[D/\SH]

Hands on with SanDisk's Sansa Clip

Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:23PM EDT


SanDisk has a new small MP3 player, the Sansa Clip, and it's tiny but rich in features and sound quality. It comes in 1GB ($40) and 2GB ($60).

The obvious competitor to the 2.17 x 1.25 inch clip-on player is Apple's Shuffle, but though the Shuffle is double the price, $80 for 1GB, the Sansa Clip offers more features.

This small .92-ounce player allows you to choose which songs you play when, as well as opt for a shuffle mode. There's an LCD screen and, yes, an iPod-like scroll wheel and center menu button to allow you to pick playlists and songs. The 1GB comes in black, while the 2GB Clips comes in black, red, hot pink, and ice blue.

I like that it comes with an FM tuner, which I would want in a clip-on music player so I could listen to the radio while exercising or on a train.

The Sansa Clip works with Windows Media Player 10 or 11, easily syncing playlists to the player from your PC. The sound is very nice. It does what you'd want a very portable MP3 player to do, and is easy to figure out how to use within minutes. The screen and FM tuner are nice add-ons that make the Clip a very good tiny MP3 player and an excellent deal