SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black by SanDisk
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Digital camera reviews of SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black
Digital camera Review: A Supeurb All Solid State Skip Free MP3 Player
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the second one I've bought. The first was a e250 2gb model, and I ran out of room as I wanted to have a LOT of music to choose from as well as several audio books. I tried the memory expansion card but couldn't use it the same way as the built in memory, which is typical for mp3 players, so I gave the first one to my wife and got the e260 4gb model. This is a sleek little player, not as thin as some but on the other hand it seems very solid with a rigid metal back, and not very likely to break very easily. I acually like the thumbwheel, and find it easy to use. It would be helpful to be able to delete files directly from the Sansa but perhaps this feature will be added in a future firmware update. Mine came with a 30 day free subscription to Rhaspody, which allows you unlimited downloads to the Sansa, and there's a ton of music of all types available on their site. I also got the FM transmitter so it can be played on FM stereos without mp3 capability, and the sound is suprisingly good, even on stock FM automobile radios. It also provide excellent sound when plugged directly into my Tivoli PAL table radio. It's just a great little unit and I'm very pleased with it.Digital camera Review: A Very Nice Player
Summary: 4 Stars
I've owned several Sandisk players. If you want a low cost player with reasonable capacity and an easy AAA battery choice, Sandisk has been the way to go. Now they have moved way up in class, with the E200 series. These players have a great color screen, more advanced navigation, and lithium batteries that can be user replaced by removing 4 screws. Sandisk sells them for [...].
If you have a 4GB player, you have to be able to find things. When I first got the player, it didn't 'find' the 'genres' of my music files, which is one easy way to categorize. Fortunately, when I did a firmware update, the genres showed up. If you want to create (genre or other) categories for your music, you can use something like Jetaudio to label many 'selected' files, all at once, by the way. This player also sorts by album, and the tracks on the album are in the correct order. Again, this is information in the tag, so the tags have to be done correctly. Most 'ripping' programs do this, at least for mp3's.
Aside from genre, the E200 sorts by artist, and title. The scroll wheel is quite fast, and the bright screen makes seeing where you are much easier than previous Sandisk players. The sound is solid and it seems quite clean with a good pair of headphones. It will drive good phones, which are often less efficient.
This is a good player, especially with the rebates. I use drag and drop, and I loaded this player completely in less than half an hour. The size is just about perfect. If it were thinner, it wouldn't really fit anywhere that it doesn't already fit. The screen size is very good, but maybe not for video. It looks like a solid piece of equipment. I never had problems with other Sandisk players, but they looked flimsy. Also, this one looks much more elegant.
If you upgrade the firmware once, future updates should be automatic. When I drag and drop files with good tag info, I can navigate to the artists and the songs without any hitch. Tags are what makes iTunes work, and this player seems to do a good job, as long as you have good tags. If not, try a program like Godfather.
It's great to see a player that looks good, sounds good, and holds a bunch of music. All for a price that is more than reasonable. I like this player so much I wish I had the 8GB version, but maybe I will get a miniSD card.
I don't like handing out 5 starts, but I think this is 4 and a half. The USB charging is a little limited. I did find that a cheap 4AA USB adapter works fine and charges it. But you still have a special cable you must have with you. But that is a small drawback.
Digital camera Review: A Waste of Money
Summary: 1 Stars
When I received this player last Christmas, I was thrilled with it. It had excellent sound quality, the capacity seemed to be more than ample, the FM tuner worked like a dream,and the controls were extremely easy to master.
The only issue I had with the player for the first few months was that the screen would occasionally "ghost." I did discover that this could easily be fixed by buying a special screw driver and removing, then reinserting, the battery.
