SanDisk Sansa c250 2 GB MP3 Player (Black)
by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $50.91 You Save: $49.08 (49%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $18.66 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa c250 2 GB MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: Caveat: Make sure it's a V1 and install RockBox!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought my Sansa c250 a couple years ago. I used it lightly for playing MP3s but more heavily as an FM radio to listen to NPR on long bus rides. Recently the battery started not to hold a charge for very long. A little searching on the web yielded two important results:
1. The USB cable that comes with the c250 doesn't do a great job charging. I bought the Belkin Charging Kit for SanDisk Sansa c200, e200, View, Connect and Fuze and now it charges faster and more thoroughly.
2. I "upgraded" the firmware to RockBox (see [...]). The Sansa C250 is one of the best supported devices. The battery management in RockBox helped revive my aging battery. It also gave me OGG and FLAC playback support, the ability to use > 2GB MicroSD cards in my Sansa C250 V1 (the Sansa firmware supports only < 2GB), and a collection of games I can play while listening to music.
After these upgrades, I found myself using my C250 even more. I ended up buying a second battery, HQRP Replacement Battery for Sandisk Sansa C200 C240 C250 MP3 Player plus HQRP Universal Screen Protector, and a new pair of ear buds: Sennheiser CX300-B Earbuds (Black).
All-in-all, I probably spent about $40 and have turned my aging Sansa c250 in a great device that's getting more use than ever. I may buy a second one for a backup!
Update: I lost my orignal Sansa C250 on a trip a little while back. Because I had so many accessories (extra battery, chargers, etc.) I opted to order a new one from Amazon. It was fulfilled by BlueProton. The one they sent me was in the original packaging (i.e., perfectly new) and V1! I was afraid that I'd get a V2 and wouldn't be able to upgrade to RockBox. I'm quite happy that I opted to a 4-year old MP3 player instead of some flashy new device. Of course that really says something about the technology here: A 4-5 year old MP3 player is perfectly adequate (if not great) even compared to the latest offering from the fruit-named company. I do need to replace my Sennheiser head phones. Evidently a huge black market has arisen for those so I'll have to be careful.
Customer Review: Great mp3 player for music only fans
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been obsessively researching mp3 players and I found this one (but pink) on sale at an Office Depot for $39.99. I checked around and there were some mixed reviews, but in the end I decided this would be he player for me to just play music on and expand the memory if I really wanted to. The photo viewer is nice but no necessary since the screen is too small to properly view pictures. But it's nice enough.
Important things to know:
1. It came charged straight of the packaging (just not for too long) but I was able to use it before I got home to play around with it properly.
2. You have to go to the sandisk website (http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1376)to download an updated firmware which isn't hard or anything, so the player will show up on your computer. I have Vista and it worked for me.
3. Tried the software they gave me-a waste of a cd if you ask me. So I can now drag and drop my files in there like I did with an older RCA model before it was stolen. A few files needed to be "converted" in order to show up but they were ALL photos, no mp3's. I keep getting a warning before the songs will copy on he player but it still plays which is important to me. Like I said, the photo viewer is insignificant. So...
4. If you want to view photos and videos - don't get this c250 sansa.
5. Headphones come with it but I bought my own. Inner ear because they stay in my ear and don't hurt a lot unlike the other ones. $10 @ Marshalls and $15 @ Target, SkullCandy. Cheap & great, like it should be at least $25 for great sound and design. Not flimsy.
6. The charger is cool. It charges via computer. I'm in luck and have an A/V for an energizer rechargeable battery and my sansa usb plugs in there so I can charge it via wall as well, which is great since I wont always be at a computer.
If you want something that has basic controls, acts as a usb, and just want something that will play music, this is the player for you. I have other recommendations such as the creative zen stone (plus/plus w/speakers) as well but too freakishly tiny for me. I have only had this for a day now but I know me and the sansa c250 are going to get along just fine. Better with a case.
