SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $40.00 You Save: $209.99 (84%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: Very pleased for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I just received my MP3 player last week. Overall I am very happy with the player - especially for the price. Oh - and now it is even cheaper making it an even better bargain - (wish I would have waited - but oh well)
I really struggled with whether to get this model or go for the newer "View" model. After all it was only a few bucks more for the newer technology. I then started reading about all of the problems plaguing this new model with the first firmware releases - even though this is fairly typical for new technology. The E280, by comparison was in the later stages of firmware and most of the bugs have been worked out.
I didn't see much difference between the two players. The "View" had a larger screen for video - but was also larger and didn't have a replaceable battery. I think this was a big seller for the E280. I don't care how good lithium ion batteries are - I always find they die after a year or two. Being able to replace it is a big deal to me.
My first impression was - "Wow" I can't believe how small this thing is! I mean really - who is complaining about the size and weight of this thing? Compared to what? If it was any smaller or lighter - I would for sure lose it in a nanosecond. I really think the size is perfect and the weight makes it feel like a quality solid product.
The first thing I tried to do was update the firmware. I downloaded the latest firmware updater software from SanDisk's site - no problem here. I then plugged in the usb connector to the computer like they said.
This is where the problem started. My computer recognized the player but it was not obvious on what I was supposed to do next.
Yes - I did view the very nice video on how to upgrade the firmware on Sandisk's site - but nothing like that demo ever happened on my machine!
After messing with this for about 1/2 hour I finally got the firmware loaded. Don't ask me how - I'm not quite sure what I did to make this happen. At first the Sansa just started going into an endless loop of reading and writing. Once I disconnected it - it found the new firmware. Whoo - that's a relief. Anyway - I think Sandisk needs more work in this department. At first I thought this was just a glitch, but I also purchased a second unit for my wife and her firmware was even more troublesome to put on.
I like the fact that you can drag and drop files onto the memory or use Windows media player to synchroize the songs to the unit. I chose Microsoft's media player and once I figured out that you need to disable the auto synchronization feature, everything went fine. At first I was shocked to see I only had 4 gig left after only putting a few songs on. That's because Media Player dumped my whole library to the Sansa without me knowing it. The default is auto. If Media Player see's it has enough storage on your Sansa guess what it does?
I also purchased a 2GB Micro SD card - formatted it on the computer to FAT32 first, put it in the Sansa and it worked like a charm.
I think Sandisk has worked out most of the issues people have been complaining about with their latest firmware. There now is a option in the USB settings for auto sensing the two ways to put music on it. I had no problems with this at all. The background noise issue is not there, boot up time is vastly improved, you have your own equalizer settings, and it now plays audible files. (I don't think it has a bookmark feature for the audible books which would be nice. ) I have not experienced any lockups that earlier releases reported.
I really like the wheel approach and find the interface pretty easy to use. It would be nice to be able to get to certain functions quicker - like not having to click on a menu button and then have to scroll through several options to change the equalizer settings as an example - I also think certain functions should be nested right into the functions you are working with better - but for this incredibly low price - I can live with it. I'm sure I'm still in the learning curve.
The sound quality from this thing is really impressive. I was skeptical, but with 192kb mp3 files this thing sounds great! I'm using a cheap pair of Jbuds and it sounds better than I ever expected. With my Senheisser 595's it's a whole different world. It's really hard to believe that this kind of sound can come from this small of a unit. With good headphones you will forget you are listening to compressed audio files.
The FM radio worked much better than I anticipated. The sound was really good and getting it to synch to my local preset stations was a breeze. (Make sure you plug the headphones in first because the cord is the antenna!)
Battery life is excellent - but I would recommend getting the aftermarket plug in AC and cigarette adapter to make charging it easier. Shame on Sandisk for not including at least the AC adapter. I'm sure they were trying to keep the cost down to compete with the IPOD - but come on Sandisk! I don't like the fact that you can't listen to music while it is charging. But then again, it get's about 20 hours of play time so this isn't really a big deal.
The hardest thing about using this thing is spending all the time to rip your CD's. And believe me this thing will hold a lot of music! I have almost 1000 songs loaded on this with three audible books and still have 3GB's left. If I went with 128kb files I would get substantially more on it.
