The SanDisk Sansa line of Mp3 players has served me well for approximately the last 60 days. I have a 4GB Sansa Fuze that I acquired on black friday and busted out around Christmas time, and I recently Woot!-ed a 2GB Sansa Clip.
I opted to get the Clip because it provides exactly what my new Fuze doesn't, ultra-portability. The Fuze has a nice display that can provide adequate picture, video, and snazzy interface viewing. However, there hasn't come a time yet that I've wanted to check out last night's episode of Project Runway on my hip when I'm cycling in traffic at 25 mph. For this reason I wanted to get a cheaper, less snazzy, lighter in all respects player to provide my exercise tunes/npr podcasts.
When Woot! had the 2GB Sansa Clip (refurb) for $18 shipped I had to pounce. I've used the Clip a handful of times and I'll say first and foremost that the design is almost perfect for exercising.
As the name indicates, there is a belt clip along the backside of the potato-chip sized player to facilitate grab-n-go situations. The belt clip is sturdy enough that I don't feel the need to get a $2 silicone skin from Amazon, but that option is available should the clip ever fail.
The sound quality is good. It's probably not top-of-the-line, but I'm impressed. Even with the included earbuds (which I hope aren't also refurb) the sound is sufficient for me.
I can't yet speak to the battery life, but I can say that I've only had to charge it once straight out of the bag and it's lasted at least 4 hours of listening so far with no excessive battery drain.
The interface consists of a single-color tiny led screen, four button wheel (not scrolling), home button, power/hold button, and volume control. The display is ample, but not at all impressive. The volume control is easy enough to use while clipped on and running or cycling. My biggest complaint is that the wheel doesn't scroll, so navigating through a large list of songs means tirelessly clicking down a million times. Aside from that the menus are completely intuitive. This gets a parent-usable, maybe even grandparent-usable nod.
I'll note that in addition to Sansa claiming their players are Mac and Win compatible, both the Clip and the Fuze have been very friendly with Ubuntu (9.10 karmic koala) Linux as well. I haven't had any recognition or transfer issues with either player.
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The skinny:
- Pros: Ultra-portable, easy to use, inexpensive, good sound quality, Linux compatible
- Cons: No scroll wheel, could easily slip between couch cushions for eternity
Make an Assessment:
- Obviously this is a glowing review. If you're not the iPod Touch type you should swing with Sansa. Knowing the quality of this product I'd probably pay upwards of $25 to replace it, maybe even retail price for one not refurbished (and I'm a cheap bastard). I'm extremely pleased and will probably buy more form them in the future.
Overall Review Score (I haven't figured out how I want to do this yet):
- Grade: A
- Score: 97%
- If it were a movie: ★★★★★
- My Feelings: ☺
Listen to music as much as possible. Music makes life better. You can regularly find these on sale from various websites, or in Best Buy. Also Woot! has had a ton of Sansa players recently, keep eyes peeled.
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