Sandisk Clip 1GB MP3 Player Review
The Sandisk Clip 1GB MP3 Player is the subject of today’s product review. This player has been selling like hotcakes on the refurb and closeout market. Is it a good buy if you can find it cheap. Is buying refurb the way to go. Does it have limitations and annoyances? And what about the sound quality? In this review, we’ll find out.
First, let’s take a look at the specs for the Sandisk Clip 1GB MP3 Player. It’s a small, clip on, digital audio player designed for listening to music and other audio on the go. It plays MP3, WMA and secure WMA music files plus it has an FM tuner. This provides you with a number of listening options, including using subscription music services. The Sansa Clip will fit easily in your pocket since it’s about the size of an auto key remote fob. It does have a tiny screen that displays things like song title, but no video capability though. I think that most people will find the Sandisk Clip easy to use, even when exercising or driving.
The sound quality of the Sandisk Clip 1GB MP3 Player is very good considering the price range for this player. I don’t hear a lot of difference between it and more expensive Sansa MP3 players. The EQ settings could be better but they do help bring out the sound. As with almost all digital music players you buy the stock earbud headphones aren’t very good. You’ll want to replace them with more full range, quality, buds. It’s kind of funny, you’re likely to spend more on the headphones than the player itself.
One thing to consider is that the Sandisk Clip 1GB MP3 Player uses a rechargeable battery. This helps keep the weight down and is supposed to be more environmentally friendly but it can be inconvenient if you forget a recharging cable. Fortunately, the Clip uses a standard USB 2.0 mini-port and can recharge from the data cable. The battery life, usually around 12 hours, is more than enough time for uses shorter than a weekend camping trip. Long term battery life should be good but at the usual price of these players they’re almost disposible.
The bottom line is that the Sansa Sandisk Clip 1GB MP3 Player is a pretty decent, basic, digital audio player. The 1GB size might be on the small size for some but you can also buy a 2GB or even 4GB model if you need more room for your tunes. With the current discounting of the player, now’s a good time to pick one up for a very low price.
I wonder if these come with a warranty.
Hi Nicole,
It really depends on if you buy refurb or not. Many refurbs aren’t guaranteed. New units are only have a 30 day warranty from Sansa from what I understand. This used to be a year but they’ve cut this back for newer and less expensive players.
Thank you.
I have never heard of this product before. But, in my opinion any cheap product will be selling like hot cake.
i wonder so many people still search for this 1gb version, with 4 gigs of the same version you can get more space with cheaper price overall
Yup now days 1gb is not enough for people who loves listening to music.
I like the fact that this Sandisk Clip 1GB mp3 player comes with an FM tuner. The ability to listen to the radio is important to me, since it expands the use of the player to more that just the mp3’s loaded onto it.
Yea, pun, I’m with you. 1GB doesn’t get you much mileage and I’d think people would go for the 4GB.
I personally don’t need that much space for music. My total music collection is only like 1 gig, so it’s pointless for me to get anything too huge so I think this 1 gig MP3 player is nice. Plus it’s not that expensive (better than spending $200 on an iPod).
Avoid Sandisk and go for a larger if only a bit, hard drive. I have had multiple problems with Sandisk
Hrmm that’s a bit disheartening. What kind of problems have you experienced?
I am really a diehard fan of SanDisk and am always satisfied by its amazing creations.
Sandisk - iPod - Samsung… confused to choose.! which one is the best (and of course Long Life - Product)??
Hi Ralph,
Sansa has been the best non-Apple iPod player I’ve used. I’ve also been going as cheap as possible since these MP3 players tend to get lost or damaged quite easily. I’ve gone through several in the past year and I wouldn’t be happy if I was paying $100+ for them rather than under $30 for them.
only $30 now? sounds like a steal to me, assuming you dont already have an i-pod.
-jack
is there a larger size?
4 MB maybe.
$30 is a great price but you are a little limited on space with only 1GB of memory. My music collection is around 10GB. The 1GB would be good for the gym or on the bus or something like that. Nice find.
Steve
I would probably opt for the 4GB just because of how limited in size you are with the 1GB. Still, at the price these go for, it can’t be beat.
Yes I agree with you. 1GB is nothing to keep my music file.
This looks like a great gadget, I like how it has a memory card slot, which means its memory is expandable.
Nice price and design, but sadly 1GB is not the capacity I’d need.
I was always wondering why don’t more mp3 players use rechargeable batteries… This is definitely a BIG plus in my book.
Andy
I’m curious how many people actually use regular MP3 players aside from iPhones or iPods these days. WHen I’m out, at a mall or on the beach, all I ever see is iPods.
Is there enough market penetration and education about these other devices yet?
Hi Swingers,
Sorry, but I had to remove your link although your question/observation is good.
I think a lot of people want to ‘be seen’ when it comes to the iPod. It’s cooler/hip than a Zune, Sansa or other brand of digital music player. Of course, that coolness comes with a not-so-cool price tag. With the move away from ostentatious consumer goods in the face of the current recession I think you’ll see fewer iPods and more inexpensive alternatives like the Sansa Clip more often.
I’m a big fan of the Sansa series. I picked a 2gb one for my wife’s father at xmas, and its worked great for him. A nice alternative to the ipod.
The player itself is nice but the memory is not enough for me to take all my multimedia files on it. There should b a lot more memory.
I have never heard of this product before. But in my opinion any cheap product will be selling like hot cake.selling is basically depend on price of the product.Thanks for sharing.
Nice! I have an mp3 player that I got. I decided to take cheap. Well, let’s just say it it has the worst software I’ve ever seen.
This mp3-player is a great alternative to ipod shuffle. Not only is it cheaper, it’s also similarly sized and features screen (something that shuffle could definitely use). Also since those tiny players are so easy to lose, it’s better to have something cheap that you won’t miss in case it falls out of your pocket.
1GB? no way…no wonder it’s cheap
Karl
I wonder how well sandisk has been holding up with the onslaught of all the apple ipods :/
-Jack
My sister bought one of these Sandisk Mp3 players, and she absolutely loves it! She was happy that she got one over the Apple ipod, hehe.
Till then,
Jean
iPod owner here (8gb Nano, Series 3). I looked hard at the Clip when it came out because of the low price, but I read too many negative reviews on the ripping software being clunky/hard to use, so I passed. I’m not saying the software doesn’t work–it does. It’s just that with this type of device, I want ripping my music to be an absolute no-brainer, or I won’t bother to use the thing. I have too many electronic gadgets, all with different instruction manuals, as it is. With the iPod, you’re not just paying for the device–you’re paying to run iTunes on it, and iTunes is so simple that a monkey at a typewriter could do it.
i think ill get me a Zune now since it will be compatible with the XBox!
-Jack
Nice review, I was looking for this product. But I think 4Gb is still low capacity for me. I’ll look for similar products here in the site, thanks.