Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player Blk
Product Description
SanDisk (SDMX11R-008GK-A57) Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player. Black
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Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player Blk
- Electronics: 0 pages
- Publisher: SanDisk
- Label: SanDisk
- Studio: SanDisk
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 6 reviews
- Sales Rank in Electronics: #2896
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Avg. Customer Review:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best ultra-portable player there is 2009-01-05
Comment: I'll spare you a long review. The other reviewers here have done a fine job of letting you know everything necessary to make an informed purchase... I just want to add to the list of HIGHLY satisfied customers. This is a great MP3 player. Best for the price, best for the size, and probably the best sound on any MP3 (not to mention OGG and FLAC) player available. This Sansa sounds AMAZING on my Sennheiser earbuds or my Audio-Technica ATH-A700s. If you are on the fence, buy it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Throw your iPod shuffle out the window. 2008-12-30
Comment: It's hard to say anything that hasn't already been said. This little player offers 8 gigabytes of memory, supports tons of formats including .OGG, a superbly readable OLED screen, an FM tuner/recorder, a voice recorder, it's about the size of two postage stamps, and it has excellent sound quality with the built in equalizer.
Basically it fixes everything that's wrong with the iPod shuffle and it's cheaper.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Sansa Clip 8GB - The Smaller Ones Still Rock, But This One Is a Keeper! 2008-12-25
Comment: Sansa's 8GB Clip MP3 Player came out about a month ago, right after I bought several extra 4GB Sansa Clips during Black Friday's holiday sales. I already have two I still have and use from the many I have bought, many of which have been given as gifts. I knew that the larger size was coming out, but wasn't sure if I would pull the trigger based upon the list price. After all, about $30 to $40 more gets you an 8 GB Zune or Sansa Fuze. (I already have a Zune, but that's another story). Yet even though I couldn't really find this on sale, I ended up pulling the trigger near the list price anyway. Why? Because this guy is the best compact MP3 player that includes a voice recorder out there, and I have found that no matter what capacity player I buy I will always end up needing more space. All of the other great features are still here, and with this added capacity even the higher price isn't enough to deter me from adding this to my MP3 player family.
This is still one of my favorite MP3 designs. As far as I could tell, little of the basic design has been changed relative to the smaller capacity units. There are more color and size options now in the smaller capacity, though this black one is the only option in 8 GB that I have seen. While the product picture makes this black version look the same as the 1 GB black players, it is actually shinier akin to the silver version.
This unit will come down in price, as all the models do eventually. It's still a great value at any capacity. For quick music play-lists this is one of the better optinos, and for the voice recording feature I think this is still THE best option at least of the ones I own. The other added features, like a screen, FM Tuner, and more, make this compact player much more feature-rich than the similarly sized iPod Shuffle. The iPod Shuffle is a little bit more durable though, or at least it was till they got rid of the metal body. Still, the point is the same: even with the cons it's hard to argue against how great this player is.
With sizes for MP3 players growing, buying the largest size you can is probably a good option. You can definitely get better value looking at the smaller capacity 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB units, but this guy gives you a little more capacity to grow into. After all, these super compact players are not expandable. So you can try to get the biggest you can find, or be like me and just buy extras whenever they go on sale. Then keep one for recording, one for your workouts, one for commuting ... you get the picture.
Being able to drag and drop your music is a big convenience, and another strong plus in this player's favor. Check out the pros and cons.
PROS:
+ Nice new capacity gives you room to grow
+ Very Good combination of features, design and value
+ Decent sound quality for a small MP3 player
+ Nice capacity for a decent price
+ Very light-weight
+ FM tuner with 40 presets!!!
+ Voice recording
+ Nice design and color options
+ Nice format compatibility (MP3, DRM WMA, WMA, Audible, etc)
+ 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
+ Great 15 - 20 hour battery life is better than Creative Zen Stone Plus or iPod Shuffle
CONS
- Newer shiny body does attract fingerprints and smudges more, so invest in a silicon cover
- Slightly larger body than the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod shuffles
- Some durability questions linger
- Like most of these mini-players, the capacity is not expandable
- More low cost options and competing feature rich players make it less of a slam dunk
- Still priced near the list price, so less of a value than the smaller capacity units
- Included buds will not be enough for most people (almost not worth mentioning, but just be aware of it)
The new Sandisk Sansa Clip may not be as durable as the iPod shuffle, but it still has the advantages of the iPod shuffle with some of the features and benefits of other MP3 player brands. Unlike the Sansa Fuze which has a screen for video, this guy is really meant for audio only. The trade-off is really in the smaller size and integrated clip. The Fuze, iPod Nano, and Zune are all pretty small too and include a video feature. So if you think you really need video, you will want to look to some of those units.
