diff --git a/apps/buffering.c b/apps/buffering.c
index 8a6418f..deecbce 100644
--- a/apps/buffering.c
+++ b/apps/buffering.c
@@ -833,7 +833,7 @@ static void shrink_handle(struct memory_handle *h)
     if (h->next && h->filerem == 0 &&
             (h->type == TYPE_ID3 || h->type == TYPE_CUESHEET ||
              h->type == TYPE_BITMAP || h->type == TYPE_CODEC ||
-             h->type == TYPE_ATOMIC_AUDIO))
+             h->type == TYPE_ATOMIC_AUDIO || h->type == TYPE_BUFFER))
     {
         /* metadata handle: we can move all of it */
         uintptr_t handle_distance =
diff --git a/apps/metadata.h b/apps/metadata.h
index 6b15f6d..db4f598 100644
--- a/apps/metadata.h
+++ b/apps/metadata.h
@@ -184,6 +184,21 @@ enum {
     ID3_VER_2_4
 };
 
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+enum mp3_aa_type {
+    AA_TYPE_UNKNOWN,
+    AA_TYPE_BMP,
+    AA_TYPE_PNG,
+    AA_TYPE_JPG,
+};
+
+struct mp3_albumart {
+    enum mp3_aa_type type;
+    int size;
+    off_t pos;
+};
+#endif
+
 struct mp3entry {
     char path[MAX_PATH];
     char* title;
@@ -263,6 +278,11 @@ struct mp3entry {
     long album_peak;
 #endif
 
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+    bool embed_albumart;
+    struct mp3_albumart albumart;
+#endif
+
     /* Cuesheet support */
     struct cuesheet *cuesheet;
 
diff --git a/apps/metadata/id3tags.c b/apps/metadata/id3tags.c
index a32d015..5b518e3 100644
--- a/apps/metadata/id3tags.c
+++ b/apps/metadata/id3tags.c
@@ -290,6 +290,41 @@ static int parsegenre( struct mp3entry* entry, char* tag, int bufferpos )
     }
 }
 
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+/* parse embed albumart */
+static int parsealbumart( struct mp3entry* entry, char* tag, int bufferpos )
+{
+    entry->albumart.type = AA_TYPE_UNKNOWN;
+
+    if (memcmp(++tag, "image/", 6) == 0)
+    {
+        /* ID3 v2.3+ */
+        tag += 6;
+        if (memcmp(tag, "jpeg", 4) == 0)
+            entry->albumart.type = AA_TYPE_JPG;
+        else if (memcmp(tag, "png", 3) == 0)
+            entry->albumart.type = AA_TYPE_PNG;
+
+        entry->albumart.pos  += 14;
+        entry->albumart.size -= 14;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        /* ID3 v2.2 */
+        if (memcmp(tag, "JPG", 3) == 0)
+            entry->albumart.type = AA_TYPE_JPG;
+        else if (memcmp(tag, "PNG", 3) == 0)
+            entry->albumart.type = AA_TYPE_PNG;
+
+        entry->albumart.pos  += 6;
+        entry->albumart.size -= 6;
+    }
+
+    entry->embed_albumart = (entry->albumart.type != AA_TYPE_UNKNOWN);
+    return bufferpos;
+}
+#endif
+
 /* parse user defined text, looking for album artist and replaygain 
  * information.
  */
@@ -437,6 +472,10 @@ static const struct tag_resolver taglist[] = {
     { "COM",  3, offsetof(struct mp3entry, comment), NULL, false }, 
     { "TCON", 4, offsetof(struct mp3entry, genre_string), &parsegenre, false },
     { "TCO",  3, offsetof(struct mp3entry, genre_string), &parsegenre, false },
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+    { "APIC", 4, 0, &parsealbumart, true },
+    { "PIC",  3, 0, &parsealbumart, true },
+#endif
     { "TXXX", 4, 0, &parseuser, false },
 #if CONFIG_CODEC == SWCODEC
     { "RVA2", 4, 0, &parserva2, true },
@@ -956,6 +995,15 @@ void setid3v2title(int fd, struct mp3entry *entry)
                 if (ptag && !*ptag)
                     *ptag = tag;
 
