Design used to follow function

Not able to upload images anymore for some reason, but I love the Sandisk Clip Sport for this.

The clip broke off mine the very first time I used it :(

I had the one later generation of iPod nano that was a little square touch screen with a clip. That thing was great, I could clip it onto my clothing anywhere and go for a run and it wouldn't move. I miss the days of iPod nanos and classics.

i had that exact samsung

Counter point, the screen is easier navigation for choosing albums to play.

Do they not make those arm strap things to hold your mp3 player/phone on your upper arm anymore? I can control the music through my headphones (with voice or actual buttons) so the thing actually playing music doesn't matter all that much, personally.

Looks cute :3

Smartwatch?

I’m so mad that I can’t find my old 80gb iPod.

Still need the phone with you

I miss my 8th gen nano. I accidentally got in the pool with mine :(

Not the case for the Garmin watch I have

Not at all. Most watches support running the music apps directly, downloading to the watch directly and connecting to your phone directly.

Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch, all support these functions.

Might work better for you.

In my experience, once I'm dripping with sweat, a touchscreen is completely useless and non-functional.

I need a music player to replace AIMP. F-droid so far has been unable to provide me with a suitable drop-in replacement.

They do, but they are INCREDIBLY uncomfortable. Running 10km with an unbalanced extra weight on one of my arms is torturous to me, to say nothing for the skin issues that I get from one of those bands holding the sweat against me the entire run.

Then, on top of that: slipping down the arm, tan lines, the bouncing of it, snagging it on things, how filthy and disgusting they quickly become, how they're still damp the next day getting ready for a second run...

Viable if I don't mind being locked into an ecosystem, and spending 6-7 times as much for something that is more or less guaranteed to lose software support long before it breaks.

I do like this form factor, and have had some offbrand ones, but the color LCD with backlight drains the battery incredibly fast. The monochrome LCD on a Creative basically uses no energy and is perfectly visible out in the bright sun, even when fast forwarding through podcasts or audiobooks. Still, I'll take the physical buttons over a touchscreen that can barely work once I start sweating. Also the physical buttons let me actually CONTROL it while I'm running while still paying attention to where I'm going - no need to take my eyes off anything.

Get a belt.

You have to look with a magnifying glass to find music players without touchscreen.

Oh, the bouncing is even worse there. I don't want a phone slamming into my hip repeatedly in the exact same place with every single step for over an hour. When you are running EVERYTHING that isn't locked down immediately resonates with your run, and if the weight isn't trivial it throws off your entire stride.

Now I feel like a god for still having my 256MB Nomad (which still works) and a 160GB iPod (which also works) during in a drawer just hanging out. I should probably take up running.

Hang onto that Nomad... there's never been a better running audio player.

I won't lie here. I miss my Zune. Of course, it would be unusable garbage by this point.

Am a runner. A tight fitting elastic belt holds everything close and tight and is comfy. Best solution ive found.

I'm sure a tight belt is a good solution for most people, but I'm going to run right into the same problem I have with armbands - tight elastic is going to trigger my eczema as soon as I start sweating.

And then even if a phone weighed absolutely nothing, I've still got to look at the screen to control it, which means either stopping motion or taking my attention off where I'm going, it's still got to be set to the highest brightness to see anything on the display, and as soon as I'm sweating, the touchscreen becomes almost useless anyway.

Do what works for you, but at the end of the day, I will never be satisfied trying to square peg a general purpose smartphone into the round hole of a run. Devices that were made specifically for this purpose and did it brilliantly used to exist, and don't now.

I didn’t notice that the model in the link has color LCD! I have an older model which is monochrome and looks slightly different though the size and shape are the same. It has lasted for years and I’m very pleased with the battery life. Don’t think it is manufactured anymore but there might be used ones sold online or off brand models as you said. Agree that buttons > touchscreen during physical activity.

Your headphones can control the audio. Make a playlist and then its easy to skip.

Good luck 👍

Appreciate the perspective. I'll keep it in mind, but I generally use extremely cheap headphones with no controls because they don't last long for me anyway. Between the sweat and the rough use, they only last a few months, and the extra cost for controls is an ongoing loss for me.