The Clip is a little bigger than the iPod shuffle, but not by much. It has a great feel and a nicer clip. It's perfect for a starter MP3, workout unit, or gift. And now with the added capacity, you can really use this for recording meetings and other such things more than the prior models.
The rechargable battery appears to have been improved a little. It always seemed better than the Creative Zen Stone Plus. The earbuds are passable for beginners but most people will replace them. Check out the skull-candy's for a cheap alternative
I definitely recommend the larger size, especially if you can get it on sale. For those needing more space, Sony, iPod and Zune units are available at 16 GB and up. All of those units have higher price tags.
You may even want to check out the SanDisk Sansa View 16 GB MP3 Player.
CONCLUSION
The trade-offs between size and features are getting more difficult. For those who use the recording and need a smaller size, this deserves consideration. Even for music only this is still compelling, but you may want to widen your search to include those other models as prices fall. This is a great starter unit for yourself or to give as a gift. Hopefully the new batches have improved durability. The same great features are all here that will keep this design around for a while.
Enjoy!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Exercise MP3 Player 2008-12-19
Comment: I needed a new MP3 player. I had originally used a 1st gen iPod Shuffle, but really disliked not having a screen to help navigate the device. I decided against another iPod because I dislike how Apple doesn't support older iPod accessories whenever they come out with a new model. So my search began for my first Windows Media Player MP3 device.
I looked at multiple devices, including the Creative Zen, Sony Walkmans, and even the Sansa Fuze. All are excellent players and deserving of hard consideration if you want a non-Apple player. The Creatives and Walkman boast a reputation for excellent audio quality out of the box, as well as intuitive GUI's. And the Fuze is a lot of player for not a lot of money.
However, I chose the 8gb Clip. The player works perfectly as an exercise companion: it's lightweight, holds quite a few songs, and sports surprising audio depth with the right aftermarket headphones (I bought Koss KE295 noise cancellation earbuds, and they sound wonderful).
I decided against the Creative products upon reading that their music-loading software is difficult to use. With the Clip, its either Windows Media Player 11, or even simpler, dragging and dropping through Windows Explorer. The only reason I nixed the Fuze was that I didn't think I'd ever want to watch videos on a portable device (one big point in the Fuze's favor, however, is the port for a MicroSD card, making it a tough choice for me).
Anyways, the Clip's GUI is a blue and yellow OLED, and quite bright in low light levels. It's a bit small, but still legible and reasonably attractive. Getting to your music, FM radio, microphone, etc., is easy and intuitive. If you ever get into some weird submenu, simply hit the 'Home' button to return to the main screen. Great feature. The clip on back is removable, and has a strong spring hinge. Clipped to a waistband, it feels like nothing at all, which is great when wearing lightweight exercise shorts. The dedicated volume rocker on the side of the player is quite handy as well.
The Sansa Clip can be summed up for me in one word: surprising. The amount of features you get for the price point is quite impressive. The unit seems fairly sturdy overall, BUT this is my second 8gb Clip. I returned the first to the big box store I bought it from when I discovered that both the power and volume buttons on either side of the unit were quite loose and rattled with little motion. Fearing a hardware failure, I got a new one and it seems to be much tighter than the first.
I still wonder if my choosing the Clip over the Fuze was a prudent one; if the Clip had expandable memory than there would be no contest. But all in all, this is a fairly inexpensive model that gives you quite a few options to fool around with. Its a solid choice for joggers, bikers, anybody who exercises. And its so small and discreet, it would never be in the way tucked in a pant's pocket for everyday use. Plus the sound quality cannot be overemphasized. Check one out and see what the Clip can do for you.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hands down, one of the best mp3 devices out there for the money 2008-12-08
Comment: Hands down the best mp3 device for the money out there.
