Average lifespan of the Sansa Clip?

[ggffhhgood]

Hi,

Just picked up an 8gb clip from Wal-mart for 79 dollars. So far, so good. I really like the clip.

Anyway, I was wondering what the average lifespan for one of these suckers is? Obviously, it will not last forever, but still, I would hope I could get at least a year out of it.

What are all your experiences?

What have you heard? Does what you have heard match up with the reality?

By the way, some people were worried about the build quality of the 8gb from Wal-Mart; so far, I have no complaints. It seems just like the 2 gb I picked up from Wal-Mart, just different packaging.

Thanks.

[CrowdAds]

[Mikerman]

You certainly should get well beyond a year's use out of it; more likely, 2-5 or more, even with a great amount of use. And if something happens within the first year, you have your manf. warranty.

[dfkt]

Mine's almost a year old. I use it while jogging, biking, gardening, and so on. I've dropped it several times, not even a single scratch on it.

[sansaguy]

From everything I've read from WalkGood who has a number of Clips they are very durable and you should get years out of it. Great that you snagged an 8GB for $79!!

[advcomp2019]

I have four Clips. They are all great.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by sansaguy

From everything I've read from WalkGood who has a number of Clips they are very durable and you should get years out of it. Great that you snagged an 8GB for $79!!

Did you see advcomp2019's pictures and in irc he said 3 more are on the way, wow, we only have two. IIRC we got our first clip last year on black friday, so one is a year & our second one is about 5 months, still going strong and almost gets daily use and abuse from the kids.

I agree with dfkt's points above and I believe that EnzoTen has had one since the release date over a year ago without problems. That said, I don't see any reason why your new clip shouldn't be fine for several years.

[MIX_MASTER_ICE]

I got a Clip last year on Black Friday and use it close to everyday. I've had no problems with it and the battery life seems very close to when I got it new. I just picked up a 4GB Clip this Black Friday for 35, which just happened to be the same price Best Buy had the 2GB Clip last Black Friday. Best little MP3 player on the market, IMO.

[nailzer]

As far as the li-ion battery, to keep it from dieing a premature death don't let the charge go down further than 80% discharge.

[m_k]

I've read that the OLED display has a finite lifespan -- does anyone know how difficult it would be to replace? I have on order three 1GB Clips (could not resist at just under ten bucks each) that I ordered for spare parts for my 2GB "every day carry" Clip (which has already lost its clip -- my wife called Sansa, and I swear, they really need to do some SERIOUS rethinking of their logistics -- the amount of BS they put her through on the phone simply to verify that we *own* one -- the net result of which was a ticket number and an email address they told her to contact -- with NO confirmation that we would qualify for a replacement part -- it would cost them LESS to simply mail out the damn things, and generate a LOT more goodwill. As it stands now, we are maybe halfway through the process -- we still have to send them our receipt, blah blah blah, and then wait "for the next time we have them in stock" -- IF they choose to send us one.)

WTH???

So, for ten bucks, I get a complete "kit of parts" -- a clip, a battery, two case-halves, replacement clear front "window" plate, switches, buttons, circuit board, display, etc.

We have since that time also ordered some 2GB players, that will be used as Happy-X-Day gifts, and a 4GB Clip (one of those $35 specials) that will be used to house the complete Pink Floyd studio album set, after I FLAC it. My only regret at this point -- other than Sansa's idiocy regarding replacement of lost clips -- is that I *only* ordered three of the 1GB models.

(Better yet, maybe they could redesign the part so that it wasn't so blasted *easy* to lose? At least I carried it "player-in" (player inside my pocket, clip hanging outside), so that when the decisive moment struck, I lost the plastic clip rather than the player. I wonder how many people are the proud owner of a clip, having found it sitting in-pocket, with the *player* lost forever?)

[jjrosaria]

I've got no clip but I have an old german brand mp3 stick player (guess wat its just 128mb) anyways its still working perfectly 4 yrs now.. I dont use it quite often now since it doesnt sound good and it uses AAA batteries.. NOT good for the environment since I dont have a rechargable one

[m_k]

Answered my own question by looking here:

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archi...sassembled.php

Decent! The display has a plug-connector ribbon cable! That's a LOT easier to replace than one of those press-soldered ribbon cables. (As in *trivially* easy!)

My next question would be whether there's any difference on the mainboard between the 1, 2, and 4GB (V1) Clips? If not, I ought to be able to replace the memory chip to up the capacity of a cheap 1GB model, or, port the good chip from a player with a failed mainboard onto a "donor PCB" from a 1GB player. Looks like it shouldn't be too tough of a job -- they're not using those "million solder-ball contacts under the chip" deals -- just two sets of pins running down the sides of the memory chip. Don't need any uber-special production-grade desoldering/resoldering gear to replace this sort of chip.

[Mikerman]

OLED display: Indeed, it has a limited lifespan. But when I originally calculated it out, the display will last for many years (was it 3 or 5+?) with considerable (although not (24/7!) use. By then, we will be generations away from the present state of players.

Batteries: Likewise as to batteries. batteryuniversity.com is a good source for battery info.