I have a previous generation Sansa Clip+ which is damaged. I am therefore looking to replace it. I would like the new device to have the following features which my current player has;
The ability to insert an SD card.
When viewing files on the player, I would like the storage location to be invisible - i.e. the menus should show all files, regardless of whether they are stored on internal or external memory.
The Clip Sport Plus doesn’t seem to have an SD card slot? If this is correct, does anyone know of another Clip player which offers the above functionality?
Following my original post I bought a Clip Sport Plus with 16GB of memory (the only memory option available at that time).
I found the Sport Plus’s limited memory very restrictive. A further massive demerit: fast forward and reverse didn’t accelerate for MP3 files. It can take 5, 10, 20 minutes to scroll through an audio recording which lasts many hours. That’s a long time sitting there holding a button. Other negatives; the screen was very difficult to read in daylight, the buttons were hard to use (as they are behind rubber), the player was slow to respond to button presses, the rubber socket covers detached very easily (but were impossible to reattach), the clip broke off, the rubber surround started to come unglued and the player permanently stopped responding to button presses and the display went blank after a year or so.
I replaced ithe Sport Plus with a Clip Jam with 8 Gb of onboard memory and an SD card slot. This is IMO a MUCH better player. It is smaller and lighter (about the same as the original Sansa players), the buttons are easy to use, the player is more responsive, the screen is far better to read and, with an SD card it has far more memory. (I am currently running it with a 64 Gb card with no issues.)
Negatives compared to my old Sansa Plus: the Clip Jam STILL has a very slow, fixed speed for fast forward and reverse for almost all file formats. It is also missing a voice recorder and a radio recorder. It also doesn’t treat the internal and external memory as one when viewing content. In addition, there is no bluetooth (the same as the Sansa). Plus points: the Clip Jam updates much more rapidly than the Sansa after uploading new content and the On/Off button is in a much less vulnerable position if the player is dropped.
There is a workaround to the slow fast forward and reverse speeds; convert any long files to M4a format. The player will then accelerate the fast forward/reverse speeds the longer you hold the button. (A vital feature, in my view. ) The acceleration isn’t as slick as the Sansa, but it works. Note: acceleration for fast forward and reverse also works for Audible files in their native format (which I believe is a modified M4a format).
I subsequently also bought a Clip Sport Plus with 32GB of internal memory (still no SD card slot). I bought it for occasions when I need bluetooth and/or waterproofing, but I very rarely use it: the Clip Jam is so much better in every other respect.
I hope that this belated update might help someone to choose the player that best suits them.
