Customer Reviews

SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player - Blue

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

When looking into buying an mp3 player I had several things I wanted, but wasn't certain--at first--that I could find: Great sound...FM tuner...voice recording...screen...size...Napster compatibility and most importantly, cost. We purchased several Creative Zen Stone shuffle-type players for our daughters for Christmas convinced that they were compatible with Napster, which they are not...so we were a bit disappointed. Oh, they are fine players, but not being able to download from our Napster account was a giant negative. The girls chose to keep their Zen Stone's and download off our current cd collection.

So...the wife and I went on a search for mp3 players for us. We knew what we didn't want, but weren't sure we could get everything we wanted at a decent price. Out of the blue, we accidentally discovered the Sansa Clip and after a brief once-over, my wife and I decided this was what we've been looking for.

First, these little gem's are small. Considering all it does, it is amazingly small. Sure, it's thicker than the ipod shuffle, but the shuffle lacks quite a few of the features of the Sansa Clip--and it's STILL cheaper by not a little, either. The screen is great. MUCH better in person than I thought it would be. If you absolutely INSIST on a color screen that can also show photos and video, look elsewhere, but if you want a screen that displays quite a bit of info and is VERY easy to work with, the Sans Clip is fantastic.

At first we were afraid after opening the box that it wasn't Napster compatible, which would've been a HUGE letdown...but after some 'net surfing and investigating, we discovered this: according to Napster, the Sansa Clip is NOT on their official list of compatible mp3 players...yet. According to SanDisk, yes it IS compatible, it just hasn't been certified just yet. What WE discovered is that yes, it IS compatible and works just perfect with synching music to our players. Problem solved. If you have one yourself and you wonder the same thing, take it from me, it IS compatible -- but if it doesn't work, try it using a different computer before you write it off.

Sound quality is also a BIG deal for me. I work in radio and I have become almost annoyingly accustomed to digital quality audio, and while some people may not be bothered with this, I find it bothersome when I hear a song that is so obviously recorded from more than 10 years ago and you can hear that analog *hiss* in the background on almost all songs not digitally re-mastered. Some people either don't care or can't hear it, but for some reason I do...and with ths Sansa Clip, the quality is exceptional. One of -- if not the best I have tested.

Features that come with the Clip include the shuffle category, which I think could use some tweaking because when I put it in this mode, I hear specific songs repeat sometimes after only 3 songs have played...I want my shuffle to play all the songs randomly--but never repeat anything unless and until it has played ALL the songs stored in memory. Call me picky, but that is my only real gripe with this model.

I like how you can choose music based on genre (country, pop, rock etc) and you can rate all songs using from 1 to 5 stars...VERY convenient--after you finally have all the songs rated. It does take time to set it up, but worth it.

The voice recording is a cool feature in case you are stuck somewhere and need to write something down or save a thought you just had and you can't write it right away. VERY nice addition.

Size. For MY money, this little player is tiny. I am constantly amazed I can carry with me 500 mp3 songs in such a small package. Sure you can buy more memory mp3 players, but honestly, who listens to 5,000 songs that regularly that you have to add them to your playlist? My wife loads anything and everything, whether she just likes it a little or a lot...for me, I like to download ONLY the songs I REALLY like. I don't want to have to skip ANY song in my library--but if that isn't a problem for you, passing one song for the next is as easy as pressing the right side of the wheel on front. Voila. Easy.

The included earbuds are fine and provide decent audio quality, but never quite fit my ears all that comfortably. This is not a problem for my wife, so I guess each person must weigh this factor individually because the earbuds are NOT one size fits all, more like one size fits most. I have a pair of Phillips noise cancelling earbuds which work WONDERFUL and more than fulfills my audio eccentricities.

Finally, co$t. For the money, I think it is VERY hard to beat the features in the Sansa Clip and quality. I have yet to see a comparable name-brand mp3 player for the price that fulfills all my needs (and wants). While one may be out there, I just haven't found it personally. I am VERY happy and quite thrilled I have this little device around to help me out when I work out at the gym, go walking or just sitting around and need my tunes with me. If you are looking to make an investment in a small player with multiple features at low cost, you would be hard pressed to do better than the Sansa Clip.

The Sandisk Sansa Clip 2GB is a great value MP3 player. It has twice the capacity as the iPod Shuffle for about $50-60. It also has a screen, FM Tuner, voice recording and more. You can get the 1GB version for $35.

