As a bonus, enabling Timestretch [1], then adjusting playback speed [2] gets you up to 2.5x playback without affecting the pitch of the speakers' voices (i.e. no Alvin and the Chipmunks).

[1] http://download.rockbox.org/manual/rockbox-gigabeats/rockbox... [2] http://download.rockbox.org/manual/rockbox-gigabeats/rockbox...

I thought the last Clip that supported Rockbox went out of production a few years ago?

I also have a very fuzzy recollection that the batteries weren't especially replaceable, meaning we've got a finite time before they're all bricks...

I'm still using the original Clip I got back in 2008. It's not supported by Rockbox, but I'm perfectly happy with the last official firmware. The OLED has deteriorated, but it's still fine indoors (it was almost impossible to read outdoors from the get-go).

The battery lasted around 14 hours when it was new, now I'm getting roughly half of that. I seem to remember someone on the now defunct anythingbutipod.com replacing the battery, although they had to break the player apart to get inside.

Even the damn plastic clip on the back still works!

They must've made the headphone jacks sturdier on the original model. Both the Zip and Plus had the same loose jack issue for me after a while.

On my third one now which is beginning to show the same issues but the prices have gone up to the point I'll try and repair the jack on an old one instead of buy a new one. Doesn't look too hard beyond the prising open part, which from what I gather is a bit tricky given the size and how well bound it is

Battery has basically never died on me, the amount of charge it gets whenever I remember to connect it to add some new podcasts seems to just make it last forever.

> Even the damn plastic clip on the back still works!

How did you accomplish that? Sadly, mine break after a few years of abuse

Sweet! The local store has a Sansa Clip in stock! I'll try it out!

What's the advantage of Rockbox firmware over what it comes with?

Be careful - currently available Sansa Clip Jam and Sansa Clip Sport are not supported by Rockbox firmware. Supported versions are Sansa Clip+ and Sansa Clip Zip (and some even older models).

Killer feature of Rockbox for me is possibility to change playback speed while maintaining original pitch. As most audiobooks and podcasts I prefer to listen on 120-130% speed.

Most recent Sansa Clip models dont support Rockbox iirc, you'll probably want a refurbished Clip+ or something like that.

Automatic bookmarks, which is very useful for podcasts. The file automatically continues where you left off last time. Oh, and you can also play DOOM on it of course!

And Pac-Man.[1] And Tetris.[2] And Mario.[3] And if you're particularly masochistic, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[4,5]

And loads of other games and programs.[6]

1 https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginPacbox

2 https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginRockblox

3 https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginRockboy

4 https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginFrotz

5 https://if.illuminion.de/infocom.html

6 https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginIndex

The original firmware also supports resuming from the last played position in podcasts and audiobooks. Whenever you select a partially listened item, you get a prompt to continue from the last point or start from the beginning. It's really handy and honestly I couldn't live without it.

There's a simple binary database in the root folder that keeps this information, but it gets reset whenever you add/remove files. Now that I think about it, it might even be possible to backup that info and restore it afterwards, although I never really needed to do that. I don't usually have more than a couple books/podcasts in progress, so it's easy to remember where I left off, if needed.

I can vouch for the Sansa clip. I used one heavily, years ago for this exact purpose. Mostly only podcast listening. Very small & lightweight, long battery life.

Was unaware of the Rockbox firmware, looks interesting.