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,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black
Customer Review: half of an mp3 player : at this price you'd want the whole thing
Summary: 1 Stars
While an ok piece of hardware (3 stars) as a product it's a disappointment (1 star), the software is not yet ready for prime-time & sandisk appears to have no intention of fixing it.
Sandisk dropped the ball on this one.
There are many good things to say about this product, but at its price, you would expect a product to compete with the others on the market.
virtually without documentation, assumes that you are an expert in the arcane uses of Microsoft Windows Media Player e.g., the documentation implies no way to build playlists, but you can through WMP, not to obviously though, plan to spend a few hours learning how to use it. then use it regularly, as otherwise you'll forget how to use a non-intuitive pgm.
No bookmarks. forget using it to play podcasts or audiobooks (also no support for audiobook format) - this is a major flaw for me. Customer service says that it is not intended for playing podcasts or audiobooks. period...
Communication is poor. Suggestions to customer service go nowhere. They say they have no way to supply feedback. The sandisk website has no option for customer feedback. direct email comes back saying you don't have permission to mail to us.
Automatic update: installs a program on your computer that runs full time (and is a service so it's tough to kill) but doesn't really update until you switch modes on the mp3 player manually, then the screen fills with misleading information to add confusion. i.e., not automatic, but deliberate, but bogs down you pc full time anyway.
Overall it could come very close to being an ipod killer, but they didn't go the extra step, and threw it onto the market prematurely without plans to bring it up to code.
So let's face it, sandisk is a hardware company, nothing else.
The radio is none too good. instead of using the earphone cord as antenna, it uses the usb connect to the laptop cord as a pigtail i.e., useless.
there's much more to say, and I'll add to this as I get time.
You can buy mine cheaply on ebay, as I am going to buy a different mp3 player (any suggestions?)
Customer Review: Good MP3 player, could've used more interface
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this MP3 player for my son, and after playing with it for a few hours, I wanted one. I purchased an Insignia 4GB Sport from BestBuy, but returned it to buy this one. I regret that decision now.
This player is a good one, and it sounds great. My only dislike is the user interface. I use the rating system alot. I don't have time to listen to every song I have loaded on my computer, so I copy them to my MP3 player, and as I am running (exercise), or sitting in a waiting room, I rate the songs, best to worse, then I delete the bad ones later. The Insignia model had dedicated buttons on the side, so you can rate on the fly, the Sansa model you have to run through the Music menu to rate. Also, the Insignia model would show you the rating on the screen while you were listening, the Sansa model, you have to go throught the menu again to see if you have already rated it.
Also, I didn't realize I was buying a (version 1) MP3 player. I guess there is a (version 2) with more features in the software, but I did not know that when I purchased. I guess you can delete songs from the player with a ver2, but mine you have to connect to a PC to delete songs.
The other thing I did not like is the inability to add songs to playlists on the MP3 player. You can have different playlists, but the only way to change the playlists is to copy them from a PC. The Sansa came with one playlist already loaded, called the GoList, and it is the only playlist you can change on the player.
I guess I assumed that the best feature of an MP3 player would be that you can create multiple playlists for any occasion. With this Sansa, you can have multiple playlists, but they did not make it easy for you, in my opinion.
I do not use the movie or picture options. To view a movie would take alot of the memory space needed for songs, and why would you want to watch a movie on such a little screen.
On the good side, it has a good looking clear interface, has good sound, built in FM tuner, and decent EQ.
My recommendation goes to the Insignia Sport models.
Customer Review: Some notes about the e200 series
Summary: 4 Stars
The other reviews have already commented on the features and performance, so I'll try to comment on those aspects that haven't gotten much attention.
This is a great player, but I will concentrate on some annoying aspects:
1. When you charge via USB, the display on the device is always on. It doesn't fall asleep or go dim. The device is also nonresponsive in this mode, ie the buttons won't work and you won't be able to play or do anything.
2. If you have a USB wall charger, the display will dim and the buttons will work while charging. But the device must be on, it won't charge via AC if the device is turned off.
3. Playlists can be made on the fly, but you have to play each song you want to add to the playlist in order to bring up the option.
4. Video conversion software only installs on windows XP. It also breaks up larger files into smaller ones, and it's not very intuitive to copy whole DVD's. The quicktime format it uses is proprietary. Also, video files are only recognized in the root folder, so the device won't see files located in subfolders. Videos run at 15 fps.