Pros -
+ good sound
+ nice capacity for a decent price
+ light-weight
+ FM tuner (20 Presets)
+ voice recording
+ nice design with more color options
+ Nice format compatibility (MP3, DRM WMA, WMA, Audible)
+ USB 1.1 and 2.0 connectivity
+ Can be used as a USB drive / mass storage
+ Can sync music with drag & drop or via software
+ 15 hours battery life is better than Creative Clip Plus
+ Integrated Clip means no add-on case / lanyard purchase needed!

Cons
- larger body than the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod shuffles

The new Sandisk Sansa Clip has the advantages of the iPod shuffle with some of the compatibility, feature, and price benefits of other MP3 players. Unlike the Sansa Express, which you can plug in directly into your USB port, the clip uses a standard USB B cable.

The Clip is definitely a little bigger than the iPod shuffle, but not by much. It has a great feel and a nicer clip. It is also priced VERY well for the holidays. It fills the market for a starter MP3, workout unit, or gift.

The rechargable battery seems better than the Creative Zen Stone Plus and gives you a respectable 15 hours. The sound is nice. The earbuds are passable for beginners but most people will replace them. As for durability, only time will tell; so far it's holding up nicely.

I definitely recommend the larger 2GB option. For those needing more space, you will have to explore the Creative Zen, Sandisk Sansa, Sansa View or new iPod Nano. All of those units have higher price tags.
SanDisk Sansa View 8 GB MP3 Player
SanDisk Sansa View 16 GB MP3 Player
Creative Zen 4 GB (Black)
Creative Zen 8 GB (Black)
Creative Zen 16 GB (Black)
Sandisk SDMX4-4096 Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with SD Expansion Slot
SanDisk SDMX4-8192 Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
Apple 4 GB iPod nano AAC/MP3 Player Silver (3rd Generation)
Apple 8 GB iPod nano AAC/MP3 Player Black (3rd Generation)

Overall, an awesome starter unit that deserves a try. Enjoy!!!

While it worked, this was a great product. When I purchased this product I was interested only in an mp3 player (no need for video too) and the Clip looked perfect. My Clip (blue) was used for approximately 2 - 2.5 hours per day during my lunch hour and during my workout. I purchased in mid-January and by late August the battery malfunctioned and refused to power on the player. I took a few trips around the internet to find any way to solve the problem that would not end with having to contact SanDisk's customer service. For my particular problem, warranty replacement was the only cure. It took three weeks of emails to customer service to finally get them to agree that the power issue would not be fixed by multiple downloads/installs of the latest firmware and agree to the return of my product for replacement. Then just over a week after I shipped my Clip to SanDisk I received yet another email that it would be 7 to 10 business days before I received the replacement product.

This little player was wonderful when it worked, but I won't be buying another SanDisk mp3 player, that's for sure. SanDisk customer service does not just email you, they send you an email telling you that you have received a message in your SanDisk eBox at their website and if you just follow the links you will be able to read the message and follow the appropriate customer service suggestions to repair your product. The eBox was only a slight annoyance compared to waiting days for any kind of response in the first place. And the suggestion that I repeat (three times) steps I had already taken in regard to the firmware and a soft reset and then reformatting the product got pretty annoying too.

If you buy one and it works (and keeps working) great for you. If you buy one and the battery fails, forget customer service and just buy a new product. (I went with the Creative Zen.) I expect a new Clip from SanDisk (per the warranty) to arrive soon and plan to keep it in the box. If nothing else, it's at least a pretty product.

I was about to buy the ipod shuffle, but found out it didn't have an FM radio, and it only plays MP3's. After researching several other brands and models, I decided that this was the best for me. I got an incredible surprise when put the earphones on and played some tunes on this Sandisk player! The sound quality is superb...it really depends upon the quality of the MP3 or WMA track you're listening to. It's just as good-sounding as my Zen Microphoto. The earphones that came with it are excellent-sounding...not the best, but excellent, even though the wires look a bit on the thin side.
The LCD screen is bright and very readable...I wear -1.25 reading glasses and I don't need them to see what I'm selecting. The buttons and slide switches are good quality. The clip is plastic, and spring-loaded.
The capacity of this 2 gigabyte player is rated at 1000 songs in .WMA format; less if it's MP3. I'm sure you can get more songs in, if the songs are less than 4 minutes each.

I was pleasantly surprised that even though all I did was dump all of my MP3's unsorted, the Sansa put them all in genres, albums, artists, and playlists! And about the only thing I wish this Sansa Clip had is a bigger memory.

