Looking around...

here is the source, the site, the mainline:  

There are interesting references around the web that SanDisk has supported a Rockboxinitiative to port to the Sansa e-series. anyone find real details?

One thing: its about games.

It's all about the music, man.

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but it seems to be the only Rockbox discussion around here.

First of all, I am going to clarify that Rockbox is NOT about games. Rockbox is just an alternative firmware (pretty much like an OS for your PC) that has been ported to several portable media devices. Sansa is one of those devices. What Rockbox does for you? It does about anything the community desires it to do, as long as it is possible within the device's capabilities, and as long as there are people working on it. Yes, it does have support for games, but that is just one of the many features. It has both file and ID3 tag browsing, images, video, FM radio and voice recorder, a Gameboy and Gameboy Color emulator, other games (as already mentioned), calculator, text viewer and editor, appearance customization features, equalizer, and many, many more things. Rockbox is being updated all the time with new features, bug fixes, etc. Every feature is tested first, until they have made sure that it works without problems and doesn't affect the performance of your player negatively. If you can program for Rockbox, then you can create your own application. A calendar is being worked on, for example. Since Rockbox is open source, the possibilities of it doing what you want it to do are there; you just need the help of a developer. If there's enough interest in it, it will most likely be included sooner or later.

I have a Sansa e240 with Rockbox as main firmware. In my experience, it was very easy to install. I did have my doubts about it in the beginning, and scared of doing something to damage my device permanently, decided to uninstall it again. Some days after that, I went back to it. Now I am very satisfied. The experience with Rockbox is really great. It is true that some things are missing. The Sansa's original firmware is easier to get used to, as it is simpler and has less features. Rockbox is for those who love to customize and make their personal players different from the rest. So if you are from the brave ones, Rockbox might be for you. Just make sure that you have read the manual and followed instructions. It is very important that you do so, to keep your Sansa safe. The Rockbox website, wiki and forums are very helpful, and there's an entire community dedicated to this project. That is another great aspect of Rockbox.

Anyway, enough of that. I just wanted to express how happy I am with my Rockboxed Sansa. I love Sansa, but I love Rockbox, too. :)

I invite you to try Rockbox if you ever feel that you want more than what the current official firmware offers.

Proud Rockbox'd Sansa User <3

As a long term user of Rockbox on the Sansa e250 I can only agree. It is Rock (!) stable, fast, much easier to use than the original firmware and has so many extra benefits in functionality it is impossible to list.

When I first bought my Sansa, I ordered a 2Gb MicroSD card to pop in. After loading up about 1.5Gb of songs on the card and 1Gb of podcasts on the internal memory, I was VERY upset to find the Sandisk firmware took forever to boot up. The database refresh was the problem. I nearly sold the Sansa on eBay, but then saw Rockbox - tried it and wow! What a difference it has made.

My favorite features are:
1. Lightening boot-up speed
2. Can be set to boot up resuming exactly what I was in the middle of listening when I last turned it off (very very Podcast friendly option!)
3. Can copy, paste, delete files to and from any location on the device.
4. Many of the standard functions can be controlled without looking at the screen - I use this in the car through an fm transmitter link and I don't want to keep looking at the screen to skip or fast forward etc. Try doing that with an iPod Touch!!

I just wish there were a workable PC-based interface. None of the playlists I create with either WinAmp or WindowsMediaPlayer work in Rockbox, and the Playlist functions in the Rockbox firmware are waaaay too kludgey to use. It would sure be nice to have a PC-based function where you could create playlists and drop them in, or manipulate them directly on the Sansa...

No, I've been using the latest version of WinAmp. (I really dislike Windows Media Player, but I think I have version 10.)