If it comes down to it though, I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

I go on my little daily walks for my little mental health with a Fiio Echo Nano, works a treat and supports modern file formats and all

I have given up on portable musical electronic until I can find something that isn't defective, because my old source, best buy all became defective in 2021. All headphones I've ever gotten have been defective cheap garbage, made with miniscule little wires and cheap connections, as if it's unforeseeable the cord would get yanked.

It's not like these are all cheap products either, paying 30 dollars for headphones, I expect more than 50 cents worth of raw materials. I don't even know why we have forced labour factories overseas if we are paying more than we did back when we made our own quality products.

Wall Street is a fucking joke.

Beyerdynamic still produces some of their headphones in Germany. Granted, that doesn't necessarily make them more reliable. But spealing from experience (have a gaming headset for 7 years now), they have excellent customer service and repair your headphones in Germany swiftly (and in my case free of charge as well as providing new softening)

Running tights with tight-fitting pockets allow for comfortably carrying a phone when out on a run.

Half-tights for the summer season.

Maan, I had Exactly that mp3 player, big and bulky and not especially better IMO. You slid out the whole part with the display to access the USB-A IIRC.

AliExpress: so no screen at all it is then

Thanks for the tip, I will check that out.

Yes after buying some manufactured goods at Aldi, I have come to not think german engineering is better necessarily as well. At least they pay their workers a living wage and don't overly pollute as much though.

To be fair, part of this is that it’s been like 30 years since we made our own electronics

Longer for almost all of it really, it was already fucked in the 90s, but quality just keeps getting worse.

A belt should hold that down so that it's not bouncing at all. It's worth finding one that's comfortable, and you can get used to it pretty quickly.

I didn't like mine touching my skin so I would tuck in my shirt while running with a belt.

For a bigger ergonomics/comfort challenge, you might even extend out to run lengths where you have to bring your own water. I switched between handheld water bottles and backpacks, depending on length of run and amount of water needed. At that point, the weight and size of a phone is pretty insignificant in comparison.

I don't run as much anymore, but these days I'm on a smartwatch plus wireless headphones. The watch doubles as a payment card too, in case I want to buy something while I'm out. Like candy fuel for my run.

I'm getting a permission denied error lmao

"You do not have permission to access this document."

Even those cheap af apple earbuds you used to get with ipods had a button on the wire. All but one of the sub 10 euro pairs i just found after one search also have it.

Yeah, I have a dozen pairs and they're so much better than holding or wearing an arm band or waistband or anything. Yes, I miss just rocking my silkies, but I'm also 40, and the compression shorts provide comfort that definitely is appreciated.

I have a Pixel 9a and I've got room to spare in the sleeve. When I drive to races the other leg sleeve is for my car key. I've considered a weapon of some sort when I run through wooded areas, because I fear being attacked by bears or wildlife, which will never happen where I live, but it still goes through my mind when I'm back there.

Huh, maybe it’s region restricted? This sometimes happens to me depending on which VPN server I’m using. But searching for “Sandisk Clip Sport” will turn up the right image :)

I’ve been getting a “problem uploading image” error anytime I try to post one from my device which only started recently.

I honestly miss nothing about non-tight fitting running clothing. Zero chafing issues since I switched.

I think picking up cycling helped me dispel the last little bit of caring about what kind of clothing I wear. I suspect as a man ten years younger I may have had reservations about running tights.

sandisk made the best mp3 players

People look at me weird when I tell them I have a dedicated MP3 player instead of using my phone.

No, I don't want to run down my phone battery for music. Yes, I want a device I can leave sitting on the counter playing music that isn't my phone I have to keep walking over to check.

That being said, SO many of the dedicated MP3 players out there are TRAAAAAAAAAAASH. My last one's 3.5mm jack broke after a couple years. My new one's SD card slot broke after 4 months. I guess the best method is just buying the cheapest one so when it breaks you don't feel too bad about it. They're all made by Asian companies that have no website or contact numbers or any kind of presence at all other than the Amazon page they're selling their garbage on.

Yeah I'm old enough to remember how exciting it was when anti-skip CD players came out...

I remember getting a little 128MB USB MP3 player.
Carried it with me everywhere until it died.

Years later getting an 8gb Sony MP3 player that just refused to die.

Ugh, I bought one that rythmicaly squeaked when you used decent headphones.

Musicolet is the best player I've come across. Unfortunately, not on F-Droid.

And they didn't work at all :D 120 SECONDS ANTI-SKIP BUFFER! proceeds to skip within 5 seconds of jogging