SanDisk Sansa m240 1 GB MP3 Player (Silver)
by SanDisk
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Our Price: $99.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $39.99 (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 m240 1 GB MP3 Player (Silver)
Customer Review: A great bargain
Summary: 5 Stars
When my iPod died several months ago I was distressed since I listen to music on campus to pass the time more easily in between classes. I also used it extensively for extra stimulation in outdoor journeys and in transits. The warranty had run up and Apple wanted over $250 to get it 'repaired.' After my attempts at fixing it failed, the time was finally called, and the deceased discarded.
In the interim period between my iPod and the SanDisk Sansa M240 I used an old, scratched up, taped together, barely functional CD player with no sufficient shock protection that had been collecting dust in the bottom of my closet for a few years. The CD player was not a sufficient substitute: it was bulky, only held about 80 minutes of audio, would skip frequently, had poor audio fidelity and was increasingly becoming unusable due to structural damage.
Clearly I needed an MP3 player to fulfill my needs. I picked up the SanDisk Sansa M240 and must say I am quite pleased with the result. The only other contender was the 1 gigabyte iPod nano. I have no experience with the nano but I do know is that it costs about 30 dollars more, doesn't have an FM tuner or onboard mic and also must interface (like the regular iPods) exclusively with the extraordinarily frustrating program iTunes.
The first thing you will notice about the M240 is that it is only a few inches long and only weighs a few ounces. I almost fear that I will break it in my hands simply by applying too much pressure to it's face. In the end this becomes a highly desirable design feature because it is extremely mobile and even comes with a carrying case and armband for exercise or other intense activities (although I haven't had any experience using those items). Luckily the buttons are big enough for even the thickest of fingers to navigate easily.
Although the M240 is physically tiny it has identical capacity to the iPod nano and also more features. It has a built-in FM tuner that has surprisingly good audio quality and reception (it has no antenna by default, you can attach a USB cable for extra reception but won't need it if you are above ground and in a suburban or urban area) and a onboard mic that is useful for taking notes. I was amazed to find that inside my kitchen I was getting perfect radio reception without the USB attachment and could walk around with no audio distortion. The M240 also has some other minor applications like an alarm clock feature that may come in handy.
Installation of the 240 is incredibly simple, all you do is connect it to your computer using the USB cable that comes with it and it will be added to My Computer. From there, all you have to do is drag files from your computer into the MP3 player's "data" directory (which comes up like a USB pen drive would once inserted). I find that this method of adding and deleting files from the MP3 player is much more dynamic, natural and speedy than using the cumbersome, restrictive and poorly designed iTunes. If I want to add "Tentacles of Whorror" by Leviathan to the player and its full, all I have to do is go to My Computer, double click on the player icon, go to the data folder, delete a album or two that is already on there and then simply drag the Leviathan over (or copy and paste). Performing the same operation in iTunes would take at least twice as long and be frustrating to boot. You can supposedly synchronize the M240 applications on your computer to transfer songs to the player, but I prefer to do it myself through Windows.
The most important aspect of any audio device is of course how it sounds. The M240 has surprisingly high audio fidelity and comes with a versatile suite of tools to customize the sound to your liking such as a fully programmable software equalizer. I found that once I had tweaked the equalizer and sound settings that the audio output from the M240 was phenomenal, sounding comparable to my home audio setup in terms of fidelity. I was also surprised at how loud I could make the volume (With no audio distortion). The ear bud phones that come with the player are also of surprising quality. As is the case with all ear buds, there is little bass, however this particular set has more bass than the stock iPod buds. The buds also fit comfortably in my ear and cause no irritation, a problem I have had with most ear bud phones. I would recommend getting a cheap pair of Sennheiser HD-212s or HD-220s for a proper listening experience: hearing the piece how the artist intended for it to be heard. As I have said before and will say now, if you aren't listening to music with a good pair of headphones you are not listening to music.
The software of the M240 is very easy to manipulate to have it do whatever you want. A problem with the cumbersome iPod software was adding multiple albums to the current playlist, but this is easy with the M240. The buttons are easy to use and very responsive to your actions.
Some other random things of note. The M240 has great battery life, requiring only one AAA battery for about 15-20 hours of continuous usage. The LCD fully reads ID3 information including properly formated album and title names.
Overall, the SanDisk Sansa M240 is a great value for the money, being superior to the iPod nano and cheaper as well. I couldn't think of any better alternative for a low capacity MP3 player, it has no obvious cons.
Customer Review: Good Hardware But Poor Tech Service
Summary: 4 Stars
First the hardware - I purchased this player mainly for the FM radio feature. I initially tried a Creative Nano Zen- its FM radio was full of static and did not give good reception.
