I'm getting this as a gift so that's why I'm not exactly gunning for something expensive. A family member wanted to buy me a 1 GB 2nd Gen iPod but I'm pretty sure that would just be a waste of money. Apple is very overrated and I'm pretty sure I can get something better within that price range. $55 Canadian for 1 GB is pathetic. It's barely an upgrade from my 3 year old (but crappy) 512 MB MP3 player. And even my old crappy player has a LCD screen whereas the Shuffle doesn't. What I'm looking for - Good quality player - Suitable for exercise - Good compatibility, including Audible Audio books and MP3 (obviously). OGG would be a bonus since I like free codecs. - Rechargeable out of the box I've seen a 2 GB Sansa Clip, which has had some great reviews and is touted as exercise-friendly with great compatibility, sell for $60 Canadian. Would you recommend that or is there something better? Thanks in advance. Oh and I know that even 2 GB for $60 is paltry but the stuff you get for just $20 or so at 2 Gigs tends to be cheap, lower quality and have basic MP3, WMV and WAV compatibility. And yeah I know that refusing the iPod Shuffle might make me seem like a dick but if I don't like it and if the gift is a rip-off, what's the point of wanting to buy it to give to someone? I've never hated Apple more than I do now. They have effectively brainwashed the public into thinking that their iPod brand = quality and worth the inflated prices.
You definitely want the Sansa Clip, but not at those prices. I recently picked up a pair of 2GB Clips on Woot for $15.99 each (US$) -- granted, they were sold as factory refurbs, but they sure look brand new to me -- IMO they are most likely overruns sold off at liquidation prices. If a longer warranty is important to you, squaretrade is dirt cheap, and you can generally scrounge up a coupon code for 20-30% discount on the warranty. The Clip supports all those formats (Ogg, Wma, etc.), AND, it has the BEST audiobook handling of ANY player I've ever used. It does NOT need proprietary DRM'd files in order to use the audiobook features -- just take ANY standard files (properly tagged etc), and put them in the Clip's Audiobooks folder (I create separate subdirectories for each title on the Clip -- the firmware will automatically recurse the tree). The benefit of this (as opposed to having your audiobook chapters handled like music files) is that you will NOT have audiobook content slipping into a shuffle when you're listening to music, nor will you have to wade through them while navigating your music lists. But the MOST important feature is that it will automatically bookmark EVERY audiobook file -- any time you return to a chapter you were previously listening to, it will ask if you want to resume listening from where you were, or, start from the beginning. The MOST you can hope for from most other players is to have them USUALLY remember your position in ONE file when you shut down while listening to it. But if you listen to anything else, you'll lose that one-time bookmark. NOT so with the Clip! It's got plenty of other features, i.e., built-in microphone and FM ratio -- and can record from either source -- and decent podcast handling too (same as audiobooks, but they have their own directory, and are kept separate from the audiobooks and music), and, EXCELLENT sound quality. If you are near a Walmart, they have been closing out the 8GB Clip for $49 (at least in this country). From what I've been reading on the Sansa-oriented forums, though, it's getting harder to find any that are still in stock. If you know anyone who lives near a Walmart it wouldn't hurt to ask them to check for you, because that's a great price (lots of people paid more than that for a 4GB, or even a 2GB version). The only two caveats I can think of are to avoid the silver model (I think it is only available in the 4GB model) -- on that model, they use a dark-tinted/mirror-surface plastic window over the display, which makes it VERY dim -- pretty much useless outdoors, and difficult to see even indoors. It has a cool-factor, sure -- but the usability really takes a hit -- and, the silver paint quickly wears off, revealing a black case, with a dark screen. The other caveat is to be careful not to lose either the player or the clip. On some of them, the clip (it snaps onto the back of the player) is not really tight, and will fall off. If you are carrying it in your shirt pocket with the player in your pocket, and the clip facing outward, then, if the clip falls off, you'll lose the clip, but the player will drop into your shirt pocket. This has happened to me, and as a result, one of my Clips is "sans a clip" -- but, if you carry it with the clip on the edge of your pocket, with the player OUTSIDE your pocket, then, if the clip comes loose, the clip will fall into your pocket, and the player will end up as a "found good" for whoever comes across it where it fell to the ground. This has happened to others.
