[clug] Portable Audio Players

[Paul Wayper]

> It MUST have support for OGG Vorbis files and preferably
> FLAC as well. I would like a 20G or larger HD. An inbuilt
> FM transmitter (to send the music to the car radio) would
> be a big plus. Linux support and/or firmware on the device
> would be nice, but not absolutely necessary. I'd like to
> keep the price under $500(AU) if I can.

The device you want is a Rio Karma.  It's a 40GB player
that's smaller to hold than an iPod, features a very useful
'stop' button, and supports OGG, FLAC, WMA, AAC, MP3 and
uncompressed WAV.  It uses a Java client to run under Linux
and MacOS, as well as a Windows application.  You can use
100baseT or USB2, but only the former for Linux.  I bought
mine through eBay from a guy in Sydney for approximately
$300 - while this is a little expensive it is no better than
trying to import a Karma from the states and far cheaper
than an iPod.

It doesn't have an internal FM transmitter, but you can pick
up a Belkin Tunecast II for $45.

HTH,

Paul