SanDisk Sansa m230 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $27.95 You Save: $22.04 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $14.54 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa m230 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
Customer Review: Doesn't work - and they admit it. See below:
Summary: 1 Stars
Just picked this player up and found out that it does not support the formats advertised - in spite of the Microsoft "Plays for Sure" logo.
I subscribe to Audible.com which is the new "Books on Tape". Audible is an advertised format on the m230. I spent hours trying to get it to work, downloading drivers etc. - but it wouldn't. I sent an email to Audible and pasted below is the response:
(Regina Toussaint) - 11/27/2005 07:40 PM
Dear Thomas,
Thanks for contacting Audible, the world's largest online destination for downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment.
The Sansa M250 will be made Audible ready shortly. We are awaiting the Device Plug-ins from SanDisk so it can be added to Audible Manager. Unfortunately Sandisk has already listed the device as compatible. You will not be able to activate the device until we have added the plugin to our Software. We apologize for any inconvenience this may pose.
If you need further assistance, please try our online Help Center, where you'll find quick answers to many common questions and issues. You may also contact us directly during our regular business hours:
Mon - Fri we are open 24 hours
Sat & Sun 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.
We appreciate your interest in Audible, and wish you many hours of great listening.
Sincerely,
Regina
Audible Customer Support
Customer (Thomas Donnelly) - 11/27/2005 04:26 PM
I have an exsisting acct and just purchased a SanDisk/sansa m230 player - I could only find the installation software for the 100 series Sandisks - which wouldn't set up my player - how do I get Audible Manager to add this player
Question Reference #051127-000777
SanDisk Sansa 512mb MP3 Blue/White
Summary: 4 Stars Not purchased at Amazon...My son and I each Purchased...Retail $25 ea Big Lots (3 years ago) Hindsight is 20/20~I wouldn't buy another blue one, due to the LCD screen, for $25, but I would in a different color (in case our's was a batch factory fluke).
We both "loved" them! We upgraded to iPods, and Sony Walkmans (but, they are @ leasty 4x's the price, and after a year, the charger won't attach to one of the iPods AND one of the Sony's...which explains why Sony's "most recent" version uses the same style charger as this little Sansa).
THE UP SIDE (LOTS OF UPS!)
*They turned out to have plug and play capabilities...The usb cable is HIGH quality, but REALLY short (it's the same usb that became popular after Motorola released the Razr cell phone, so I had a few longer ones).
*Adding music was wonderfully easy! We could add and delete music from multiple computers, unlike some other more expensive brands...
*The sound is beautiful with all of my headphones! (I don't remember any headphones coming with ours, but that was 3 years ago). I never use both ears of my headphones (I like to hear what's going on around me as well), and still, I never had to max the volume...
*Ours run on a single AAA battery "forever"...If you plug speakers instead of headphones...and use a compatible wall charger...You don't need a battery at all...
NOW THE DOWN SIDE...BUT ONLY 1 !!!
Both of our MP3's LCD's blacked out within a couple of months (both of the LCD's look like they have a puddle of black ink fogging them up) yet, they still function otherwise...I kept both of these for places like the beach (I can risk sand damage, besides, the glare of the sun prevents seeing the LCD anyway...I don't need to see the LCD as long as the forward and reverse buttons work lol...)
Customer Review: Two players so far lock up / crash
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm about to return my second Sansa M230 player. After only less than a week both times it isn't working properly. Two main malfunctions are :
1. After clicking "Play All", it will play around 5 songs and then just stop.
2. Also, It locks up often. No buttons will work to use menu, play music, or even power it down to reboot. I have to remove the battery in order to reboot it.
These problems occured after less than a week of very light home use...no dropping the player or bookbag abuse. Possibly the most strain I put on it was possibly navigating through the menu too quickly. But c'mon, I hope it can handle clicking the buttons quickly.
I called SanDisk about the first bad player. The CSR suggested some things to try include re-formatting it, but after this didn't work, she said just to get a replacement from BestBuy. I will likely call Sandisk and press them for info about whether there is a known problem with many of these players. I did read something about known issues in one of the only other negative reviews here.
I am bummed because the price is very nice on this player and when it is working I have been enjoying owning it. I have been using the two month "Napster To Go" free trial that came with it. Which is awesome - unlimited downloads to your player (you can't burn them to CD, of course.
But alas, I guess with this low price player, the reliablity goes down. I'll likely be trying another low price brand too see if I can find one that works better.
Update :
I re-formated the second player (which I tried unsuccessfully to do to the first one). It now has been working ok for a day. We'll see how long it lasts....
Customer Review: Great alternative to the iPoos!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first personal mp3 player I ever purchased, and nearly 2 years later, it's still going strong. I selected it on a whim as I was waiting in line to pay for my other Black Friday (day-after-Thanksgiving) purchases. With people all around me shelling out $100+ for iPoos [sic], I figured $50 was a bargain. I was right and then some!
What I love about this is how easy it was for me to put music on it. Since I already have a 30 gig directory of music I ripped from my own CDs, it was as simple as dragging songs from there to the Sansa. (I've seen my VERY tech-savvy hubby curse while trying to load and set up his different iPods. *cackle*) Being able to adjust the sound playback style is nice, too (Rock/Pop/Classical, etc.) I also love that the Sansa has a radio and voice recorder function; no more writing little notes on my hand during the day! I've also used my Sansa as a regular flash drive to transport files to and from work. Since it uses standard batteries, I don't have to worry about remembering to charge it, either, and I've been quite surprised at how long I can use the Sansa before I do need to replace the battery. I'm very impressed!
While I don't recommend it, I've dropped my Sansa several times and banged it around plenty, with no apparent ill effects. Overall, I'm quite happy with my impulse purchase! I do plan on getting a new Sansa, only for a larger capacity, though. When I do, I'll be passing this one along to my 12 year old. I'm MUCH happier with the thought of her carrying around a good $50 mp3 player than one that costs several times that much. The Sansa M200 line is a great, budget-conscious gift for a tween/teen or yourself!
Customer Review: A great little value player, easy to use and plays just about everything.
Summary: 5 Stars
I just recently purchased this Sandisk Sansa m230, and I must say I am impressed. For the price, this little model is easy to use, and the MP3 and WMA files are all working with it. So far, the Playforsure is true to its name. Best part, this model has become more affordable, most 512mb players near 80-100 dollars, except some cheaper models that can have problems with WMA files and some MP3s. My brother has a little GPX 128 player, and it has done fair as well. Easy to load, it uses Windows media player to transfer files via a USB connection. The menus are easy to learn and navagate thru as well. I also enjoyed playing with the equalizer, which has a custom setting, as well as some preset settings. The sound is actually pretty good as well. I haven't had it long enough to find out battery life yet. But it does store quite enough music, 120+ songs depending on size or type. Now that I have this little system, I may be daring enough someday to purchase a jukebox size system and load it. Either way, this is easy to use, fraction of the cost of some of the other brands, and plays most formats of music files. To boot, it comes with a little plastic sleave and belt attachment, or a band to attach to the arm. Also included are the earbuds and cord, and a disc with window media player and other software offers. A+ in my book.
Note Update: This player does not play the MP4 file, which is what itunes uses, so itunes users sorry. My other MP3s are compatable so far still. And battery life seems to be now toward at 10+ hours now.
Note again:Had about 2 months now, no problems, battery life starting with a fresh duracell is about 12 hours give or take.