IT Blog Today

My Linux Eee PC netbook was able to see the Clip right away from the USB. Oddly, my Windows XP machines at work and home would not recognize the Clip from the File Explorer. Because it wouldn't see it, it wouldn't battery charge either. (I almost considered returning it at this point.) Cruising around some SanDisk forums, there was a suggestion to power on the Clip, put it on Hold, hold down the middle button, and plug it back into the USB port of the PC. XP saw it right away. Thank goodness, I really like this MP3 player, especially since I have no interest in getting my music through iTunes.

This is a great little MP3 player with impressive sound, long battery life and an easily navigated menu.

Pros:
* SMALL but still has a nice display
* Lightweight, the armband almost ways as much as it does
* GREAT sound
* Loaded with features
* Rechargeable battery with great life
* Playlists come straight in from Media Player - woohoo!

Cons:
* Menu structure could be improved
* The earphone jack should be on the other side of the player
* Display colors are not my personal favorite... (is this even a valid complaint?)

With the Sansa Clip you get awesome bang for your buck. The size is just fantastic, and the fact that it is so light weight, you can clip it to your shirt sleeve and not worry about loosing it. The sound on this is truly impressive as well.

In the Gym: this thing is a gem. I forget that it is on my arm. I would recommend getting a silicone case for it to make it stay put, the player is smooth and slick and will 'jump' off of the armband if it gets bumped right. I bought this and it works great:
Durable Flexible Black Silicone Skin Case + Adjustable Sports Armband For SanDisk Sansa Clip

On the Plane: it shines again. I have a pair of Sennheiser over-the-ear style studio headphones and to hear the audio through those you would think you had just plugged into a home theater system. I made if from Utah to Kuwait on one battery charge and still had about half the battery left! My only complaint on the plane would be the colors on the display - it's bright and the colors are too 'neon-glitz' for me...

I've read on Amazon where reviewers talk about how fragile the Sansa Clip player is, and this is simply not the case. It is 'light', which is not synonymous with 'cheap' or 'fragile'. I have dropped my player on hard surfaces several times with no problems. Remember, this is a flash memory player, not your old-school hard drive iPod...

My 2 true complaints about this player are the placement of the headphone jack and the playlist in the menu. Seems to me that most people will wear MP3 players on their left arms - sport headphones with offset chords are offset to the left side. So knowing this why Sandisk puts the audio jack on the OPPOSITE side of the player is beyond my comprehension. As far as the menu goes, it is easy to navigate, but in my opinion once you enter into the music section I think the selection for playlists should be on the first screen, not two screens down. It just adds to my scrolling more than I care for during a run...

In the end, the complaints are easily swallowed up by the positives of this player. It is not perfect, but it easily earns 5 stars considering the size, sound quality and price point.

(for a good sport headphone to pair up with this, check out these: Sennheiser PMX70 Sport Line Stereo Neckband Headphones)

I use my Sansa Clip almost exclusively for listening to audiobooks. I also use the Clip's FM radio to listen to NPR Morning Edition. It is very easy to use. Easy to download audiobooks from Netlibrary, easy to listen to them, easy to delete them when I'm finished. The sound is great and the battery life surprised me favorably. Very important for audiobooks is the automatic bookmark feature - so long as you put your downloads in the Audiobook Folder, the player automatically keeps your place.

I used to own a Creative Zen V and I find the Sansa Clip a much better product. The Clip is smaller and easier to use. The Clip's battery life is better. The Zen's FM radio had such poor reception, it was unusable; the Clip's FM reception is very good. I often had to reset the Zen and had serious quality / reliability issues with the Zen. No such issues with the Clip so far.