All these ports and controls may seem like a lot for such a small device, but everything is well laid out and the main control pad is large enough for comfortable navigation, so it's really quite ergonomic and easy to use overall.ĭon't let the size of the Sansa Clip betray you: The player offers several desirable features. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack sits above the rocker, while the left side of the Clip houses a power/hold switch and a standard mini USB port. There's also a dedicated volume rocker on the right spine of the device, something that we are happy-and surprised-to see on such a small player. Beneath the four-line, dual-color OLED screen, is one other key: a home button that cycles between the main menu and the playback screen. Once on the playback screen, pressing up plays or pauses the track, down pulls up a contextual menu, and right/left shuttles through tracks. While you're within the menus, up/down cycles through options on the current screen, while right/left steps deeper into the highlighted option (or backs out). The controls on the Sansa Clip are also similar to those of its competitor: Below the screen is a circular, four-way control pad surrounding a center select button.
This feature and its ultracompact size make it ideal for the gym. As the name suggests, the Clip also comes with a removable belt clip in a color to match the player. The black version is available in both capacities, while the colors come in 2GB only. Like the Stone, the Clip comes in a variety of colors: sleek black, candy apple red, hot pink, and ice blue. Also, the Clip lets you navigate music by artist, album, and so on, whereas the Stone offers very little track organization. However, the Clip's rectangular, 1-inch screen makes for better navigation than the Stone's itty bitty circular display. It's one of the most compact players we've come across in recent times, though it is slightly larger than its closest competitor, the Creative Zen Stone Plus. The company's even optimized this little thing for the Rhapsody and Napster music subscription services.Īn FM radio is included, along with the expected array of auto-preset detection and FM radio recording.At 2.2 inches by 1.4 inches by 0.5 inch (without the belt clip attached), the Sansa Clip isn't quite "smaller than a matchbox," but it is about the same size as one. SanDisk even came around to our suggestion of adding AAC compatibility, rounding out its support for MP3, WMA, DRM-WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and Audible files. In fact, you'll have a hard time finding an MP3 player that works with more music formats, especially in this price range.
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No, the Clip Zip isn't going to play Angry Birds or update your Facebook status, but it does an exceptionally good job of distracting your brain with music. There are no options for viewing photos or videos, but album art is supported (though a little grainy looking). Really, the headline feature here is the 1.1-inch LCD color screen, which does a much better job of displaying information than the smaller, more limited screens of previous models. The clip is a bit longer than the iPod Nano's, though the all-plastic design isn't as resilient.
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The back, naturally, features an integrated clip that helps attach the device to your clothing and leaves your hands free for working out, or generally kicking butt. On the sides you'll find a volume rocker switch, Micro-USB port, headphone jack, and a microSDHC card slot that can support up to 32GB of additional memory. There's a four-way navigation pad on the front with a separate back button floating above it. This time around, though, SanDisk is offering the device in seven different colors (red, blue, black, orange, white, gray, and purple) and has upgraded to a larger, full-color screen.ĭon't let the new name or extra colors fool you, the Clip Zip's design isn't a far cry from the Sansa Clip+, or even the original Sansa Clip. Like 2009's Sansa Clip+, the Clip Zip has a starting price of $49 for 4GB or $69 for an 8GB model. The latest spin on the Clip formula is called the Clip Zip. SanDisk's Sansa Clip players have long topped CNET's lists of affordable and gym-worthy MP3 players.
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Today, the smartphone is the portable music device of choice for most of us and the iPod is now just a footnote in Apple's history, outlived by the iPhone and iPad. Like the bygone days of the horse-drawn carriage, the era of the MP3 player has quickly faded into the past.