Record voice in MP3 + store RAW files + have at least 5 gig or more

[DocFrankenstein]

I am looking for a storage device.

The requirements are the following:

Large memory (internal hard drive I guess)
Must have capacity to accept and download pics from CF cards
Must record voice in mp3 format. (and ideally have a microphone jack)

Budget is around 400 bucks... maybe a bit more.

What would you recommend?

[KenE]

Archos AV420? Only 20GB drive, but meets all your requirements. I've upgraded the drive in an Archos audio recorder before, but it had more of a following, with open source OS development, etc.

[DocFrankenstein]

I've been researching them for the last 3 hours...

These archos seem to be the only ones that fit the requirements... but there are so many horror stories floating around it them, I don't know what to do.

What was yours like?

[KenE]

Mine's always worked great, but I think it's because I put the rockbox OS onto it. It does not act as a USB host so wouldn't work for this application. Upgraded the drive from 20GB to 60GB and replaced batteries with higher capacity. Very hackable- it's the Jukebox Recorder model.

See if you can find a user's forum for the 420.

[DocFrankenstein]

I found a yahoo group...

A few dedicated individuals are answering questions and helping people, but the amount of posts about the problems is alarming.

For 350 dollars... I can buy a recorder, mp3 player and a harddrive ;)

This archos may turn out to be a fun technical hobby

[Citizensmith]

For $400 you could probably pick up an old beater laptop. I bought an old Dell Latitude P2-350 for next to nothing. Added a decent hard drive and its great.