SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black
by SanDisk
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Our Price: $259.96 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $52.99 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black
Customer Review: iPod vs. Sandisk
Summary: 5 Stars
I've bought 2 ipods already, once four years ago and again 2 years ago. The first stopped working, I mailed it back to Apple, and they told me it was no longer covered by the warranty, because of external damaging to the casing (which, incidentally, happened at the beginning of our torrential but short relationship, and had minimal reference outside of this...) they had the audicity to ask me that, for it to be repaired, it would cost more than I initially bought it for. It was a 15 gig model they were no longer making. We lasted 7 months before my heart was broken.
(Yes, my life is 13-17% better having direct and constant access to music)
Now the second iPod I bought was a Mini, used. It was great, a complete conveniency, but once again it stopped working. This time the warranty was voided because I was not the original owner. And yes, I am nitpicking, Apple is technically (contractually) is their right, and this I grant them. But I am an individual, this was my experience with Apple was that they were providing a fix, like drugging their customers to get them hooked, let 'em keep coming back for more. They came upon and then cornered a market in the neccessary progression aurally (like the first makers of CDs or DVDs while everyone else is tapes and VHS) and, as far as customer service, and their side of the transaction, they did a screw job.
Now to SanDisk. This is a quality item I would endorse over the iPod according to its merit...
1) Possible to upgrade with the expansion slot
2) If the battery drops out on you (which it will, this is how consumerism is, a la cars and making a lesser quality product so the consumer will have to spend more, blahblah sick cycle) one can replace it
3) For me it really comes down to having bought 2 iPods and being treated like a number, a profit margin or a training telemarketing and phone centers to refer to section 13 sanction g) when dealing with an irrate consumer, er, customers complaints, be repetitive and condescending till they hang up; or SanDisk, which in 4 months has been no problem, CHEAPER, and better than the iPod, like an improvement, just read other reviews and you will see that this experience resembles a lot of other frustrations over this, and the bottomline is that other companies have to bend over to try and solict customers who are eating up the Apple (yeah, I know, terrible reference with the Apple, so what...).
Apple + thumbs down to the power of screwjob = go ahead and be a sucker if you want to 'consume'
SanDisk with a variable of whether or not I need to vent in 8 months because SanDisk did not cook my eggs right (overhard on Wednesdays) I change this review denouncing them, too, but right now I'm satisfied, eating eggs.
Customer Review: Sansa - a great mp3 player, excellent value
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned the 4gb version for nearly 1-year now and I love it! The fact that this does not use "touch buttons" (like ipod and creative's devices) is a huge advantage in my mind. That means you do not have to press the hold button every time you place the player in your pocket and again when you want to change something. Not being forced to use itunes or any other music software is also a key factor for me. I've never used the video feature as I have no desire to watch video on a 2" screen. In my opinion, Sandisk's Sansa is the only other real competitor in the flash memory mp3 space. Hey Mr. Softy - why not just buy SNDK (only $12B) and stop throwing away $$$ on your very poor internal attempts?
Positives:
* Works extremely well with Media Player 10 - simply click and drag. But you don't have to use any particular software, no need to feel stuck with MP or itunes.
* Actual buttons - no touch wheels. You do not have to use the "hold" button when it is in your pocket.
* Solid music organization software. Sandisk constantly provides updates which you are alerted to when you connect to your computer.
* FM player
* Great battery life (also battery is replaceable, I bought a cheap back-up just in case)
* Relatively cheap
* SD micro memory expansion
* Not an ipod! I personally hate having the same thing as everyone else, plus apple has always annoyed me with their proprietary/closed systems
* Nice and small, but yet not fragile feeling. The metal backside gives it a solid feel (I've dropped mine numerous occasions with no issues).
Negatives:
* You need to remove 4 small screws to get to the battery. I have had my Sansa freeze up maybe 7-10 times over the past 10 months. To reset the player, you need to remove the battery, so it can be a bit annoying to have to use a small screw driver (would be better if you could access the battery as easy as on a cell phone). But given the infrequency of this issue, it has not proved to be the end of the world.
* I really don't like the record button on the side. This gets accidentally pressed somewhat often (maybe 2-3 time a month), which can be annoying. If I could, I would disable this button. Who wants to record the radio or a conversation with their mp3 player anyway? Maybe some people do, but I personally will never ever (intentionally) use this feature.
* Not a ton of add-on products. This seems to be gradually changing, but I have not seen a nice car player built specifically for the Sansa. Not a big deal for me, since I find an old school tape player adapter to sound way better than generic FM transmitters in my car (which has a high end Bose stock system) and I have bought a really cheap AC charger from a 3rd party.
Customer Review: A decent player, with a few quirks
Summary: 3 Stars
I've owned the 4GB e260 for some time now, and it has served me rather well- but there are a few issues that users need to be aware of before buying.
This player was the most feature-rich 4GB player on the market when it came out, and to my knowledge it is still the only one (aside from newer Sansas) with an expansion slot. 1 or 2GB cards aren't terribly expensive, and will run you significantly less than a new player will, so this feature alone is sheer brilliance. I also like that the case is easy to open and the battery can be taken out and replaced, which gives the Sansa a great advantage over comparable players.
Now for the cons:
- First off, never, ever allow the USB/charger connection port to contact any metal object. This WILL cause the player to short out and lock up, which in turn requires you to either wait for the battery to run down or crack the case open and remove the battery for a hard reboot. I don't know if this is a common issue with other MP3 players, but I've had this happen several times as the port is very exposed. A simple silicone tab cover would have gone a long way towards preventing this from happening at all.
