When will the first firmware going to be released?

Hi there, I’m a customer who have used Sansa Clip Sport for over two months now. Honestly, when I chose Sansa Clip Sport, I was affected by the Sansa Clip Zip’s performance, so I order it right away. But it has been released for a long dmn time now, and there are tons of bugs in my device. Comparing to the Sansa Clip Zip, which have a following firmware very early to fix its problem, why there is still no firmware for the Sport yet?

Being worked on; perhaps later this month.

Please note, though–the Sport never will have the capabilities of the earlier Zip and Clip+, apart from a superior battey capacity.  It is a limited player. 

Limited in what way? Hardware? Firmware?

@tabaz wrote:

Limited in what way? Hardware? Firmware?

Yes.

So i asked if its limited by hardware and / or firmware and i got an “yes” for the answer… :wink:
Let me refine my question then:
Why is the Hardware limited? I mean, it has a larger screen and a longer running time. This arent any limits.
And why should the firmware be limited? Because it has some bugs and missing features, for sure! 

So the “limits” are that SanDisk does not want to put more effort into the firmware because their skills are limited? Sorry, i dont get it.

Probably iam a limited person - firmware wise, i mean.

@tabaz wrote:

Why is the Hardware limited?

 

Because SanDisk built it this way purposely.

And why should the firmware be limited?

 

Because the hardware is.

 

 

So the “limits” are that SanDisk does not want to put more effort into the firmware because their skills are limited? Sorry, i dont get it.

 

I think you get it pretty well, but it’s not their “skills” that are limited. It’s their resources (aka manpower). SanDisk’s focus has changed. They don’t want to spend any more money developing a super-duper player at this point when the majority of people are using their phones and other multi-function devices for audio playback. You are witnessing the demise of the dedicated portable adudio player.

 

 

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I don’t know that the above is the case, but the fact remains that the internals of the Sport are different from the earlier Clips, imposing limitations on operation.  Sigh.

It still seems to me that if this was the case, why release the Clip Sport in the first place? Keep making Clip + and Clip Zip, and forget about developing something else.

@godbreath wrote:

It still seems to me that if this was the case, why release the Clip Sport in the first place? Keep making Clip + and Clip Zip, and forget about developing something else.

Yep, a very good question indeed.

One thing I noticed in the Sunday paper is that Best Buy was advertising the Sport (and not the other Clips).  It made me wonder if a store like that requires the introduction of new models, even if limited in scope, to try to spur sales.

@godbreath wrote:

It still seems to me that if this was the case, why release the Clip Sport in the first place? Keep making Clip + and Clip Zip, and forget about developing something else.

The Clip+ and Zip are still in production. The Sport was not built to complete with (or exceed) these models. It was built with fewer features to meet an lower price point.

I recently e-mailed sansa about the firmware update and they couldn’t even give me a date if and when a firmware update will happen. Although I think the Sport is good it needs an update like all the other had.

@tapeworm wrote:


@tabaz wrote:

Why is the Hardware limited?

 

Because SanDisk built it this way purposely.

And why should the firmware be limited?

 

Because the hardware is.

 

 

So the “limits” are that SanDisk does not want to put more effort into the firmware because their skills are limited? Sorry, i dont get it.

 

I think you get it pretty well, but it’s not their “skills” that are limited. It’s their resources (aka manpower). SanDisk’s focus has changed. They don’t want to spend any more money developing a super-duper player at this point when the majority of people are using their phones and other multi-function devices for audio playback. You are witnessing the demise of the dedicated portable adudio player.

 

 


 

If they actually listened to customer feedback and gave a rat’s *ss about it, there might not be this great demise. People get frustrated when they buy the next generation product and realize it’s only next gen in name only. They constantly take steps backwards and update things people don’t care about, remove things people do care about, and leave other things completely out of it.

This is such a basic device. It shouldn’t be hard and take some crack R&D team with vast resources to improve a well liked niche product. When you come out with new ■■■■ people don’t like, they start buying up the old product and just keep the train going.

The Sport is just Sandisks version of Planned Obsolescence. Enjoy your bugs and quirks. You’ll be stuck with them. A firmware update is only a couple months away from being a couple months away. Hold your breath and it might get here quicker. If not, they have one less customer to worry about. :slight_smile:

@tapeworm wrote:


@godbreath wrote:

It still seems to me that if this was the case, why release the Clip Sport in the first place? Keep making Clip + and Clip Zip, and forget about developing something else.


The Clip+ and Zip are still in production. The Sport was not built to complete with (or exceed) these models. It was built with fewer features to meet an lower price point.

Like stores are going to give shelf space to multiple models of the Clip. Good luck with that.

@americanlt wrote:

I recently e-mailed sansa about the firmware update and they couldn’t even give me a date if and when a firmware update will happen. Although I think the Sport is good it needs an update like all the other had.

It is rare for a company to release a date for a software improvement–stuff happens.

But keep your eyes open here later this month . . . .

All I want is for my Clip Sport to find the beginning of the next section (chapter) of the Audible book. Will the firmware update fix that? I hope.

Yes, I like listening to my chapters in order they were written, not however the player decides to order them.

I bought this as I wanted a decent MP3 player to listen to while I was at the Gym. I didn’t want a “super duper player” I wanted something basic that worked well. The only flaw is that it doesn’t play tracks in order for me. I like listening to my music in the order it is on the album not whatever order the player uses. It’s not much to ask that the product work correctly. It’s been out for months now with no update and that is unacceptable.

That update should be coming soon . . . .

Common sense tells me that without the lock on the player, you will not able to use it for spot (sometimes song will skip while walking). Don’t tell me SanDisk engineers or designers don’t have common sense??? :flushed: So can we trust their products in future??? :cry: Seems like they don’t even bother to test their products. :flushed:

And as you likely read here in the forum, SanDisk already has definitively confirmed that the forthcoming Sport firmware update will add a lock functionality.

And so, while it would have been nice to have that function originally, is there a reason to complain now?  Or, should you be adding a comment now, thanking SanDisk for being responsive (something unfortunately rare to see nowadays)?

@alsl wrote:

Common sense tells me that without the lock on the player, you will not able to use it for spot (sometimes song will skip while walking). Don’t tell me SanDisk engineers or designers don’t have common sense??? :flushed: So can we trust their products in future??? :cry: Seems like they don’t even bother to test their products. :flushed:

 

And as you likely read here in the forum, SanDisk already has definitively confirmed that the forthcoming Sport firmware update will add a lock functionality.

And so, while it would have been nice to have that function originally, is there a reason to complain now?  Or, should you be adding a comment now, thanking SanDisk for being responsive (something unfortunately rare to see nowadays)?