Mp3 player review: Sandisk Sansa e200 series (e250, e260, e270, e280)

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Mp3 player review: Sandisk Sansa e200 series (e250, e260, e270, e280)

09/22/07

The Sansa e200 series.

It's hard not to fall for the new iPods. They're the best-looking mp3 players and function well. But, a cold heart picks good tech. After a careful analysis of mp3 players, I decided to replace my wife's workout companion, the Creative Labs Zen Micro Photo, with a Sandisk Sansa e280. After a couple of weeks, I think I made a good decision.

Follow up:

The Sansa compared to Nano.

I chose the 8GB e280 model because my wife has about 6GB of music. 2GB, 4GB, and 6GB models are also available. Unless you need the space, a flash memory-based player, with its lack of moving parts and smaller size is the better choice, especially if you're going to use it for working out. For the non-nerd, a flash based player uses the kind of memory you use in your camera and the hard drive-based player uses a smaller version of the hard drive in your computer and thus has a larger capacity, but may crash.

My wife likes the pink accessories available for the Sansa. This one was only $1.95 from Amazon.

Every well-dressed lady will be wearing a Sansa this season.

Feature by feature, the Sansa is a far superior choice. For one, it has FM radio. I don't use it, but if you do, there it is. Next time you hear NPR cover the Wisconsin Dairy Fair or interview the latest book on Burmese midwifery, just press a button and listen. It can record voice as well. So far, then, the Sansa can replace two additional devices- two devices the Nano can't. Both of these functions work well. Compared to the 8GB iPod touch, however, the Sansa fails to perform two functions- navigating the web and synchronizing with Outlook.

The Sansa's back is good if you're on a covert operation.

Music playback is fine. Video playback is also good, but you can't just drop the video into your Sansa; you have to use the included software. I tested it, and the episode of Stargate Atlantis looked great.

The Sansa's interface is nice.

The best thing about the Sansa is the freedom it allows i.e., you don't have to use the Stalinist-inspired iTunes. The Sansa works in two modes, MSC and MTP, and you can change from one to the other in the settings. MSC mode allows one to use the Sansa as a flash or thumb drive. In MSC mode, all you have to do is drag music into the music folder and your pictures into the pictures folder. Easy as that- no software required and you can gather and deposit music from different computers like a bee distributing pollen. MSC mode let's you use the mini-secure digital slot (like the one on your camera) for additional storage or for easy transport of music or pictures between camera and Sansa.

This is what comes in the box.

If you want to use subscription services like Napster, Yahoo, Walmart, Rhapsody, etc. you place it in MTP mode. In MTP mode, you use Microsoft Windows Media Player to add or remove music.

Sansa dock. Pretty cool.

The controls are adequate if not quite as simple as the Apple. The scroll wheel functions exactly like the one on Apple products, controlling volume and scrolling through menus. It works well and actually turns unlike the Apple wheels which work on touch. I'm neutral on this as both have their benefits. Despite the ridges, I can see some slippery fingers, like the perspiration-soaked digits one sees at Bally's, stymieing navigation and sometimes its floaty feel causes wheel slippage as well. One can also use dedicated forward and up buttons. I prefer buttons to touch screens only because it allows for the kind of blind navigation useful for pocket controlling and, again, the gym.

Sansa Speakers. One of the many available.

Aesthetically, the Nano iPod and iPod touch is nicer-looking, I guess. The back of the Sansa is metal which is very good, but it's a dull, gunmetal gray, not as shiny as the Nano. The Sansa only comes in black.

Sandisk video convert software.

One thing I don't like about the Sansa is the proprietary cable. My wife's old Zen photo used a regular USB male A to female B cable. If you lose the Sansa cable, you're out of luck for a while. You also have to buy the home charger separately.

Sansa in Media Center

Since the Sansa is relatively popular, you can buy things like speakers, docks and other stuff, although you won't find the plethora of iPod paraphernalia.