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Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

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Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#142
post #54
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

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

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#144
Your "connect to the world" limitation rules out just using your phone (which is really the most straightforward answer).

But is there some reason you can't just pickup a second-hand unlocked Android phone, no-sim, preferably with a user-replaceable battery, and then load it with a pod-cast listening app. such as:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.ph1b.audiobook/

If you turn off all the radios (airplane mode) and don't run the screen that often, you might also come close to your day-or-two without recharge requirement as well.

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#145
post #120

Not to derail, but does anyone have a suggestion for the same, but for audiobooks? My SO's Honda doesn't support playlists or bookmarks, and most of the apps we've tried either don't scale well for large libraries or are built for podcasts, so something simple and standalone with those features would make her happy.

Did you try voice (app)? https://github.com/PaulWoitaschek/Voice

Just did, and it looks perfect. Thanks for the recommendation!

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#146
post #144

Your "connect to the world" limitation rules out just using your phone (which is really the most straightforward answer). But is there some reason you can't just pickup a second-hand unlocked Android phone, no-sim, preferably with a user-replaceable battery, and then load it with a pod-cast listening app. such as: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.ph1b.audiobook/ If you turn off all the radios (airplane mode) and do…

Phones are too bulky to be convenient when exercising. I've inadvertently destroyed more than one by going out for a run on a hot day with it in my pocket and sweating too much.

In contrast, the 6th gen iPod Nano weighed less than an ounce! They were a fantastic product. Ditto for the iPod Shuffle.

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#147
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, if you're technical enough to be posting on hackernews I don't think it will take you more than 15 minutes to install a podcasting app and figure out the software

While I could make all sorts of technical points, like how HN's interface is little different from trn I used in the 1990s, or how I dislike tinkering (as Godel_unicode commented), I'll point out one that's not so technical. I am detail oriented, which contributes to the quality of the software I develop. That level of attention to detail extends to other areas. For example, I read all of the license agreements I'm t…

You could switch to more open versions of Android like Graphene/Lineage etc that are based on AOSP and use free software. F-Droid is a FOSS app store for FOSS apps, and it has quite a few good apps, including AntennaPod, which is an excellent podcatcher and my podcasting app of choice.

From some of your other comments, I gathered that you aren't heavily into using smartphones, so there's no reason you have to subscribe to the _full_ experience of it, proprietariness and all. Our devices are only as complicated as we allow them to be.

I totally understand if you want something that works out of the box too, the rest of us who would like a functional experience with the creature comforts of smart-devices have to go out of our way to debloat and tweak things because these experiences are not yet readily available for us.

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#148
post #144

Your "connect to the world" limitation rules out just using your phone (which is really the most straightforward answer). But is there some reason you can't just pickup a second-hand unlocked Android phone, no-sim, preferably with a user-replaceable battery, and then load it with a pod-cast listening app. such as: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.ph1b.audiobook/ If you turn off all the radios (airplane mode) and do…

Phones are too bulky to be convenient when exercising. I've inadvertently destroyed more than one by going out for a run on a hot day with it in my pocket and sweating too much. In contrast, the 6th gen iPod Nano weighed less than an ounce! They were a fantastic product. Ditto for the iPod Shuffle.

I found the Nano's size convenient for this reason also. However, I find wireless earbuds,and wireless syncing, to be something I like even more.

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#149

You could bump up to an iPod mini v2 and optionally swap out the internals for some extra storage space. The stock battery with the latest apple firmware lasts about 18 hours with 450mAh. There are better 1300mAh+ batteries that offer a lot longer time though. Like others have mentioned Rockbox firmware is also available and will increase the battery life too. The iFixit site has nice repair articles for how to chang…

I have done this for a handful of friends and in one case I also soldered in a Bluetooth transmitter. With a little ffmpeg magic + rockbox you can even play black and white videos.

Re: Ask HN: What can replace my iPod for podcast listening?

#150
post #61

https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/mp3-players/sandisk... Seems to still be for sale. I’m thinking of getting for my toddler for Christmas. I want her to have music but not a whole internet connected communicator.

Are you sure the Jam is supported? It seems to me the Sansa Clip Jam != Sansa Clip and the former is not supported at least according to [1]: Sansa Clip Sport / Clip Jam / Clip Sport Go / Clip Sport Plus These are based on an Actions Semiconductor ATJ2127 chips, with under 100KB of available memory and all audio decoding happening inside dedicated hardware. A rockbox port to these (and other ATJ2127) targets will not…

Who said anything about Rockbox?
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