8GB Ipod clones - what are these?

[sensei]

I'm the proud owner of a bunch of Ipod clones (very, very close in appearance) that actually do format as 8GB and seem to work 'ok'. I'm wondering what they really are and if there's a market for them at all?

Pictures: green is clone, silver is genuine

Photos

They have actual ipod markings on them and came in real cases - the sticker colors don't match though and the cases are obviously recycled.

Only noticeable difference is the tiny screw on back, small 'ipod' sticker on front, click wheel does not fully function (no spin) and it has different software, FM radio and voice recorder. Also it seems as if it only plays AMV video format but does play mp3s, woohoo.

Thanks,
Sensei

[lolita]

It seems to use Actions chipset.

[booboo773]

First, did you just format them using the option on the computer? If so, I would format using the instructions that lattesurf provided here: How To: Removing Memory Hack. Only then can you be certain. I formatted mine using the computer tools and it still showed the hacked memory.

Second, AMV files are definitely losing popularity, but there is always a market for anything that looks like an iPod.

The 8GB size puts me off though. It just screams memory hack to me.

[sensei]

Thank you but every download link for the utilities is dead. Is there a less common name for the program? Searching google for 'mp3 utilities' brings up millions of unrelated hits.

[booboo773]

Hi, try this one. http://www.mympxplayer.org/dload.php...ad&file_id=798

If that doesn't work, did you players come with any discs? They usually come with a CD that contains the utilities, AMV converter, etc. If you're planning on selling these players, you really need the utilities to go with them.

[sensei]

They each came with a little black bag (w/ the apple logo on them). Inside is a USB wall charger adapter and a tiny CD. The CD has a bunch of programs on it - some of which my virus scanner alerted on as adware. I'll have to load up a vmware image and see what each program does. I may open one of the players up and see what chip it's based on also.

I heard there's a firmware which looks very close to ipod - If so I'll probably upgrade them prior to selling. What would these go for based on the amount of memory? I'll let you know if they've been hacked, I'm guessing they have.

[booboo773]

First off, do NOT upgrade the firmware. You will end up with bricked players. I do believe you can theme the menus to look closer to iPods, but upgrading will cause you nothing but a headache.

How much they will go for depends on the actual memory. After you find out, I would check out eBay and some other places like http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.318

They have some 1GB and 2GB 3rd generation players. This should give you a pretty good idea of a price.