DRM-free WMA?

I’ve been using Clips with library audiobooks for years now, and my husband’s Fuze is getting sticky, so I was going to surprise him with a new SanDisk player to replace it - the only thing offered locally is the Clip Sport. I was almost to the check-out lane when I noticed “DRM-free WMA” on the box. Is that true? You can’t use the Clip Sport with OverDrive WMA audiobooks? That’s a game-changer!

I returned it to the shelf to do a little more research first.

The Sport indeed has restrictions–it is not the “current version” of the Clip line.  Instead, recommended that you surprise your husband with a new Clip Zip or Clip+, from a source like Amazon.com.

@kmk_01kmk wrote:

I noticed “DRM-free WMA” on the box. Is that true? You can’t use the Clip Sport with OverDrive WMA audiobooks?

Yes, that’s true. The Sport model is a MSC player only. MTP mode is needed for DRM files like those from your library. As mentioned for your husband’s needs get a Zip or Plus model.

I 've owned at least 15  Sansa Clip players over the past few years (after abandoning the Sana Fuze when its latest version was inferior to the original) . Ive been fairly happy with the Sansa Clip, so when my most recent player was on its last legs, I went to Best Buy and bought a new 8 gb player. I bring it home and come to find that  2 of the most valuable features have been removed.

  1. Ability to play DRM WMA files

  2. Ability to lock the player to avoid inadvertently losing ones place

Whats up with this?

Yes I can buy a different model on amazon, but the real issue is with the Sansa Designers. Is Sansa somehow saving money not playing wma drm files (so there are now thousands of WMA DRM only audiobooks I cannot download?? No lock feature on a model that bills itself as a “Sport”.

So what Sansa has really accomplished by removing these features is removing what differentiates the Clip  from listening to audiobooks on my Androiid phone, giving me no reason to buy the Sansa products. Good going Sansa.

@aminjira wrote:

I bring it home and come to find that  2 of the most valuable features have been removed.

 

  1. Ability to play DRM WMA files
  1. Ability to lock the player to avoid inadvertently losing ones place

 

Whats up with this?

 

 

  1. The LOCK feature was added via a firmware update:

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/SanDisk-Clip-Sport/SanDisk-Clip-Sport-Firmware-1-18-released/td-p/326350

Sorry about #1; nothing we can do about it. It was not designed as a full-featured player like the Clip+ or Zip.