Converting an obsolete cell phone into a media player

[Euchre]

So I've undertaken an adventure that seems like it should have been a simple endeavor. My lady's old cell phone, an LG Optimus Fuel, is 3G CDMA only, and is about to be completely obsolete for any US network. It is pretty tiny compared to any modern smartphone, with a 3.5" screen. I figured it would make a dandy little Android media player, not unlike the iPod Touch in concept. I rooted the device, uninstalled the bit of bloatware and now useless components that I felt were safe to remove (still debating if removing the Phone app will make it go crashy), added ad blocking because root and why not. Got a max mSD card for it, all of 32gb. Well, turns out that this little thing was an easy 'root in place' device, but there are still issues with the modifications and limitations of the LG and carrier modified version of Android on it. No file manager UI I can properly summon, no 3rd party FMs allowed to write the SD card. Bluetooth doesn't quite work exactly right, as it doesn't inform other devices what it supports, so OBEX is all I can use to get files to it readily. BT transfers go to the internal storage, too, which I can not change. It only has 2gb internally, and even after the trimming back of apps and bloat, just over half that is used up by the OS and built in apps. So, here I am having to copy my music library from one system to a USB flash drive, then move them using my laptop to the SD card, so I can put it back in the 'phone'.

 

Anyone else ever undertaken such a thing? I think it is a great idea for repurposing old tech, rather than landfilling or 'recycling' it (which is often only slightly more friendly than outright landfilling your e-waste). If anyone has specific suggestions or ideas about how to make this process better, post it.