Sansa Clip - Reviews?

[melodyh40]

Hi!

I've had my H320 for nearly 3 years and love it! Problem is, it's pretty tough to jog with! So, I'm looking for a small flash drive to fulfill this need. I stumbled across some reviews of the Sansa Clip 2GB. It looks like just what I need! What do you think? Anyone out there have one? Do you know where a person could get one? Do they sell any cool accessories for them? I live in Canada (so it will take about 2 years to get up here), but my mother and father in law are heading to Minnesota in a couple of weeks and, barring other recommendations, I may get them to buy me one.

Or, is there another flash drive 1 or 2 GB that can compete with it in size, battery life, sound quality? I'm NOT interested in an Ipod!

Thanks in advance!

[melodyh40]

Bump...

Did I do this right? I've read the "What does Bump Mean?" thread (HILARIOUS!) and hope that I've captured the essence... : )

They leave soon and I want to put my order in if it's worth it! Thanks!

[BBD]

I'm a bit surprised at the lack of responses (esp. by ME! ), but your thread went unnoticed it seems. Apologies as we're usually more than eager to share opinions....

I have a Sansa e280 and love it. Very good sound Q (nearly as good as my sadly-retired H320 and my new (cr)Apple iPod Classic) and by all account the Clip's sound Q is even better.

Seriously.... $40 (USD) is cheap enough to take a chance anyway, as long as it has the features you want/need. (Unless yer bustin' into that kid's college fund to finance your DAP habit.... )

BBD

[coreman]

I love my 2Gb E250...have a few minor complaints but sound quality isn't one of them...go for it!!

[ShyAnne]

Originally Posted by BBD

Apologies as we're usually more than eager to share opinions....

Now there's an understatement. (ahem)

Melody40, sure get yourself a Sansa! Based on the good reports here I rec'd a Sansa E-series to a relative buying a first mp3 player for her son. He originally wanted an iPod Nano like all the other kids, but wanted radio for occasional sports-listening. Turns out he loves the Sansa and greatly appreciates it's expanded features over the iPod with no need to carry extra accessories. (Not to mention his Mom was happy with no need to buy those extra accessories. )

BTW ... that is one cute baby!

[Mike]

Likewise based on the review I read, seems nice, especially at that pricepoint (1gb, $40; 2gb, $60). And with extras: fm radio, record capability, EQ settings, etc. Coming out now, and likely that accessories will follow as with other Sansa players. Comes with a removable clip.

[melodyh40]

Thanks for all your advice! One thing worries me, though... Mike says that "accessories will follow" - does that mean there are no accessories now? In particular, I read that the Sansa Clip does not come with an AC adapter. Can you use a generic one, if Sansa doesn't make one? Or, does Sansa sell one for one of the other players that will work with the Clip? I never had any luck charging my H320 with the USB cable. The reason that this worries me is that I live in Canada and find it hard to get stuff from the US (without paying my son's college tuition <BBD!> in shipping!).

Thanks again!

[coreman]

I would suggest you contact Sansa and ask if you can recharge the Clip with a USB wall adapter.

I use one for my (3) Sansa E200 2Gb players rather than the computer USB. It was another "feature" that I really liked...the USB wall adapter I bought was a cheap one, ~$5USD ($5 CAD now!).

I like the E200 so much I got one for my daughter (she's allowed a MP3 player in her school but iPods are stolen so often that I won't allow her to carry to school), one for my son and one for me (for traveling, instead of my slightly bulky H120).

Have you considered the E200 at all? You can buy cases that attach to arm for workouts...it is quite small (in my opinion) and I know it recharges from USB wall adapter.

Good luck!

[BBD]

Originally Posted by coreman

Have you considered the E200 at all? You can buy cases that attach to arm for workouts...it is quite small (in my opinion) and I know it recharges from USB wall adapter.

I have a Kroo silicone case I got from this site right here along with an armband. Excellent quality, great price ($12 USD, IIRC) and the owner of this site--jeff--is an excellent e-tailer.....

Mind the cheerleading....

[melodyh40]

Thanks! I did talk to Sandisk (she said "I can't speak to that" a whole lot!), but I did get some info. Turns out that the reason no one has the Clip yet is that it hasn't been released yet! I thought it was out in the US but it does not get released until the end of the month. There are NO accessories for it, and no AC charger made by Sandisk will work with it. USB is the only way to charge, but she assured me that since the player is only 2.0V, it should work fine (???). The best news is that it is supposedly being released in Canada at the same time (and worldwide, actually). Coreman, I'm pretty impressed that you know that the Canadian dollar is virtually par right now! I dealt with one Ebay vendor who didn't know what type of currency we use in Canada (as in, DOLLARS?). But, I digress... I'm going to check out the E200, particularly if Jeff can set me up...

