SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $50.00 You Save: $199.99 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: The KEY--It has Micro SD storage!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great player, but not because it is some "iPod killer". The iPod is primarily a "Movado" of audio gear. It is beautiful, until you have to send it back to get a new battery, or until you drop it and realize the harddrive is fouled up. And, should you wish to keep libraries of certain types of music - say Jazz, Classical, Rock. . .well you will not be able to do that on outboard media.
Enter the SanDisk. Battery is replaceable after talking a screwdriver to the back. There is outboard storage in microSD format.
Now available with 8 gig of main storage, and with a decent interface (not the equal of iPod, but what are you trying to achieve? You want another PC. . .a handheld? You should consider a Palm, or a HP handheld)
And, should you wish you could put on pictures and movies. I personally may put some family photos up there, just to have 'em handy, but there are better uses of the storage space. How about mp3 audio? Isn't that a good thing? I think so. I'll just keep putting audio on this unit.
There is a bit of noise in transitioning into new tunes. But the conveniences basically outweight the minor annoyances.
So far I've added the Griffin FM interface for use in the car and that works great too. Just drape the whole thing over the rear view mirror and go. Tunes down to 87.5 FM, so I'm not near anything generally. Recharges the SanDisk too.
Great form factor here. This size is easy to have in a shirt pocket,or pants pocket. I'm fussy about stuff sticking me from pockets so, If I'm good with it, then this is a comfortable store in a pocket.
Sound quality is good. Controls logical.
I'd say you should seriously consider getting one. Don't get hooked up with proprietary formats like with Apple.
Chris Tune
Customer Review: Better than the I-Pod??
Summary: 5 Stars
Better than the I-Pod?? Well I have yet to find a reason not to make such an outlandish claim!! Well it has an extremely neat user friendly wheel that accesses everything in the menu with one thumb! Sweeeet!!! But so does the IPod. A wonderful screen that is bright colorful as well as a crisp and clean presentation. Yes, I am positive this aspect is better than the IPod. Sound, now I have to say I was almost detered by the fact that a couple of reviews I read said that the sound was poor and had a distinct fuzzy static. To this I say there are too many professional reviewers that get Apple/MAC/I-Pod kick backs for bad mouthing their competitors. I have not found that as a matter a fact I have played this MP3 player, through my Yamaha receiver and bose speakers and DAMNED if my buddies have not asked me if it was direct from a CD and not a compacted music file! So I am very pleased. But here is where I-Pod is equal to Sandisk they both sound really good! Now Price, right off the bat Sandisk is cheaper and has more functions (Very clear FM radio, easily add more memory with a card). Now one of the huge selling points is this is a sturdy product that I have dropped several times on the concrete and it playse like the very first day I bought it. But the fact that you are not tied in to using the Apple backed media "ONLY" as you do on an I-Pod product is a huge win for a rebbel like myself who likes his own freedom of choice. So don't listen to my review or anyone else for that matter this is a damned good product and I dare you to do a side by side comparrison on your own. Don't beleive the hype learn for yourself! I have given my I-Pod Shuffle and Nano to my kids this little puppy replaces them both at a better price and sturdier product. Ohh did I mention you can change batteries yourself just by removing 4 screws?? WIN WIN!!Customer Review: Great device, sounds better than my iPod, but the GUI isn't as easy as the iPod's
Summary: 5 Stars
The sound (lower end) is better than my 60GB photo ipod (4G). The device's max volume isn't anywhere near that of the iPod (stupidly loud device, which is not a bad thing) but definitely not a weak device -- I've rarely had to use it above 3/4 to bring low-gain audio up to normal listening volume. The customizable EQ works great and allows you to tweak the sound to personal taste -- something I regret my iPod cannot do. All around a fantastic sounding device with good volume.
Battery life is really good and just about at what Sandisk quotes -- I've not had any problem going several days of use without charging. The battery does not drain noticeably when left off for extended periods (a week or so).
The video feature is O.K., but I don't really think video on a screen this small is really ideal. The screen is really vibrant and bright so video/pics will not look washed out.
The GUI is fairly easy to use, but navigating the menus are not as straight forward as the iPod's. Nothing earth-shaking -- it's a good system and works fine -- just takes a little adjustment time if you're used to the iPod.
The only gripe I have with the device is the lag from turning it on and actually being able to use it -- about 5 -7 seconds! Don't know why it's not instant-on, instant-use (flash based device after all..) but it's not really that big of a deal, just kinda odd...
The replaceable battery is a great feature and having removed the back cover to see how difficult the replacement might be, found battery replacement drop-dead simple. unscrew back cover, remov old battery, drop in new one, re-screw back cover. DONE! Apart from the screws, this is like replacing the battery in a cell phone.
For the price it's a fantatic player with a bevy of features!
Customer Review: great MP3 player (as long as it works)
Summary: 5 Stars
PROS:
- Less expensive (usually) and comes with more features than a comparable iPod Nano (i.e. expandable memory via mini SD-card, FM radio, voice recorder)
- User-replaceable battery
- Can be set up as MSC (mass storage class - i.e. Your computer will treat it as a standard USB flash-drive and you can do "drag and drop" to load files to the player) or MTP (Microsoft Transfer Protocol - i.e. you can use Windows Media Player to load files to the player). In either case, you're not locked into iTunes.
- Sandisk seems to have fixed the "unknown artist" bug that affected its players in the m200+ and c100+ series (the bug was that for every 100 files/songs, there would be one file/song that would be classified with "unknown artist" even if the ID3 tag of every file/song had already been set up properly before synching. After 200 files/songs, you'd have two files/songs with the "unknown artist", and so on)
CONS:
- Doesn't come with an AC adapter for charging (i.e. standard is to charge via USB port as is normal with other MP3 players with lithium-ion batteries)
- Need to install Sandisk's software (included in the box) if you want to use this player to watch videos or look at photos
- Creating playlists is a cumbersome process
- Included earbuds are mediocre, but this isn't surprising as competitors' MP3 players don't offer much better regarding included earbuds.
- Not as sleek or trendy as iPod, but this shouldn't be an issue for people who value substance over style.
Overall, and as with many gadgets, this is a great little device as long as it works. It seems that there are some lemons and those unfortunate buyers haven't been afraid to warn us here on Amazon about this potential problem.
Enjoy!
Customer Review: Love It!
Summary: 5 Stars
I finally got my hands on one of these - thank you, Amazon, for lowering the price into my range. I just love this little guy. It did freeze up a couple of times while I loaded my music but that might have been me trying to put too much on at one sync, I don't know. It didn't happen when I just did two or three albums at at time. I only plan to do that once anyway so it's just a minor point for me.
I bought the Sansa e280 because of all the great reviews and the fact that it has an expansion slot, seeing as how it's only 8 gigs and I have over 13 gigs (and counting) of music to use with it. The micro memory cards are really inexpensive through Amazon - got two of them for the price of one at my local Walmart - they're easy to insert and remove. Much easier than my MP3 playing cell phone. I also like the fact that I can customize the sound setting using the graphic equalizer.
It comes with a lanyard but I found I held my head at an uncomfortable angle to compensate for the weight around my neck - part of this thing seems to be metal so it is just a bit heavy to wear around the neck for me. A minor issue, really, since you can get cases with belt clips or an arm band, which is probably what I'll do.
The FM tuner is handy and I can actually get the station that I like while at work. We have a lot of computer equipment that messes with reception - not a problem for my Sansa. A TV tuner would make it even better.
I don't use the ear phones that came with it so I can't review how they work other than to say that they're just the hard, plastic ones you put in your ear and there's no cushion to put on them.
All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an MP3.