The M240's radio is excellent. I live in a metro area and the ability to pick up stations and maintain good reception even while mobile on my 15 mile bicycle rides is very satisfactory. I like the M240's shape, size, and the controls. I wear trifocal glasses and I don't have any problem reading the screen. I attached a thin nylon cord to the player (it has to be real thin to go through the M240's retaining clip) so I can carry it in my bicycle jersey pocket and still loop it around my neck to be sure I don't drop it or lose it. The supplied earbuds are not very comfortable and don't fit my ears very well. The poor fit results in a lot of windnoise while on the bicycle. I replaced the earbuds with better fitting Sony MDR-EX51LP. The result is a better quality of listening and windnoise is practically non existent. These Sony earphones block out street sounds as well so be careful using them when you need your sense of hearing for safety.
I now find that the ability to store and listen to music without commercial interuption is also delightful. Even though Sansa tech service insistently states that the player is designed only for Windows XP I find that converting CD music and storing them as MP3 files works well using my Windows 2000 system and Realplayer conversion software. Other freeware conversion software also function well with Windows 2000. I tried several. I don't intend to download any music from the internet so I can't speak to the M240's ability to do this.
I have converted and installed 216 songs occupying 651 megabytes (about 3000 kilobytes per song - deviations from this average will influence the number of songs) of the total 973 megabytes available. Doing the math leads to the conclusion that my M240 would be expected to hold over 300 song titles. Of course if you fill it up with songs you have no room for any voice recording. I have no need for voice recording so I haven't tried this claimed feature.
216 songs is over 10 hours of listening. I could put more songs on when I have the opportunity but I don't expect I will be listening continuously for anything approaching 10 hours. If you are married you will understand this last statement. If you aren't married you don't yet understand what listening means:>).
Of the 216 installed songs, two are cataloged in an unknown album folder. Although this amounts to only 1% of the installed songs being misfiled it is an issue to me. I have tried multiple times using all available recording and transfer modes as well as different conversion software to give the M240 the opportunity to properly catalog the music. Neither I nor the M240 have succeeded. I used an MP3 tag editor to check that the tags are properly constructed (they are) but the M240 still refuses to properly catalog all the music. Although the M240 responds as a storage device in Windows the unknown folder does not show up in a directory listing. All the other album folders and subfolders show up properly. I believe these issues to be the fault of the firmware. The installed firmware on my M240 is reportedly the latest version and is identified by the M240 as 3.2.8A.
I tested battery life using a rechargeable and fully charged 900mah Sony Nickel Metal Hydride battery. The M240 was operated at about midway on the volume scale (comfortable listening for me) for 9 hours straight on one day and then turned off. The next day the M240 operated for between 3 and 4 hours before shutting down on low battery (I checked the player every hour - I didn't wear it continuously). I would say that the M240's claimed potential battery life of 19 hours might be achieved in a laboratory at very low volume settings but is very unlikely in a real world listening environment. If you use an alkaline AAA battery I would predict a battery life of less than 10 hours at a mid level operating volume.
Now the tech service - I am downgrading this player to 4 because of my experiences with Sansa's technical service. The first line technicians were not very knowledgeable, misrepresented themselves by giving false names, and did not follow through with their promised actions. There was ignorance and confusion about the firmware installed on the player and the website references to firmware upgrades were out of date on my visits. The latest firmware available was a 2.something.
I finally talked to the technical service manager and he informed me that 1% miscataloging was acceptable and that Sansa would be unlikely to do anything about trying to correct such a problem. I was offered the opportunity to exchange the M240 for an E240 but I didn't think the hassle was worth it nor did I want to trade in a known problem for perhaps some other unknown issues. As you have gathered I was not satisfied with the tech service and the uncaring and insincere attitude of the personnel.
All in all, for the money, the M240 fills my need and I would recommend it realizing that it may not be perfect. The tech service leaves a lot to be desired and I expect its perfomance will hinder Sansa's goal of corporate growth.
Customer Review: Great player, does what it's supposed to do, and does it WELL
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted to give this mp3 player some time before I chipped in my $.02, and now that I've owned it for a little over a year, I feel like I can accurately give my impressions, and meaningfully contribute my opinion.
I absolutely love my SanDisk Sansa 1GB player, and I wouldn't trade it in for any of the higher-end mp3 players out there. Before I continue, I should probably preface that when I was shopping around for mp3 players, I was looking for something very specific and tailored to my uses. Because I travel extensively and am fairly active, I was looking for something that was compact, lightweight, had a long battery life, had an AM/FM tuner, took batteries (there are no wall sockets in the woods to recharge your iPod), and most importantly was something that I wouldn't worry about banging around.
