SanDisk Sansa e270 6 GB MP3 Player with SD Expansion Slot (Black) by SanDisk
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Digital camera reviews of SanDisk Sansa e270 6 GB MP3 Player with SD Expansion Slot (Black)
Digital camera Review: A nice MP3 player
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been using this MP3 player for a while and I found it's a very nice one.
Pros: The sound is very good and clear. I never used a ipod so I don't know the comparison with ipod. But it's as good as, maybe better than other brands, like creative, phillips or SONY ones. It's easy to use, you don't even need to read the manual.
It is simple to use the included Sandisk converter software to transfer photos and video clips from your computer to the player. The screen is not big but pretty clear.
The battery life is very good. A fully charged battery can survive at least 15 hours (don't know that exactly, but close). It automatically charges the battery everytime you connect the player to your PC to transfer files.
It has a small size so it's easy to fit in your pocket.
Cons: The surface of the player is easy to be scratched. I bought a silicon case from Ebay so it's better now. But it already has a scratch mark on the screen now.
The earbud hurt my ears very much. I have to use another one from an older Sandisk player. But it depends on the size and shape of your ears. :)
It supports a few languages but not many. So if your song's title is Japanese or Chinese, it won't show correctly.
Digital camera Review: A relative good option but not designed for a non-Windows user
Summary: 2 Stars
In a nutshell, this is a quite good MP3 plays. I have owned a number of MP3 players over the years and this one is one of the best. However, if you using Linux (and possibly other non-Windows OSs) this is NOT a good option.
Advantages:
- Good battery life. If you think the icrap products are good, you haven't seen nothing yet
- Very intuitive (I didn't even have to read the manual to get the hang of it. Simple as using a calculator but more powerful than many other MP3 players)
- Allows a number of different languages, including the less common ones. Although this doesn't affect me personally since I can understand English quite well, someone who prefers to see the menus in his/her mother tongue has this option
- Sleek and strong. Haven't dropped it yet, but I have the feeling that it is not as fragile as some other, more fancy, MP3 players. The back of the device is metal-based.
- Very easy to use interface + there is a hold key (which is very handy if you plan to use this device outdoors)
- Charges from the USB port of your computer but you can also charge it from your car lighter or an AC outlet (for the last two you need to get a couple of accessories, which you pay for extra though)
- Comes with a few sample files so you can its function without having to download all your media library on it.
- Plenty of built-in memory. Let's face it, you are not going to watch movies on this device, so you don't need the 10s of GBs of space that other media players offer. As for the mp3s and photos you might want to listen/view, the 6 GBs of memory are more than adequate for that (unless you want to take it on a 3 month safari trip or something).
- Descent earphones. I have seen better and if you want to spend a lot of time listening to MP3s on this device you might want to use a more professional headset, BUT the earphones it comes with offer quite good sound quality.
- It takes a small SD card. In case the 6 Gigs are not enough for you, you can easily add more flash memory by buying a small SD card. This may be particularly useful if you want to transfer files from a phone that has an SD card of this type.
Disadvantages:
- It takes a long time to connect with a Linux OS
- After you download the files from a Linux PC they may not be visible by the firmware of the device, which is a pain
- It does not work with Mac
- The built-in flash memory is rather slow (compared to most flash memory USB devices). Having said that, it is not frustratingly slow, so if you plan ahead what files to copy, you can leave it downloading the files from your computer and grab a cup of coffee or something.
- It doesn't come with an AC charger. You have to buy that extra, assuming you can find one. Not a problem for someone shopping from Amazon though as you can get a good bundle for very little money.
Overall evaluation:
All in all, this is very good value for money. Not the best media player around, but you wouldn't want to get one that you would have to insure, are you? The only reason I could think of that someone would prefer an ipod over this is probably ignorance. This product is cheap enough so that if it breaks down you won't be losing sleep over your loss, but good enough so that you won't need to replace it by the next holiday shopping. Not recommended for Linux and Mac users though, unless of course you plan to use it primarily with a small SD card. As I have not tested the product thoroughly, I cannot account for the positive aspects of this review.
Digital camera Review: A+ for the design team!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used many of the competitors this one is simply the best. The battery charge lasts and lasts (I do recommend getting a car/home charger to top it up when a computer is not handy). The sound quality is great and navigation is simple and quick. The best part for a person with 'older' eyes like me is the VERY BRIGHT and clear screen.
Negatives are few: the supplied earbuds are some of the worst I've ever used (I bought some Panasonic in-ear buds and I am thrilled). The on-off button is difficult to operate (especially with the Griffin leather case).
Great to look at - great to hold - wonderful design!
Digital camera Review: Absolutely frustrating
Summary: 1 Stars
The unit functioned for a week and then died. A day later after holding up the unit to a co-worker and telling them what a piece of crap it was and then tossing it back onto my desk, I noticed that the screen flickered to life for a second. To get it working, I had to rap it on my desk several times. Obviously, the unit is not working as intended or maybe this is the expected quality of an IPOD clone.
The IPOD killer turned out to be a Chihuahua. One female co-worker had an IPOD that went dead after 2 months and Apple took it back no questions asked. Right now I am going back and forth with Sansa support and I already see where it's going from their last e-mail "Please also be informed that any damaged inflict to the device voids the warranty." This means that the scratches from trying to pry the back lid open to get their serial are going to be the excuse they need to walk away from this.
Before asking yourself if you should take a chance buying this MP3 player, consider my experience. A NYC subway full of people with white IPOD headphones listening to music and there I am with the Sansa trying to figure out why my MP3 player isn't working.
FOLLOWUP - TOTAL BLOWOFF BY TECH SUPPORT
After sending the exact quote materials from above, they replied with the following:
If the problems that you experience with your device occurs with regularity we will be replacing the device under warranty policies.
Should you have any other concerns and queries please let us know, it is indeed our pleasure to assist you.
Note the term "regularity"!!! One of the girls called Apple and they replaced it in 4 days! I call and they literally close the case in my face! Simply amazing support on this product.
Digital camera Review: Adequate but not good enough
Summary: 2 Stars
The Sansa e270 has the basic functionality which it promotes: plays music, plays videos, plays radio, and records. For basic use, it is sufficient. The player is also small and light enough to fit in your pockets, making it really handy to bring along to almost any place. Audio quality was also good.
But I wasn't pleased with it; firstly I wanted to watch some of my AVI videos on the player - I first had to convert it using the Sansa converter which came along with the package but it didn't work for my Xvid codecs. Then the player would also try to "arrange" my MP3s to fit its filing methodology, which just seemed to screw up my playlist. I could not find a lot of my music files after the "arrangement". I also found that I couldn't delete tracks on the player - I had to plug it into my computer and delete it using the computer interface. I also can't create different playlists of my own on the player, and for some weird reason, some playlists I created on the computer were corrupted on the player. What a mess! I have since then returned the player.
Ultimately, I would say the Sansa e200 series is a good series, worth its money. But for sticklers like me, it just doesn't cut it. I'm going to try other players.