SanDisk Sansa e250 2 GB MP3 Player with microSD Expansion Slot (Black)
by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $72.99 You Save: $127.00 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $32.00 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e250 2 GB MP3 Player with microSD Expansion Slot (Black)
Customer Review: Affordable, Expandable, Small: MP3 Player to Buy in 2008
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great product to pick up right now, in early 2008, as prices drop. The Sansa e250 should be a Nano-killer, and it's a great buy for anyone who wants an inexpensive flash mp3 player for exercising, walking, or general use. I've owned a bunch of mp3 players, including iPods and one Nano, and here are the selling points for this little Sansa e250:
* Expandable memory through SD Flash. Buy a 2GB and by next fall, you can upgrade it very affordably to some mega size (16 GB? flash memory prices are falling). You'll have a cheap flash player larger as big as some iPods.
* Good sound quality. Via headphones, this is indistinguishable from any of the top mp3/iPods I've listened to. Don't know how it sounds in an audio system, but I don't recommend that for any iPod or flash player, just my tastes.
* Affordability, affordable, cheap, well-priced ... This thing is $69 online and at Best Buy. A few players, like the also excellent Sansa Click, are $49, but they are not expandable. For $20, that's a great option.
* One more note on affordability: Flash players and iPods sometimes get crushed, lost, stepped on, or dropped in rivers (did I mention I've owned a few?). That's their nature, or rather, our nature as clutzes. It sure feels better to hear your front left tire crush a $69 player, as opposed to a $149 one. Trust me.
* FM Radio. It's a great option, available on the e250. Works great.
* Usability. Compared to some of the uber-small players out now, you get a more readable screen. The interface is minimal but easy to use - what you want on a flash player.
* Good size/form factor. It's not the Click, which is perhaps optimal in size, but it's small enough to attach to your clothes while running. I hold mine, which is plenty easy.
* Free 60-day Best Buy Digital Music Store trial (aka Rhapsody). I have gotten this with two of my past mp3 purchases. Have never signed up for the subscription service, i.e., never paid, but I love the 60-day free trial period. It's a great way to learn about new artists.
* Integration with Audible - pretty standard these days, but well done on the e250.
Negatives? There is not as wide a range of formats as you can play on a big old iPod or larger digital music player like the big Sansas or iRivers. But hey, this is your flash drive, for working out - for your selected collection, not the whole thing. And if you're strictly playing .wma or .mp3 files, you can in fact get the whole thing on there, using an SD flash card.
Bottom line: Probably the best deal out there now in the combination of features (FM, expandable), affordability (just $20 more than the cheapos), form factor/usability, and the not-to-be-overlooked sound quality.
Customer Review: Big bang for few bucks.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read quite a few reviews from those I'll call "techies." While their reviews are very informative, non-"techies" like myself soon get lost in all of the technical jargon. With that being said, I'll keep this review as short and sweet as possible.
In short, this particular Sandisk MP3 player is a real value. I bought one for my teenage son this past Christmas and he certainly approves of it. In fact, my son thinks it's "cooler than an I-pod." He also thinks it looks, performs, and feels better than the other "generic" MP3 players out there.
While I had to read the owner's manual to get him started on it, I became a virtuoso with it in no time. While it is not exactly idiot proof, it can be figured without too much difficulty.
Here's what I like the most about it:
1. The price: It's considerably cheaper than an Ipod.
2. The look: It looks really snazzy with it's color screen. Songs downloaded from Rhapsody (for a fee) contain a small picture of the album art and even a short biography of the artist.
3. The feel: While small (of course), it has a substantial feel to it. In other words, it appears to be well made and not "plasticky" like many others out there. Still, if it's going to be used by "young 'uns" I'd certainly recommend buying one of those replacement warranties that most retailers try to sell you anyway.
4. Pre-loaded: You're ready to go right out of the package with numerous songs provided by Rhapsody. Sure, you'll want to transfer music files of your own, but it's nice to hear the stuff they've provided as well. There are several categories of music already loaded (country, urban hits, alternative, new wave, 70's classics, etc.) and each category contains 20 to 25 songs. You never know---you might just discover a new artist!
5. Lithium battery: It's very true that the battery life is around 20 hours. The Sandisk comes with a "battery charger," which is really a USB cable that attaches to the USB port of your PC. The small electric signal coming from your USB actually re-charges the battery. No "AAA" batteries to replace every few days!!!
6. The headphones: the standard headphones that came with it weren't too bad. My son replaced them with those neon-colored "gummy" headphones, but as they were they would suffice.
7. Extras: among other things, this somehow has "FM radio." I've not explored this feature yet, but it's there if you want it. There is also a way to control bass, treble, and the "sound mix" in general---a nice feature indeed.
Customer Review: highly impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
When I went to visit my friend in LA, he told me that he bought one of these. I played around with it, and found it to be a lot better than the iPod. The reason being it has more options, and isn't as pricey as the 2gb version of the Apple counterpart.
I decided to buy one myself, and I am extremely impressed. It was a very user friendly interface. It's kind of similar to the iPod, in the sense you have to rotate the round thing with your finger. Unlike the iPod tho, this one actually spins when you rotate it.
This player allows users to listen to music (of course), watch videos, view pictures, listen to the radio, as well as voice record.
