Review: Sansa Clip+ (Page 1 of 1)
Written by
Steve Lake
Posted on: Feb 19, 2010 at 01:06pm
Section:
Hardware
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Today, we'll be looking at Sansa's latest little MP3 player, the Sansa Clip+. This little player packs a lot of punch into a very small form factor. But what makes the Clip+ so special, and why should you care, given all of the players out there. Well, let's have a look.
OverviewThe Sansa Clip is an impressive little device, measuring just 2.2"L x 1.25"W x 0.65"D in size. It's really tiny, and would even fit comfortably into the hands of a five year old. But it's not too tiny to use. What surprised me the most when asking the Sandisk rep about this is that there's apparently a trend towards really tiny players and away from the bigger players like the View and the iPod. But before I go too far into that, here's a quick overview of the features and specs of the device.
- It comes in three colors: Red, Black, and Blue (sounds like what a boxer looks like after a fight. hehe)
- Supports MP3, WMA, secure WMA, Audible (audiobook), Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, and most standard Audiobook and Podcast formats.
- Expandable MicroSD memory card slot (compatible with SlotRadio or SlotMusic cards)
- Digital FM tuner with 40 available presets
- Battery life up to 15 hours
- Built-in microphone (for recording thoughts or other things)
- Large, bright (OLED) screen
- Simple, menu driven user interface
- 2, 4, or 8gb of internal, flash based memory
- A wearable clip for hands-free portability
- Can store up to 500 (2gb), 1000 (4gb) or 2000 (8gb) songs.
In order to use the player directly (IE, plug it into the computer via USB), you need the following minimum recommended specs:
- Windows® XP SP2, Linux or Mac OS® X 10.3 (Mass Storage Class Only)
- Internet access (for downloading content, but not *required*)
- USB 2.0 port (transferring files and battery charging)
- Windows Media Player 10 (for playlist creation and synchronizing library and device on Windows), Songbird or Amarok (for doing the same on Linux), or iTunes (for Mac)
And interestingly enough, the Sansa Clip+ is all about simplicity. And I mean simplicity. To stress that fact, here's what you get by default in the package:
- Sansa Clip+ MP3 player
- USB 2.0 transfer cable
- Earphones
- Quick Start Guide
Yeah, just 4 little things. But that's all you really need. The case itself has two kinds of finish. A smooth, glossy plastic front that makes it shiny and easy to read, and the rest of the player has a rough up, brushed metal appearance to it, even though it's plastic as well. This affords for some good grip on the device while handling it. I didn't ever feel like I was going to drop it. The device is also incredibly sturdy, so you don't feel as though you're going to break it, even though it's as light as it is. Now, let's get a look at how the player works, handles, and performs.
Getting StartedUpon pulling it out of the box, your player automatically has power in it, enough for several hours of playtime. However, Sandisk highly recommends you charge it beforehand, which I did. About 3 hours later it was ready for use. Not bad in my opinion. Especially for a first charge.
Upon turning on the device, the unit itself takes just 2-3 seconds to boot, which is a HUGE improvement over previous players, and a pleasant surprise. (Let's see Apple match that one! hehe) It will also immediately begin playing if you've shut it off in the middle of a song, allowing instant music for your listening pleasure.
The MenuThe menu system for the player is also very simple and easy to read. Here's a basic breakdown of the menus to give you an idea of all the power it gives you, while keeping things simple. (it strikes a nice balance between feature power and ease of use)
Music
- Play All
- Recently Added
- Artists
- Albums
- Songs
- Genres
- My Top Rated
- Playlists
- Podcasts
- Audiobooks
- Recordings
- Folders
Slot Radio (goes into playlist if you have a slot radio compatible card inserted. Otherwise it tells you where to get your slot radio cards from)
FM Radio
- Add Preset
- Auto Presets
- View All Presets
- Recording
Voice
- Record Now
- Listen to a Recording
- Delete a Recording
Settings
- Music Options
- Repeat
- Shuffle
- Music EQ
- Replay Gain
- Audiobook Options
- CH. Mode
- Speed
- Radio Options
- Delete all Presets
- FM Region (USA/World)
- FM Mode (Mono/Stereo)
- System Settings
- Backlight (how long it will stay on)
- Power Saver (How long when idle until it goes into power saving mode)
- Sleep (what to do when it goes into sleep mode. IE, turn off, or go into sleep mode for xx number of minutes before shutting down)
- Language (20+ languages)
- Date/Time
- Brightness
- Volume (normal/high)
- Reset Factory Settings
- Info
- USB Mode
- Format
- Press and Hold (what to do when pressing and holding the home button.)
So, as you can see, the player is really powerful.
UsageThe player is really nice, and navigation is a snap. Even without a quick start guide, it takes you just a few moments to grasp how the player works. This seems to build upon the simplicity built into Sandisk's SlotMusic and SlotRadio players, which take simplicity and ease of use to a whole new level. One thing you do have to be careful of though, despite being simple, is its small size.
