The guage is merely an indicator. If one leaves the device on charge for 4 hours or so, and it quits after a short play time then it’s likely the battery. The apparent recovery is strange. I don’t know enough about Li batteries, but if it developed an increasingly higher internal resistance as it runs, possibley due to heating, that would be a possible explanation. Regardless of this guess work, you’re probably not likely to fix it.
Having shopped at Meritline at times, I get their email flyer. They had a Phillips player that looked good for around $35. One would have to compare specs but battery life was longer than the clip. Physically, it looks more like the larger Sansa fuze models. But like Tapeworm I do like the clip line for both specs and size so personally I would stick with a clip.