This last criteria was really important to me; I didn't want to doctor a $200 mp3 player, give it a screen protector, a leather case, etc. and be afraid of scratching it. I wanted to be able to throw it in the bottom of my backpack, carelessly drop it on the ground, and still have it work. The SanDisk Sansa fit the bill; I bought it for $20 last fall, and it has since then been with me to Asia, across the US, and through my daily bike commute to work. It's been awfully mistreated, and has continued to work time and time again.
So on to the specifics. What I love about this player:
- Is cheap, has withstood my abuse, and still performs like it had on day 1.
- Great sound quality (though I'm no audiophile, just an average Joe)
- Great battery life
- Radio -- at first I didn't think I'd really use this; I just wanted to listen to mp3's. I've since then however, grown very fond of NPR and listening to the news on the morning commute. I use the AM/FM tuner on a regular basis and couldn't live without it. Reception and sound quality are excellent, as is the preset/scan function that scans the strongest signals in whichever area I'm in. It's a great boon to this player.
- Compared to the other players on the market, it's very lightweight and somewhat compact. The player looks heavier than it really is; I was surprised at how light it was.
- Design -- initially, I was turned away by the cheap and bland aesthetic quality of this player. However, I've grown to love the big buttons on its face. While it's in my pocket, I've found it easy to skip tracks, pause, play, and adjust the volume because the buttons are big, and there's a clear tactile distinction between each button. I imagine I wouldn't be able to do this as easily with another player, such as the iPod. It's also small and light enough that it's not intrusive when I'm carrying it around.
- Infallible software -- though admittedly crude, without the bells and whistles that are included for other mp3 players' software, the software on this player has never failed me. I've synced it a bunch of times to winamp, windows media player, on numerous computers, and it has always flawlessly uploaded all of my songs without problem.
What I don't love about this player:
- I mentioned before that the software on this player is crude. It lacks the easy navigation of other mp3 players. This is sometimes a frustration when I'm searching for a specific song to listen to. In order to do this, I'll have to scroll through all of them to find the specific one. This is not so much a problem for me, since I usually put all the songs on shuffle, and if I don't like one, I'll skip forward to the next track, whatever it is. I can, however, easily see this being a major pain for others. Other than this hiccup though, the software is pretty intuitive and has a sharp learning curve.
- The battery cover sits a bit loose after a while, has a bit of give when I press it. I feel like I'll some day lose it.
- Crap stock headphones. They failed on me within the month. I've since then swapped them out for another, and those have been with me since.
Wishful thinking:
- I wish SanDisk could have just included a USB jack on this player; I hate having to additionally carry around the 5"-long cable to upload songs from another computer.
Concluding:
The SanDisk Sansa isn't for everyone, that's for sure. But it was for me. Some may be looking for a higher-end, more sophisticated mp3 player. I was looking for a cheap mp3 player that worked well and could rough it out on trips. If I lost it, or it was stolen (but who'd want to steal this?), I'd only be out $20, and I'd most probably get another. This mp3 player has done exactly what I wanted it to do, and I wouldn't trade it out for anything else.
Hope this helps!
Customer Review: Not ready for prime time
Summary: 1 Stars
To put things in context, I own a creative zen nano player and my feedback is (a) compared to that and (b) mainly coming from frustration in trying to get this thing set up. The zen was my first exposure to an mp3 player; I followed the clear instructions and everything came off without a hitch in no time flat. I expected this sansa to be a similar experience, especially since I now have some experience. However, Sansa is a company that apparently doesn't believe in writing step-by-step instructions. Their documentation is rudimentary and grossly incomplete. I'm having to figure things out by mucking around rather than by following instructions.
As a result I've already wasted many times over the amount of time it took me to get my zen up and running. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to get the sansa to recognize an album name - I'm presuming I can organize by albums because I was able to copy the entire folder over, but the Sansa isn't intuitive enough to use the folder name for the presumed name of the album, as my zen does, and, as I said, sansa doesn't appear to believe in writing documentation. I'm not very happy right now and I already wish I'd paid $10 more and gotten another zen nano or some other player where the company put some effort into the documentation/ user introduction.
Cons: (1) pathetic documentation - if your time is worth nothing, buy this sansa and you won't be losing anything. If you earn more than minimum wage, I suggest you buy something else (2) unnecessarily bulky and (3) generally cheap feel to the player; components all appear to be grade B. It's at least twice the size of the zen nano which is, admittedly a remarkably small player. (3) How are you planning on carrying this thing? The zen nano comes with either a quality neck tether which ties securely to the player itself and/or an arm band. As a result, you don't have to worry about dropping the zen nano. The sansa, on the other hand, provides NO way to directly tether the player. Instead, they have a ridiculously cheap plastic case with an oversized arm band (I *guess* that is what the velcro strap is - there doesn't appear to be any documentation on it, either). So, if you buy this sansa, you are going to probably need to buy a better quality carrying case, which will run you another $10 ... there goes your savings over the zen nano.