+                /* albumart */
+                if ((!entry->embed_albumart) &&
+                    ((tr->tag_length == 4 && !memcmp( header, "APIC", 4)) ||
+                     (tr->tag_length == 3 && !memcmp( header, "PIC" , 3))))
+                {
+                    entry->albumart.pos = lseek(fd, 0, SEEK_CUR) - framelen;
+                    entry->albumart.size = totframelen;
+                }
+
                 if( tr->ppFunc )
                     bufferpos = tr->ppFunc(entry, tag, bufferpos);
 
diff --git a/apps/playback.c b/apps/playback.c
index 0be45b0..81f47d7 100644
--- a/apps/playback.c
+++ b/apps/playback.c
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 #ifdef HAVE_LCD_BITMAP
 #ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
 #include "albumart.h"
+#include "recorder/jpeg_load.h"
 #endif
 #endif
 #include "sound.h"
@@ -141,6 +142,19 @@ static struct cuesheet *curr_cue = NULL;
 #define MAX_MULTIPLE_AA SKINNABLE_SCREENS_COUNT
 
 #ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+#define ALBUMART_SIZE 0x10000
+
+static struct embed_albumart {
+    /* The ID for the embed albumart's handle */
+    int hid;
+
+    /* The dimension for the embed albumart */
+    struct dim dim;
+
+    /* whether can use */
+    bool usable;
+} embed_aa;
+
 static struct albumart_slot {
     struct dim dim;     /* holds width, height of the albumart */
     int used;           /* counter, increments if something uses it */
@@ -227,6 +241,9 @@ static bool audio_have_tracks(void);
 static void audio_reset_buffer(void);
 static void audio_stop_playback(void);
 
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+static void close_embed_albumart(void);
+#endif
 
 /**************************************/
 
@@ -368,6 +385,9 @@ void audio_hard_stop(void)
 #ifdef PLAYBACK_VOICE
     voice_stop();
 #endif
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+    close_embed_albumart();
+#endif
 }
 
 bool audio_restore_playback(int type)
@@ -648,22 +668,90 @@ bool audio_peek_track(struct mp3entry** id3, int offset)
 }
 
 #ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+
+/* --- embed albumart --- */
+static void open_embed_albumart(void)
+{
+    if (embed_aa.hid < 0)
+    {
+        /* allocate size is bitmap size + working buffer size */
+        embed_aa.hid = bufalloc(NULL, ALBUMART_SIZE, TYPE_BITMAP);
+    }
+}
+
+static void close_embed_albumart(void)
+{
+    if (embed_aa.hid >= 0)
+    {
+        bufclose(embed_aa.hid);
+        embed_aa.hid = -1;
+    }
+    embed_aa.usable = false;
+}
+
+static bool regist_embed_albumart(const struct mp3entry *id3)
+{
+    struct bitmap *bmp;
+
+    embed_aa.usable = false;
+    if (!id3 || !id3->embed_albumart || embed_aa.hid < 0)
+        return false;
+
+    if (bufgetdata(embed_aa.hid, 0, (void**)&bmp) < 0)
+    {
+        logf("bitmap handle does not get from the buffer");
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    if (id3->albumart.type == AA_TYPE_JPG)
+    {
+        bmp->width  = embed_aa.dim.width;
+        bmp->height = embed_aa.dim.height;
+        bmp->data   = (unsigned char *)bmp + sizeof(struct bitmap);
+
+        if (clip_jpeg_file(id3->path, id3->albumart.pos, id3->albumart.size,
+                           bmp, ALBUMART_SIZE,
+                           FORMAT_NATIVE|FORMAT_DITHER|FORMAT_KEEP_ASPECT|FORMAT_RESIZE,
+                           NULL) < 0)
+        {
+            logf("bitmap convert failure");
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        /* TODO embed albumart does not support non-JPEG formats */
+        logf("does not support image format: %d", id3->albumart.type);
+        return false;
+    }
+    embed_aa.usable = true;
+    return true;
+}
+
 int playback_current_aa_hid(int slot)
 {
-    if (slot < 0)
-        return -1;
     int cur_idx;
     int offset = ci.new_track + wps_offset;
 
