I've been holding on to my Sansa Clip+ that I bought in November 2011. For obvious reasons, the thing is starting to get a bit long in the tooth - it periodically glitches, freezes up when you try to power it on, and the battery isn't holding a charge nearly as well. When I use it in the car, it's plugged in, but last time I used it to listen to music while skiing, the battery died after about 2 hours.
Unfortunately, it's been literally impossible to find anything on the market that even comes close for audiobook functionality in the past decade. I don't need bluetooth. I don't need a hi-def screen. I don't even need it to play any format other than mp3. I DO need actual buttons that I can press without looking (not a touchscreen), and I need the ability to lock it so a button doesn't get accidentally pressed. Also, need the ability to fast forward and rewind.
The main thing with audiobooks is that a) it MUST play the files in the order that they are in the folder, and b) it MUST remember where you left off without the need for manually bookmarking (even if you switch to music and then back to the book). Simple, right? Well, you would think... There's a reason why Sansa Clip+ are currently going on eBay for anywhere from $50-$230 and up.
I try a generic search for "best mp3 players for audiobooks". One of the top "recommendations" is Apple iPod Touch or Nano - tons of functionality that I don't need, in an ecosystem that I don't want, for way too much money. Next up is Sansa Clip Jam. Reading the very first review on Amazon:
Yeah...okay, put a pin in that one for now.Seriously, though. Let's pretend we're watching a movie and the bluray player works like this clip jam.
Movie start:
>Plays scene one.
>Plays scene two.
>Starts scene three from the middle.
What the--? You click the back button to make it restart from the beginning of scene three.
>Restarts scene two.
Goddammit. Click forward.
>Restarts scene three from the same point in the middle.
ARRRGHHH! Click back twice to get to the scene selection screen.
>Movie turns off entirely and you must reopen the entire app to start the movie again.
Scene selections, play scene 3.
>Are you sure you want to start from the beginning?
Yes.
>Starts scene 3 from the beginning.
>Plays scene 4.
>Starts scene 5 from the sex scene, because apparently your mom watched it last and that's where she left off.
...Kill me.
Maybe Sansa Clip Sport Go is a better option? Again, checking on Amazon and reading Q&A - will it pick up the audiobook where you left off? The answers are "Sometimes yes and sometimes no. It's not all that reliable" and "Yes, unless u do another function in between". Another person says "Instead of hitting pause for audiobooks, I just shut down and the location will stay. However if I pause and then shut down, the bookmark may not stay and I have to find the lost chapter".
Kill me now.
So after reading some suggestions on Reddit, there were mentions of brands that I haven't seen before, is anyone familiar with RUIZU or Oakcastle? Or anything else - I don't care if it's a cheap Chinese knock-off, as long as it does what I need it to do. I'm looking to just buy another Sansa Clip+ off of eBay but the problem is that even a "brand-new in box" item will be a decade old, and there's no guarantee that it will hold a charge any better than mine does.
