SanDisk Sansa Clip (1GB, sleek black)

Pros: Attractive, compact

Cons: Fails in less than a month; good luck getting it replaced

Summary: I ordered this for my son on November 4, 2007 (received a week later). It lasted about three weeks, then the screen abruptly went out. NO damage, NO misuse/mishandling. Contacted SanDisk's "technical support" [sic] on 12/8, was told to email them a copy of my amazon.com receipt, and then they'd be happy to send out a replacement without me having to return the defective. On 12/11, the "support" staff wrote me via their website-based "support message" system asking me to verify what packaging it originally came in, implying it was a refurb or gray-market product (despite the AUTHENTIC amazon.com receipt already provided). I explained I ordered it FROM amazon.com, not a third-party seller, it came in genuine retail packaging, and was NOT gray market. On 12/19, I was informed via the above-mentioned message system my trouble ticket was closed and a new RMA ticket was opened. I was also asked for the Serial Number of the product, and my phone number (both provided on 12/8, in order to even open the trouble ticket). I called in again to ask why they couldn't get the facts straight, was told that the first staff on 12/8 was wrong about me not having to return the defective, and was promptly provided the RMA and UPS label email, after the staff I spoke with saw I was right (required info already on file). On 12/26, SanDisk received my returned product. On 1/2, I inquired about replacement shipping status. I was told via the message system that it would be "5-7 days" (quote unquote) for the replacement to ship from date of receipt (12/26). Today, 1/8, I called in to find out about shipment status, and was told that it would be "7-10 days" instead, despite the message from her colleague. My kid bought this with his own hard-earned money (I simply ordered it for him), and is now out the product for nearly a month. I broke down out of sympathy for him, and bought him a Sony Walkman mp3 player at the local Staples to replace the Sansa Clip (at twice the price). I also called SanDisk HQ to ask about help in getting the replacement shipped ASAP. No response from SanDisk HQ in Milpitas, CA, yet. DO NOT BUY THIS product or any SanDisk products until they improve both their quality control AND their "customer service/technical support" practices.