Review & Giveaway: SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 Player

Mom Central recently asked me if I wanted to be a part of the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip Blog Tour. Well, of course!


We love our music around here. The right kind of music can make any day better - and can motivate. I have certain music I like to listen to when I am kneading dough for instance (hey - it's a great arm workout!), certain music I listen to when I am getting ready to go out for a special occasion, and even certain music I listen to when I am working out. I can't get motivated to burn calories without music playing.

When I was 18, I decided I wanted to travel the US backpacking style. In the months leading up to carrying that backpack, I started to work out first thing every morning, and ran five miles daily. It became my foundation, and even though I didn't work out quite as much as I got older, I still got my daily five miles in. Unfortunately, once I was married, laziness set in. :( We are somewhat active around here - I've been working on my DH's eating habits, and trying to push him into more than just our daily walk as a family and weekly hiking trips. We began discussing getting a gym membership at my prodding, and I finally began winning some of these battles! (There's nothing like actually paying for something that motivates you to use it! LOL)

I'll confess: I can't work out in public without music to zone out in. I end up feeling self conscious otherwise and thinking people will think I'm either fatter than what I am, or not putting enough effort into working out. (Yeah, I have issues!) I remember the days of trying to run with a portable CD player, and man, oh man, was I happy to get my first MP3 player. LOL MP3 players have even come a long way from those early days - I remember my first one only held about 30 songs! While it fit into my pocket, it didn't have any way to attach it from bumping around while I was moving. Now there's a lot of accessories for my iPod, but none of them are built right in.

The SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player has the clip built right in, so you don't have to worry about getting accessories that you might not even like. (And plus, spend more money on!) It's easy on your pocketbook too: it retails for under $50! You'd think it would be bare bones for that price, but it features a color screen, a stopwatch, a microphone so you can record any notes you think of while working out or using it, and even an FM radio (guys you can listen to the game while fishing!) As tiny as it is, you still get a high resolution 1.1" LCD screen to check out what you are listening to - yes, even songs on the radio! Speaking of tiny, here it is next to my iPod Nano:


I love the purple! If you don't though, it comes in several other colors. You can purchase microSDHC cards to expand the memory, up to 32 GB, so you can add plenty of music! The player's rechargeable battery lasts around 15 hours worth of listening time, so you can get your week's worth of workouts in for the most part before you have to recharge it. It was easy to sync up to my laptop and add my iTunes playlist right to it:


I'm not sure how clear my photo looks to others, but that little screen is really easy to read off of, which surprised me since it's so small. There wasn't a glare or anything that I noticed. It actually came with a few preloaded songs even, but they weren't my cup of tea, so those were taken off really quick. (What? lol) If you're used to adding and deleting playlists, you'll find this one just as easy.

The FM radio part has *40* presets! I'm not sure we even have that many radio stations around here, lol

Now, I mentioned up above working out, and this is why I really wanted to give the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player a good test run. I loved the idea of the built in clip, but if the clip doesn't hold when you're running along or doing lunges, what good is that clip? Well, I'm happy to tell you it hung in pretty good for me. I'll confess though: I didn't attach it to my sleeve, like a guy probably would do. I attach it to my running bra! LOL Yep, right in between the cleavage. The first time I used it, I actually stuck it face in, so just in case the clip gave out, it would fall into the bra and I wouldn't loose it even if the clip part broke off.

You're cracking up at me, aren't you? Yeah, I know I'm entertaining. ;) It didn't bother me there, and I didn't feel like there was anything really bumping around. Of course, if you run a lot faster than my tortoise self, you might not like it there and would rather clip it to another garment, like your waistband. Whatever works for you, as long as you are careful not to get your arms caught in the cord for the earbuds.

Now, speaking of the earbuds, I wasn't jumping for joy with the ones that came with the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player, but I might just be overly picky. The sound was okay, it just didn't feel that great in my ears (I have issues?), and if you're zipping along, they can fall out. My suggestion is that you might want to invest in a better quality set to go along with the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player, especially if you're going to be wearing it for longer periods of time.

If you're looking for an inexpensive MP3 player that you won't sob uncontrollably if it's broken or stolen, then the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player is probably for you. The low cost certainly makes it attractive - the 4GB which can hold up to 1,000 songs retails for $49.99, while the 8 GB which holds up to 2,000 songs retails for $69.99. As it's the holiday season, you will probably find some good sales to bring the cost down even further.

This post is part of my Holiday Gift Guide 2011. To see more great gift ideas, just click it.

Win it! Thanks to SanDisk and Mom Central, one lucky reader is going to win a SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player! The winner will receive a coupon code for a free SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player including shipping in their email, and it MUST be redeemed by 11/25, so be sure to order it as soon as you receive the winning email. Four readers will also win a 20% off coupon to use online on the SanDisk website to purchase the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player. (It's not valid on shipping alas) To enter, head on over to the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player product page, and tell us which color you'd choose. If you'd like to be in the running for the 20% off coupon, please include that in your comment.

As always, you can receive extra entries for:

-Subscribing to my feed OR publicly following my blog
-Blogging about this giveaway with a link back
-Tweeting about this giveaway 1X (leave the link in your comment below or @psychotichouse) example:
Win a SanDisk Clip Zip! http://bit.ly/rxJRfA 11/19 @psychotichouse

That's four (4) possible entries! Giveaway ends November 19th at 11:59 PM PST, and please leave your email address in your entry or have it available in your profile. US only, sorry :( Good luck everyone!! :)

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of SanDisk and received a product sample to facilitate my review, and coupons to giveaway.