There are two different versions of this unit. (Basically the old and the new) The newer units, (Version 2) have the ability to read Micro SDHC memory. This means you can buy an 8GB external card today for about half the cost of the device and turn it into a 16gb player. There are plans to come out with even larger Micro SDHC cards in the future making this device future proof. This was a very smart move by Sandisk as you can't do this on an Ipod. Expect the memory prices to keep coming down.
In summary this is an unbeatable deal for an MP3 player. Great sound, easy to use, replaceable battery, lots of storage with the ability to expand, FM radio that works, voice recorder, very good build quality, and did I mention great sound?
I really like the Ipods. My daughter has one. I think their interface is better thought out and is easier to navigate. On the other hand, it is twice the price, has no expandability or replaceable battery, no FM tuner, and forces you to use a proprietary piece of software to download and rip music.
I took one star off because I think updating the firmware still has some quirks that need to be resolved. The menu items could be a little more intuitive, the audible book function needs some bookmarks. These are pretty minor complaints - especially for the price of this thing!
As you can tell, I highly recommend this unit. Hurry up and get one before they are all gone.
Customer Review: My Review of the e280 v2 and the e250 v1.
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, I just will like to say that I bought this little guy on Feb. 22nd with free shipping and received it Feb 24th. SUPER DUPER fast shipping!!! WOW!!! VERY, VERY IMPRESSED with the shipping. Ok now to the players.
I own the e250 v1 with a 2GB MicroSD card which I have had for about 2 years now. I love it!!! Never had any issues with. I use it everyday in my car, work, and gym. The e250 has taken a beating and still keeps on ticking, the battery life is great! The only down side to the e250 is that it takes a while to boot up, I would say between 10-20 seconds It also depends how much music you have loaded in the player. I loaded pictures in it and small video clips of family events that I sometimes like to watch when I'm at work or the gym. The pictures in the player are pretty crisp even though the screen is small images are still viewable. To make playliste you have to download a program called "Sanse Playlister" It's a great program that I love!!! It's really easy to use for deleting and creating playlist. Overall the e250 v1 is a great player with the only issue of a slow boot time. The battery life rocks!!! 20+ hours of power and it's also replaceable.
Now to the review and comparison of the e280 v2.
Physically the e250 v1 and e280 v2 look 99.99% alike with the exception of the wheel. The e280's wheel is a little different. It feels like it's made out of some kind of hard rubber or soft plastic compared to the e250 v1. The grooves are also different on the wheel, not a big deal, you'll get use to it.
The BIG MAJOR difference and improvement on the e280 v2 is the boot time!!! WOW!!! It boots right up! As soon as you press the button to turn the player on it goes ON!!! That is a BIG, BIG PLUS compared to the my e250 v1.
It is suggested that you upgrade the firmware on the player right when you get it. It will give you the USB-Mode menu. Out of the box your only choice is MTP once you do the upgrade you will have the option to pick MTC of MSC modes. (More detail can be found on Sandisk's website)
The player also has a customizable EQ that you can play around with to get the best sound you're looking for. For some reason I'm not sure if it's me, but I have also read on other forums that people say the e280 v2 sounds a bit better then the e250 v1 which I kind of also think the same. Either way both players sound great, but I do think the e280 v2 might just sound a bit better.
When it comes to pictures, I do think the e250 v1's displayed crisper pictures. I put both playerds side by side and looked at the same pictures and from what I can see the e250 displayed a crisper picture, but the e280 still looked good.
Loading videos to the e280 v2. If you put a video longer then about 10 minutes you start to get a speech delay. I loaded a 40 minute video into the player and at worse the speech was delayed about 2 seconds. I wasn't really bothered by this because video is a bonus feature and it's NOT the reason why I bought the player for. If you have a shorter video you will have no issues with speech delay. I was able to download videos from YouTube and Google and load them into this player and watch them. You need to download "Sansa Media Converter" from the sandisk website so you can load videos and pictures to the player, without the converter you will NOT be able to view any videos or pictures in your player because of the formats. The converter converts the videos to .avi and the pictures to .bmp.
The radio works...well like a radio. You can preset FM stations and record from the radio. I will most likely never you this feature. Another bonus.
The voice recorder works pretty good. Voice recordings sound pretty clear. I will probably never use this feature, but you never know.