+    if (slot < 0)
+        return -1;
+
+    if (embed_aa.usable)
+        return embed_aa.hid;
+
     cur_idx = track_ridx + offset;
     cur_idx &= MAX_TRACK_MASK;
-
     return tracks[cur_idx].aa_hid[slot];
 }
 
 int playback_claim_aa_slot(struct dim *dim)
 {
     int i;
+
+    /* set the embed albumart's width and height */
+    embed_aa.dim = *dim;
+    open_embed_albumart();
+
     /* first try to find a slot already having the size to reuse it
      * since we don't want albumart of the same size buffered multiple times */
     FOREACH_ALBUMART(i)
@@ -692,8 +780,12 @@ int playback_claim_aa_slot(struct dim *dim)
 
 void playback_release_aa_slot(int slot)
 {
+    if (slot < 0)
+        return;
+
     /* invalidate the albumart_slot */
     struct albumart_slot *aa_slot = &albumart_slots[slot];
+
     if (aa_slot->used > 0)
         aa_slot->used--;
 }
@@ -1006,6 +1098,8 @@ static void audio_update_trackinfo(void)
     ci.id3 = thistrack_id3;
     ci.curpos = 0;
     ci.taginfo_ready = &CUR_TI->taginfo_ready;
+
+    regist_embed_albumart(ci.id3);
 }
 
 /* Clear tracks between write and read, non inclusive */
@@ -1292,34 +1386,37 @@ static void audio_finish_load_track(void)
     {
         int i;
         char aa_path[MAX_PATH];
-        FOREACH_ALBUMART(i)
+
+        if (track_ridx != track_widx || !regist_embed_albumart(track_id3))
         {
-            /* albumart_slots may change during a yield of bufopen,
-             * but that's no problem */
-            if (tracks[track_widx].aa_hid[i] >= 0 || !albumart_slots[i].used)
-                continue;
-            /* find_albumart will error out if the wps doesn't have AA */
-            if (find_albumart(track_id3, aa_path, sizeof(aa_path),
-                               &(albumart_slots[i].dim)))
+            FOREACH_ALBUMART(i)
             {
-                int aa_hid = bufopen(aa_path, 0, TYPE_BITMAP,
-                                                &(albumart_slots[i].dim));
-
-                if(aa_hid == ERR_BUFFER_FULL)
-                {
-                    filling = STATE_FULL;
-                    logf("buffer is full for now (get album art)");
-                    return;  /* No space for track's album art, not an error */
-                }
-                else if (aa_hid < 0)
+                /* albumart_slots may change during a yield of bufopen,
+                 * but that's no problem */
+                if (tracks[track_widx].aa_hid[i] >= 0 || !albumart_slots[i].used)
+                    continue;
+                /* find_albumart will error out if the wps doesn't have AA */
+                if (find_albumart(track_id3, aa_path, sizeof(aa_path),
+                                   &(albumart_slots[i].dim)))
                 {
-                    /* another error, ignore AlbumArt */
-                    logf("Album art loading failed");
+                    int aa_hid = bufopen(aa_path, 0, TYPE_BITMAP,
+                                                    &(albumart_slots[i].dim));
+
+                    if(aa_hid == ERR_BUFFER_FULL)
+                    {
+                        filling = STATE_FULL;
+                        logf("buffer is full for now (get album art)\n");
+                        return;  /* No space for track's album art, not an error */
+                    }
+                    else if (aa_hid < 0)
+                    {
+                        /* another error, ignore AlbumArt */
+                        logf("Album art loading failed");
+                    }
+                    tracks[track_widx].aa_hid[i] = aa_hid;
                 }
-                tracks[track_widx].aa_hid[i] = aa_hid;
             }
         }
-        
     }
 #endif
 
@@ -1448,7 +1545,12 @@ static void audio_fill_file_buffer(bool start_play, size_t offset)
        file size shouldn't have changed so we can go straight from
        AUDIOBUF_STATE_VOICED_ONLY to AUDIOBUF_STATE_INITIALIZED */
     if (buffer_state != AUDIOBUF_STATE_INITIALIZED)
+    {
         audio_reset_buffer();
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+        open_embed_albumart();
+#endif
+    }
 
     logf("Starting buffer fill");
 
