Expand Your IPod With RockBox

[DudeAsInCool]

An iPod that's not an iPod

A few weeks ago, I installed Rockbox on my trusty 30GB iPod Photo. Rockbox isn't one of the many applications that run on the iPod software platform; rather, it's firmware that completely replaces the iPod's, with the goal of expanding the possibilities and the limits of the existing hardware.

In its current state, the Rockbox interface is utilitarian, graphically sparse, and reminiscent of a command-line system, and it lacks the flash of modern commercial MP3 players. But where it comes up short in pizzazz, it more than compensates in options and settings, many of which would make the default iPod jealous. Using RockPod is fun, and though it doesn't benefit from a seamless iTunes relationship (you can, however, manually transfer songs within iTunes) and is missing a few familiar features that make the iPod so popular with the masses, I personally dig it--enough to use it exclusively for a while.

Specifically, the Rockbox open-source firmware, which is updated on a near daily basis by a dedicated group of programmers (and interested users such as you), opens up many doors in the area of audio quality, where Apple has often fallen short: flat sound with weak bass and weaker equalizer presets. Simply browsing through the audio settings will make an audio geek perk up.

Source: CNet