Credit Crunch Christmas: SanDisk Sansa Clip

Pocket-lint's Advent calendar of gift ideas: 13 days to go

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13 December 2008 10:00 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

It's a bold statement, but we think SanDisk's little Sansa Clip MP3 player would make a neat gift for pretty much anyone on your Christmas list.

Cheap enough to buy as a first MP3 player for a tween or teen, it's also really easy to use so shouldn't scare older family members, while its Audible format support means pre-loading an audio book for a dad, aunt or the like would make it a bigger, nicely bundled gift.

In addition, those who already have a bigger, flashier MP3 player such as an expensive iPod or an all-singing-and-dancing PMP might well appreciate the device's tiny dimensions and built-in clip mechanism that makes it commute-, gym- or jog- friendly.

And it's not just us that found the diminutive player pleasing - it has notched up 40 five-star reviews on Amazon from happy customers who've bought one.

The model we're particularly recommending here is the 2GB version in classic black that is currently being sold by Amazon for a bargain £20 with free delivery, down from £33, although more colours and capacities are available on the site - as well as from tons of other retailers.

The Clip offers 15 hours of playback from its rechargable battery, supports MP3, WMA, secure WMA, and Audible audio file formats and, when users get bored of the loaded music, has radio thanks to the built-in FM tuner.

Complete with earphones, that appear to be decent quality - at least according to the feedback on Amazon - file transfer is via easy drag and drop, with Windows Media Player syncing too, and there's a voice recorder function that's worth a mention as well.

Come back tomorrow for another Credit Crunch Christmas gift idea that will give you a year's free DVD rentals.