Synchronicity! If you're still looking for a Clip, Woot has them today -- 2GB Sansa Clip for $14.99 -- you can't beat that price, IMO. I got two of them the last time they ran this sale, they looked to me to be brand new, even though sold as refurbs. If you are not familiar with Woot, here are a couple of things to keep in mind: First, the sales are for ONE day only, from 12AM Central time, running 24 hours OR until the item is sold out. When they sell Sansas like this, the chance they may sell out early is something to keep in mind. Also, their shipping is pathetic. More than one customer has left a raging post and sworn never to deal with them again, because it took SO long for the product to arrive. They give themselves five days to ship (although it's not unheard of for them to take more than five days), and, they use the Fedex "SmartPost" service, arguably the WORST method of delivery in existence, but, probably the cheapest. People have tracked the progress of their delivery for WEEKS, watching their stuff be carted back and forth across the country in no rational order, until finally arriving. Generally, it takes a few days, but with SmartPost, you have to be prepared for it to NOT arrive in a few days. Finally, they ONLY ship to the contiguous 48 states, which means no sales to Alaska, Hawaii, or [drumroll] Canada. However, a LOT of people in those locations DO make purchases, using the addresses of friends or relatives who live in "the lower 48. So, if you see this in time, and you've got a USA-based contact that's willing to front for you, here's a fantastic deal on a Sansa Clip -- DEFINITELY a better deal than the $60 (Canadian *or* US) that you were prepared to spend. Standard disclaimer: I have NO affiliation with Woot, other than as a (generally) satisfied customer. (Yes, I've gotten some stinkers there, like the Philips UPS that broke within warranty period, which Philips REFUSED to cover, insisting that "surges" void the warranty -- and then informing me, without having looked at my UPS, that the power outage which revealed that it had failed was "a surge." I despise Philips!)
I unfortunately don't have a US contact that I know well and trust who could get it for me. Anyway, I talked to the gift-giver about it. They decided on getting me a 4 GB Sansa Clip (instead of the 2 GB one I requested). However, I think the 4 GB ones they are selling here are mostly silver but I told her to see if they had any in red. If not, I'll have to put up with the visibility issue. It's a shame that the Clip is so much more expensive in Canada than in the states though. Our dollar is not that bad. 1 US = 85c Canadian so the prices are totally unfair. It's clearly Apple favoritism for retailers to mark up the Apple iPods only a little bit (It's $80 US in America but $100 Canadian/$85 US in Canada) while marking up Sansa a lot (ie. 8 GB Sansa Clip in America = $50 US whereas in Canada it's $100 Canadian/$85 US). I think the 4GB clip will come to $80 Canadian. That's what I've seen it being sold for at Canadian retailers. It's a rip-off but not as much as the $100 Canadian 4 GB iPod Shuffle (which is an absolute disaster). When CNET did a comparison review not long ago between the 4 GB 3rd Gen iPod Shuffle and the 4 GB Sansa Clip, I think Sansa averaged 4.2 while Shuffle did 3.0.
Use paypal. Paypal converts pounds, US and CA dollars. If Woot does not take PP try ecost. They sell refurbished ones for half price. They do not re-furnbish flash players; they just check to make sure they work. You use some of your savings to buy an extended warentee. I rate Sansas as one of the best makes you can buy. The are the only company to significantly erode Apple's market share.
Neo, the creatives are the only named brand my family does not own. What makes them so good other than they allow drag and drop and do not use itunes? I love the Sansa because they are the best value and have superior hardware and software to Apple and Zune. Creative has never eroded Apple's market share like Sansa has. Creative is older than Apple but has never done very well. They have a loyal following like the Zune but both are only a niche market. Neither have caught on due to problems. I have heard of serious problems with the disked versions as being vastly inferior to to even the ipods which are not good anymore. At least the ipods last for at least a year. I have heard creatives not lasting 3 months.