The music can be in either mp3 or WMA format. Videos and pictures need to be converted into a special format for the player to recognize. Luckily, the player comes with software which you can use to convert the files into recognizable formats.
Video quality is quite amazing. I was expecting videos to have those blurry squares that you see when video quality is relatively low. However, it's not like that. The video quality will be pretty much the same as how it is when you watch it on your computer.
There are a couple things which I find wrong with this player:
-let's say you decide to transfer a full movie or something big on this player, it basically won't open. I tried opening a 700MB file on this player, and it ended up freezing. So as a recommendation: if you decide to transfer a large file, convert it to several smaller files, and you should be fine.
-the only way to charge the battery is when you hook your player to your computer through USB. Once the player is connected, it will automatically start recharging your battery. As I know from cell phones, charging the battery too often will decrease the life of it, so unfortunately the only way of avoiding it is by listening to the music you have on there until the battery is close to dead, or is completely dead
Those cons won't decrease a star for me.
Overall, this product is definitely worth the money. It has more features than the iPod Nano, and definitely isn't as expensive. I, honestly, have never been a big fan of the iPod, and it seems as if their price is constantly the same, no matter how many newer products they release.
If you are looking for a player which will allow you to, not only listen to music, but watch videos and view pictures, this player is definitely what you're looking for.
Customer Review: Durable to the extreme!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this mp3 player for probably three or four months now, and it's been babied the entire time. After updating WinAmp/Windows Media Player, it's really quite easy to use by just dragging and dropping your files/playlists onto the player. I haven't used it for anything other than music as of yet, but likely will when I buy my replacement.
Now the fun part. It somehow made it into the pocket of the wrong pair of pants and went through the washer and dryer, full cycles for each -bear in mind it has no case, merely the little suede cover that comes with it. I opened up the dryer to see one of the earphones hanging out and had burst into tears, until I saw that I could read the screen and that it was playing. I picked up the earphones to hear it playing beautifully, just like new. Only issues are water trapped in the screen, showing only half of a charge, and it looking like it's been dropped at least once a week. Aside from that, it works just like new! Though I wouldn't recommend someone washing it on a regular basis... I plan on replacing my Sansa because I'm a sentimental fool, but it will be a while before that can happen. However, I know this will make it through at least until then and likely much longer.
I would highly recommend this player to anyone who has a teenager/child who wants an iPod. I'm 20, and this is my third mp3 player. The replacement I buy for this one in the near future will be the same, only a 4gig instead of a 2gig. I know I can rely on it to last much longer than the iPod Nanos I've been hearing people complain about having to replace, or that have been snapped in half on accident. I actually owned one before owning this, and constantly worried that I was going to break it if it was jarred suddenly, or if it accidently hit the ground -this is even in a sillicone case. Yes, Sansas are slightly heavier, but it's more of a safety net should it be dropped or knicked on something.
The Sansa is half the cost, infinately more durable, has the possibility for unlimited memory (read: using the Micro SD cards), and does more than an iPod Nano does. Like I said, I had one once, but sold it to get this after buying one for a friend for Christmas, because I fell in love with the ease of use and durability while showing her how to use it -said friend is accident-prone, and also a music major who uses it constantly to study works for tests or to just jam out in the car, and I now know that hers should live through her (ab)use for quite a long time!
Customer Review: The Benchmark for MP3 players
Summary: 5 Stars
PROS: Fantastic quality, functionality, and price. Durable
CONS: Lack of accessories
In the world of MP3 players, it seems there exists two categories; I-Pod and everyone else. As an employee of a major retail electronics outlet, the sheer volume of customers coming in requesting I-Pods (for no other reason than they saw it on TV), is a testament to Apple's overwhelming marketing success in the industry. However, while I-Pods account for about 60% of all sales of MP3 players, they constitute a larger than average share of our MP3 repairs and service. Additionally, the sheer over saturation coupled with the fact that consumers are forced to use I-tunes to interface their songs encouraged me to think outside of the I-Pod empire, and research various competitor models.
After comparing several models of MP3 players I decided to purchase the Scandisk e250, it has proven to be a great choice. The design is slightly similar to an I-Pod, however its' dark colors and sophisticated design distinguished it from other run of the mill handhelds on the market. The most impressive feature on this unit is its' display screen. While similar in size to some of its competitors, the vibrant display is bright, clear, easy to read, and is advertised as scratch resistant. Best of all, a 2GB model (about 500 songs) cost twenty dollars less than a comparable I-pod.
In terms of overall functionality, I can't praise the e250 enough. A very easy interface by way of USB will load any file format of music and mpeg video for easy organization and storage. The FM tuner provided, delivers a strong signal for radio fans, and the unit also stores digital photos and movie clips. The menu is very well organized and easy to navigate when you're on the go.
In terms of durability, I've owned this player for about a month and it has shown almost no sign of wear and tear, it has gone with me virtually everywhere in various conditions indoors and outdoors. I tend to take care of my gear, but as a 21 year old college student, the e250's durability is tested daily, and has surpassed any MP3 player I have previously owned. Perhaps the only drawback to the e250 is the sparse selection of cases and other accessories for this unit. However, as popularity of the brand increases (which it hopefully will when others learn of its quality value) availability of accessories should follow suit. Overall, the e250 delivers outstanding quality and value for the money.