GB	$30-$100
Apple	iPod Color/Photo	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	NO	- 6-7h	YES	220x176	16-bit colour	20/30/40/60GB	$55-$150
Apple	iPod Video 5/5.5 Gen.	HDD	NO	SOME	YES (via dock connector)	NO	- 12-14h (30GB) - 14-17h (80GB)	YES	320x240, 2.5in	16-bit colour	30/60/80GB	30GB - $200 60GB - $100-$190 80GB - $240
Apple	iPod Nano 1st Gen.	Flash	NO	SOME	YES (via dock connector)	NO	- 9-11h	YES	176x132, 1.5in	16-bit colour	1/2/4GB	$40-$95
Apple	iPod Mini 1st Gen.	HDD	NO	SOME	NO	NO	?	YES	138x110	2-bit greyscale	4GB	$25-$70
Apple	iPod Mini 2nd Gen.	HDD	NO	SOME	NO	NO	- 7.5h-8.5h	YES	138x110	2-bit greyscale	4/6GB	$50-$240
Cowon	iAudio X5 iAudio X5L	HDD	NO	SOME	YES (line-in requires subpack)	YES	- 8-12h - 20-28h	NO (officially)	160x128, 1.8in	18-bit colour dithered	20/30/60GB	20GB X5 - $80 30GB X5 - $175 60GB X5 $200-350 20GB X5L - $85-160 30GB X5L $250
Cowon	iAudio M5 iAudio M5L	HDD	NO	SOME	YES (line-in requires subpack)	NO	- 15-20h - 40-50h	NO (officially)	160x128, 1.6in	2-bit grayscale	20/40GB	?
Cowon	iAudio M3 iAudio M3L	HDD	NO	SOME	YES (line-in requires subpack)	YES	- 15-20h - 40-50h	NO (officially)	Remote LCD only	2-bit grayscale	20/40GB	?
Olympus	m:robe 100	HDD	NO	SOME	NO	NO	?	YES	160x128	1-bit monochrome	5GB	$50-$100
SanDisk	Sansa c200v1 series	Flash	NO	SOME	YES (internal mic only)	YES	- 11-16h	YES	132x80	16-bit colour	1/2GB + microSD slot	1GB - $25 2GB - $30
SanDisk	Sansa e200v1 series	Flash	NO	SOME	YES (only mic for now)	SOME	- 17-21h	YES	176x220	16-bit colour	2/4/6/8GB + microSD slot	2GB - $40 4GB - $45 6GB - $60 8GB - $70
iriver	h100 series	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	YES	- 16-18h	YES	160x128	2-bit grayscale	10/20/40GB	$100-200
iriver	h300 series	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	YES	- 16h	YES	220x176	16-bit colour	20/40GB	$100-150
iriver	h10 series	HDD	NO	SOME	YES	YES	- 7-10h	YES	128x128 160x128	16-bit colour	5/6/20GB	5GB - $35-50 6GB - $45 20GB - $55-75

Prices last updated on February 6th, 2008 using eBay as a reference. See also the DeviceChart page for more detailed information on the players' hardware.

Subjective Discussion

• Of the currently available targets where recording is working, only the iriver h10, h100 and h300 series and the Sansa e200 and c200 series support recording without additional hardware. The iAudio X5 and M3 can record from radio/internal microphone out of the box, but line-in can only be connected through the subpack which is included. The iAudio M5 also needs the subpack for a line-in connection but here the subpack is not included, other than that one can record from the built-in microphone. The iPods have line-in via the dock connector and a custom cable is required to access it. In addition, the iPod recording code is still in an early stage in Rockbox and is not suitable for serious use.
• The best screen available is probably that on the iPod 5.5 generation. The ones on the Gigabeats look good too, but are completely black with the backlight off.
• The iPod Video 80GB is going to get you the most bang for your buck in terms of storage size.
• The listed storage sizes for the Sansa e200 and c200 series is for the internal flash; the storage on these players can be expanded with a MicroSD card. Both players can support MicroSD and MicroSDHC cards up to 32GB in size.
• The M5 L gives you the best runtime and in opposite to the X5, the iAudio M5s do not depend on the subpack for copying data or charging. It has a standard USB port there where the USB host port on an iAudio X5 would be (hence no USB host function).
• Of all the models, the iriver h100 series has the most (standard) audio connections.
• The iriver h100 series is also the only player with optical connections, having both input and output.
• The Sansa e200 and c200 series seems to have a new "v2" model available. These can be distinguished from a v1 easily by checking the firmware version. v2 firmware is 3.x.x and v1 is 1.x.x. Rockbox does not work on these v2 models; they appear to be using a new chipset.
• Some of the iPod runtime statistics are coming from this page: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IpodRuntime, which hasn't been updated regularly since the improvements to power management were implemented on 2008-02-10.
• The HDD based Archoses use 2.5" HDDs, so disk capacity can be upgraded quite easily, up to 160GB as of today (more than 136GB require a custom build)
• The HDD based Archoses run from standard AA NiMH batteries. Stock batteries are 1500mAh, can be changed for higher capacity. The new NiMH generation with very low self-discharge can be recommended.
• The Ondios run from standard AAA batteries. They're designed for alkalines (no charging circuit), but NiMH cells can also be used (external charger is required).
• Archos recorder v1 has coaxial S/PDIF input and output
• The Archos FM recorder's FM tuner is quite crappy. The Ondio FM exists in versions with the old (crappy) Samsung tuner and the new (good) Philips tuner