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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa m230 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
Customer Review: A great alternative to that OTHER mp3 player
Summary: 4 Stars
The SanDisk Sansa M230 512 MB MP3 Player
Last year as I was listening to my bulky CD Walkman, I kept seeing kids on the street with those tiny neon headphones on. That's the sign of an ipod user and a sign of the times. So, while I tried my best to save my money to buy one, I noticed that a local store had the Sandisk Sansa for an After-Thanksgiving Sale, so while others were standing in line at four in the morning to get an Xbox, I rushed in to get this Sansa.
If you can't afford an ipod yet and just want an mp3 player just to have an mp3 player (you can always upgrade later), I'd go with this one. True, it may not hold as many songs as an ipod but all I do is take the bus to work and drive any other time, so I don't need to listen to that many songs. Basically, I'm just fascinated with the mp3 player itself. With my CD Walkman, I have to use up two AA batteries in about 1 1/2 weeks while having to either listen to the same CD over and over or take a CD carrying case with me full of other CD's (which makes the Walkman even bulkier). With this, I can use one AAA battery for about 2-3 weeks and download about seven full-length albums on here. And it fits right in my pocket, always a plus.
There are a few cons: the headphones only last for about six months, when you "lock" the player by using the HOLD button, you hear static in the headphones, and the light isn't very strong, making it a pain to search for songs in a dark location (like on a red-eye flight). But you get what you pay for, I guess. I'll be "cool" someday and get an ipod or whatever else is in these days but for now, I'm happy with this Sansa. -EJR
Customer Review: Not worth the hassle
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought 2 of these players as gifts. At the same time I also bought 2 Creative Zen Stones as gifts (for our extended families overseas).
I loaded both a Sansa and a Zen in the last few days with MP3 files using Windows Media Player.
It took less than 5 minutes (not including the transfer time) to do it on the Zen (which worked right out of the box).
The Sansa took 3-4 hours last night. It started well as the player recognized it and started a playlist sync. Stopped after first file. From then on it became a challenge. I tried drop and drag (did not work). Finally downloaded the firmware update from Sandisk (this was also not easy and had to do it several times). Then it synced.
Why did I buy this? Low price and FM capability. I WISH I HAD PAID $9 MORE TO GET TWICE THE STORAGE AND NO HASSLES WITH THE CREATIVE ZEN STONE (MUCH SMALLER AND RECHARGEABLE). Well hindsight is 2020 but I hope this review helps you in making a right choice.
Sandisk you are no Apple (I also own a new shuffle) and unfortunately not even a Creative.
UPDATE: Since the review I also loaded the other Sansa and Zen. I lucked out with the Sansa this time because the update software made me chenge the USB setting to MSC mode (in the settings menu). With the Sansa sync-ed to Windows Media Player without any trouble.
I would add 2 more stars to the rating based on this update. My view still remains that unless you are looking for FM go for the Zen Stone (for $9 you get 512MB more; it is SMALL (slightly bigger than iPOD shuffle) and rechargeable (save on some batteries and associated costs).
Customer Review: Overall, not impressed
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this mp3 player in March or April 2006 to replace my Sony E-505 mp3 player, which kicked the bucket (literally) after I dropped it in one filled with water. Before that I had an iRiver, which was a fantastic player, but I was attracted to the Sansa mainly because of its price, which is excellent considering the features you get. The Sansa comes equipped with radio tuners, some nifty playlist sorters, a stopwatch, a voice recorder and a sports armband, among other things. It is also programmed to work with Windows, so music downloading is very easy. Overall, it seemed like a good deal.
Well, I wanted to wait to write my review so I could comment on its durability. I'm glad I waited, because it's now June, and the Sansa inexplicably died a few days ago. It keeps coming up with an error message that says that the drive is full, but then it says that there are no songs on the player. I've tried changing the battery, hooking it up to the computer and fiddling with the controls, but nothing works. Granted, I used it a lot- mainly during workouts- but I never abused it. Even under heavy usage, a flash drive mp3 player should last a lot longer than three months. Additionally, I was only marginally satisfied with the sound quality of the player, and the battery life was not that great. Of course, it only uses one AAA battery, but I had to change it every week.
My recommendation? If you're serious about your music and/or plan to use your player a lot, spend a little more money and get a better and more durable one. Sony and iRiver both make excellent mp3 players that are well worth the extra money.
Customer Review: Good overall, customizing playlist is so-so
Summary: 3 Stars
These are the only 3 things that bother me about this device. All other features are awesome!
1. Customizing a playlist is a pain. The manual says that it sorts things automatically and it's easy to view them ... this is not true. I use this mp3 player mostly to listen to audio lessons, and most of my files are titled something like "Lesson 1A", "Lesson 1B", and so on. I tried giving them different track numbers and albums, but the sort it comes up with is all wacko ... never in the chronological lesson order that it once was in the CDs. In fact, I don't know what kind of sorting it uses. It's not by name, title, track, album, nor date. I tried a variety of combinations and it's hopeless. The only workaround I found was to change the album name and only play this album. But I have to do this per lesson set, instead I wanted to list them (all the tracks in all the CDs) per artist. I had a Rio500 player and I was able to customize the list in the order I wanted and the device would show them in that order only. I really miss this feature.
2. The repeat AB feature is not very quick. If you want a portion repeated in a loop, you need to press the A section a couple of seconds sooner to start the repeat cycle later ... always have to rewind and try again because the loop is just never timed right the first time.
3. Cannot rewind from beginning of one file to end of the previous file. This feature is really useful if you have like a 30 min audio and want to get to the very end. For this device, you have to start forwarding from the beginning, which takes forever.
Customer Review: Excellent Buy For The Money! ! !
Summary: 5 Stars
For the money, this player can't be beat. I've used Sandisk products since the mid 90's and always been pleased with the performance and this m230 is no exception. I've read some of the negative reviews on this site and anyone that gives this unit less than four stars should have their head examined. I must admit, I'm rather savvy when it comes to computers and I build all of my own systems from the ground up, but that aside, I have accessed and used every feature on this player without reading the included manual or the complete reference on the disc. It's very intuitive and had no problem using any of the features. I've loaded 24 albums (64kbs WMA) onto the player with some room to spare. Quality of playback is excellent, as good as any iPod I've used. Equalizer makes a big difference when adjusted appropriately with my Sony Mega Bass earbuds. With a 2.0 USB port, load time for each album is about 15-30 seconds. No complaints and I'd definitely buy another if this one goes out.
I forgot to mention that I currently have 113 songs loaded on the m230 in 64 kb/s WMA format and I'm using 220 MB of the 483 MB available on the device. . . By that measure, 248 songs can be loaded, which would break down to about 22 albums of music. On the plus side, the lower capacity gives a person the incentive to more frequently rotate the music selection. Sound quality is perfectly acceptable at the 64 kb/s sampling rate. Gives you twice the storage space of 128 kb/s MPS's, so I'll opt for the WMA. I also have a 20GB iRiver PMP 120 and the same music has been on it for the last year. . .