Clip Plus

MP3 players Sansa Clip | Clip+
1

I’m going to open this new thread for discussion about the new Clip Plus (shown on the retail box as Clip+).

Begbie was the first forum member to mention buying the Clip+ and has started a thread to try and get some help with a syncing problem he’s having with it. Rather than hijack his thread with general discussion about the Clip+, I thought it would be better to have a separate thread just for that purpose.

My wife had a confirmed sighting yesterday (August 29) of the 4GB Clip+ in red and blue for $50 at a Best Buy in Florida.

I have a couple of questions I’m hoping can be answered over the next few days or weeks:

Is the USB connection the same mini-USB connection as the 1stGen Clip, or a proprietary connection as with the Fuze?

What is the GB capacity limit on the microSD card that the Clip+ will read?

What is the stated battery life? What is the actual battery life in real-life usage?

I can see this replacing both my 2GB and 4GB 1stGen Clips. Hoping to see some reviews and user comments here in the coming weeks.

2

Best Buy has Clip+ info up on their web site, though the site still lists the Clip+ as “coming soon”.

This answers a couple of my questions:

Looks like the Clip+ takes the same USB connection as the 1stGen Clip.

Stated battery life is 15 hours.

I’d still like to know if theirs a limit on the microSD card capacity that the Clip+ will read.

3

 

 

Is the USB connection the same mini-USB connection as the 1stGen Clip, or a proprietary connection as with the Fuze?

What is the GB capacity limit on the microSD card that the Clip+ will read?

What is the stated battery life? What is the actual battery life in real-life usage?

 

The USB is the standard mini-USB connection.  The manual states the Clip+ can handle microSD or microSDHC cards up to 16GB (I have not verified this myself).  The box states “Rechargeable battery lasts up to 15 hours”, I don’t have a feel for what the real world usage is yet.  The manual says that it plays MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, Audiobooks, Ogg Vorbis and FLAC.  Also says it works w/ Rhapsody and a trial subscription is included (I didn’t find any other info about a trial, no card or code).  I’ve not tried any format other than MP3 so far, if I get a chance I’ll rip some CDs to .ogg and see how that goes.  There isn’t anything on the box or manual about it but there is a directory “AUDIBLE” on the Clip+ (the clip shows up as CLIPP when connected).  The other directories are; AUDIOBOOKS (separate from AUDIBLE), MUSIC, PODCASTS, and RECORD.  From the other thread, Miikerman asked,

As to folder view, I guess the question is, can you navigate and plays songs in a folder-view type approach, just like on your computer?  Or does the Clip+ still fall back to using the ID3 tags for selection?

In the folder view the actual file name shows up, it navigates the same way a file browser on the computer does.  dgb52 asked,

Is the headphone jack on the top or bottom and what state did you pick this up in? 

The jack is on the upper right side, same place as the original Clip.  I picked mine up in Tennessee, and as BigJohnL mentioned there was a sighting in FL.

Also there was a $5 off coupon for a slotRadio card in the box (you need to buy it at www.slotradio.com). Feel free to ask anything else, if I can answer I will.

4

A nearby Best Buy in Waxahachie, Texas has 12 of them for $56.99.  I’m getting one later today.

5

“I’d still like to know if theirs a limit on the microSD card capacity that the Clip+ will read.”

If a player takes a micro SDHC card, then it will take any capacity one. The issue though is what the maximum number of songs the player’s database can accomodate. On the Clip it is just 2,000. On the Fuze it is 8,000(but was 4,000 for a long time before the most recent firmware update). I hope the Clip+ can support at least 8,000 songs.

6

@hulksmashnow wrote:
A nearby Best Buy in Waxahachie, Texas has 12 of them for $56.99.  I’m getting one later today.

Now that this is out, why would anyone want a Fuze, asides from folder navigation? :dizzy_face:

7

"Now that this is out, why would anyone want a Fuze, asides from folder navigation? "

It says in this thread that the Clip+ has folder navigation.

i like the Fuze for its scroll wheel, larger display,  and longer battery life than the Clip.

I dislike the proprietary connector and lack of a built in clip on the Fuze.

Message Edited by JK98 on 08-30-2009 01:00 PM

8

I think the Clip+ does have folder navigation.  As for why have a Fuze and not this?  I don’t know.  I just know I want one!

9

Video and bigger (and yet still portable) form factor–the “screen” on the Clip truly is small, and some people like to see more (e.g. for album art).  Also, I imagine that some people will prefer the Fuze’s scroll wheel.

10

Humorous that the Clip+ is listed at BB at $7 under the price of a similar non-plus model.