-There is a possibility that, if the screen is set to automatically turn off or dim until a button is pressed, it may not come back on at all or it may lock up or display a blank screen. Running with the screen always on does not seem to significantly affect battery life, but this is something that should have been avoidable.
-The scroll wheel is not as durable as it ought to be; it can and will become worn out long before anything else goes wrong with the player. While mine hasn't failed, it also doesn't recognize control input as it should; moving the wheel even slightly results in scrolling either far too quickly (all the way down a 20-some item menu from 1/16th rotation sometimes) or even scrolling in the wrong direction. This is not a crippling issue, as the play/pause, forward, back, and menu controls double as directional buttons, but it is highly annoying.
-In addition to being of inferior quality, the aforementioned scroll wheel sticks out from the case and may be damaged if the player is dropped or compressed (if, say, you carry it in your pocket a lot as I did).
So far, those issues have not been enough to convince me to replace the player (a silicone rubber cover helped somewhat), but I wouldn't buy the same model again if it died- though I would likely buy from Sansa again, as this was their first entry into the mainstream MP3 player market and their product line has improved since it was released. Go with one of the newer Sansa models if you can.
Customer Review: Reliable, Affordable, Solid Features
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Sansa e260 for about four months, now. I'm very pleased with this product. The Sansa is very easy to use, its features work perfectly, and it looks and feels really nice.
You can sync the Sansa either with a software service (I've been successful with Rhapsody, Windows Media Player, and Napster), or using a simple windows folder interface. Each works perfectly, and all the music files will be usable inside the Sansa interface. The transfers are quite fast, and judging by the amount of space I've used, this model has room for several hundreds songs. I've also downloaded podcasts and loaded them up using the folder interface. They play fine, and simply show up on the master music list under their file name. There's also a media converter for photos and video, but I have not used those features.
The screen is very sharp and aids usability with a well-designed interface. The wheel and buttons on the front did take some getting used to, but now that I've been using it for a while, it seems second nature. The Sansa comes with some simple ear buds, which I can't stand. The third party earphones I purchased sound fantastic. The unit also has an FM radio integrated into it; you can switch to this by rotating the command dial to find the FM Radio menu item. I don't use it much, but it picks up a variety of radio stations near my home and work very clearly. There's a voice recorder (a "memo thingy") in the unit, but I can't imagine when I'd use that...
The overall unit is light, and small, but not too small to handle if you have fat fingers like me. Best of all, this unit has worked 100% perfectly for me. I haven't had a single hitch, burp or failure with my Sansa.
The unit comes with a USB cord that serves double duty as a charger and file transfer medium. The first charge took a long time, but subsequent use hasn't run down the battery very fast, so charge time isn't a big deal for me. However, if you intend to use an mp3 player a LOT, then the USB charge cord might become bothersome for you. It doesn't come with a very useful case, but I bought a very nice case for about ten bucks. Be careful not to buy a case that interferes with the use of the command dial or buttons. I also picked up an aftermarket retractable USB travel cord, which works fine.
I looked at several different players, including Apple, before deciding on the Sansa. I'm convinced I made the right call, and I couldn't be happier with the performance of this unit. I'd recommend it unconditionally to anyone who wants a reliable unit with good features and a reasonable price.
Customer Review: A Very Nice Player
Summary: 4 Stars
I've owned several Sandisk players. If you want a low cost player with reasonable capacity and an easy AAA battery choice, Sandisk has been the way to go. Now they have moved way up in class, with the E200 series. These players have a great color screen, more advanced navigation, and lithium batteries that can be user replaced by removing 4 screws. Sandisk sells them for [...].
If you have a 4GB player, you have to be able to find things. When I first got the player, it didn't 'find' the 'genres' of my music files, which is one easy way to categorize. Fortunately, when I did a firmware update, the genres showed up. If you want to create (genre or other) categories for your music, you can use something like Jetaudio to label many 'selected' files, all at once, by the way. This player also sorts by album, and the tracks on the album are in the correct order. Again, this is information in the tag, so the tags have to be done correctly. Most 'ripping' programs do this, at least for mp3's.
Aside from genre, the E200 sorts by artist, and title. The scroll wheel is quite fast, and the bright screen makes seeing where you are much easier than previous Sandisk players. The sound is solid and it seems quite clean with a good pair of headphones. It will drive good phones, which are often less efficient.
This is a good player, especially with the rebates. I use drag and drop, and I loaded this player completely in less than half an hour. The size is just about perfect. If it were thinner, it wouldn't really fit anywhere that it doesn't already fit. The screen size is very good, but maybe not for video. It looks like a solid piece of equipment. I never had problems with other Sandisk players, but they looked flimsy. Also, this one looks much more elegant.
If you upgrade the firmware once, future updates should be automatic. When I drag and drop files with good tag info, I can navigate to the artists and the songs without any hitch. Tags are what makes iTunes work, and this player seems to do a good job, as long as you have good tags. If not, try a program like Godfather.
It's great to see a player that looks good, sounds good, and holds a bunch of music. All for a price that is more than reasonable. I like this player so much I wish I had the 8GB version, but maybe I will get a miniSD card.
I don't like handing out 5 starts, but I think this is 4 and a half. The USB charging is a little limited. I did find that a cheap 4AA USB adapter works fine and charges it. But you still have a special cable you must have with you. But that is a small drawback.