Roughly six months later, however, the player became full and it took it fifteen minutes to load every time I turned the play off or on. I figured that this was not a big deal as I could easily buy a micro sd card for the expansion slot. Consulting the Sandisk website, I learned that any card should work--this was completely incorrect. After two weeks of my computer and the player not recognizing the new card, as well as numerous calls to customer service, my father realized that only 4 gig and less cards would work in the slot. I got a new card, and was finally able to use the player again. Due to a flaw in the firmware, however, I am unable to delete any songs from the player, though I've tried every "solution" the Sandisk customer service page recommended.
Now, the death of my Sansa has finally come--the wheel has become inoperable. I am unable to make any selections from the menu, choose songs or albums, or even control the player's volume. Even the slightest movement of the play sends the wheel moving through two or three rotations.
In short, I would gladly have kept my old Creative USB MP3 player had I known how terrible this player is.
Digital camera Review: A decent player, with a few quirks
Summary: 3 Stars
I've owned the 4GB e260 for some time now, and it has served me rather well- but there are a few issues that users need to be aware of before buying.
This player was the most feature-rich 4GB player on the market when it came out, and to my knowledge it is still the only one (aside from newer Sansas) with an expansion slot. 1 or 2GB cards aren't terribly expensive, and will run you significantly less than a new player will, so this feature alone is sheer brilliance. I also like that the case is easy to open and the battery can be taken out and replaced, which gives the Sansa a great advantage over comparable players.
Now for the cons:
- First off, never, ever allow the USB/charger connection port to contact any metal object. This WILL cause the player to short out and lock up, which in turn requires you to either wait for the battery to run down or crack the case open and remove the battery for a hard reboot. I don't know if this is a common issue with other MP3 players, but I've had this happen several times as the port is very exposed. A simple silicone tab cover would have gone a long way towards preventing this from happening at all.
-There is a possibility that, if the screen is set to automatically turn off or dim until a button is pressed, it may not come back on at all or it may lock up or display a blank screen. Running with the screen always on does not seem to significantly affect battery life, but this is something that should have been avoidable.
-The scroll wheel is not as durable as it ought to be; it can and will become worn out long before anything else goes wrong with the player. While mine hasn't failed, it also doesn't recognize control input as it should; moving the wheel even slightly results in scrolling either far too quickly (all the way down a 20-some item menu from 1/16th rotation sometimes) or even scrolling in the wrong direction. This is not a crippling issue, as the play/pause, forward, back, and menu controls double as directional buttons, but it is highly annoying.
-In addition to being of inferior quality, the aforementioned scroll wheel sticks out from the case and may be damaged if the player is dropped or compressed (if, say, you carry it in your pocket a lot as I did).
So far, those issues have not been enough to convince me to replace the player (a silicone rubber cover helped somewhat), but I wouldn't buy the same model again if it died- though I would likely buy from Sansa again, as this was their first entry into the mainstream MP3 player market and their product line has improved since it was released. Go with one of the newer Sansa models if you can.
Digital camera Review: A excellent mp3 player!!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my second purchase of an mp3 player by Sandisk. Initially, the sound quality is mediocre, however, all this changes dramatically for the better once the firmware update is downloaded into the mp3 player. The firmware update transforms this little lamb of an mp3 into a mega sound monster! In order to get an adjustable custom EQ, you must use the firmware update on sandisk's website.This update allows you to personalize your sound preference through the player. The sound is excellent (with firmware update).If you're an audiophile, this is the choice. The only drawbacks are the awkward positioning of the control buttons, the lack of an ac charger and case as well as the functionality of the buttons. In order to use the photo and video features, you must use the proprietary software that's provided in the box. Otherwise, this is an excellent player!
PROS:
-Excellent sound (with firmaware update)
-Decent picture and video display
-Excellent battery life
-Expandable memory
CONS:
-Awkward control positions--hard to reach buttons
-Mediocre sounding FM radio
-No ac charger
-No case
-Cheap "tinny" sounding earbuds (Sound improves dramatically with better headphones)
-Has a tendency to freeze up once in a while (Hold down power button for 15 seconds when this occurs)
Overall, the Sansa E200 series is an audiophile's dream!!!