The earbuds you get with the player are ok, but not that greatest. I highly recommend the Sony MDR-E829V Fontopia Earbuds with In-Line Volume Control. They work and sound great with the Sansa. I have owned about 4 pair of these earbuds. You may ask why 4? Well let's just say that sometimes I'm not careful enough at the gym and the cable gets caught on something.
To make playlist on the player I use winamp there might be other programs out there, but winamp works for me.
The battery life does not seem to last as long as the e250 v1's battery life. I can get about maybe 17 hours of battery life, but also be aware that I'm not sitting here timing battery life I'm just estimating from what I see and I might be wrong.
You can also add more memory to the player using a MicroSD memory card. I'm waiting for the price to come down on the 8GB cards so I can add an additional 8GB of space in my player. 16GB total NICE!!!
*** Note That you can NOT add more than 2GB of memory to the e250 v1. ***
Overall the player is great!!! Faster boot time just makes a world of difference!!!
Oh before I forget... I also recommend the Sandisk 5 Piece Travel Kit for the Sansa. It comes with a leather jacketfor the player, lanyard, carrying case, screen protector, and a cleaning cloth for the screen with works GREAT! I own two if these kits each one of my players have one. The e250 and the e280.
If you have any comments or questions feel free to drop a line on the comments section.
Hope this review was helpful to you. I never do reviews this long, but I felt it was needed.
GREAT PLAYER!!!
Customer Review: iPod Nano had better watch it's back! The Sansa competes and EXCEEDS in most if not all categories!
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't fall into the white earbud trance any longer!! Wake from your Apple induced slumber people and open your eyes to the SanDisk Sansa e200 Series!! This review pertains to the Sansa e280 8GB mP3 player and let me tell you that the iPod Nano and Apple for that matter, had better watch it's back! The feature set capabilities and price point of the Sansa e 280 should have no trouble making Nano into apple pie as long as users like me help educate consumers to the realization that yes, indeed, there is a whole market of AWESOME mP3 players that in fact cost LESS, have more features, better reliability, and a company that backs its unit even after it has been sold!
For a long while now, many consumers have a certain "fruit" in mind when it comes to the mP3 player of choice. Well, I have news for you. The Sansa e280 outstrips the Nano in almost every regard. the e280 was the first flash player to come out with an 8GB capacity. The Nano soon followed with it's own 8GB (2000 songs) however, the Sansa has and expandible Trans Flash/Micro SD card slot enabling the user to ADD Storage!! Yes I said ADD IT! Currently SanDisk makes a 2GB micro SD card for about 100$ enabling you to add 2gigs to your player(about 500 more songs). Nano doesn't offer this and yet it is still priced the same or higher in some cases as I found my Sansa for under 200$. with this capability, the life of the player should be extended because of increased volumes for SD cards that come out continuously. Unlike with an apple product where if more storage is needed, you have to buy a new player and spend another 250 bucks! You can plug the storage card into the player and all the music transfered to it automatically integrates into your albumn folders which is a fabulous benefit!
Another Nice feature that the Sansa offers is a larger display screen. At 1.8 inches, the colors are bright and crisp. I would have liked to see a higher color resolution, however, still much bigger than the Nano and quite easy to read and see.
The construction of the Sansa is excellent with a poured metal back casing that is virtually un-scratchable (unless you drop it I would imagine) but you really can't scratch it like an iPod or a Zen. It also doesn't use the same plastic as the iPod or the Creative Zen so the front is SO much more durable!!! You would really have to scrape something pretty sharp against it to show scratches on its face unlike the iPod and Zen player in which you just have to place them in a pocket to receive one.
The e280 has a tactile wheel for navigation which is similar to the iPod platform but I find it to be a bit better. The dial has tiny grooves enabling the user to have more control through the screens. Unlke the iPod, the wheel lights up an electrifying flourescent blue color enabling you to navigate in lower light conditions and it also enhances the sleek look of the player.
The Sansa is compatible with Windows Media Player(free) and Rhapsody which is a paid music subscription site just like iTunes. However because this is not an apple product, you are not confined to the Apple platform.
The Sansa offers an FM tuner which is spot on and crystal clear, a voice recorder (useful if you are the memo on the fly type), video playback and photo viewing capabilities. The Nano has video and photo but does NOT have FM radio or recording capabilities. Easy and user-desirable things to add and yet Apple still hasn't caught on.
