Clip+ successor?

Is there a successor to the Clip+? An audio player that shares its strengths but improves upon the Clip+, possibly at lower cost? What I mean, why I ask:

A loonnngggg time ago (2009 or 2010) I bought 4 Clip+'s in quick succession. In 2012 one died after being worn in rain: I got caught by a storm and was so focused on getting home (on my bike) that I neglected to remove/protect the Clip+ that I was wearing. By 2013 all the other’s clips had broken, but I continued using them, because they were so integral to my daily life. By 2014 the power button had broken on one (meaning I could only start it up by putting it on a charger), another had developed a weird delay in rereading from an inserted microSD: no matter, I just used them as backups for the best one (which had only lost its clip).

However I recently moved, during which I lost the best one and bricked the second-best one, so now I gotta buy replacements. I’d just buy new Clip+'s to replace the old ones, except

  1. It’s been 6 years since the Clip+ “hit the market,” which makes me suspect that new’n’improved players may be available.

  2. Prices seem to have gone up substantially, which suggests to me that the Clip+ is probably reaching end-of-life.

Do those claims seem reasonable? If so, what would be a “worthy successor” for a Clip+ fan? FWIW, here’s what I value in a personal audio player, in no particular order:

  1. Good battery life. I usually download a buncha MP3s in the morning, and expect them to last me all or most of the day. I’ll charge it overnight, and carry another player as backup, but I expect the player to play for several hours at least.

  2. Ease of downloading files. I use Linux, and like that I can just attach the Clip+ to my laptops, automount them as drives (including any microSD cards that may be inserted into the Clip+) and download using (e.g.) curl or wget.

  3. Backlit interface. I often use my players in the dark, so I want a player with a light-emitting interface, and not (e.g.) LCD.

  4. Good volume/power. I often use my players while bicycling, so I need something that can be heard over wind, traffic, etc.

  5. Ruggedness. I drop my players more than I should, and the Clip+ has never had a problem with that. One area where I would like to see improvement over the Clip+ is water-resistance: I had one die in rain, and another died when worn between my waistband and my sweaty body (due to its broken clip). Which reminds me: the clips could also be made much more rugged.

  6. Expandability. I very much like the fact that I can carry as much audio as I like, limited only by my ability to carry microSD cards. Even more, I like the fact that I can listen to the same audio on more than one device. I usually carry 2 fully-charged Clip+s with 1 microSD card: when one player’s battery discharges, I remove the microSD from it and insert it into the other, still-charged player.

  7. Cost. I am very cheap :slight_smile:

  8. Small size. I find it very useful to, e.g. (esp after the clip breaks), be able to roll the player in my waistband, or carry it in the key pocket of workout shorts.

What does not matter (much) to me in a personal audio player, in no particular order:

  1. Sound quality. I listen mostly to talk/speech, not so much to music.

  2. Video playback. On a player this size? I don’t even watch much video on my *phone*, let alone something this size.

  3. Color or high-resolution interfaces. The Clip+'s static, mostly plaintext, monochrome UI Works For Me!

  4. Touchscreen. Not only does this seem unnecessary, it seems like a great way to make the player *less* robust as well as to invite runtime error.

As of Oct 2015, are there newer, better products out there at which I should be looking? Or is the Clip+ still the only player that satisfies my preferences?

SanDisk has made new gizmos called Clip.

The Clip Zip added compatibility with m4a files for those who were suckered into iTunes. That’s the last good Clip+ successor.

The Sport and Jam, which followed, have more limitations–you can take a look at their separate forum pages. 

I’d suggest you look for a Zip if you want a change. 

But you can still find Clip+ on eBay for $30-$60 new (there’s a new one on there now for $30 shipped in the USA, which I’m surprised hasn’t been snapped up). I’ve also bought a couple of $20 refurbs there that work just fine–check the seller’s reputation, obviously. 

SanDisk did a very good job for a while at the low end of the mp3 player market. But nobody is doing much innovating now in that zone because standalone players are disappearing. Everyone is playing music on their phones. So instead of carrying around a cute little player they have to carry around their battery chargers. Go figure. 

You might ask your question at anythingbutipod.com to see if there’s another inexpensive brand out there. 

Actually, there is some exciting innovation going on in the digital audio player field.  Unfortunately, due to a chip issue, SanDisk moved to a new chip that has (in my mind) severe limitations, leading to līmitations in the Sport and Jam lines. 

I, too, would love to see a return to the Clip’s glory days, and for an UberClp to issue . . . .

@miikerman wrote:

 

I, too, would love to see a return to the Clip’s glory days, and for an UberClp to issue . . . .