I have to say, at least as pictured at the BB site, the Clip+ is not as cute as the Clip–seems kinda boxy and kludge-y, even.  Kinda seems like going backwards in time in that regard.  

11

@jk98 wrote:

“I’d still like to know if theirs a limit on the microSD card capacity that the Clip+ will read.”

 

If a player takes a micro SDHC card, then it will take any capacity one. The issue though is what the maximum number of songs the player’s database can accomodate. On the Clip it is just 2,000. On the Fuze it is 8,000(but was 4,000 for a long time before the most recent firmware update). I hope the Clip+ can support at least 8,000 songs.

Agreed.  The database implementation will likely be the limitation on the capacity.  The portion of the firmware which accesses the microSDHC card should implement the microSDHC specification, and should allow for up to a 32GB microSDHC card.

(> 32GB is microSDXC … http://www.letsgomobile.org/en/4470/sdxc-memory-cards/)

Message Edited by PromisedPlanet on 08-30-2009 02:02 PM

12

Confirmed that the Clip+ has track info and folder viewing…so to heck with the Fuze!:smileyvery-happy:

( I kid…I had a Fuze for 11 months and was very happy with it…but now, the things I liked better about it are no longer exclusive to it.)

13

Someone just asked me why I bought a fuze and I can’t remember (seriously).  However, I’m glad I did if only for rockbox.

Can’t wait to get a clip+

14

The built-in clip on the back appears to have been redesigned too!

15

The card slot on the Plus is the seller for me, goodbye Gen1 clip! There are several functions desired by people that hopefully will be added in the future. The major missing function of any Clip (IMO) is that there should be a clock,elapsed time,timer & stopwatch function. This is a very attractive player for runners,bikers,fitness people and it would probably be a no-brainer sell if time/timer functions were added to cater to this large group of potential buyers.

16

I think we might see less posts about losing the clip part of the clip+, that thing looks serious

17

For the record – 4gb for $49 is an insult in both size and price. There’d better be a 16gb version of this – with flash memory so cheap now, I refuse on principle to buy any more 8gb (or smaller) players…

C’mon Sansa, come correct and do right by your customers…

18

@robisan wrote:

For the record – 4gb for $49 is an insult in both size and price. There’d better be a 16gb version of this – with flash memory so cheap now, I refuse on principle to buy any more 8gb (or smaller) players…

 

C’mon Sansa, come correct and do right by your customers…

The real insult is the $49 2GB Clip price in stores across the country even now. And with a card slot, and redesigned clip, folder nav. and track info, I think the price is quite fair.  For $100 you could have a 20GB player, if you added a 16GB micrsdhc. That is a screaming good deal. 

19

@robisan wrote:

For the record – 4gb for $49 is an insult in both size and price. There’d better be a 16gb version of this – with flash memory so cheap now, I refuse on principle to buy any more 8gb (or smaller) players…

 

C’mon Sansa, come correct and do right by your customers…

As Marvin_Martian just pointed out you can effectively get a 20GB Clip+ for $100 with the addition of a 16GB microSDHC card. I just priced the cards at Amazon and they have a 16GB Kingston Technology microSDHC card for $49.99 with free shipping (this comes with an SD card adapter as well).

Just to keep things in perspective, I bought my first Clip, a 2GB model, for $35 on Black Friday 2007. That’s $17.50 per GB. I bought my second Clip, a 4GB model, for $35 on Black Friday 2008. That’s $8.75 per GB. Now, I can get a 4GB Clip+ for $50 and a 16GB microSDHC card to go with it for $50 for a total of 20GB for $100. That’s $5.00 per GB. And needless to say, the Clip+ is infinitely expandable with the purchase of more microSD cards. As you add more cards, the average cost per GB continues to go down. And if I wanted to wait until Black Friday 2009, I’m sure the prices of both the Clip+ and 16GB microSDHC cards will be less.

I hate sounding like a fanboy, but I think Sansa did well with the Clip+. Compare the Clip+ feature-for-feature, including sound quality, with anything else out there in this price/capacity range, and I think we know who will come out on top. :slight_smile:

20

For $100 you could have a 20GB player, if you added a 16GB micrsdhc. That is a screaming good deal. 

No, it’s really not.

Sandisk sells 16gb flash memory packaged for retail use for less than $30 – retail price , so you’d have to think their manufacturing cost is less than half that. The retail spread between 4gb and 16gb is just $20, so for (really less than) $69 Sansa could retail a 16gb Clip+. Add an 8gb microsd card for less than $15and you have 24gb player for less than $85.

Add a 16gb card and you’d have a 32gb player for $120. Now that’s a screaming good deal…

…but Sansa knows that buyers of 16gb players may not buy any cards, hence the small capacity players that almost require a card purchase…