SanDisk Sansa m230 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
by SanDisk
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List Price: Our Price: $27.95 You Save: $22.04 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa m230 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
Customer Review: Sandisk M230 Honest Review
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of research on this product before purchasing. I have several Sandisk Compact Flash Cards that work great, so I knew the quality was good from the company already, so I gave them a try and Amazon had it at a great price with Free Shipping.
Bottom Line about the M230 (M200 series):
The unit is very user friendly and works great. Some positive notes about it are: Affordability, Equalizer, FM Radio (20 Pre-sets), Sound Quality, Firmware Updates, Backlit Screen (nice blue), Uses non-proprietary batteries (big plus in my book), comes with a protective case and arm strap that works. Others have stated the arm band is not any good, but I disaggree totally. I use my unit at the gym several times a week and running on the tread machine, it stays put and never skips a beat (literally). I've never used the recorder, but it is good to have as a memo option if needed on the go. Being I go to the gym regularly, the stopwatch is very handy to have also. The equalizer settings (Rock, Jazz, Classical and Pop) are good right out the box. The unit also gives you the option to manually set the sound which is what I use and improves on the already great sound that the preset equalizer gives. One of the things that really sold me on this unit was that you aren't limited to just one computer to load and delete songs with the unit. I can use any computer with a USB plug (1.1 and 2.0) and add new songs and then instantly play them unlike some other well known named products which must have the same computer to be able to play the song. Another key feature is that it uses a single AAA battery and not a proprietary type or worse an internal type which can't be replaced easily or cheaply. When your internal or proprietary battery runs out of power, that's it. You can't run to the local drugstore and buy some AAA batteries to continue use. The proprietary type must be recharged before reused. I use 900 mA rechargeable AAA batteries. The battery life is about 24-30 hours of continuous operation which is great. A regular Akaline battery in this unit last for 15-19 hours.
The only minor issues are that the the supplied USB cable is on the short side (9"). If you do not have a front USB port, this can cause a small problem, however, I am able to use my Canon digital camera cable for the camera and the Sandisk M230 which works prefectly and gives plenty of length. The other small issue is the back light stops operating when the battery reaches 3/4 empty which is really understandable being it takes a lot of power to run a backlit screen. The IPOD Shuffle doesn't even have a screen nor many other features the M230 has. This was a great buy.
Customer Review: Totally amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
I converted all the tunes I put in it, to smaller WMA files so I can cram a ton of stuff in it & have it still sound good.
The earphones are good & comfortable for the price.
A 900mha rechargeable AAA cell lasts 7-10 hours of heavy continuous use. Using it a few hours a day so the little AAA cell gets a break, it'll give a runtime of around 20 hours total. Carrying a spare tiny AAA cell is no big deal, or you can buy another cell at just about any store in the world real cheap if you run low on power.
Preset & custom equalizer settings are great. FM Radio reception & quality is above average for a small player of this type. It has plenty of presets for your favorite FM stations... If only they made mini players with AM tuners too.
I'd like to see a solar powered version of this someday, that recharges the rechargeable AAA cell by placing it in a window. Perhaps one with an LED flashlight in it as well.
The odd shaped player is really tiny, & can be easily carried around in a pocket. Very rarely do the buttons get accidentally bumped in my pocket.
It's extremely easy to use. Also easy to load, or delete files via the USB port.
It's been banged around & abused a lot, & still runs perfectly.
I just had a fire last spring & lost almost everything. It was exposed to extreme heat, steam, hot wood sap, & wound up under charred debris, ashes, & water. After I cleaned & dried it out, it still runs great, & looks almost new.
Unlike most mini players, this amazing little baby has enough power to plug UNPOWERED, UNAMPLIFIED, speakers into it. It won't play the speakers loud, but louder than any mini-player can run a speaker with no amplifier/booster... all on a single AAA cell. Enough to enjoy background music in an average sized quiet room without being tethered to headphones.
I use a set of Phillips mini speakers for mine. But have plugged it into the big amp & sound systems at work... The folks think I'm playing a quality CD, & are surprised to see it's that little thing playing all those songs.
It out performs my new Motorola W490 cell phone player in all categories as a player. The phone isn't loud enough, hard to find headphone & audio adapters for, & won't power a speaker directly much. The phone also won't play WMA files. So even though my phone has 2.2gb of memory, I can cram more tunes in this player, because the WMA files are so much smaller to still sound good.
I'm so happy, I'm here today to buy the other SanDisk player with the bigger memory.
Customer Review: Great Player
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this product since it was introduced. It is a sturdy, strong device.
OK, first of all I would like to ask, Why does everyone need an 80 GB Ipod? This Mp3 Player holds at least 99 songs, or at least mine does. An 80 GB Ipod might have the photo features, but who cares? The Mp3 player is for songs. This Mp3 player has long battery life for using 1 AAA battery.
This Mp3 player is a modern marvel. It's small, it works, it has all an Mp3 player needs, and it's sturdy.
This Mp3 player is approx. 2 inches long, 1.5 cm tall, and 1.5 cm wide. Its small enough to fit in you pocket without creating a prominent(odd looking) bulge. It looks good on your arm if your wearing it, and has good default earplugs.