Pros: (1) the controls are much easier to access and use than on the zen nano (where real estate is dear and, presumably for that reason, they chose to use a fairly difficult to control jog-wheel for most of the control functions) (2) the sansa has fast forward/reverse buttons, while the zen nano only allows skipping between tracks. I do wish my nano had the fine forward/reverse controls, as I use my player for learning languages and replay is often necessary. If I were only this to play music, this wouldn't be much of an issue - and the super small size of the zen nano is a real plus. Making this unit a little larger than the zen nano, in order to improve the controls, would have been a good tradeoff. However, as noted above, this sucker is probably at least twice the size of the nano - mostly it is larger, especially in thickness, for no good reason...except, presumably, to save a few pennies on design or components.
There are probably some other significant pros and cons with the sansa m200 series that I have not yet encountered. If anything major pops up, and when I presumably figure out how to get the player to recognize album names, I'll try and make the time to update my comments.
Some people may feel I am being too hard giving this player only 1 star. It does play, after all. However, *I* bought this player because it had so many 5 stars and, thus, was ranked equivalent to my zen nano; hopefully I can affect the star rating a little and give a heads up. In many ways, this unit is simply not in the same league as the zen nano in terms of design/ ergonomics, but it is priced as if it is in the same league.
And, frankly, I think companies should be burned at the stake for skimping on documentation or otherwise treating their customers time as valueless. My impression, holding this thing in my hand and wasting time trying to get it working, is that the sansa was done "on the cheap" all the way around. As I said, if your time is valueless then, by all means, save yourself $10 and buy this unit - otherwise buy something better.
Customer Review: Brain dead software...
Summary: 2 Stars
Just got the m240, as a gift for a friend. I've been using a Kaser 2G myself, and I like its behavior-- I didn't have to install ANY software, it just shows up as a USB flash drive when you plug it in and works normally-- it's pretty smart though the display is pretty tiny. So, for $10 more than the Kaser I got the 1G m240 for my friend because the display is a little larger.
However, the m240 is brain damaged-- delete behaviour is bizarre when done the standard way (with Windows Explorer). It may LOOK like they're gone but it's not clear that they actually are and you can't see how much space is used/available via Windows Explorer. The manual says you can't delete that way but it looks like it deletes, though the available space may not get freed up (this is unclear). The device does NOT attach via USB as a memory stick device which is far more flexible, but as a "Windows Portable Device" which behaves differently-- you can't *move* files into folders as it will only copy them, so moving them to organize them causes you to run out of space. You also cannot reorganize your files under artist or category in case your files do not have some tags because it ignores the folder tree structure you create on the device-- you get things that show up as "no artist" or "unknown" that you have to correct in Windows Media Player by first sync'ing the files to your computer (hope you have space-- if you copied them from a CD of mp3 files you might not). Reorganizing files into different genres is going to be a royal pain, when simply moving it into another directory is a no-brainer. A filesystem tree is a great way to organize things, but this device is too dumb to use it-- you have to EDIT the files, you can't just move them to where they belong.
Also, it's not clear how you disconnect cleanly because there's no system tray icon you can use to remove the device-- the implication is you can simply yank the cable at any time, which doesn't give me a lot of confidence-- I prefer to know that the software isn't in the middle of doing something when I pull the plug on it. The standard Windows file utilities that everyone is familiar with are very quirky with this device. I'm not sure what will happen if you want to use this as a usb flash drive to copy microsoft word files or something to take to work. Good luck deleting them afterwards...
According to the manual, you have to use Rhapsody, Windows Media Player, or Napster Client and manipulate files via "sync" operations-- which is pretty darn annoying. My friend still has Windows 98SE-- and while you can get WMP 9 for it-- I just hope it knows how to operate with this device on W98SE, otherwise it's going back. The comments above say W98SE requires a driver-- there is a small CD in the package, hopefully that won't aggrivate things further. Using the Kaser with my friend's W98SE machine was plug and play, no hassle and no "no artist" or "unknown" junk showed up in the list.
Also, using "sync" would be useless for me because I don't keep my mp3 files on my computer but on a network drive which isn't always on and I manage the files separately so WMP isn't going to be able to keep track of where stuff is-- moving things from there to MP3 devices is always going to have to be done with Windows Explorer. Having this thing totally dependent on WMP or third party software is a serious misfeature.
Do yourself a favor and make sure whatever MP3 player you buy can be used as a standard flash drive and doesn't require custom software to be installed on every computer you use it with, so that you aren't stuck having to use WMP or something to mess with it-- I don't even use WMP to play my MP3 files, and I don't bother to keep it updated (or even installed on all my machines) since I don't use it...