Yes, that seems to be an advantage (it's easy to care and gets out of the way to allow you to enjoy your music), but if you've got nails or big fingers, you will suffer a lot of fat fingering (seriously, no pun intended) or trouble navigating while working with the device. Otherwise you should have no issues using the controls.
Navigation itself is handled with a simple four position click wheel (up, down, left, right), a center click button, power button, and home button. The Home button will get you immediately to the main menu, regardless of what you're doing. And all navigation is extremely logical, the menu is well labeled, and all functions, with the exception of a few, are quick and easy to understand at first glance. Volume is handled by a little toggle switch on the left side.
The clip on the back of the player, which gives the unit its distinctive name, is very sturdy, easy to use, and once its clipped in place it doesn't come loose very easily. The screen, while barely 1" x 0.5", is extremely easy to read, and the letters and fonts are just right, and the right size. So far, Sandisk is on a winning streak with this player.
Locking of the device is handled by pressing and holding the home button (unless you specify a different action for the home button in settings), which allows for very quick and easy locking and unlocking of the device. The screen will still light up if you press a button at this point, but given how little power the screen uses, that's allowable.
Sound quality of the earbud headphones, while not stellar, is good quality. If you have nothing else to listen with, or you're just starting out, they're awesome. But if you decide to get better headphones later on, that's highly suggested. Should Sandisk replace or improve the earbuds? Not at all. They sound good enough and make a good starter set if you don't have any to start with. Plus, most people tend to already have a favorite set of headphones they use, which means that in most case these will be set aside as backups.
As for the quality of the sound coming from the player, under a better set of headphones, the music coming from the player sounds awesome! Now I'm certain that some audiophiles might pick apart its quality, but for what it does, I think it sounds great. It's got good, rich basses, and solid high end sound.
Battery life didn't quite live up to what was advertised, as I couldn't get anywhere near 15 hours, coming closer to 12-13 hours, but that's still a respectable amount of playtime. The total playtime also varies based on if you're reading off internal memory or listening to the radio, or SlotMusic. But the difference isn't really enough to comment on. Player volume does more to affect battery life than what you're listening to.
Given all the awesomeness that is this player, I do have one gripe. They put the phone jack on the side rather than the top. Now I understand why they did that, and yes, having it on top is a personal preference, but at least it's not intrusive, nor does it get in the way. I just find that it's more comfortable for me to have it on the top. Again, it wouldn't stop me from using the player. It's just an observation.
Sandisk also sent along a SlotRadio card for me to use to test out the player. Interestingly enough, they sent me the Billboard top 1000 rock and roll edition. These are artists ranging from Anthrax and Beck to The Who and Korn. (Not my taste in music, but that is irrelevant here since it was sent for testing purposes.
)
On a side note, I love the idea of SlotMusic and SlotRadio. Plug and play music for your music player and at a reasonable price. It's the perfect solution for those who don't care about managing their music, or fussing with playlists or anything like that. Just insert, and go.
Anyhow, I tossed the SlotMusic card into the player, and after indexing the card, it jumped right to the SlotRadio menu option. One more click and it started playing.
Now, if you want to put files onto the player you need to connect it to the computer (obviously) via the very short included USB cable. If you want to use a longer cable, you'll just need to use that that employs a mini-usb male connector on one end and a standard USB male connector on the other. Upon connecting it to my computer (I'm using MintKDE5) the computer found the player immediately and gave me a popup window with a folder view of the player.
They even give you a nice selection of folders you can toss stuff into. My recommendation is this: Don't delete those folders. The player does funny things if you do, resulting in a required reformat in order to set things right.
But really, there's no need to remove them in the first place since they don't affect the drive's ability to do its job, so just play nice with the player and put your files in the folders given.
Copying files to the player is dead easy. Just highlight, drag, drop. That's it. And the player has absolutely stunning transfer speeds! I actually maxed out my computer's ability to transfer files, and there was hints that the player could accept transfers at rates even higher than I could achieve. FYI, my max transfer capability is 26.5mbps. But I suspect you could pull 50+mbps easily just in the way it behaved.
Radio Reception is also pretty good. It still has the same signal strength problems that the other Sandisk players have, meaning you need to be somewhere with a clear, strong signal, which rules out listening to it indoors in some places, but that aside, once you got a good signal it held it pretty well and had good quality reception. Now I understand that devices this small will automatically get less signal quality for radio reception. However, I'm certain there's ways to improve that, maybe even by doing as some players did by using the earphone jack as an impromptu antenna.
ConclusionI think once again Sandisk has hit another one out of the park with their latest MP3 player. While I did find a few gripes with the device, I really enjoyed it overall. Yes, there's room for improvement in a couple areas. But if they never did a single thing to improve it further, I think that the vast majority of users will love the device. I honestly have no complaints with it, save for the couple listed above. So if you're interested in getting a good, Linux compatible MP3 player,
head on over to Sandisk's site and check it out.
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