 

Or even the Fuze (original, not the +). It was an awesome little machine! :smiley:

I am not seeing much love for the Clip Sport here in the SanDisk Forums!!  I never had a Clip or Clip+ so I do not have any legacy bias for the discontinued units. 

I am enjoying using my Clip Sport for all the reasons listed above by TomRoche.

And the price of $40 for the 4 GB version is really nice.  

I am about to buy a second unit. Gotta collect all the colors. 

My older MP3 players are iPod Nanos. Costing about $150 for fixed 16 GB and very dependent on iTunes management. 

1 Like

DFELD2005 10-13-2015 12:06 PM

> I am enjoying using my Clip Sport for all the reasons listed above by TomRoche.

Thanks for the pointer! The Clip Sport may be the “worthy Clip+ successor” which I seek. Only problem I see is the touchscreen: this review says “there is no keylock[, so] accidentally touching [or] bumping it [disturbs your play].” Plus touchscreens are more prone to breakage. And, again: is anyone really gonna watch video on a screen this size?

DFELD2005 10-13-2015 12:06 PM

> the price of $40 for the 4 GB version is really nice.

Indeed, I’m seeing an 8GB SanDisk Clip Sport for $40 and free shipping.

DFELD2005 10-13-2015 12:06 PM

> My older MP3 players are iPod Nanos. Costing about $150 for fixed 16 GB and very dependent on iTunes management.

iTunes dependency is a deal-killer for Linux users (like me), unless one wants to run a VM for that purpose (which I don’t).

Black-Rectangle 10-13-2015 05:22 AM

> The Sport and Jam, which followed [the Zip], have more limitations

What are the limitations of the Clip Sport, other than the touchscreen?

Black-Rectangle 10-13-2015 05:22 AM

> You might ask your question at anythingbutipod.com

Thanks for the pointer! I am indeed quite anti-Apple, so that sounds like just the site for me :slight_smile:

The most recent FirmWares to the Clip Sport now include an update to add the lock-out feature.

 Just press down on the “back” button for 2 secs.  The on-screen message shows when you are locked. 

Press again for 2 secs to unlock. I think a new player out of the box has FirmWare from 2014 without the lock feature. 

FYI, I have learned a lot of valuable advice from all the helpful persons who are posting instructions and suggestions

in the “Other MP3 Players” Forums here in the SanDisk website. 

Black-Rectangle 10-13-2015 05:22 AM

> The Sport and Jam, which followed [the Zip], have more limitations

Can someone compare/contrast the Clip Sport and Clip Jam for me? From my brief research, ISTM

  1. The Sport has a larger screen which is also touchscreen (neither of which I want); the Jam has a more Clip-like interface (which WFM).
  2. Marketing for the Sport claims battery life per charge==25 hr, while Jam material claims 18 hr.
  3. The Sport apparently has no voice recorder, dunno about the Jam. Not a deal-killer for me: I don’t think I ever used the voice recorder on any of my Clip+'s.
    Is that correct? Am I missing something?

The Clip Sport has:

  1. Screen size = 1 x 1 inches.  Not a touch screen.  There is a central raised button, 4 surrounding flat buttons and a raised back button all below the viewing screen. You can find and use these buttons easily without looking at the player. 

  2. 25 hours sounds like a reasonable estimate to me.  Seems to be a great lithium battery. 

  3. No voice recorder. 

  4.  Clip Sport owners should be willing to edit their ID3 tags to get the most fun & value from this player.

     “MP3tag” shareware software is the best choice for managing MP3 tags and extracting “folder.jpg” clipart. 

    DFELD2005 10-13-2015 04:54 PM
    > The most recent [Clip Sport firmware] add the lock-out feature.
    > Just press down on the “back” button for 2 secs.  The on-screen message shows when you are locked.
    > Press again for 2 secs to unlock.
    > I think a new player out of the box has FirmWare from 2014 without the lock feature.

I just purchased a new Clip Sport (and Clip Jam–more to follow regarding the suitability of each as a Clip+ successor). That Sport is version=1.22 (not the latest firmware for the Sport: see http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-Sport/SanDisk-Clip-Sport-Firmware-1-27-released/td-p/340602 ) but it supports the un/lock UI described by DFELD2005.

I can also confirm the complaint made @ http://www.engadget.com/products/sandisk/clip/sport/reviews/12yc/ that the Sport’s buttons are very sensitive–simply brushing against them is enough to, e.g., play the previous/next file (and lose one’s place in the file one was playing). Hence, Sport users will probably want to enable and use the un/lock, despite the additional inconvenience.