The cost of ownership for this is already cheaper right out of the gate with the lower price point but also a GREAT feature that Apple refuses to offer as it would effect their bottom line DRASTICALLY is that the Sansa offers a USER replaceable battery for about 19 bucks. You have to send your iPod out to Apple at the cost of shipping and $50 per battery. Not to mention the battery life for the Nano is 15 hours where the Sansa e280 played for 22.5 hours before dying!
All in all I spent 177.00 and got a FAR SUPERIOR PLAYER!! SanDisk customer service is top notch as well. I owned 2 very expensive $300 a piece 20 Gig ipods. in just over a year each(right after the warranty was up) they had hard drive failure which cost 268.40 to repair. I was told it was cheaper to buy another iPod and was sent rudely on my way by Apple rather than their customer service trying to work with me to keep me as a customer. I have done research on every player out there, Hard Drive and flash. I bought a Sandisk. They are the leaders is flash memory for a reason. Not to mention their customer service was STELLAR!! Top notch and happy to have me convert.
In closing, the Sansa is most definitely worth your time and your investment. Don't spend the 250$ on the Nano for your child's christmas present. They will be receiving a far inferior product, will have to replace it or fix it and the cost is RIDICULOUS! Educate yourself and purchase a Sansa.
Customer Review: RockBox Makes This MP3 Player a Terrific Choice
Summary: 5 Stars
The ideal MP3 player has not yet been created, and while the Sansa e2xx series is very good for many of the things, the software is poor for podcasts. Also, it should be possible to put the sofware into a reduced eyesight mode (for someone with less than perfect vision; i.e., anyone over 50). Reduced eyesight mode would eliminate all the fancy screen graphics and provide the largest text possible so that the screen can be read without glasses by the average 50 year-old or in less than ideal lighting conditions. (The screen of the Sansa is washed out in bright sunlight.) The size of the screen is large enough to provide terrific readability -- if the software supported it. (I really enjoy my Canon D40 digital SLR because it provides an option to display shooting parameters in large type on the big rear LCD.) In addition, there should be a mode that alters the display to show as much metadata as possible, including the full title of the file. This would allow the user to have as much information as possible about an individual file, without actually listening to it. It is very difficult to browse through podcast files on the Sansa.
In fact, the Sansa e2xx series is not good for podcasts. The reason is that the tagging scheme for podcasts is not uniform so a useful "directory" of podcasts can't be generated by the software. Using the factory software, it is difficult to navigate among many podcasts and podcasts are organized haphazardly. Sansa should provide an alternative operating system that allows Windows-style navigation, with automatic display of full metadata. Rockbox (an open source operating system that works with Sansa e2xx; www.rockbox.org) is a pretty good alternative solution. However, it is still in beta and it is buggy. Sansa should provide a fully operational operating system that is fully functional for podcast (and also audiobook) users.
Finally, there really should be a taskshifter built-in to the software. For example, if you are listening to a podcast and decide you'd like a musical interlude, there should be a way of easily jumping to the music and then hop back to the podcast in exactly the same spot you left off. This is a no-brainer, but there isn't an easy way to do it with the factory software. It is possible with RockBox using bookmarks, but rather unwieldy.
UPDATE November 30, 2008
I have now been using the Sansa e280 for some time with the new (final version, not beta) RockBox software. RockBox works very well. It is stable (unlike the beta version) and provides an excellent podcasting experience. RockBox provide the ability the customize the display according to individual preferences. It allows navigating the directory structure of the Sansa so that you can select files according to filename. Bookmarking works most of the time. After a shutdown, the player generally resumes where you left off. Loading files by dragging & dropping from Windows works very well. (Unlike some other MP3 players, it is possible to copy multiple files simultaneously to the Sansa with RockBox. This makes it faster to load multiple files/folders to the device.) I am very happy with the Sansa/RockBox solution for podcasting. I wish that RockBox provided the following:
(1) Ability to erase files using RockBox (it is possible to erase files easily using the Windows file manager when connected to your computer)
(2) Better pause feature -- if I am listening to a podcast, there should be a way of securly stopping the play so I can attend to a task (such as going through security at the airport) and then resume the podcast. I generally shut the device down in such situations which means that I need to reboot. Yes, there is a pause -- but it doesn't work as well as it should.
