Clip+, Zip or new Spark

[livestronger]

Hey guys,
I am looking for a budget mp3 player. I liked the Sansa Clip+ and Sansa Zip(review) but the only problem is its short battery life(Clip+: from 6-12hrs).

I want to use the player while exercising and long trips so I want to avoid touchscreens(also it kills the battery) and want long battery life of atleast 15+ hours.

I read the review on the Philips GoGear Spark and found it quite interesting with its great battery life(around 27 hrs!) and easy interface but with limited storage of 4GB and now they have introduced a new model with a clip but a reduced battery life of 22 hours! I have tried to find some reveiws on it but can't seem to find a single one. Can anyone please do a review on it, atleast the battery life?

I also found the Sony E series interesting with its battery life of 50 hrs! If its true can someone please suggest any models?

Also, I really liked the clip+ but how do you guys deal with its low battery life espcially on long trips where you can't charge it? If you Rockbox it how much improvement can be seen? Do you guys carry any instant battery recharge pack? Like this one: http://anythingbutipod.com/2009/08/c...attery-review/
Can you suggest some more products like this with similar or larger battery life and some other mp3 player with strong battery life?
Thanks.

[IDvsEGO]

I love my clip + but I can also charge it whenever. If I had to be away from a charging source (which would be a fairly unique situation) I might have an issue with the battery. all of the sony models are nice from what I hear. I like the interchangeable memory so I haven't gotten one without it in a while. I keep a couple of players charged and just swap the card to whichever I feel like taking out for the day.

[Lagoo56]

This would be your best pal when it comes to the short battery life:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by livestronger

Hey guys,
I am looking for a budget mp3 player. I liked the Sansa Clip+ and Sansa Zip(review) but the only problem is its short battery life(Clip+: from 6-12hrs).

6-12 hours from a Clip+ sounds weird to me. I easily get 15-16 hours, and I've seen tests showing even more. Maybe you've got a bad battery?

[steinburger1109]

Originally Posted by saratoga

6-12 hours from a Clip+ sounds weird to me. I easily get 15-16 hours, and I've seen tests showing even more. Maybe you've got a bad battery?

I have seen a lot of people getting far less life than you do. I know you RockBox it, which helps, and other people may fiddle with controls more than you. I wouldn't be surprised if the OF was returning that amount of life.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

I have seen a lot of people getting far less life than you do. I know you RockBox it, which helps, and other people may fiddle with controls more than you. I wouldn't be surprised if the OF was returning that amount of life.

That was always my experience. And my Clip Zip results are here....http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...8&postcount=66

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

That was always my experience. And my Clip Zip results are here....http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...8&postcount=66

The huge drop verses the Clipv2 with the same CPU is interesting. I wonder if they had to shrink the battery a little when they shrunk the player. Feel like trying to pop yours open and see if theres a part number on the battery?

Edit: oh, 2x the bitrate probably hurts battery life a bit verses 128k, but still a surprising difference.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by saratoga

The huge drop verses the Clipv2 with the same CPU is interesting. I wonder if they had to shrink the battery a little when they shrunk the player. Feel like trying to pop yours open and see if theres a part number on the battery?

Edit: oh, 2x the bitrate probably hurts battery life a bit verses 128k, but still a surprising difference.

I'm not sure they shrunk the player though....it appears thinner, but it is longer and wider. Assuming the measurements I got on newegg.com are accurate, I came up with this...http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_com...ansa-clip-plus.

I can't say as I really want to try and pop it open....I don't have the most dexterous set of hands, and the possibility exists that I would damage it if I tried to open it. If I see a teardown article anywhere online, I'll certainly link people here to it.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

I have seen a lot of people getting far less life than you do.

And as I said last time you claimed this:

Originally Posted by saratoga

That said, I don't think I've ever heard someone claim 12 hours. Got a link? Would be interesting to see what they were doing differently then me.

Still waiting for that evidence that "a lot of people" get such bad run time. Or more specifically a lot of people with non-damaged batteries anyway. Theres probably a lot of people who have busted batteries at this point since the Clip+ has been out for a while and those batteries tend to die fairly quick.

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

I know you RockBox it, which helps, and other people may fiddle with controls more than you. I wouldn't be surprised if the OF was returning that amount of life.

As I said before:

Originally Posted by saratoga

The Sandisk numbers are usually pretty conservative actually. Someone posted a 21 hour runtime from their ClipV2 with 128k lame VBR. Not bad for a player which is only rated for 15 hours.

So yeah, not sure what you're getting at here. Seems like we already went over all of this and you realized I was right and dropped it.

[JK98]

Get the Clip Zip, or if you can't find it, or want to pay a bit less, get the Clip+. The 4GB Clip+ is on sale this week for $35 at Radio Shack. The Clip+ gets around 12 hours or so with the original firmware when playing mp3 files. Under 10 hours might be from playing protected wma files on an older player that was used heavily.

If around 12 hours of battery life is not enough, you can get a battery powered USB charger. The two I recommend are the Tekkeon mp1550 which uses 4 AA nimh batteries, or the Duracell Instant Power(the newer model with the power switch) which has a built in lion battery. Search the forums for information about these.

[JK98]

Not really 20 hours plus for the Fuze. More like just 20 hours for mp3 files, and less for other files. The annoying thing with the Fuze is the proprietary connector and proprietary cable.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by JK98

Not really 20 hours plus for the Fuze. More like just 20 hours for mp3 files, and less for other files. The annoying thing with the Fuze is the proprietary connector and proprietary cable.

Wow, that was a wasted post,...again,...

[dgb52]

Originally Posted by JK98

Not really 20 hours plus for the Fuze. More like just 20 hours for mp3 files, and less for other files. The annoying thing with the Fuze is the proprietary connector and proprietary cable.

