I’m home on R&R, and was walking through Wal-Mart and about flipped. Bought an 8gb clip for $78. It’s black v2, updating f/w and loading it up now.
Happy Days
Mike
So where did you buy it (meaning geographic area)?
North Texas.
Did you see any colors besides black on sale? I’d prefer a silver 8GB clip, but some websites say it’ll be available in black only in the US.
All I saw was black, but can’t guarantee it was the only color they had. I wanted black in the first place so didn’t look further. I’m going there today and will update.
Message Edited by CrustyVet on 11-19-2008 07:02 AM
They seem to only have it in black in Europe, so I assume it’s the same for the US. But no guarantees here.
I was just in the Walmart near my office here in Cary, NC (suburb of Raleigh). It’s one of the smaller Walmarts you’ll find, and it is notorious for being out of stock of the most basic things (like light bulbs or cough syrup) unlike any other Walmart I’ve experienced. They actually had 3-4 black 8GB Sansa Clips for $79.98 in the glass case. I was shocked. If that store has them in stock then I’d guess every Walmart in the US will have them.
Amazon UK lists an 8GB Silver clip, and they’re available on eBay. I’d import, but European mp3 players have a volume limit that makes them much less loud than the US versions.
Really hope the 8 GB Clip is available in silver over here. The black doesn’t look bad, but I love the screen camouflaging front of the silver model.
We do have both in the UK (got one of each sitting next to me - unopened as one is a gift and the other is one my Christmas presents so I’m trying to be good). FYI there is no volume limit on the UK clips.
If there’s no limit on the UK Clip that’s awesome. How do you know? I thought it was a legal issue that applied to all European players. I’ve certainly read complaints about the volume cap on a number of players made by everyone from Apple to Sony. People always want to know how to hack their Euro players to remove the restriction, so why doesn’t it apply to the Clip?
Oh, they do list a silver one at amazon.de too. I must have missed that when I ordered mine.
@rel88 wrote:
Really hope the 8 GB Clip is available in silver over here. The black doesn’t look bad, but I love the screen camouflaging front of the silver model.
It actually looks like those pictures in real life? Hmm. I found all of those pictures on the SanDisk website and amazon etc. very inaccurate anyway: When I got the black one I actually thought the screen would be indented because it looks like that on the pictures (notice the reflection on the bottom and the shadows on the upper part of the screen here). So when I got it I was (positively) surprised that the front was actually even. I think I might have liked the silver model a tad better if I had known what it actually looked like. Grwsfrsrsrwr. 
Oh and about the volume cap: I haven’t noticed that either. I got my last MP3 player during a stay in the US, and it doesn’t seem to be as loud as the clip that I have now. But I wouldn’t know for certain. Although I’ve never heard about such a restriction.
Message Edited by Pyrazol on 11-19-2008 09:50 PM
A google image search is very helpful for finding more accurate photos. You’re right that the mock up art isn’t that realistic. In fact both silver and black players look much better in person. I compared a silver 4GB and a black 2GB in Walmart a few days ago, and the official pics don’t do either player justice. But yes, the silver has a mirrored front which disguises the screen almost perfectly. When powered off it’s almost invisible; even under harsh store lighting conditions. When powered on, the text glows pretty seamlessly through the mirror. It’s very attractive!
Yeah, I just googled some pictures. anythingbutipod.com has a few good ones, although no frontal pictures for whatever reason, so you can’t really say anything for certain about the display.
I didn’t think it would look like the promotional pictures because most of the time those are totally exaggerated and look much better than the actual product. Who would have thought that it’s the other way around in this case… but oh well, the black one is nice too.
@rel88 wrote:
Amazon UK lists an 8GB Silver clip, and they’re available on eBay. I’d import, but European mp3 players have a volume limit that makes them much less loud than the US versions.
There is an option in the European Clip’s settings to remove the volume limit. I’ve tried it with the stock headphones and my ears were almost blown away. 
That should be loud enough I guess… :stuck_out_tongue:
Amazon.com claims the 8gb models are available through them, and are now shipping… [link ]
Message Edited by Mushroom on 11-20-2008 01:59 AM
There’s no mention of a silver version on Amazon.com, so it looks like the websites that said the US 8GB Clip will only be available in black were probably right. Perhaps I’ll hope for the best and import. I’m not sure why none of the other Euro players allow users to disable the volume limit while the Clip apparently does. Apple was always very apologetic about the reduced volume when the first EU compliant iPods shipped. I haven’t found any info on the law itself - just message boards full of Europeans trying to remove the limit from their iPhones, Sony players…even Nokia and Motorola cellphone MP3 players. Needlessly taking the option away from users can’t help their sales, so why aren’t these other companies following Sandisk’s lead if there’s a way to get around the law?
More to the point, why does Europe get two 8GB clip color choices while the US only gets one? Consumer electronics companies can be so capricious.
@rel88 wrote:
More to the point, why does Europe get two 8GB clip color choices while the US only gets one? Consumer electronics companies can be so capricious.
Now _ THERE’S _ a $10 word we don’t hear too often!
From websters-online-dictionary.com
Capricious: Adjective
1. Changeable; “a capricious summer breeze”; “freakish weather”.
2. Determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; “a capricious refusal”; “authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious”; “the victim of whimsical persecutions”.
Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Date “capricious” was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350.
Synonyms: freakish (adj), impulsive (adj), whimsical (adj).
@eliasf wrote:
There is an option in the European Clip’s settings to remove the volume limit. I’ve tried it with the stock headphones and my ears were almost blown away.
So THAT’s what that option is about. I was already wondering, I haven’t really used it. The normal setting is loud enough for me, and I’d say you really won’t need the higher setting.
Oh and I just noticed that amazon.de seems to have had the silver model earlier than the black model (product page for the silver model says September 4th, black model September 19th), so you might just wait a few more days/weeks/eons.
Message Edited by Pyrazol on 11-20-2008 07:07 PM
Miikerman wrote:
Perhaps it will come to the U.S. shortly in the future, the 8gb Clip only getting to the U.S. now, after the EU.
This is true. I don’t need a new player for a couple of weeks, so I may just wait and hope for the best. It would be nice not to deal with the hassle of an import.
Tapeworm wrote:
@rel88 wrote:
More to the point, why does Europe get two 8GB clip color choices while the US only gets one? Consumer electronics companies can be so capricious.
Now _ THERE’S _ a $10 word we don’t hear too often!
That’s right. I’m hardcore. I call it like I see it. :smiley:
Message Edited by Rel88 on 11-20-2008 01:25 PM
Message Edited by Rel88 on 11-20-2008 01:25 PM
"More to the point, why does Europe get two 8GB clip color choices while the US only gets one? Consumer electronics companies can be so capricious. "
Because it is selling better in some countries, Like Germany. In the US pepole buy Shuffle at twice the price of the CLIP. I bet that If Sandisk had come out with such an overpriced crippled DAP, they would be selling nada. But, you know. Apple is cool…IPOD is sexy…Herd mentality!
