SanDisk SDMX22-008G-A57K Sansa Clip Zip 8 GB (Black)
- Plays music, audiobooks, and podcasts
- FM radio and Voice Recording
- New stopwatch feature
- Plays content from nearly every source (MP3, WMA, secure WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC)
- AAC for DRM-free iTunes compatibility
Ideal for joggers, commuters, and other active music listeners, the Sansa Clip Zip delivers on-the-go music at an affordable price. This compact MP3 player is loaded with premium features, including an integrated FM radio, built in voice recorder, stop watch, and compatibility with a wide range of digital audio formats from nearly every source including AAC for DRM-free iTunes. And thanks to an innovative clip design, the player attaches easily to your clothing, so you can take it wherever you go.It may have a few sample songs on it but it is not loaded with playlists.
List Price: $ 69.99
Price: $ 59.43
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February 21st, 2012 6:28 pm
Best workout MP3 player avaialble…with some quirks,
I am a big old fat geek that recently got into doing…(GASP!)…exercising.
I have many MP3 capable products and reasons why I am very fond of this little one for my new found effort. I have the following list of products and have tried my:
Nexus S (too big and heavy for running, no physical buttons)
iPod touch 4th Gen (Big, expensive at the storage size i wanted and no buttons for music controls)
iPod Nano 4thGen (little, has a clip, but why the hell can’t they include buttons?)
iPod shuffle (not enough storage and I don’t want to mix in my metal songs from lifting weights into my up beat running songs…)
Likes:
The clip Zip sounds great, is very small, has a clip and has physical buttons.
It fits every need i want. The bonus is the MicroSD slot, I can not stress this enough. Skip the 8GB version and get the 4GB and pair it with a 16 or 32GB card. Bam 20-36GB of storage, insanely small and still clocks in under $100.
FLAC support.
Low rez color screen does what it needs to. Won’t knock people over but tells you whats playing with album art.
As for the other areas, the stop watch works like a stop watch…It keeps time and does splits. Not a huge thing and if you are using a polar watch or at a gym, the machine you are on will do just as well and be more convenient. In a pinch it works.
The FM radio works fine. I live in a rural area, so my station choices are limited. From my experience, it works just fine if you are in an area with good recption.
Dislikes:
*UPDATE* MM works on updated firmware…still broken on stock firmware. Drag and drop also works, so you have that going for you.
General gripe: The included headphones are perfect for giving to people you hate. You can use them, i guess, if you want to torture yourself, but like any MP3 player, Apple or otherwise, get some better phones…your ears and your music will appreciate it.
Considering you would need to pay twice as much for an iPod with fewer features, no physical buttons and no storage expansion, just to run in a hampster wheel, save your scratch and get this guy. You will be glad you did, as it looks good, sounds good and does a it in a small package that just screams to be used in your fitness routine.
Update of an update: A new firmware patch was released, make sure to update your new Clip Zip or you will experience the “Static Blast” between some of your songs…not fun, but it has been addressed, so make sure to update right away.
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|February 21st, 2012 6:37 pm
The SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip–the SanDisk Sansa Clip line further popularized for all,
The pros:
— all the benefits of the Clip+: great sound; small; microSD card support; FM radio (with record capability); recorder; gapless play; optional folder navigation; multiple formats support (mp3, wma, ogg vorbis, flac); file drag-and-drop capability; ad hoc playlist creation; cute and appealing
— new: aac file support for DRM-free aac format files; small color screen with album art display; time-of-day indication; “sports mode” with timer and lap time; fast alphabet scrolling in lists; menu customizability; enhanced contemporary feel and, perhaps, sturdiness; improved microSD card fit; improved EQ
The limited cons:
— internal memory maxes out at 8GB; limited what’s playing screen information; underlying folder art can make screen readability harder; missing some play-all options; for some users: battery life remains rated at 15 hours; no video capability; greater functionality could be provided to the user (could be handled in future firmware upgrades)
The Clip Zip, the latest in the SanDisk Sansa Clip line, is firmly committed to the Clip line’s proven success: a small, cute and attractive, easy-to-use player with great sound. Not much more can be said about the sound: SanDisk got it right with the original Clip and wisely has not tinkered with that, keeping the Clip line at the top of the audio player field. With one exception: while the Clip Zip’s EQ options sound improved to my ears, they still can sound harsh–as a general matter, best to leave the EQ options alone.