With 8 gigs at roughly 80 bucks, how can you not get this? I agree with the other reviewer. This device is an audiophiles dream. For me, personally, this is also a dream for Audiobook lovers. For once, a device gets bookmarking perfect. Sansa really knocked it out of the park with this one. Plays Audible files perfectly, with bookmarking and chapters. Additionally, if you don't go through Audible or have your own Audiobooks, just drop the mp3's in the bookmark folder, and they are bookmarkable. I previously owned the e280, and it did not have bookmarking at all. With the help of Rockbox ([...]), I was able to get bookmarks and a ton of added features, but even then, I was not happy with the bookmarking implementation. I am happy now with Sansa's own Firmware. Additionally, in the past, people like me would opt to install Rockbox because the original firmware was junk, or lacked something like bookmarking. This is the best bookmarking implementation I have seen aside from Apple's Ipod (which is pretty good in my opinion for Audible and m4b files). For once, I do not have to tinker with a device, although Rockbox should be portable to this device soon from what I hear. I think the firmware that comes with it does everything you need for such a small device, and does it awesome. I would recommend this to anyone, and since they are so cheap, have already bought several. I own the 8gb, the 4gb, and the 1gb. This is also the perfect workout device. If you are on the edge about getting something like the Shuffle for working out, skip it and get this. It has more features, more space, and has the clip that you can clip on to your shirt or wherever you want. The Shuffle does have a good build quality, but it is way overpriced, and it terms of features -- this blows it out of the water. Like the shuffle, it is perfect for working out.
Pros:
For me -- Top One -- Very Workout Friendly, On The go, friendly.
For Me -- Top one -- Bookmarking feature.
I know I go on about this a lot, but for years and years and years, the device makers, aside from Apple's Ipod, never really put much attention into a good bookmarking feature. Even Sansa's e280 was complete garbage. For audiobook lovers, this was a critical feature, espescially if you have a large library from a site like Audible. Sansa got it right with this device.
(Note: The Old Rio Players had it from the start and did it well, but I think the company went bust and they are no longer being made ... I think.)
Supports Audible, Rhapsody, Overdrive, and I think a a couple of other services
Multiple file formats (mp3, flac, ogg, wav ... I think a couple others, but not sure?)
Built in Radio ... not that I use it a lot, but it is nice from time to time. One can also record songs from the radio and then copy them to the computer.
Built in recorder ... Don't use it often, but is great when my digital audio recorder runs low on battery or if I am in a bind.
Clip ... the clip allows you to clip it to a shirt or pants while working out or wherever
Sound Quality ... Awesome. Literally. I am not an audiophile, so I am not an expert, but this is a good sounding player
Screen ... yes, it has a screen, and when you compare it to its chief rival, the Apple Shuffle, this is a big plus
Space ... 8 gigs for such a tiny thing ... what are you waiting for?
Adapater ... mini USB ... no strange connector.
Charger ... usb or a usb outlet charger. I just use my GPS charger, works fine.
MTP or MSC support ... big plus -- you can you a program like Rhapsody or just drag and drop like a Flash drive. I hate Itunes, although I live with it for my Ipod 120 gb, because I haven't seen anything as good, aside from this, at bookmarking. This is great if your on the go, deal with a mac at work, a PC at home, and other computers at friends or girlfriends houses. Plug it in anywhere.
Support ... Sansa has thrown a lot of support and updates to this device, I'm guessing, due to its popularity. There are numerous software updates that fix problems with the device. You would think this would be a given for all devices, but for some makers it takes forever to update a critical problem.
Cons ...
Control ... pretty simple, but people with bigger fingers may find it a little more difficult
Build ... the build overall is good, and I have dropped mine a ton of times, and they are still kicking, but it does feel fragile. But what can you expect for so many features and such a lot price? I've handled the new Nano from Apple, and that is probably a lot more fragile than this.
No video, but really, is this a con? Who is a going to watch on such a small screen.
In sum, perfect workout device, or on the go device where you don't want bulk. Has all the features one could want for an on the go device and does them great.
Five stars.
Note: the USB cable that comes included isn't that great for some reason. Don't bother using it. Use a cable that you probably already have or get one for 5-10 bucks. In my experience, it seemed to have problems connecting sometimes, and then at other times, it wouldn't show up at all. Most likely you already have a spare one, but if not, most stores carry them now.
Note: I usually don't write reviews, but I felt compelled to provide a little bit more detail because this is such an awesome device and some of the questions I had when I first bought one were out there but not in as much detail as I would have hoped. So hopefully this is helpful. This review is coming from a person who primarily cares about audiobooks/podcasts/spoken word content. I care that my music sounds good, but it does not have to be perfect. This device sounds great to me.
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Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player Blk
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