MP3 player recommendations?

Leaving aside the debate as to whether or not one should be used at all....

I really like MP3 palyers with a built-in clip, as they are so convenient for running, and have owned an iPod Shuffle (2nd generation) and a SanDisk Sansa Clip, which have both been absolutely brilliant.

Unfortunately, my Sansa Clip has just died. I still have the Shuffle, but it only has a 1GB capacity.

So.... does anyone know of any MP3 players with built-in clip apart from these two (and yes, I know about the Shuffle 4th Generation, which may indeed be an option).

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • Oooh - that looks good!

    Just to check - when you say "new", do you mean the 6th Generation launched September 2010? 

  • Can't fault Philips Go Gear , very small, plenty of Memory good sound comes with necklace ear plugs, and mine has been through the mincer over the years, soaked through, dropped, hammered, you name it, it still keeps going, and a fraction of the cost of an Ipod
  • My only comment would be to think about what you will use it for. I currently have a small Sony Walkman which is perfect for music; however I also listen to a lot of Audible audio books when out running and at work. Audible files and Sony Walkmans are not compatible, so I am using my smartphone for Audible. I'm finding my phone too heavy for running so may be forced to pick up an IPOD Shuffle or Nano to meet both needs.
  • I can vouch for the ipod nano 6th Generation. I received one a couple of weeks ago due to my 1st gen being replaced by apple and I must say its a superb piece of kit perfect for running as it clips straight onto your clothing.

    Not the cheapest mp3 player but excellent quality and 8gb which is loads of memory.

  • If you liked the clip, why not replace it with another one? Lots cheaper than an ipod nano, does mp3 and audiobooks brilliantly.
  • i have the latest nano too, but i still find myself using my 2nd gen shuffle i bought on ebay for £10. especially over winter in changeable/un predictable weather, i've been soaked through before and i just dont like to think of my nano getting destroyed, i keep that for summer runs,
    features dont matter since i press play and then generally dont touch it unless its to pause on single track country lanes so i can hear traffic.
  • I guess that 1Gb should hold enough to last most runs, so you could just save your cash & use the shuffle.
  • @Sandy the Womble - the little square one, yes.
  • Thanks for all the responses!

    EG - had a look at the GoGear, but don't think it has a clip? Looks good otherwise.

    Claret - reluctant to get another Sansa Clip due to the last one just dying... worried the same thing might happen again. And yes - 1Gb on the iPod is plenty for any run, but it does mean I have to change the music on it every now & again. No big deal I suppose, and it's good to change things around & keep the music fresh! I was just enjoying having 8 Gb of music & putting the player on shuffle!

    So I guess I'll make do with the Shuffle for the time being, and maybe put the Nano on my birthday list. Trouble is, that's not until September!

  • Oh dear. I feel such a fool.

    Having contacted Amazon to see if I had any customer rights over an MP3 that dies after 9 months, they suggested I checked on the Sandisk site first. Quite why I didn't think to do this is beyound me, but there you go.

    Anyway, looking at the "troubleshooting" section of the forum there, it appears that this is a known problem, and all the device needs is a reset. So now I have a fully working SanDisk Sansa Clip once again! Woop!

    So what have I learnt?

    1. I'm an idiot (although I probably knew that already)

    2. Amazon's after sales service is very good (it was a personalised response to my enquiry, not a standard "fob off")

    3. I still quite like the look of the new Nano.

    Cheers all!

    image

  • Glad you got it working again.

    Been thinking a bit more though, and this may become relevant at some point:

    I really like my clip+, and appreciated the clip on it. Unfortunately I dropped it and then promptly trod on it and bust the hinges on the clip so couldn't get it back on. (You can get replacement clips for the clip btw, but not for the clip+).

    Anyway after much looking around I found a small clip with a flat back on it (one from one of those ID badges for visitors at work). It has a kind of lever action which locks it into place really securely. I carefully sanded the back of the mp3 player flat, and then used some araldite 2 part resin to stick it on. It is a little bulkier than the original clip (but hey I used to walk around with a walkman and a load of cassettes in my pockets!) and it does the job just great. So you could put a clip on any mp3 player pretty easily.
  • For running I've got an ol' iPod nano 1st Gen, 1GB - Think it was £40 off eBay

    Don't mind if it gets sweat, rain, mud on it, and it doesn't attract unwated attention.

    Will store over 100 songs - Easily enough for any distance run!

  • Worth checking if your 1st gen nano is one of the ones apple are recalling at the moment because of dodgy batteries. If so, you could get a free upgrade to a 6th gen one (if you want it). If not, at least it could keep you warm on a cold winter's run if the battery sets on fire!!!!
  • Ooooo. Will have a look - Cheers.
  • There's a thread somewhere on here which gives the website. You'd better get out a magnifying glass because you have to type in the serial number which is not very large!
  • EC, if I run into you I owe you a pint. Apple are shipping me the replacement box for my battered old Nano that I got 2nd hand off eBay - Getting a shiny new free pod!
  • (Apologies for hijacking thread)

    Now along with me my family is returning a total of 3 nanos! Amazing...
  • Never get an archaic apple piece of rubbish! I'm dumping my shuffle (gen4?). Can't even drop files on it, so ancient and non-international-standard meeting. I do not like itunes and do not want to destroy all my music into their bespoke librarys/folders - but with this product the only way to use it is through itunes, HENCE ALWAYS AVOID APPLE CHEAP RUBBISH. 

  • I'm not too keen on iPods any more. They're nice little bits of kit and easy to use and all BUT  - if your pc dies and you have to get a new one, it's then really difficult to put new music on your iPod without erasing all the old stuff and starting again. I've got an old nano (sadly not one of the ones they're replacing for free...) and I haven't been able to figure out how to put anything new on it since my old pc was replaced.

    On the up-side, I've been running with this old nano for years now and it's held up fine despite being utterly soaked in sweat/water many a time...

  • Blimey runs-with-dogs, is that right?

    I've only got a 1gb iPod Shuffle, so it's never really bothered me as I'm always changing the music on it anyway. But that must be a real pain if you've got about 8gb or more on an iPod!

  • booktrunkbooktrunk ✭✭✭
    Iexplorer ... Can drag all the stuff off your i* devices and it's free, a bit stroppy to install on win7 sometimes need a few iTunes re-installs but when working is do useful. Used to be called iPhone explorer but had to rename it as iexplorer
  • The BusThe Bus ✭✭✭

    Glad you found the Sansa clip reset - I was going to suggest that! I've had one sansa die completey, one that the volume control is stuck on (fine for in bed!). Despite this, I bought a 3rd as they are really good - nice sound (with upgraded headphones) very light and perfect for running and (relatively) dirt cheap especially if you look around, and go for the lower memory versions.

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