I am curious as to what you find so annoying about it?

[JK98]

Originally Posted by dgb52

I am curious as to what you find so annoying about it?

First of all, I like leaving the earphones plugged in all the time. With the Fuze, I need to unplug the earphones to press the release on the cable plug. With the Clip+, I can use the tiny usb cable that came with my usb battery packs. If I want to use a usb battery pack with a Fuze, I need to carry the huge Fuze cable with me.

[dgb52]

Originally Posted by JK98

First of all, I like leaving the earphones plugged in all the time. With the Fuze, I need to unplug the earphones to press the release on the cable plug. With the Clip+, I can use the tiny usb cable that came with my usb battery packs. If I want to use a usb battery pack with a Fuze, I need to carry the huge Fuze cable with me.

[steinburger1109]

saratoga, you're right, I did drop it. It was pretty unanimous that your numbers were realistic. But you fail to realize that other people can get numbers other than yours. So just because someone doesn't have 15 hr+ life with a Clip/+/Zip doesn't mean they have a faulty battery or anything at all wrong with the player. That's all I'm pointing out. So I repeat: it's not surprising to me that someone using the OF and changing songs or looking at the screen for song info a lot could get far less than you would with RockBox and possibly more conservative practices. That's all. I wasn't looking to start this with you again.

I did respond to you, I offered merely the comments on the ABi review of the Clip (or Clip+, can't remember) because I didn't have the time or motivation to dig through forum posts. I told you that if it wasn't what you would accept as quality proof, I'd gladly try to find what fits your requirements. I never heard back. But let's not sully this thread as well.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

saratoga, you're right, I did drop it. It was pretty unanimous that your numbers were realistic. But you fail to realize that other people can get numbers other than yours.

Pretty much by definition, if someone repeats my test and gets a lower battery runtime, then something would have to be wrong with their battery. Its not really possible to have magic batteries with better battery life, only bad batteries with worse battery life. So if you test and get less then me, either you've tested somehow differently, or have a bad player.

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

So just because someone doesn't have 15 hr+ life with a Clip/+/Zip doesn't mean they have a faulty battery or anything at all wrong with the player.

Well obviously they could have tested incorrectly, or perhaps tested something else (e.g. flac battery life is terrible in the sandisk firmware). So it doesn't mean something is wrong with their player, but baring incompetence its the obvious conclusion.

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

So I repeat: it's not surprising to me that someone using the OF and changing songs or looking at the screen for song info a lot could get far less than you would with RockBox and possibly more conservative practices. That's all. I wasn't looking to start this with you again.

And I'm telling you that you should be surprised since thats a surprising result.

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

I did respond to you, I offered merely the comments on the ABi review of the Clip (or Clip+, can't remember) because I didn't have the time or motivation to dig through forum posts.

So basically, you told me that you didn't actually know what the runtime was and were just guessing.

Originally Posted by steinburger1109

I told you that if it wasn't what you would accept as quality proof, I'd gladly try to find what fits your requirements.

What part of this made you think I didn't want a link:

Originally Posted by saratoga

Got a link? Would be interesting to see what they were doing differently then me.

Was it the part where I told you I wanted you to provide me a link, or where the part where I said I would be interested in the link? Perhaps it was later in the thread after you stopped posting where I posted other test results? Maybe it was where I said I wanted to know what caused the difference?

Seriously, how the hell did you fail to understand my repeated requests that you back up anything at all you've said with me wanting you to continue bullshitting? Why would anyone even want you to bullshit more?

[steinburger1109]

Originally Posted by saratoga

Pretty much by definition, if someone repeats my test and gets a lower battery runtime, then something would have to be wrong with their battery. Its not really possible to have magic batteries with better battery life, only bad batteries with worse battery life. So if you test and get less then me, either you've tested somehow differently, or have a bad player.

He never ran your tests. He remarked what he was experiencing and because it differed from you, the first conclusion you jumped to was bad battery, while what you've said that I bolded is what your first guess SHOULD have been. Also, I find myself saying again, your tests are not reality.

Summary, NOT EVERYONE USES IT THE SAME WAY AS YOU.

Originally Posted by saratoga

And I'm telling you that you should be surprised since thats a surprising result.

Just because it isn't what you got? In practice, yadda yadda, I've said it several times, and you say no. I say yes. You say no. That's the way it goes. That's why I've stopped.

Originally Posted by saratoga

So basically, you told me that you didn't actually know what the runtime was and were just guessing.

How the hell do you get that out of what I showed you?...

Originally Posted by saratoga

What part of this made you think I didn't want a link:

And that's the last I saw/heard from you. That was before I posted my (admittedly not the greatest, but the most readily available and least time-consuming for me) proof. I told you that if you wanted more I would. I never heard back from you.

Originally Posted by saratoga

Maybe it was where I said I wanted to know what caused the difference?

Ok, now here's a new development, thanks for the response, I'll get right on it. I don't have the time now, but I'll get back to it. Some of us are rather busy.

But seriously. Let's leave this thread alone. No one needs to or wants to see this. You'll get the links in a PM or visitor message if you actually care about this and are not just doing this to be a little snob and show me up.

[livestronger]

Thanks a lot guys for the replies.
I read somewhere on this forum that old Fuze has a good battery of 20+ hrs(audio, ofcourse). If yes then I might consider it...
Anyone has any experience with Philips Spark with clip???

@Lagoo56: Thanks man for the link. Have you used it? Its also cheaper than Callpod Fueltank and has better battery capacity 7800mAh vs 4300mAh. For how many days can you use that at a single charge?

[The DarkSide]

I now have a clip zip on the way - wanna buy a 4gb Sansa fuze for $32.00 shipped? It's brand new, unopened in the box.

PM me if your interested,...