Customer Review: Small product large sound
Summary: 5 Stars
I was hesitant about buying an MP3 player because I am relatively inept when it comes to electronic devices. After researching different MP3 players I decided to take a chance on the SanDisk because of its reasonable price plus I had read that it was compatible with Windows Media Player (WMP). I had downloaded dozens of CDs onto the WMP and now needed something small and pocket sized that was inconspicuous to use at work. My profession affords me with occasional down time so I wanted a small MP3 player with ear plugs that would help me pass the time by dusting off a few musical neural networks encoded in the 60's. First of all I was surprised at how simple transferring songs was using the WMP and the Sandisk. You first open up the WMP and once the computer recognizes the "device" you click on the icon, which allows the WMP to connect with the SanDisk. Then you can either right click on selected songs and select "add to synch" or you can right click on the CD title and add the entire contents of the CD to the sync list. The WMP shows you how much room you have left on the Sandisk after each input. Pretty simple. The real surprise occurred when I placed the ear plugs in and listened to my old archaic music. I'm not crazy about ear plugs (can't use headphones at work), but the ones that come with the player are not uncomfortable. The sound quality of the SanDisk is extremely impressive for such a small device. Although the player comes with an equalizer I did not even find it necessary to adjust the sounds. I give this product 5 stars for the musical portion of the SanDisk. I cannot comment on the other options that this product has, but I am obviously impressed enough to leave a review on this item. I should mention that the device comes with a CD that I downloaded and it appears to assist in using the other features of the SanDisk MP3 player, but as mentioned I bought the player solely for listening to music and am simply commenting on the musical portion of the SanDisk Sansa c250 MP3 player. I hope that this helps you in deciding which player to buy. I am very satisfied with this product.Customer Review: Great for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I have bought MP3 players for my son in the past, but this is the first one I have owned and operated. My initial thought was that with 2GB, this unit would have plenty of room to listen for hours, especially with a fixed charge duration available on the rechargable battery (replaceable). Well, it was not a month before I was back on-line ordering a Sandisk 4GB MicroSDHC card so I could keep my "whole" MP3 library on it. I believe the c250 V2 (the one shipped by Amazon) can handle up to a 8 GB (total of 10GB), but you might want to check again by calling the 1800 number for Sandisk. The older version, C250 (ver 1) can only handle up to 2GB as I recall. (look on the back of the unit for the "V2" in small print. I thought 4GB additional memory would be plenty and the chips are only about $16 on Amazon (bulkpack with full size SD adaptor). Then I picked up a second USB cable (to attach to a 2nd PC) and car/home charger for it (on Ebay as a set for about $8). I found the the extra memory is accessed rather seemlessly. I have been using MS-WMP Ver 11 for the sync (MP3s only so far- it supposedly plays other formats as well). I have not tried the voice recorder, but the photos are obviously small (see screen size) and fairly low resolution. These are fine for a quick glance, but less than ideal for anything more than cell phone type image sharing (IMHO). The FM radio (digital scan tuner) is as good as any portables I have used, but the reception was much better than most (i.e. picking up a weak signal inside a building and not cutting out every time you move). I found the overall sound quality was rather good. This is not a audiophile type device! But, with the equalizer (use presets or custom EQ settings) you can generate a very acceptable sound quality with volume level capability high enough to satisfy even my son. I would recommend this unit. I may find some problems with it once I have had it a while. But, after a couple of months usage, I would have to give it a 5 star assessment, especially for the price!Customer Review: Tough and capable, survived getting driven over
Summary: 5 Stars
First and foremost, I'd like to point out that this device survived getting run over by my car. The screen cracked and is now partially unreadable, but everything still works just fine.
When I bought this I was looking for a cheap mp3 player that did nothing but play music. It does, quite well, and came with a whole bunch of other neat features. I had a few problems figuring out how to sync up and transfer my music (Prior to this I'd owned only Creative Nomad mp3 players, music transfer is a little different with them). Once you figure it out it's not bad. There's assorted video tutorials on the subject, which I ended up having to use.
Microphone and Radio tuner are pretty amazing considering how cheap and how little the device is. I use the microphone to record portions of class lectures and it works great (from within the first 3 or 4 rows, mind you). Radio tuner works as well as any other portable radio. I don't use the radio much, though, so I'm not sure how well it holds up under bridges and in large buildings etc.
The picture function, which seems to me something an mp3 player doesn't really need, works fine. I don't know what sorts of pictures you're supposed to look at on your mp3 player, but considering the screen resolution is 160 x 70 (or something like that, I don't remember exact size) pictures show up really clear. I guess you could fit a small two tiered flow chart, or maybe a basic time series graph. Or, if you're me, a picture of your girlfriend.
Bottom line, it's a great product, durable, and a steal. It's fallen down stairs, it's been run over by my car, and I've stepped on it a few times. It can stand up to a little punishment. The expansion slot is a great idea too, though I haven't had any need for it yet. Whenever this thing finally dies I will definitely be buying another.