It's smaller than a hot wheels toy car, so it's perfect for when you don't have much room when traveling. It has a built-in clip, so I place it on the back of my baseball cap when I go walking or working out.

This is a very rugged and dependable mini mp3 player. I recommend it highly.

I've owned several iPod shuffles which I originally purchased primarily for listening to audio books from Audible due to favorable reviews and its small size. Despite being able to decode DRM content from Audible, the iPod shuffle is barely adequate for listening to audio books.

The Sansa Clip is not only less expensive, but blows the iPod away in nearly every aspect except for size and weight. These are not a factor, since the clip is still extremely small and lightweight. I clip the device through a belt keeper where the controls are easy to get to and unlikely to be interfered with in my pocket. Not that it is really an issue since it is very easy to lock out the controls by sliding the power switch to lock position. The iPod can be similarly clipped but has no way of locking out its controls and occasionally a button press can cause my position to be reset to the beginning of an eight hour part.

Losing your position on the iPod is also a well documented side effect of powering the unit off even if you posit first. Even after being aware of this problem for a couple of years, Apple has done nothing about it but continues to advertise their product as being able to retain its position. The clip never loses my position, and although I generally pause the device instead of powering it off, even powering it off while it is playing works fine since it's a soft power down. The iPod power switch literally kills the power to the device. Pausing the iPod can leave it on for a long time, draining your battery, but pausing the clip causes it to power down within less than a minute which would be annoying except for the fact that this is adjustable and it boots back up within a matter of seconds.

Why is losing your position on an iPod such a problem? Well, often you have no idea how far you are into the part and even if you do fast forwarding requires holding a button down and occasionally listening for half an hour or more if you are several hours into a part. I estimate I've spent over 10 hours fast forwarding my iPod shuffles and in general I live in fear of turning the power off. Keeping track of your position in the clip is a snap since it has a display which shows both graphically and by time what your position is. Furthermore, it knows about chapter marks and also shows which chapter you're in within a part. Fast forwarding is far superior since it accelerates as you hold the button down. Unlike the iPod, you don't have to listen to snippets of sound as it fast forwards or rewinds. And also unlike the iPod, you can cause playback at slower or faster than normal speeds which can be very useful for getting back to your position or listening to poorly enunciated speech.

Just like the iPod, it will keep track of your position in multiple parts or books, but since it has a display is much easier to figure out which book you're listening to and more importantly, which part of a book you are listening to. Try that on the iPod with a seven part book when all the parts start with the exact same introduction and you'll see what I mean.

And that's not all! This device doesn't require any special software to copy content on. Just mounted as a mass storage device, like any other USB device, and manage your content with any operating system. No need to load the humongous iTunes application or deal with its bugs and poor integration with audible. There's no need to partition space between audio content and other content like there is with the iPod.

Since the device has a separate port for headphones and for USB, you can listen to it while it's charging either near an outlet or cigarette lighter adapter while driving for example. No way to do that with an iPod shuffle. I listen to audio books on weeklong fishing trips with my father, but not while the shuffle is charging. No problems, with the Sansa clip. No need to buy a proprietary charging device or run an inverter since any DC to USB charger will work just fine.

The new iPod shuffle requires special proprietary headphones and is even worse than the last one in this regard. Many people find the Apple headphones to be uncomfortable or unwearable, which is understandable, but who wants to pay for even more expensive proprietary headphones? And who wants to carry an extra set of headphones? I use the same headphones for my telephone for example and wouldn't want to carry yet another pair with me for listening to audio books.

In addition to all of these capabilities, the clip also comes with a decent radio with extremely to use presets. Sometimes I like to take a break from listening to books and it's nice to have the option of just listening to the radio in the same device. It also has a great microphone and voice recorder for taking quick notes are dictating which you can't do with the iPod. I found that it works just fine even through the very inexpensive silicon cases that are available. No need to poke a hole for the microphone. Although the case is not necessary, the clip works just fine through it and it definitely ruggedizes the light weight plastic device.

I should also mention that the volume range is great, and the graphic equalizer is also a nice plus for listening to music. You won't find such capabilities in the iPod shuffle. Just like the iPod, the battery is not serviceable and lasts for over a dozen hours on a charge. Both devices take an hour or two to recharge, seem to hold a charge for a long time, and will eventually have to be replaced if the battery wears out before you decide to upgrade.

Buying multiple of these in case one of them fails on a trip, to loan to friends, or just upgrading is a real possibility since they are significantly less expensive than Apple's offerings.