@@ -2026,6 +2128,10 @@ static void audio_thread(void)
 
                 /* release tracks to make sure all handles are closed */
                 audio_release_tracks();
+
+#ifdef HAVE_ALBUMART
+                close_embed_albumart();
+#endif
                 break;
 #endif
 
@@ -2123,6 +2229,9 @@ void audio_init(void)
             tracks[j].aa_hid[i] = -1;
         }
     }
+
+    embed_aa.hid        = -1;
+    embed_aa.usable     = false;
 #endif
 
     add_event(BUFFER_EVENT_REBUFFER, false, buffering_handle_rebuffer_callback);
diff --git a/apps/plugin.c b/apps/plugin.c
index d626ef6..adffd8e 100644
--- a/apps/plugin.c
+++ b/apps/plugin.c
@@ -655,8 +655,8 @@ static const struct plugin_api rockbox_api = {
     read_bmp_file,
     read_bmp_fd,
 #ifdef HAVE_JPEG
-    read_jpeg_file,
-    read_jpeg_fd,
+    clip_jpeg_file,
+    clip_jpeg_fd,
 #endif
     screen_dump_set_hook,
 #endif
diff --git a/apps/plugin.h b/apps/plugin.h
index a6b864b..c1ec67c 100644
--- a/apps/plugin.h
+++ b/apps/plugin.h
@@ -141,15 +141,16 @@ void* plugin_get_buffer(size_t *buffer_size);
 
 #endif
 
+
 #define PLUGIN_MAGIC 0x526F634B /* RocK */
 
 /* increase this every time the api struct changes */
-#define PLUGIN_API_VERSION 187
+#define PLUGIN_API_VERSION 188
 
 /* update this to latest version if a change to the api struct breaks
    backwards compatibility (and please take the opportunity to sort in any
    new function which are "waiting" at the end of the function table) */
-#define PLUGIN_MIN_API_VERSION 187
+#define PLUGIN_MIN_API_VERSION 188
 
 /* plugin return codes */
 enum plugin_status {
@@ -812,9 +813,10 @@ int (*round_value_to_list32)(unsigned long value,
     int (*read_bmp_fd)(int fd, struct bitmap *bm, int maxsize,
                        int format, const struct custom_format *cformat);
 #ifdef HAVE_JPEG
-    int (*read_jpeg_file)(const char* filename, struct bitmap *bm, int maxsize,
-                          int format, const struct custom_format *cformat);
-    int (*read_jpeg_fd)(int fd, struct bitmap *bm, int maxsize,
+    int (*clip_jpeg_file)(const char* filename, int offset, unsigned long jpeg_size,
+                          struct bitmap *bm, int maxsize, int format,
+                          const struct custom_format *cformat);
+    int (*clip_jpeg_fd)(int fd, unsigned long jpeg_size, struct bitmap *bm, int maxsize,
                         int format, const struct custom_format *cformat);
 #endif
     void (*screen_dump_set_hook)(void (*hook)(int fh));
diff --git a/apps/plugins/lib/feature_wrappers.h b/apps/plugins/lib/feature_wrappers.h
index 50552fb..51dcd0b 100644
--- a/apps/plugins/lib/feature_wrappers.h
+++ b/apps/plugins/lib/feature_wrappers.h
@@ -47,8 +47,10 @@
 #endif
 
 #ifdef HAVE_JPEG
-#define read_jpeg_file rb->read_jpeg_file
-#define read_jpeg_fd rb->read_jpeg_fd
+#undef read_jpeg_file
+#undef read_jpeg_fd
+#define read_jpeg_file(fn, bm, ms, f, cf) rb->clip_jpeg_file(fn, 0, 0, bm, ms, f, cf)
+#define read_jpeg_fd(fd, bm, ms, f, cf) rb->clip_jpeg_fd(fd, 0, bm, ms, f, cf)
 #else
 #endif
 
