I wouldn’t be surprised if Western Digital, which makes memory like SanDisk, phased out the players entirely.
However, there is an interesting, inexpensive player on the horizon from another company:
It’s the FiiO M3, which will list at $55 (and FiiOs don’t get discounted much) with 8GB of internal storage, capacity for 64GB cards and playback for mp3 and lossless files. The hype says it has a separate digital-analogue converter for better sound. Buttons, not a touchscreen, like the Clip.
http://www.fiio.net/en/products/47
FiiO is known for hi-fi at low prices, but until now their players have been thick and chunky, and their cheapest player, the X1 at $99, is not loved, though the X3 and X5 are.
The M3 has only been announced, not on sale yet, but for just $55 I’m going to keep an eye out for reviews.
Not quite as tall as a butane cigarette lighter…