In short, I'm in love with this product and find that it excels against the iPod shuffle in nearly every way. The only thing you can't really do with it is watch video. This is actually also a benefit to the device since the screen was designed specifically for audio use which conserves power and makes it very legible due to the large font size and large viewing angle. Kudos to the engineers for building such a marvelous product and to SanDisk for making it possible at such a reasonable price. I'll be buying more of these as gifts.

This is the first MP3 player I have owned. I own 1000+ CDs, and at age 37, consider myself a bit of an audiophile. I have listened to some songs from my phone, but never took the plunge to a dedicated MP3 player. Even after a few days, I don't know why I put this off.

First, moving music to the player was remarkably easy. I just plugged it in, and the player showed up in Windows Explorer. I copied MP3s from my computer, with no specific directory/file structure to follow, and they showed up, sorted correctly by artist/album/song, etc. No extra software to use! No iTunes or WMP or Rhapsody or LockYourMusicIntoOurStore stuff!

Second, this is a fine interface. Yes, it is text-only. But that is how I always listened on my phone anyway, I scrolled through the album titles and when I found the one I wanted, I hit "play". Naturally, if you REALLY NEED to see cover art, get a different player. But if you are buying music, and not cover art (and also not little plastic disks and boxes), then get this player.

Now I have already purchased eight albums from Amazon in MP3 format, with no problems putting them onto the player. Great playback quality, easy to use. I won't go back... I can't go back...

UPDATE - October 2011 - Still love this item. The original ones purchased have held up well, and are still working perfectly. My husband has upgraded to a 4GB one (still a Sansa clip), and it's great too. No complaints after 3 years!

I first purchased a 1GB Sansa clip for my son, and loved it so much we bought a 2GB for me in pink, and 2GB for my husband in blue. Great little Mp3 player! Works great, easy to use, and couldn't be simpler to load music (and I'm not computer savvy). I can even download audio books onto it from my public library. It easily attaches to my computer for charging, and I've found that the charger for my RAZR cell phone fits this perfectly as well, if I want to plug it into the wall for charging. Battery life is great, and I love the clip. I definitely prefer this to the Ipod shuffle - for 2 reasons. It has a screen so I can choose what I want to listen to very easily, and it is compatible with my public library's audio files. Ipod isn't compatible with the library downloads.
I've used the earphones that came with it, and they are fine, but I tend to prefer the feel of another pair I already owned. My son uses the pair that was included, and has no complaints.
I've purchased albums and songs on multiple sites, and everything I've dowloaded has worked perfectly on this player. I can't say enough great things about it. My whole family loves it! Highly recommended.

This is my second SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player. I use them for Audio Books and they work terrific for this medium. They play both MP3 and WMA files. They start exactly where you left off and have an excellent fast forward, slow forward and fast rewind, slow rewind feature.

For anyone who is not a high tech expert, the SanDisk Sansa Clip MP3 player is a virtual dream. It is so easy to use and understand. And, on top of everything else, it is very affordable!

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone.

My biggest complaint with the unit since I bought it a couple of months ago is that it seems to run through the battery pretty quickly and it takes just as long to charge it as it takes to drain it. From nearly dead, I have to charge the unit overnight to get it fully charged again. And if my computer lets the screen saver come on, the unit stops charging. And because it takes longer than four hours to charge the unit, I really didn't want to go through and mess with all of the settings to keep my computer on running and out of hibernation for so long so I finally got fed up and bought a USB wall adapter to charge it from an outlet.

I will get about six hours of play time between chargings and it takes about five hours to charge it back up again. And that's with the unit brand new, I would hate to see how this performance lasts in six months to a year. And yes I followed the directions on the package to a T when it arrived.

The other problem I have with the unit is its size. It is unnecessarily small. (It's only as tall as a sharpie cap) and because there are buttons on the sides as well as the front, it can be difficult to hold and press only the buttons you want to. I'm young too, someone with arthritis or even just large hands would have a difficult time with this. Several times when I try to turn the unit off, I have trouble sliding the knob up without hitting the volume up button on the other side. Naturally the volume control takes precedence over shutting it down so I get an uncontrollable blast of sound.

The buttons are not the easiest to get the hang of either, the down button sometimes scrolls, sometimes takes you to a menu screen and navigation can be a bit frustrating but not horrific.

I will give the unit good marks when it comes to ease of adding or removing music, organization or making playlists. The sound quality is great and the price is reasonable. I would not mind the six hour battery life one bit if it took a fraction of the time to charge it back up again but since it doesn't, I would think twice about buying this unit.