SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black
by SanDisk
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Our Price: $259.96 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $53.00 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black
Customer Review: I Like It
Summary: 5 Stars
In my house we have several music players including an iPod Nano 3G. I've used RealPlayer/Rhapsody and iTunes so I know what I'm talking about. The Sansa is a nice piece of equipment. Size-wise it's about like a Nano 2G but thicker and a little heavier. The scroll wheel is mechanical but does work pretty well. The interface is well laid out similar to the iPod. The screen is is beautiful. The included software comes with a small application to convert video and send to the player. This makes it easy to drop in TV shows, etc.
Now here's the rub, integration with services like Rhapsody aren't very polished and can cause some frustration. Sometimes it just doesn't synchronize properly but I think the real problem lies in Rhapsody. I've had similarly frustrating things happen in iTunes so I call this a draw.
You can access the device in two ways from your PC: mass storage mode or via an app like Real Player/Rhapsody. mass storage makes it easy to just drag and drop in your MP3s.
Considering the prices you can get this thing for, I highly recommend it even over the iPod. Apple is way too "closed" in terms of interoperability anyway.
Update: Now that I've had this unit for a while I've noticed a defect. The mechanical scroll wheel is acting up. As you scroll in one direction it actually makes the "cursor" hop around in both directions making it extremely difficult to navigate where you want. Any worse and it may be useless. I understand that SanDisk has release a newer model and it appears to have a revamped scroll wheel.
Customer Review: It Needed Help
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first got the Sansa e260 I was disappointed and would easily rate it 1 star. It uses a database to hold "song titles" and "albums" which doesn't work well if you're a classical musical junky. I don't wish to listen to "songs" by themselves such as the second movement of Beethoven Symphony #5 so this thing was a potential disaster. Then I discovered the open source free Rockbox software for the Sansa. Wow! What a difference some firmware makes. Now "albums" are the directory title, such as Beethoven Symphony 5, and when you select a directory it plays all the music in the directory. It also fixes the USB charging mode so that now the player controls work while hooked to USB. It also has a car mode that recognizes when the ignition switch is turned off which will pause the player, sort of like a GPS does. There are many, many improvements too numerous to mention that make this MP3 player a wonderful experience to own. It does everything I could ever want in a player. The micro SD expansion slot is a huge plus. I can have different categories of music on little memory cards and swap it out for a different listening mood. As shipped, the e260 only takes 2gb cards but after installing Rockbox it will take the larger 4gb and up micro SDHC cards.
The player hardware is of course rock solid with great sound and long battery life but the firmware it comes with is almost an afterthought. What was Sandisk thinking? A few mouse clicks to replace the firmware however brings this device up to a 5 star rating. I am so glad I bought this player now.
Customer Review: Way better than the ollllllld walkmans!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for each of my kids for a present while looking at ipods. Glad I noticed it. With the expansion slot, Sandisk's reputation, video capabilities, and PHOTO slideshows, WOW! I think the expansion slot is what really sold me, gee who knows how many gigs you need until you've used all yours up and you need to buy a bigger one! I figured that 4 GB would be plenty, but to be able to expand the memory is a neat feature. But altogether this thing is neat and what a great deal. If you had all these features in an ipod it would cost twice that much, at least. The only drawback is I wish that these companies would sell them WITH a protective case (not the cheapy sleeves they come with). Honestly it is HARD to find a case that says it fits Sansa, and many probably do, but you would have to open a lot of packages to find out. I did find one or two, but with all the dern ipod cases out there, it was frustrating to find one that said Sansa on it. Maybe Sansa will start putting a 'real' protective case in the package and just up the price 10 bucks. We did have a problem with one of them getting 'stuck' and couldn't figure out what to do. We called the 800 number and the customer service was great. Told us how to turn it off (just press the button and hold for 20 seconds to get unstuck), power it back up and it has been fine ever since. That's another great feature to have nice customer service! Don't pass these up - at this price anyone can have one - even the older generations will be able to figure these out!Customer Review: Perfect for Simplicity
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a huge music fan and this was my first mp3 player. Mine did not come with instructions or an installable program, but I figured it out anyway. It does not come with a wall charge, only a USB connector. It would be smart to go ahead and by a wall charger (and if you're a constant listener, get the car charger too). Generally, a full charge will last roughly 15 to 20 hours. Usually I can charge it and it will last at least two days with almost constant listening (course, when I'm in the car I have it charging). I read some reviews of people saying that the volume resets to 50, mine stays at what I turned if off at.
The buttons are perfect for small fingered people (me). I love the ease of volume control as well as the option to put the keys on lock to prevent anything from changing if you put it in your pocket. The ear buds are your average standard ear buds (I have tiny ears so I had to buy something else that would fit). The playback has perfect sound quality, if you download music, as for CD downloads, it isn't as good will the volume capacity.
I haven't used the video, voice recorder, or picture features, since I bought this specifically for music. The FM radio is good if you are in a decent area to receive a signal (where I work I can't pick up anything).
Needless to say, I truly enjoy this product. I did notice that it does not hold as many songs as it says. Mine only holds about 656, but at least you can purchase a MicroSD to expand it instead of worrying about running out of room.
Customer Review: Sansa 4GB player
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted a player to use with a music service like Rhapsody or URGE, found the Sansa line and I am happy to say that since purchasing the e260 I have never been disappointed. Granted I am renting the tracks from Rhapsody but I can purchase songs from .89 to .99.
I think this is a great and economical alternative to IPOD, which to tell you the truth I think is just yuppie hype. I borrowed for several weeks my friends IPOD and found it nice to use but, it occasionally froze and sitting there transfering my CD's to the player was not only time consuming but tedious(at last count I have 450 plus albums). I was doing just as good with my Sony Mini Disk player and got better quality sound. And living in NYC carrying an IPOD can be a hazzard to your health.
The Sansa was cheaper, has all the features of the IPOD and has an expandable memory slot with an FM radio for when you want to listen to games, news, Opie and Anthony etc. It uses the Rhapsody Music Service which basically lets you "rent" songs or purchase tracks that you save to your computer or CD. They even include album art and facts that you can print and put into your jewel cases.
To this day I am still very happy with my Sansa, they only thing that is a down fall to it is a lack of good accessories. It does not use all IPOD accessories and there seems to be a limited amount of after market accessories but hopefully with the growing popularity of Rhapsody they will start putting out stuff.