5. Has the option of choosing MSC or MTP mode. MSC loads the player like a flash drive so you manually drag and drop files. MTP works with wmp 10, and some other third party software to manage your syncing. I prefer MSC, but I switched to MTP because when you unplug the USB cable in MSC mode, the device reboots itself. It does not do this is MSC mode.
This is a great player, but you'll need to spend some time configuring everything to your preferences. The Sandisk firmware has good basic functionality, but if you're used to lots of features for customization, be prepared to work for it with this device. I miss features like "play most recently synchronized" that my old player had. The good news is that these firmware drawbacks may soon be addressed when Rockbox firmware is released. The hardware and build quality of this device is truly excellent, and it will be the best flash player on the market once Rockbox firmware is released for the e200 series.
Customer Review: Almost perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
Pluses: Easy to use. Large capacity. Slim design. Does voice recording and playback just fine. Is NOT an ipod so you aren't tied down to proprietary formats and subscription services.
Minuses: Nothing works well automatically "synch"ing things to Windows Media Player including this item. Fortunately, there is another format that allows your computer to see the player as just another USB drive. That works great. Don't try to use this device with any automatic software or services. Just treat it as a pin drive that holds .mp3 files and things work just fine. Due to WMP's fixation on all things USB, it is also a good idea never to have it connected to your computer when WMP is running or your files start flying around in unpredictable ways.
The default mode (MTP -stupid mode) doesn't see your expansion cards - it says so right in the manual. You have to use stupid mode to use any of the automatic online services such as Rhapsody or if you want automatic "synch"ing to windows media player. Since I think all those automatic services are nightmares and detest all the automatic features of windows media player, this is only an annoyance for as long as it takes me to change the mode to regular USB mode (MSC).
My experience: I purchased one in April 2007. It lasted until December 2008 when it suddenly failed. I purchased a replacement and will likely purchase a spare for when it eventually fails. Problem with the newer versions of the firmware is that the option to turn off all that automatic "synch"ing now has to be initiated by turning it off, locking the device, pressing rewind, then connecting to your computer and releasing when it is recognized. Why not have me just rub my head and pat my belly while reciting the pledge of allegiance backwards? After that, the option to select between stupid mode (MTP) and regular USB mode (MSC)appears on the menu like it used to in the old firmware version.
Oh yeah. Did I mention it is NOT an ipod so you aren't tied down to services and formats that Steve Jobs is trying to cram down your throat?
Customer Review: e260 vs Nano - an easy decision, heres why
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased a new nano for my fiancee, and one of the e260 for myself. My thought was that I wanted to buy her a nice expensive unit, and I would settle for the less expensive unit. However, it turns out that the e260 is way better than the Nano. I'll break down why, and to be fair there is a couple of things also listed that the Nano does better.
THINGS THAT e260 DOES BETTER THAN NANO:
1.) e260 can do more
- You can play video on the e260 - great for little vacation clips from your camera.
2.) e260 screen is bigger, more colorful and brighter
3.) e260 battery is replaceble, no need to throw your unit away when the battery dies (since apple ipod would charge too much to send it in and get battery etc).
4.) Price per Storage ratio. Nano cost $175 for 2GB, e260 was $140 for 4GB (prices at my purchase time) Thats TWICE AS MUCH for LESS MONEY.
5.) e260 is more scratch and break resistant. Built better.
6.) e260 has an FM TUNER, you can listen to radio!
7.) You cannot use a coupon or coupon code on any Apple products at any store anywhere, you can with e260.
8.) e260 has memory card slot, yes you can add even more storage and/or move stuff off/on with a little micro-sd card.
9.) Battery charge - you get at least a couple of hours more from full charge out of the e260.
10.) Drag and drop your music onto the unit, no need for management software. This means the unit can also be used as a file storage device like a USB drive.
THINGS THAT NANO DOES BETTER THAN e260:
1.) Nano is slightly thinner.
2.) Nano has more accessories on the market, its hard to find them for e260.
3.) The scroll wheel of e260 is mechanical, the nano scroll is sort of touch based. Some prefer the mechanical, but the touch based is prefered by me.
Its no contest for me, I will never buy IPOD again, you just do not get what you pay for. Really, if there was an IPOD Nano out there with the same features as the e260 and same storage space, apple would charge over $500 for it.