SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black) by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $50.00 You Save: $199.99 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: A Very Nice Player
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used the Sansa e280 MP3 player for a little more than a month now and I am favorably impressed with it. It is a good looking player, small enough to carry in a shirt pocket and it has an ENORMOUS capacity for a player with flash memory. The sound quality is very good and about what I expected out of a top quality machine like this. The ear buds that came with the player are a little better than the "El Cheapo" buds you usually get with most players but if you are an audiophile or a bass-head then you will probably want to invest in a better pair.
Of course this player does more than just play music. It will also display pictures and play videos. I only use mine for music but it comes with some sample pictures and a video. I played those and found them to be very good quality. Even though the display screen is larger than most, it is still a small format and will only show so much detail. This player can play only one proprietary format of picture and video but it does come with a converter program that will accept many different formats and convert them so they can be played on the e280. The pictures and videos can be downloaded to your computer hard disk but they can not be played from your computer because of the proprietary format. You can upload any picture or video (or any other type of file) to the e280 and use it like a flash drive. Did I mention that it has an ENORMOUS capacity?
In general I think this is a great little player and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a machine that plays MP3 music, videos and pictures. It does have some problems that prevented me for giving it a 5 star rating.
I don't like the fact that you can't use the player while the battery is recharging. The e280 comes with a cable that plugs into a USB port and into the bottom of the player. This is how you transfer files and how you recharge the battery. The problem is that, while you are charging the battery, you can not play music. I use my player at work and usually get 15 to 18 hours before I have to recharge. The battery indicator on this thing is non-linear. The first half of the indicator goes slowly but when you get to the half way mark you don't have a lot of time left. I guess what I am trying to say is the machine is not "idiot proof" enough for me.
All of the controls on the e280, except for one, are a little narrow and sunken for someone as ham-fisted as I am. It's not bad, just a little inconvenient. The one control that is very prominent is the volume ring. This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you like to use your player. If you like to adjust your volume frequently then it is a good thing. If you like to store the player in you coat or shirt pocket on in your backpack, it could be a bad thing. Unless you lock the controls then the volume could change due to movement of the player during normal activities.
This brings me to my biggest peeve about the e280 - the volume. I am used to players that will stay at the volume on which they were set when they were turned off last. With the e280 (or at least my e280) the volume will automatically be set at mid-range whenever it is turned on. I normally run mine 2 or 3 notches below that. If that was all there was to it then this would not be a big thing but that isn't all. When I turn on my player I adjust the volume down and start listening to music. After a little while I begin to notice that the volume has slowly gotten louder. I check the volume setting and, sure enough, it is set back to mid-range. At first I thought this was due to movement of the player inside my shirt pocket but it never gets any louder than mid-range. I can stop this from happening by setting the control lock button after I set my volume. That keeps the volume where I set it but it also causes me to deal with the contol lock button every time I want to skip a song or replay a song or do anything else with the controls. This is a relative minor flaw but it is frustrating and a real pain in the you-know-what.
After having said that I want you to know that, overall, I am very happy with my e280 and would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a player that has these features. The flaws I have mentioned are relatively minor and do not prevent me from enjoying my music.
I do recommend some accessories for your e280. I got the Sansa e200 Travel Case Kit and you can read my review on that elsewhere. If the Travel Case Kit isn't your thing then I highly recommend you look at the protective screen cover that is sold seperately. I also purchased the 1 yr. replacement plan that Amazon is offering. I've had some bad luck with other players going down on me shortly after I bought them so I get some piece-of-mind knowing that my e280 will be replaced if it should go South on me.
Digital camera Review: A big disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
Don't waste your money on this one. Mine worked well for a few weeks but was not as user friendly as I had hoped. When mine began having problems syncing playlists, I contacted tech support. The TS was abysmal. I tried four times but got nowhere. The reps were obviosuly middle eastern with nearly impossible accents to understand. They could not move beyond their troubleshooting script and had no real working knowledge of the device. I don't like Apple products but finally bought an IPOD NANO. It is more user friendly, smaller, lighter and it works.Digital camera Review: A cheap IPOD clone.
Summary: 1 Stars
I got this it between IPOD's when I was going from Nano to a new IPOD classic. It was alright but it's just a cheap copy of an ipod with less features, performance and space. Not only that the click wheel is complete crap for those of you that are used to the awesomeness and accuracy of the IPOD wheel. This thing also crashed alot with only half the drive full of music and 1 music video on it. I would not buy one of these again it's IPOD all the way from now on.Digital camera Review: A decent 8GB player
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my first Sansa mp3 player, I also own a Ipod video, Creative Zen V and Vision M.
Pluses:
- Competitive price for a 8G mp3 player
- Long Batt life
- Battery user replaceable
Minus:
- slow boot up time
- no asian language support
- navigation ring interfere with the click buttons
- need supplied sw for photo and video
- Proprietary usb cable
- no AC adaptor
Others:
Sound quality and User interface fare no better than Ipod or Creative Zen
Digital camera Review: A decent player for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this player because it was half the cost of an 8gb ipod nano.
The menus are not quite as refined as the ipod, which might mean more scrolling to find a specific song or artist if you have lots of different music on your player.
The player is relatively easy to use, and loading music in windows media player is straightforward (though I will confess that I still prefer itunes when listening to music on my computer, and I think that itunes is easier to use).
The built in radio is a plus. I haven't had a chance to test out the microSD slot, but I could see that extending the useful life of the player in the future.
I'm not sure how I feel about the user-replaceable battery. It might be an option later in the player's life, but since you have to remove four screws to change the battery it's completely unfeasible to keep a spare battery with you for extra play time. In my opinion, the thick metal cover on the back of the player makes the device thicker than it needs to be, and I think SanDisk dropped the ball by not making the battery easier to change.
I'm also not crazy about how long the Sansa takes to boot up versus the ipod. I have to wait ten seconds to listen to music after turning the device on. Also, unlike the ipod, the sansa has no idea whether or not you have headphones plugged in and will keep playing with them unplugged. So if you forget to turn it off it will keep playing until it either plays all remaining songs in the queue, or runs out of battery power.
All of that said, it's a bargain for the price. I'm docking the player one star for the ten-second bootup time, which annoys me every time I use the player.