SanDisk Sansa e260 (4GB)

By mp3deals

Excecutive Sumarry about SanDisk Sansa e260 (4GB) by James Kim

Sansa

The good: The SanDisk Sansa e200 series combines copious features such as subscription compatibility, an FM tuner/recorder, voice recording, and photo and video playback into a compact and durable device. We like the tactile navigation wheel, as well as the well-designed software interface. The user-removable battery and the Micro SD slot are nice touches, and the device has decent sound quality, processor performance, and battery life. Finally, the Sansa e200 series has a maximum base capacity of 8GB, and it offers a competitive price in the high-stakes world of high-capacity flash players.

The scrollwheel is not as easy to use as the iPod Click Wheel. Low levels of system noise can heard through headphones at low or zero volume.

The bottom line: The SanDisk Sansa e200 series offers a boatload of features for a reasonable price, in a package that is much nicer than that of past SanDisk models.

Specifications: Device type: Digital player ; Digital player supported digital audio standards: WMA , MP3 ; Battery: Lithium ion Rechargeable Internal

Memory goliath SanDisk continues its assault on the flash-based MP3 player market with the CES launch of the flagship Sansa e200 series, along with the budget-class Sansa c100 series. The SanDisk Sansa e200 series represents a departure from previous Sansa players, thanks to a higher-quality form factor and a bushel of cutting-edge features such as photo and video support, music-subscription compatibility, a user-removable battery, a MicroSD expansion slot, and a tactile Click Wheel-type controller system.

The e200 comes in 6GB ($220), 4GB ($180) and 2GB ($140) varieties, as well as the new 8GB version ($250), the last of which is known currently as the highest-capacity flash-based player in the world. Currently, the 4GB iPod Nano costs as much as the 8GB Sansa e280. The SanDisk Sansa e200's 1.8-inch screen is oriented in portrait mode, and gives the user lots of real estate for navigation. It is much bigger than the Nano's 1.5-inch screen. Below the screen is SanDisk's version of the Click Wheel, only this one is mechanical rather than touch sensitive. You select using the big button in the center of the wheel, which, in turn, is surrounded by traditional player-control buttons. The center select button can feel jiggly too.

The only other button on the face of the SanDisk Sansa e200 is the power/menu button. A record button resides on the left spine of the SanDisk Sansa e200. The SanDisk Sansa e200's right spine features a first: a tiny Micro SD slot, which can accept today's 2GB Micro SD cards (as low as $100). SanDisk offers replacement batteries for $20–having this option available is a huge benefit.

Back to the SanDisk Sansa e200's software interface: The main menu reminds us of certain Sony products, where icon-based options such as Music, Video, Photo, FM Radio, Settings, and Voice move in a circular motion, which is a perfect design, considering the scrollwheel. We only wish the display had a bit more resolution–photos, video, and even the menu text are somewhat pixelated.

The music library filters are pretty standard on the SanDisk Sansa e200, with Play All tracks up top, along with Artists, Album, Songs, Genres, My Top Rated, Recordings, and Playlists as options. On the playback screen, you get thumbnail album art, track info, and a time-elapsed meter. The SanDisk Sansa e200 package includes the player, earbuds (better than the typical e100- or m200-series headphones), a black slip-on case reminiscent of the iPod case, a lanyard, a proprietary USB cable, and a software CD.

It plays MP3, WMA DRM 10 (subscription), and WAV files. Also, the device includes a voice recorder, an FM tuner and recorder, and the ability to display photos (you can put top- viewed photos in a list or in a 3×4 grid of thumbnails) and play back video.

Although Windows Media Player is the primary audio-transfer application for the SanDisk Sansa e200, you'll need to use the included SanDisk Media Converter to get photos and video to play. JPEG and BMP photos also get downsized. For those interested in the growing world of online video, the process of getting video working on your device will be time-consuming. The e200 is not a portable video player and certainly isn't a video iPod.

A fistful of features and supercompetitive pricing are hallmarks of SanDisk products.

SanDisk is one of the first manufacturers, if not the first, to use a PortalPlayer chip designed specifically for flash players. The Nano and the iPod Video use a PortalPlayer chip as well, but those are optimized for hard drive-based players. Audio sounds bright, and the unit gets loud, driving our Grado SR80 well beyond normal listening levels. Unfortunately, the device cannot pipe video out to a TV.

For quality of video and photos, we're not as impressed, though currently, there aren't many flash players with big-screen multimedia capabilities, save for the iRiver U10. The SanDisk Sansa e200 has an audio-battery rating of 20 hours. Look out, iPod Nano and other high-end flash players–SanDisk, which can be aggressive with its prices, thanks to its advantageous place in the memory business, is coming out with some attractive WMA weapons.

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