(3) Better display of metadata -- why not use the entire screen to display lots of information on the file that is being played? (Perhaps I could configure RockBox to do this, but I haven't figured out how.)
(4) Ability to task switch -- i.e. pause a podcast and jump to music, and then resume podcast.
In sum, you will find the Sansa eXX with RockBox to be an excellent solution for podcasting (and music). I carry mine with me wherever I go. Commuting is a pleasure rather than an irritation and I never get angry waiting in line because I always have someting interesting to keep me occupied.
UPDATE December 21, 2008
The beauty of this MP3 player is that it works with RockBox open source software. The latest version of RockBox is an excellent operating system that is highly functional and stable. You can customize the user interface to your needs. For example, choose a large font if your eyesight requires. You will have the capability of navigating the file structure like on your computer. I am an avid podcast listener, and the Sansa e280 with RockBox is the best solution I've found. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: A Very Nice Player
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used the Sansa e280 MP3 player for a little more than a month now and I am favorably impressed with it. It is a good looking player, small enough to carry in a shirt pocket and it has an ENORMOUS capacity for a player with flash memory. The sound quality is very good and about what I expected out of a top quality machine like this. The ear buds that came with the player are a little better than the "El Cheapo" buds you usually get with most players but if you are an audiophile or a bass-head then you will probably want to invest in a better pair.
Of course this player does more than just play music. It will also display pictures and play videos. I only use mine for music but it comes with some sample pictures and a video. I played those and found them to be very good quality. Even though the display screen is larger than most, it is still a small format and will only show so much detail. This player can play only one proprietary format of picture and video but it does come with a converter program that will accept many different formats and convert them so they can be played on the e280. The pictures and videos can be downloaded to your computer hard disk but they can not be played from your computer because of the proprietary format. You can upload any picture or video (or any other type of file) to the e280 and use it like a flash drive. Did I mention that it has an ENORMOUS capacity?
In general I think this is a great little player and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a machine that plays MP3 music, videos and pictures. It does have some problems that prevented me for giving it a 5 star rating.
I don't like the fact that you can't use the player while the battery is recharging. The e280 comes with a cable that plugs into a USB port and into the bottom of the player. This is how you transfer files and how you recharge the battery. The problem is that, while you are charging the battery, you can not play music. I use my player at work and usually get 15 to 18 hours before I have to recharge. The battery indicator on this thing is non-linear. The first half of the indicator goes slowly but when you get to the half way mark you don't have a lot of time left. I guess what I am trying to say is the machine is not "idiot proof" enough for me.
All of the controls on the e280, except for one, are a little narrow and sunken for someone as ham-fisted as I am. It's not bad, just a little inconvenient. The one control that is very prominent is the volume ring. This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you like to use your player. If you like to adjust your volume frequently then it is a good thing. If you like to store the player in you coat or shirt pocket on in your backpack, it could be a bad thing. Unless you lock the controls then the volume could change due to movement of the player during normal activities.
This brings me to my biggest peeve about the e280 - the volume. I am used to players that will stay at the volume on which they were set when they were turned off last. With the e280 (or at least my e280) the volume will automatically be set at mid-range whenever it is turned on. I normally run mine 2 or 3 notches below that. If that was all there was to it then this would not be a big thing but that isn't all. When I turn on my player I adjust the volume down and start listening to music. After a little while I begin to notice that the volume has slowly gotten louder. I check the volume setting and, sure enough, it is set back to mid-range. At first I thought this was due to movement of the player inside my shirt pocket but it never gets any louder than mid-range. I can stop this from happening by setting the control lock button after I set my volume. That keeps the volume where I set it but it also causes me to deal with the contol lock button every time I want to skip a song or replay a song or do anything else with the controls. This is a relative minor flaw but it is frustrating and a real pain in the you-know-what.
After having said that I want you to know that, overall, I am very happy with my e280 and would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a player that has these features. The flaws I have mentioned are relatively minor and do not prevent me from enjoying my music.
I do recommend some accessories for your e280. I got the Sansa e200 Travel Case Kit and you can read my review on that elsewhere. If the Travel Case Kit isn't your thing then I highly recommend you look at the protective screen cover that is sold seperately. I also purchased the 1 yr. replacement plan that Amazon is offering. I've had some bad luck with other players going down on me shortly after I bought them so I get some piece-of-mind knowing that my e280 will be replaced if it should go South on me.