Product Review: Sansa Clip MP3 Player by SanDisk

This little mp3 player is light and full of features that even its rival, the iPod Shuffle, doesn't have. Most notably, the Sansa Clip has a screen and a few more buttons, making it much easier to use than the iPod Suffle and most other mp3 players in its price range.

Best Features

Here is a run-down of the best features this little player has to offer:

The clip: it is plastic (with a metal hinge) and it is removable, but it really adds to the usefulness of this little device, not to mention making it a bit harder to lose.

Dedicated volume switch right on the side which is easy to access and use.

Bright, clear screen: the light blue characters against the dark black screen are very easy to read, even without my reading glasses.

Re-chargeable battery: the battery charges when you hook it up to your computer's USB port. You can also charge it from a wall outlet or car adapter, using the mini-USB style charger that might have come with your cell phone or Bluetooth headset. This type of charger does not come with the Sansa Clip but is available separately. The 15-hour battery life is convenient as well.

Drag and drop interface: simple to add songs using Windows Media Player or just drag them into place.

Lots of formats supported: not only can you play mp3 files but you can also play WMA, WAV and Audible formats. And this player is just begging to play your podcasts, featuring a separate folder for these popular Internet radio shows, automatically grouping multiple episodes of the same show together, and remembering where you left off in each episode, even if you've played another file in between. The player also remembers if you were playing or paused when you shut it off and starts right back up again, not only in the same place but in the same mode.

FM tuner and voice recorder built in, just in case you get bored with the music you've stored on it.

Built-in equalizer settings and also a custom option if you don't like the pre-set ones.

Ease of finding and playing songs: because of the screen menus and intuitive buttons, it is quite easy to use. One improvement they could make would be to move the head phone jack so the cable connection sticks out of the top of the unit and not the side, where it makes it difficult to use the volume control.

Size: The cap on my pen is taller than this little player, and the backspace key on my keyboard is wider. With the clip attached, it sticks out barely half an inch. The size is a great plus if you want something small, but it could also be a drawback because an item this small would be easy to lose.

The Downside

Some people might find the lack of a dedicated battery charger annoying, but considering the price point, I think charging with the USB cord is a good solution.

The device has a confusing MTP or MSC option with regard to using the USB connection. This is meant to give other options if you use an operating system like Linux, but it gave me some trouble when I first copied songs to it. The manual gives a little help, and there are forums and a helpline to call if this gives you trouble.

Bottom Line

To sum up, this player is less expensive than the iPod shuffle, but it has more features. It's worth serious consideration by anyone looking for an inexpensive, lightweight mp3 player.