Upgrade

Well, I finally fried my Clip+ by trying to overload it with a 32GB expansion card. The specs state that it only supports up to 16GB. It worked for a couple of weeks, but eventually the player died. I probably overused it anyway. I replaced it with a newer model, the Clip Zip. Pretty cool piece of technology.

The first thing that strikes me is the display. Unlike the previous Clip models, the Zip has a full color display, including album art and more readable menus and titles. I’m surprised they can pack so much on its tiny 1″ display. This will make it easier to read in bright daylight, a major improvement.

It sounds as good as the Clip+. Great quality, the music comes out smooth with none of the “white noise” the iPod is known for. It’s worth investing in quality headphones for maximum performance.

The first problem I had with it was getting it to read microSD cards properly. It would only refresh if I removed the card. Updating the firmware seems to have taken care of this.

Most people see MP3 players as obsolete in this age of smartphones and tablets. Maybe they have a place in the gym, but they’ve pretty much outlived their usefulness. I don’t agree with this. Dedicated music players have superior playback, and are reasonably priced. iPhone and Android batteries will drain quickly from overuse, so separating music from other functions is a good idea. A smartphone is nice, but I can live without it. I can’t live without my Sansa Clip.

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