Physically, the Clip Zip is only a trifle larger than its predecessor, in its long dimension. As before, the body is an attractive, sturdy 2-piece plastic shell that angles out, with a large, permanently attached, sturdy plastic clip occupying its back. The one-piece directional pad on the front of the Clip Zip has been reduced in size to the bottom third of the player’s face, with a thin, rectangular select button in its center–some larger-fingered users may have to exercise some care. An inset postage stamp-sized screen occupies the top half of the face of the player. Available in a variety of pleasing colors, my player is an attractive platinum color with a silver-colored directional pad and silver volume rocker and power switches at the left and top sides. The headphone jack remains on the top right side of the player, with a microSD card slot below that, at the bottom; an inserted microSD card now sits totally flush with the player, helping to avoid any inadvertent ejection (although this could make removing the card a trifle more difficult for some). The Clip Zip adopts the micro USB standard for its data and power port at the top left of the player, and comes with a handy short USB/micro USB cable.
In the end, the Clip Zip has a perhaps slightly more contemporary, and sturdy, feel than before, including with its modernized screen graphics and opening and closing exploding screen logo. SanDisk includes with the player a pair of its standard earbud headphones, which many users like–I swap them out for audiophile in-ear phones that complement the player’s well-tuned sound.
Beyond these basics, the Clip Zip, like the earlier Clip+, includes microSD card support, making it possible to increase the player’s storage five-fold from its maximum 8GB internal storage to a total of 40GB, with a 32GB microSD card. Amazing, for something so small; microSD card slots should be standard in all audio players. All content nicely is seamlessly merged in the Clip Zip’s database, or separately can be accessed by folder, as on a computer. The Clip Zip also includes a well-functioning FM radio, with presets and recording capability; new, the display automatically shows the currently-selected radio station’s call letters. As before, the Clip Zip has a recorder; gapless play between files–a necessity for live performance recordings; simple drag-and-drop file transfer capability as well as compatibility with music players and aggregators like Windows Media Player; and ad hoc playlist creation (limited to a current, temporary playlist). The Clip Zip also continues Replaygain support to equalize volume between files, and speed control (slow, normal, fast) for podcasts and audiobooks (but, unfortunately, without pitch adjustment, which would be a welcome addition).
With this pedigree in hand, the Clip Zip then takes off. Firmly inviting iTunes users in, the Clip Zip now is compatible with DRM-free aac files (the iTunes standard), in addition to, as before, mp3, wma, protected wma, ogg vorbis and flac formats; iTunes users no longer need convert their aac files (hurting it in the process) to mp3 format. Reflecting the visual age, the Clip Zip trades in the mostly monochrome, text-oriented small screen of its predecessors for a full (albeit postage stamp-sized), well-functioning color screen…
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|February 21st, 2012 6:43 pm
Doesn’t play audiobooks well,
The Sansa Clip Zip sounded like just what I wanted — a small, inexpensive, clip-on mp3 player to use while I exercise. I was wrong. I listen to audiobooks while I exercise, and despite Sansa’s product description the Clip Zip doesn’t do that.
When I manually load audiobook mp3 files on the Clip Zip, it classifies them as songs on different albums by one artist. If I select “artist” it plays all the ‘track #1s’ in sequence and then all the ‘track #2s’, etc. If I choose “album” it plays that set of files but then I have to search around for the next cryptically-named “album” in the book. That works, sort of, but who wants to stop exercising to fiddle around with an mp3 player for 10 minutes searching for the next section of a book?
When I use Windows Media Player to make a playlist of an audiobook’s tracks and then sync them with the Sansa, the process fails — no playlist is on the Sansa and the book is organized exactly as it was using drag-and-drop.
Same thing happens with iTunes, except iTunes itself crashes half the time too.
Audible.com books? Sorry, the audible format is not supported.
If you want to listen to music on a cheap mp3 player, buy the Clip Zip. If you want to play an audiobook, forget about it — it’s useless.
Addendum:
Several people have offered comments and work-arounds that have been very helpful. First of all, the problem with Audible compatibility apparently belongs to Audible.com, not SanDisk. Second, Windows Media Player does work with the Clip Zip. Third, even without built-in Audible support, you can manually add Audible books to the Clip Zip.
I’ve added one star to my rating. It’s OK as it is now and when Audible.com (an Amazon subsidiary, BTW) changes the Audible Manager it should move up to “pretty good” rating — actually a “good for the price” rating.
Second addendum (December 15, 2011):
1) I’m told that Audible.com now supports this device.
2) There’s a workaround for the problem I had with playing mp3 audiobooks. Both Andy Sexton and John R. Ridley came up with the workaround and posted it in the comments to this review. Quoting Mr. Ridley: “If you put audiobooks into the audiobook folder, or set the genre in the MP3 tags as “AUDIOBOOK” the Clip Zip will handle them properly, with proper resume points and no need to make playlists or anything.” Thank you Andy and John!
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