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(More customer reviews)BACKGROUND: I was in the market for a small MP3 player with primary usage at the gym. I was looking for a rechargeable unit as my previous player ate AAA batteries about every week or so. I considered three options of which the Sansa Clip was one of them. I eliminated the iPod Shuffle due to its cost and lack of display. The other primary contender was the Creative Zen Stone Plus (I rejected the non-Plus model due it its lack of display). I will reference how the Sansa Clip won out throughout the rest of the review.
SET UP: The Sansa Clip is about as simple as it gets in this area. It requires no additional software installation. My home system runs XP SP2 with Windows Media Player 11. When I plugged the player in to charge, it was detected and recognized automatically. I told windows to "Take No Action" as the default behavior when the device connects. This allows me to maintain complete control over the syncing process. My unit charged in about an hour.
MUSIC TRANSFER: You have the option of using simple drag and drop of MP3 files to the device as you would a USB flash drive. However, using Windows Media Player allows you the more advanced feature of playlists. Since I primarily use my MP3 player at the gym, I created multiple playlists for warm up, workout, and cool down. The workout lists are about 90 minutes while the others about 20 minutes. I really liked that I was able to create multiples of each for variety. Right now I have three of each with about 1.5 Gb still remaining to use as I please. Using Windows Media Player, you can sync albums, songs, or playlists as you would with any other device. The Sansa Clip fully supports all of these options so it is a nice low effort, highly functional set up.
SOUND QUALITY: This is an area where the Sansa Clip is pretty impressive. I previously had the Sansa M230, and I can tell a significant difference in sound quality. I am able to hear a lot more detail in the higher ranges (such as high hat cymbals). I am using the headphones that came with the unit, but I would image that higher quality headphones would sound even better. The player also has a series of preset equalizer settings for different music styles as well as one that you can customize.
DISPLAY: This is a distinguisher between the Clip and the Zen Stone Plus. The display is larger and easier to read. The mix of blue and yellow against the black background is also pleasant.
NAVIGATION: The Clip has a normal four button dial that is common to most small MP3 players. With the crisp, clear display it is easy to move around and select music by artist, album, song, or playlist. The only thing that I have noticed that doesn't work quite the way I would like is that if you navigate away from the song that is playing there doesn't seem to be a way to get back to it to see the details of what's playing. This is pretty minor, though, because I do not regularly navigate away from the song that is playing.
FM RADIO: This is about what you would expect from a unit with no external antenna. Strong signals come in clearly, but it is not going to match what you can pick up on your car stereo. This is a nice to have feature for me so it is plenty adequate.
OPTIONS: As I mentioned previously, my primary usage comes at the gym. I had used the song timer to measure the time between reps while lifting weights on my M230. However, the Clip has a power saving feature that shuts off the display after 15 seconds by default. However, you can change this to 30, 45, 60, or 90 seconds which should cover your needs. After adjusting mine, I wake up the display after completing a set. When the display shuts off, it's time for the next set.
USE ON THE GO: This is the other area where the Clip separates itself from the Zen Stone Plus. You can clip the player to your clothes or an arm strap (I use the one that came with my M230). The Zen Stone Plus requires purchase of a separate armband accessory for an additional $15.
COST: At base price, the Zen Stone Plus and Sansa Clip are a push. However if you factor in another $15 for an armband you have a clear winner given the other advantages.
CONCLUSION: The Sansa Clip is now the leader in 2 Gb small MP3 players. Give it a spin and you won't be disappointed.
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SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player (Black) Product Description
Sansa® Clip 2 GB MP3 Player
Clip it on and roll For the movers and the shakers who want to shed the baggage of a bigger MP3 player—it’;s time to get the skinny on the Sansa® Clip player. Offering five colors to choose from, this lightweight MP3 player delivers major sound for its matchbox size, and storage capacity of up to 2GB*. And with its smart design, you can clip your Sansa® Clip player to your bag, pants or sleeves, allowing you to enjoy all the perks of an MP3—hands-free.
Listen Keep up to 1,000*** songs at the ready wherever you go. Or tune into FM radio for news and fresh music anytime.
Record With the built-in microphone, you can record memos, lectures or all those unexpected, mic-worthy moments throughout your day. When you're ready, transfer your files to your PC for listening and sharing.
Get together The Sansa® Clip player plays MP3, WMA, secure WMA and Audible file formats. Connect via USB cable to your computer for charging or synchronizing.
Sort it out A compact MP3 player with a screen, the Sansa® Clip player makes navigation simple, so you can sort your music, FM stations and audio books ease.
So what's in the box? Sansa® Clip MP3 player, Clip accessory, USB 2.0 transfer cable, earphones, promotional inserts, and quick start guide.
* 1 gigabyte (GB) =1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage. ** Based on continuous playback at 128kbps; actual life and performance may vary depending upon usage and settings; battery not replaceable. *** Approximation based on 4-minute songs at 128kbps.
Choose Sansa®, a smarter way to play Sansa® products are brought to you by SanDisk, the minds behind flash memory. Around the world, wherever people take pictures, listen to music, use cell phones—or do much of anything at all with digital devices—you’;ll probably find SanDisk products. Maybe that’;s why, after more than 20 years in the business, SanDisk has never stopped innovating.
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