You guys/girls ROCK! Have a great evening!

[Mike]

And actually, I saw at the Sandisk site, I believe, a couple of references to "works with _____ (not included)," including with reference to the ability to use AC power with the player. I took that to mean that these accessories ultimately would come out. There was something else beyond AC power. And I think it very likely that 3rd party companies will come out with silicon cases as they have with other Sansa players. Remember, again, that the player comes with its removable clip as well.

edit: Found the references, in the user manual (available at the Sandisk website): they are to the ability to charge the player using an AC adapter USB port or car adapter USB port. This doesn't force the conclusion that Sandisk will come out with them, but that the ability to use the adapters is there.

[Step666]

Sandisk doesn't need to say whether it will work with USB AC adaptors or not because, by definition, they are designed to mimic the voltage and current output by a USB port, which means that any device that charges via USB will also charge via a USB AC adaptor - except in very strange cases like the original Clix.

[Mike]

And so that means, I guess, that one doesn't have to wait for a Sandisk AC or car adapter but simply can purchase any AC or car adapter which allows one to plug in a USB cable, huh?

[Step666]

Yes.
Plainly and simply, yes. It has to, be definition.

A USB port outputs, IIRC, 500mA, 5V - any USB AC adaptor will, therefore output the same. So, if a player is designed to charge via USB, it will also charge via a USB AC adaptor.
It's no different to buying, say, an after-market/third-party charger for a mobile phone, or an iPod, or whatever.

Of course, there will always be some cheap charger that faultily outputs too much current or too high a voltage or something like that, so there is a slight risk. But probably no more than the risk of an official AC adaptor malfunctioning and frying your DAP.

[melodyh40]

OK - time for me to show my true technoidiot colours...

Step, are you saying that if I purchase the Clip, I can purchase any aftermarket AC wall adapter that has a USB end on it and it will work and be safe for my player (barring, of course, the el cheapo defective ones)? They told me at Sandisk that the Clip takes 2.0V. Does that mean that the voltage gets "reduced" to that from the wall so as not to fry the DAP?

Thanks in advance for dumbing it down for me...

[Step666]

I don't know what Sandisk mean by 'it takes 2V' because a USB port outputs 5V.
Let me put it this way - if an AC-USB adaptor was going to fry it due to a difference in voltage then so would plugging it into any USB port, which clearly isn't the case.

And, yes, any AC adaptor with a USB port on it is merely acting as a converter to give you a USB port that's separate from a computer.
It should be identical - apart, obviously, from the fact you can't transfer data across it...


However, I'm going to be a bit of a git at this point and say that should you follow my advice and your Clip dies, I accept no blame. That anything you do, you do so yourself knowing that it's your responsibility.
But, that aside, if I had a Sansa Clip, I'd buy an AC-USB adapter.




edit: in the user manual, it says:

'You can charge your Sansa® player through the USB port of your computer, a car adapter (not included) USB port, or AC adapter (not included) USB port.'

and

'The battery can also be charged using an AC adapter (not included) or a car adapter (not included) and you will be able to play your device while charging with one of the adapters.'

So, yeah, I'm certain it'll be fine with an adaptor.

[melodyh40]

Thanks, Step! I have also read the manual and I guess the confusing part to me was whether the AC adapter (not included) USB was proprietary or not. Since Sandisk is not releasing one expressly for the Clip, it's good that the adapter is NOT proprietary and I can purchase a (high quality) generic one.

Originally Posted by Step666

However, I'm going to be a bit of a git at this point and say that should you follow my advice and your Clip dies, I accept no blame. That anything you do, you do so yourself knowing that it's your responsibility.
But, that aside, if I had a Sansa Clip, I'd buy an AC-USB adapter.

Awww, man, there went all my plans for a huge lawsuit!

Oh, and a "git"? I'm thinking that's synonymous with, what, a "party pooper"?

[BBD]

Thanks to Urbandictionary.com, I think this is pretty good, especially 3 & 4:

Git

1. A completely ignorant, childish person with no manners.
2. A person who feels justified in their callow behaviour.
3. A pubescent kid who thinks it's totally cool to act like a moron on the internet, only because no one can actually reach through the screen and punch their lights out.
4. See also "BBD" and Step666"

[Step666]

'Git' is, in the classical sense, a word used to describe a weasel-y sort of a person who refuses to take on any responsibility.

[melodyh40]

WOW! DAP advice AND a vocabulary lesson too! You guys should up the subscription rate!

[Step666]

And there was me thinking that my striking series of nude self-portraits would be more than enough to do that...

[BBD]

My assless chaps alone are enough, I think......