I also see that some people put the tag "defective" on this player. I ask those people, "What are you talking about?" This Sansa is all you really need. Of course the microphone isn't all that great, but that's not what you got the Mp3 player for anyway. This Mp3 player plays songs, shuffles them, and can skip around through them. What more do you want? A lot of people have the most expensive Mp3 player out there, and have a whole lot of extra gadgets. Why do you need a calender on your Mp3 player?
This Mp3 player has a flash memory, which means it has no moving parts, so it's durable, and you can have it bouncing around your pocket all day. This is an ideal Mp3 player for kids, and clumsy adults. I have dropped my Sansa on the floor at least 300 times, and even when I was playing songs, the Sansa didn't skip a beat. It still works after 2 or 3 years of playing and dropping.
So..., let me wrap it up:
Pros/Pluses:
* Long lasting battery
* A type of battery where you don't need a charger
* Durable
* OK looking.
* Enough memory to last for 4 hours of songs.
* An easy to understand control system.
Neither:
The power doesn't go on directly, you have to hold in the menu button, but this is obvious, otherwise it would turn on or off without your will in your pocket, and your batteries will go empty.
Cons/ Negatives:
- The installation software is not needed, yet they send it with it still.
To close, The Sandisk Sansa M230 is an excellent player, with limited features, but with a low price tag, and a great player, I would recommend it to family and friends.
PS: Currently 3 of my friends, and my father has this player.
Customer Review: Perfect Gym Companion
Summary: 5 Stars
This little player has a home in my gym bag. I searched for MP3 players for a couple of months before deciding on this one. I had several uses in mind for it, but primarily I wanted it for the gym. I figured I would also use it occassionally while bike riding, jogging and once in a while I'd listen to it while I'm flying or at the office.
I can't speak highly enough about how perfect this little player is suited for how I use it. Since I wanted to use it during workouts, I needed a player that either came with or had an optional arm band so that I could wear it. And since I live in Oregon (rain, rain and more rain), it was important that whatever I bought could survive the elements while I'm out jogging or biking.
The Sansa M230 comes with an arm band and a protective plastic cover. I would have paid three or four times what I paid for the Sansa if I wanted an iPod Shuffle or other similar player and they don't usually come with the arm band or protective cover.
For the price this player can't be beat. It came with everything I wanted, plenty of storage space, great battery life, the FM receiver works really well and the volume is plenty loud enough.
There are two minor issues that I've had with it so far...
Issue #1: The arm band that it comes with is too small for my upper arm. I am a weight lifter but I'm not "Mr. Muscles". I consider my bicep to be average to slightly over average for a 6' man. I have found that wearing it on my forearm is an acceptable solution that is plenty comfortable and keeps it out of the way. If you do the same, I would suggest stringing the cable for the ear buds through your shirt instead of letting it hang in front of you.
Issue #2: The plastic cover has too many holes in it. As I see it, the only hole that it should have is where the ear buds plug into it. But they put holes it it where the volume buttons, menu button, hold switch, USB cable port and microphone are. The buttons can be operated without needing a hole in the plasitc. In fact, the buttons on the front of the device are quite easy to operate through the plastic without needed a hole for them. And I never use the microphone or hold switch. I can easily remove the player from the cover if I need to connect it to my computer. All this being said, a little duct tape or electrical tape takes quick care of the holes you don't use and keeps rain/sweat/sprinklers from ruining your little workout companion.
Customer Review: No problems; significant advantages over iPod
Summary: 5 Stars
The Sandisk Sansa is a small flash-based mp3 player that runs for many hours on a single AAA battery available wherever. It is so easy to use I did not and have not even looked at the instruction manual. The sound quality is really good and the price can't be beat.
As others have noted, the array of mp3 devices is really bewildering. Basically, there is iPod and everything else. Ultimately, this product seems to be the best of the "everything else" category - and there are some significant reasons why I think people are better off with this than with iPods. Firstly, and most importantly for me, the Sandisk player functions as a drag and drop drive into which you can just put your music files and they play right away. There is no proprietary interface such as iTunes required. This is a huge advantage for anyone who does not use or like iTunes, as I do not. Loading and unloading files can be done easily and seamlessly through the regular windows desktop interface. This results in a device that is considerably more useful and robust than iPods which require the use of the stupid and childlike, yet strangely frusterating, iTunes software - one of the biggest problems of which is that you can only use one computer at a time to sync to your music library. This is really not cool. If, however, you want to use a designated piece of software to sync to the Sandisk, you can use musicmatch or a number of others and it works without any of the hassle of iTunes. In fact, with one click, you can sync whatever is playing on your Musicmatch playlist to the player... something that I never really figured out how to do with iTunes. Furthermore, you can easily use the flash memory to hold any other kind of file just like a pen drive.
In the end, I can only attribute the success of iPods to their marketing blitz and to their kind of catchy designs. But these are not really good reasons to buy a music player. I had an iPod for a while before I spilled coffee all over it and I don't miss it one bit. I only wish I had gotten one of these sooner and had given away my iPod to someone who likes them instead of the unfortunate end that it met. I think if you buy one of these you won't regret it. It's not quite as tiny as the iPod shuffle and it does require AAA batteries but it is a much more useful piece of equipment.