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: Very Solid MP3 Player
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a first rate MP3 player and I've been very happy with my purchase to date. I primarily use the e250 for Music but have uploaded pictures as well..I've found that loading my pics onto the Sansa was actually quite simple, for either music or picture.
MP3 Player:
Most of my music is in the MP3 format and encoded at 192 kps, my Sansa currently holds approximately 510 songs and could probably fit a few more onto it.
Playback is solid and I've been pleasantly surprised with the volume control, although I can definitely tell when a song encoded at 128 is played - volume is significantly reduced.
It's easy to switch from song to song; the player has a shuffle function that lets you shuffle by Album; Artist; All; Genre.
The screen is great, just large enough to easily view song title, album artist etc, but does not significantly drain or hinder battery life. I would recommend purchasing a set of plastic screen savers. You have to cut them down to fit the Sansa screen, but when the screen saver gets scratched up you can just pull the plastic off and put another one right on. They cost about 9.99 for a set of 15.
As mentioned in previous posts, there are currently few accessories and it does not come with an armband, however I found one at BestBuy for 14.00 and it's been fine for me. Although I also agree that the USB only battery charger can be a bit of a drag, I have found a USB Battery Re-Charger. You connect your USB connection to the accessory and it plugs into your electrical outlet. It's worked fine for me and re-charges the Sansa in about 60 minutes.
If you don't want to purchase an iPod and convert all your music to the Apple DRM Format (if it's WMA), but you want to purchase a great looking, great sounding, windows compatible player. This is it.
Customer Review: Also a neat voice recorder
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked up the Sansa e250 because I wanted an easy voice recorder, and the Sansa fits the bill. (I already own a couple of smaller-capacity MP3 players, but no iPod, because Apple will not recognize my WMA format music.)
The Sansa e-series is, so far, the only MP3 player with a dedicated "record" button, and it works like a charm. No matter what you are doing with the Sansa--listening to music, watching a video, adjusting settings--just press the record button and it goes instantly into voice record mode. One exception: if you are listening to the radio, it goes into radio record mode. The recording works very well; it comes out ultra-clear in comparison with the junky digital voice recorders made by Sony, for example.
One caveat: I assumed that it would record in mp3 format, and that I could use the entire 2 gigs of storage space. Not quite: it records in bulkier but higher-quality WAV format (same as CDs, so it can play on your computer without any conversion), and the Sansa will only allow about 512K to be used for recording. That means a maximum of 4 hours and 20 minutes of voice recording time. This spec does not show up in any of the "literature" on the machine that I have seen. I don't know whether the higher-capacity Sansas are set to hold more, or whether adding a micro-SD card (haven't tried that yet) will expand the recording capacity.
And a second caveat: there is no auxiliary input for adding an external microphone, so you are stuck with the tiny but serviceable microphone that comes built in the machine, and there is no way to turn up the record volume, so you have to keep the Sansa sitting relatively close to the speaker if you want it to pick up everything.
But, so far, so good; and as a great bonus, I can listen to my music on the way to and from interviews, too.
Customer Review: Great little player
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this unit for eight months - it has lasted longer than any other player I have purchased, and I am very pleased. I wear this player five days a week, eight to twelve hours a day, to keep me from going insane in an extremely boring job, it has saved my sanity!
I listen to a mix of podcasts, radio and eBooks and have rarely had any any problems - I think I have had to do a major reset only once. I use MP3tag (free) if I need to organize, enumerate or otherwise change how the player perceives groups of files.
I do recommend a hard shell case that covers the screen - I had another Sansa model that became unusable after slight compression on the screen - the unit electronics were fine, you just couldn't read the screen.
I have successfully transfered video to the unit and it runs well - but an hour video takes up most of the memory and the screen is really too small to be viewable, still pics are clear but still too small - the color screen is best used to view CD covers.
The sound quality is good enough for most, but the supplied ear buds should be replaced. As to the controls, the buttons do seem difficult to access at first...but I now have no problem using them through an untucked shirt, with a hard shell case and very large fingers.
So far, my unit has hit the floor twice (about 3 feet), both times it's been in it's hard shell case - no effect on the unit - minor damage to the case.
I do not like the idea of a proprietary battery, I prefer generic rechargeables, but this battery is still going strong and is user replaceable (I recharge every other day). The charge lasts 20-24 hours in my case. If it lasts a year and costs $15, I think I am for it!
Good sound, tough, battery life..... Pretty good unit.
Customer Review: Got a better deal than I thought -love the player
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first mp3 player. I didn't want an Ipod and wasn't sure about spending tons of money for a zune or creative zen. This player is absolutely wonderful. It's very easy to use and I have no problems using the dial or the buttons. I've never had bud headphones before and they do take a little getting used to. They really block outside noises and with these, I only have to turn on the volume to get very good sound. The coverings are NOT plastic but very sturdy metal with an easy to read screen.
According to the specs, this player can only use up to a 2GB micro sd card. Well that is for the 1st generation player. Mine actually came as a V2 player. You can tell the version by check for a V2 logo on the very back, lower right of the player's case. The firmware version (go to info under settings) shows as V03.x. Because of these specs, I found out my player supports the high capacity micro sd cards up to 8GB!! I ordered a card and can't wait to use it.
The FM radio works really well. At work I couldn't catch all my stations if I preset them there, so I did the presets at home and then at work it wasn't a problem.
On the downside you can only store music on the expansion card, no video nor photos. Your music playlists can only be stored on the internal memory, not the expansion card. To store photos or videos on the player, they first must be converted using Sandisk's software you can get for free at their site. I haven't tried it yet as I'm more interested in using it for music. For power, it only come with the usb to player cable, no a/c charger. A/C and car chargers can be gotten at other places.
For my first player, I think I did great and for under 50 (after a gc discount), I'm really happy with it.
Customer Review: A great MP3/WMA player
Summary: 5 Stars
UPDATE: In August SanDisk released a firmware upgrade. Now there's a Custom EQ capability and best of all: syncing to subscription based music (URGE in my case) is WAAAAY FASTER. It's almost as fast as if you're adding your own local files. Previously this was the achilles heel, now it's fixed.
SanDisk actually made a good product better. :-)
I just bought this for $150, a great bargain!
I have mostly WMA's and therefore have no need for an iPod. This player is terrific and it works with subscription services. The interface is easy, the screen is sharp and did I mention it's a great deal?
Oh and another reviewer said these things:
"The scroll wheel is a very loose, flimsy, plastic ring. It's also difficult to turn. Often, I need to use both thumbs to turn the wheel."
and
"Video playback is very buggy: A movie is arbitrarily broken into tiny video files, which the player displays and treats separately. It also adds 5-seconds gaps between them!"
I found neither of these to be true --I suspect the reviewer recieved a faulty device. The video playback is PERFECT and the wheel certainly doesn't require "both thumbs" to turn ...?!
And yet another "reviewer" stated this: "Useless if you travel without a laptop to charge the player" as their review heading. With minimal PRODUCT RESEARCH one discovers that this device charges via USB. Basically that reviewer is asking for something that this product is not advertised to do --and whose problem is that? What's next, being upset that his/her 2GB model doesn't hold 8GB worth of songs?
Helps to read the product description. ...