diff --git a/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.c b/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.c
index 1af65fa..6af5af6 100644
--- a/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.c
+++ b/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.c
@@ -75,12 +75,12 @@ struct jpeg
 {
 #ifdef JPEG_FROM_MEM
     unsigned char *data;
-    unsigned long len;
 #else
     int fd;
     int buf_left;
     int buf_index;
 #endif
+    unsigned long len;
     unsigned long int bitbuf;
     int bitbuf_bits;
     int marker_ind;
@@ -888,8 +888,12 @@ INLINE void jpeg_putc(struct jpeg* p_jpeg)
 #else
 INLINE void fill_buf(struct jpeg* p_jpeg)
 {
-        p_jpeg->buf_left = read(p_jpeg->fd, p_jpeg->buf, JPEG_READ_BUF_SIZE);
+        p_jpeg->buf_left = read(p_jpeg->fd, p_jpeg->buf,
+                                (p_jpeg->len >= JPEG_READ_BUF_SIZE)?
+                                     JPEG_READ_BUF_SIZE : p_jpeg->len);
         p_jpeg->buf_index = 0;
+        if (p_jpeg->buf_left > 0)
+            p_jpeg->len -= p_jpeg->buf_left;
 }
 
 static unsigned char *jpeg_getc(struct jpeg* p_jpeg)
@@ -1960,7 +1964,9 @@ block_end:
  *
  *****************************************************************************/
 #ifndef JPEG_FROM_MEM
-int read_jpeg_file(const char* filename,
+int clip_jpeg_file(const char* filename,
+                   int offset,
+                   unsigned long jpeg_size,
                    struct bitmap *bm,
                    int maxsize,
                    int format,
@@ -1975,8 +1981,8 @@ int read_jpeg_file(const char* filename,
         DEBUGF("read_jpeg_file: can't open '%s', rc: %d\n", filename, fd);
         return fd * 10 - 1;
     }
-
-    ret = read_jpeg_fd(fd, bm, maxsize, format, cformat);
+    lseek(fd, offset, SEEK_SET);
+    ret = clip_jpeg_fd(fd, jpeg_size, bm, maxsize, format, cformat);
     close(fd);
     return ret;
 }
@@ -2014,10 +2020,11 @@ int get_jpeg_dim_mem(unsigned char *data, unsigned long len,
     return 0;
 }
 
-int decode_jpeg_mem(unsigned char *data, unsigned long len,
+int decode_jpeg_mem(unsigned char *data,
 #else
-int read_jpeg_fd(int fd,
+int clip_jpeg_fd(int fd,
 #endif
+                 unsigned long len,
                  struct bitmap *bm,
                  int maxsize,
                  int format,
@@ -2039,11 +2046,13 @@ int read_jpeg_fd(int fd,
         return -1;
 #endif
     memset(p_jpeg, 0, sizeof(struct jpeg));
+    p_jpeg->len = len;
 #ifdef JPEG_FROM_MEM
     p_jpeg->data = data;
-    p_jpeg->len = len;
 #else
     p_jpeg->fd = fd;
+    if (p_jpeg->len == 0)
+        p_jpeg->len = filesize(p_jpeg->fd);
 #endif
     status = process_markers(p_jpeg);
 #ifndef JPEG_FROM_MEM
diff --git a/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.h b/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.h
index 73b6c51..b783250 100644
--- a/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.h
+++ b/apps/recorder/jpeg_load.h
@@ -32,13 +32,20 @@
 #ifndef _JPEG_LOAD_H
 #define _JPEG_LOAD_H
 
-int read_jpeg_file(const char* filename,
+#define read_jpeg_file(fn, bm, ms, f, cf) clip_jpeg_file(fn, 0, 0, bm, ms, f, cf)
+
+int clip_jpeg_file(const char* filename,
+                   int offset,
+                   unsigned long jpeg_size,
                    struct bitmap *bm,
                    int maxsize,
                    int format,
                    const struct custom_format *cformat);
 
-int read_jpeg_fd(int fd,
+#define read_jpeg_fd(fd, bm, ms, f, cf) clip_jpeg_fd(fd, 0, bm, ms, f, cf)
+
+int clip_jpeg_fd(int fd,
+                 unsigned long jpeg_size,
                  struct bitmap *bm,
                  int maxsize,
                  int format,