Well, as promised, here's some pics of the final build:

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1802/mp3incarij6.jpg

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/6928/mp3sdcardaccessml6.jpg

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9726/mp3frontaf0.jpg

Hope you like it!

Thanks for the overview.... This kit is pretty much perfect for what I want... I had (had, of course being the opperative word) one of those MP3 players made by "cheap Chinese labor" that didn't last a whole year before certain critical parts started breaking off the board (headphone jack, volume up switch), and decided to try building my own with REAL components, instead of those cheap, crappy surface-mounted pieces of crap, and came upon this kit.

Even though it has one or two SMD components, the headphone jack can be fixed by carefully drilling the board (I'm making a custom case for this thing out of a bakelite Dual-Gang wall box with a brass plate for the main cover, and a hole in the side to allow easy access for the SD card (I'll have a hinged door made of brass covering it when I don't need to get at the SD card. The top plate will be drilled and stamped for all the switches for volume control, power on, etc.

I'll try to post pics when I'm done. :)

P.S. I'm an experienced electronics technician who is currently studying to become an electronics engineering technologist.

Now if they were to make the case look like an old timey pocketwacth, and replace the locket chain with a watch chain and fob, THEN they'd definitely be on to something (I mean that thing is the PERFECT size for a pocketwatch camera... It would go along with the Pocketwatch PDA that this one guy on the steampunk forums is making).