Rockbox is an open source firmware replacement for a growing number of digital audio players. It has been in development since 2001 and receives new features, tweaks and fixes every day to provide you with the best possible music listening experience. Rockbox aims to be considerably more functional and efficient than your device’s stock firmware while remaining easy to use and customizable. We believe that you should never need to go through a series of menus for an action you perform frequently. We also believe that you should be able to configure almost anything about Rockbox you could want, pertaining to functionality. It is written by users, for users.

Another top priority of Rockbox is audio playback quality. Rockbox, for most models, includes a wider range of sound settings than that device’s original firmware. A lot of work has been put into making Rockbox sound the best it can, and improvements are constantly being made. All models have access to a large number of plugins, including many games, applications, and graphical demos.

You can load different configurations quickly for different purposes (e.g. a large font for in your car, different sound settings for at home). You can even customize your While Playing Screen to display only and exactly what you want to see when your music is playing. In addition, Rockbox features a wide range of languages, and all supported models also have the ability to talk to you - menus can be voiced and filenames spelled out or spoken.

It works on following DAP’s (Digital Audio Players)

• Apple: 1st through 5.5th generation iPod, iPod Mini and 1st generation iPod Nano
  (not the Shuffle, 2nd/3rd/4th gen Nano, Classic or Touch)
• Archos: Jukebox 5000, 6000, Studio, Recorder, FM Recorder, Recorder V2 and Ondio
• Cowon: iAudio X5, X5V, X5L, M5, M5L, M3 and M3L
• iriver: H100, H300 and H10 series
• Olympus: M:Robe 100
• SanDisk: Sansa c200, e200 and e200R series (not the v2 models)
• Toshiba: Gigabeat X and F series (not the S series) 

 
Latest version can be got here. 

Sony is set to debut a new 16 and 32GB drag and drop Walkman during CES 2009. This will be the most advanced music, video and photo Walkman music player ever released by Sony to date. While it was revealed before to Wired that Sony’s new Walkman would have Wi-Fi capabilities, we have now learned that Sony’s new Walkman will also be touchscreen and WQVGA. The touchscreen will not be the usual LCD, but a brilliant three inch OLED with a contrast ratio around 10k. OLED display capabilities in terms of color reproduction are far beyond the average LCD, which means 100% color reproduction across a wider viewing angle.

more here

Aino V3000 is a cute PMP which comes with 4GB of storage. Lets look at the features and specification

Features and Specification:

• LTPS (Low Temperature Poly Silicon) LCD - An active matrix LCD screen that is faster and more integrated than screens made with amorphous
• 4.3 inch Screen
• 16,000,000 colors
• 800 × 480 resolution
• MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC, WAV plus FLAC, APE lossless audio format support
• Microsoft’s built-in audio PLAYFX
• FM Radio
• Video file formats supported includes RMVB, AVI, WMV, FLV, 3GP, MP4, MPG, DAT
• Processing Unit: DSP + ARM dual-core chips
• TV-OUT
• Infrared remote control
• High-fidelity stereo speakers
• Digital photo frame
• Price 699 yuans (around $102)

more here

Sandisk’s Sanza Fuze has got a new firmware (version 1.01.15) which add new file format support to sanza, bug fixes and enhancements

New features:

• FLAC codec for audio is now supported

• OGG codec for audio is now supported

• New Audible AAX format is now supported

  • Note: Per Audible request, type 2 and 3 are no longer supported. Users are recommended to connect to Audible Manager to update old contents to type 4.

• Include embedded album art support for MP3 playback

Enhancements:

• New Sansa startup/goodbye screen and PC connection screen

• Improved scrolling through long lists with wrap around enabled

• Backlight setting is extended up to 1 hour

• Improved FAT32 support for external uSD cards

• Improved large playlist loading time

• Improved voice recording quality responding to high sound level

• Faster volume control for video playback

• Enhancements made for Podcast playlist sorting and playback skipping

Bugs Fixed:

Music playback

• "Play Previous" option is missing after returning from Video, Photo, Podcasts and Audiobooks playback

• Buttons have to be pressed twice while navigating in Album submenu

Rhapsody enabled devices

• Videos converted using Rhapsody show incorrect aspect ratio

• “Add to Library” using press and hold causes device to hang

Localized firmware

• Russian language: Format confirmation message is mistranslated

Miscellaneous

• Turning volume causes charging animation to jump while docked in 30-pin connection

• Recording Option menu doesn’t exist in Voice and FM Recording list view

more here

EGOMAN is going to unveil its ultra thin PMP. MP810RSTX is a 4.3 inch cute, slim looking beauty and will be available during IFA 2008.

Specifications

• 4.3 inch TFT display
• Touchscreen
• MicroSD card slot
• Optional FM receiver
• Optional FM transmitter
• TV-OUT
• G-Sensor
• USB conncetivity
• built-in mic
• AVI, RMVB, APE, FLAC, MP3 and WMA file formats support

price and release dates are yet to be announced

more here

This New slim 8GB Zune®(blue/silver/black) device is good to go with plenty of room for your favorite music, pictures and video. It comes Complete with an FM tuner and buy from FM capabilities1, wireless sync2, Zune® to Zune® wireless sharing3, video playback and more, so you get all that Zune® power in one tight little package. Holds up to 2,000 songs, 25,000 pictures, or 25 hours of video.

Key Features & Benefits

Buy from FM

• Listen to your favorite FM radio stations and click to tag the songs you like for later purchase when you sync your device with your PC1.

Zune Pass

Download millions of tracks, whole albums or playlists with Zune® Pass subscription service. Explore new music or rediscover old favorites—then sync them all to your Zune Extend your subscription online or by purchasing a Zune Pass card.

Wireless Sync

Connect to your home wireless network and remotely sync your Zune® device with your PC collection from your dock, AC adapter, or speaker dock accessory.

Device to Cloud

Access thousands of wireless hotspots around the country to automatically update your collection, browse Zune Marketplace, refresh Channels, exchange favorites with friends, or buy songs you’ve tagged from your FM radio.

Wireless Sharing

Send your favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts freely between any Zune® devices.

Channels

Zune® Channels are custom programming stations that deliver personalized playlists to your Zune® from a variety of sources you select, such as music experts, celebrities, or top radio stations.

Games

Games rock on your Zune®. Zune® Players now come with a selection of fun free games to choose from. Play the popular poker game Texas Hold’em or challenge yourself to a game of Hexic, and make sure you play your favorite song from your collection to create your own personal game soundtrack.

Video/TV Shows

Choose from a growing selection of TV shows now available on the Zune® Marketplace video store. Recorded TV shows or movies from Windows Media Center in Windows Vista can be imported and synced to your Zune.

Specifications section

* Capacity:8GB
* Digital Storage Media: Hard disk drive - built-in
* Sound Output Mode:Stereo
* Supported Digital Photo Standards:JPEG,Audio & Video Playback
* Supported Digital Audio Standards: WMA, AAC, MP3
* Playback Modes: Random play / shuffle
* Supported Digital Video Standards:MPEG-4, WMV, H.264
* Display Built-in Display:LCD-color
* Diagonal Size: X”
* Resolution: 320 x 240
* Battery:rechargeable-Lithium ion
* Headphones:binaural-Earbuds
* Included Accessories: 3 earpiece covers, sync cable
* Connections Type:1 x docking station | 1 x USB | 1 x headphones