SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 Player (Black) Reviews

• excellent balance of form, function and value

  
  By A2XRFSDU5CFA8I on 2006-09-21
  the inevitable comparisons to the iPod nano notwithstanding, the Sandisk Sansa e200 series is an excellent choice for a digital audio and video player that meets most mp3 player owners' requirements in portability and styling, feature sets, ease-of-use, and price. The Sandisk Sansa is a winner out of the box, and a serious competitor to the iPod Nano....
  
  You get more capacity (8GB flash + up to 2GB with the microSD slot), more features that the iPod doesn't have (larger screen, video playback, FM tuner + recorder, voice recorder, user customizable EQ, on-the-go playlisting), for the same price.
  
  And that's the MSRP price: Apple rarely lowers it's iPod prices unless a new generation model is ready for release. Sandisk has and will continue to lower it's prices as the market allows, so even now, 9 days after the release of the new Nano, you can find some e280 Sansa's online that are selling for $20-$30 less than the 8GB Nano.
  
  The Sansa no longer has that clear-cut superior build quality over the Nano, now that it's in annodized aluminum. But the Sansa's liquid metal alloy titanium back plate is far more durable and scratch-resistant than the Nano's aluminum. And, you can remove and replace the rechargeable lithium-ion battery yourself, for $20, while the Nano has to be sent back to Apple for the replacement, at a cost of $50 (the Nano's battery is soldered to the motherboard). It's the same size as the Nano, although it's almost twice as thick (0.5" vs. 0.3") - probably due to the removable battery.
  
  The new Nano still is uncomfortable-feeling in my hand as the 1G nano was, due to it's thinness, even tho it now has rounded sides. The Sansa's 0.5" thickness is still very thin, yet it feels substantial in my hand, and more of my hand's skin is gripping it's body, which makes me feel like I'm going to hang on to it, and not drop it, like it always feels like with the Nano.
  
  Both the Sansa and the Nano have a similar sound presentation. The Sansa DID have a clearer, crisper reproduction compared to the 1G Nano, but the 2G Nano appears to be improved slightly in this area, and has caught up neck-to-neck with the Sansa. The Nano is a tick or two louder in volume....both have meek results in the low (bass) frequencies flat, but the user EQ for the Sansa helps in this regard quite a bit, while the only bass-editing feature for the Nano - bass booster - distorts quite a bit. Overall, the Nano has a slight edge in volume, but the improvements in bass for the Sansa in my opinion make it the winner in overall audio quality. Opinions of audio quality is subjective, and may depend on if you are a "basshead" or not.
  
  so overall, in regards to build quality, styling, features, and price, the Sandisk Sansa is a very solid competitor to the iPod Nano, and will be looking eye-to-eye with the Nano, and maybe even down on the Nano, for quite some time to come. In my opinion, it's the clear winner over the Nano, and what I'd recommend first to anyone. It's why I sold my first generation 4GB nano, and bought my e260 Sansa. And now with the 2nd gen. nano, there's no reason for me to go back. The styling of the iPod is getting old to me: it's basically un-changed since 2001, with the exception of 4 buttons being under the screen for the 4G iPod, and the Mini's and Nano's colors.
  
  If you want to "think different", get the Sansa!
  
  

• Why Sansa over iPod

  
  By A2M0K6O52B8PF6 on 2006-09-15
  Why Sansa over iPod if 8GB are the same price for both?
  * Sansa has FM radio
  * Sansa has voice recorder, and can record from the radio
  * Freedom from overpriced accessories. Apple is starting to take on the razor/blade model.
  * The Sansa price will fall over time - Apple's never will.
  * Replaceable battery
  * Break from the crowd
  Side-by-side, there are advantages ...
  
  

• Great Unit

  
  By A3C8R61VTW7Q6Q on 2006-11-24
  I've never written a review on Amazon before, but I like this unit so much that I thought I'd capture a few points that I think make this player a great choice:
  
  1.) Currently an excellent $/GB value.
  2.) Build quality is great (solid metal backplane). Screen will scratch, but one of the many available screen protectors will address this problem.
  3.) User interface is well-deigned. I'm a fairly big guy (6'1") with large hands, but I have no problems operating the 4 buttons arranged around the scroll wheel. I was apprehensive about the scroll wheel, but it works great for me. The fact that it - unlike the iPod wheel - is raised a bit (i.e., has a positive profile) makes it easy to locate with your thumb when the player is out of view.
  4.) Battery life is excellent; I've never run the unit to full discharge, but with heavy use on trans-pacific flights I've never gotten close to battery-empty status, so the stated 20 hrs. seems very realistic.(Remember that turning the brightness down will do wonders for battery life...)
  5.) My player is loaded to capacity, and it takes apx. 10-15 sec. for booting, no more.
  6.) Sandisk phone customer service has been more than satisfactory on two occasions (wait time was quite long but the actual service was very good).
  
  
  

• Takes Forever To Boot Up

  
  By A31HPWLI7VJ9CH on 2006-10-10
  When this unit is loaded at, or near capacity, it takes about 5 minutes (not exaggerating) to power up. This is true each time the unit is powered up, regardles of whether any changes have been made to the content on the unit. I called customer support, and was told that this is expected behaving because "8 GB is a lot of storage and it takes a long time to go through it." I got the same answer from tech 1 and tech 2.
  Once the machine finally powers up, it has a pretty good interface and decent sound quality, and I like being able to see the device as an external hard drive in windows. I would keep it if it wasn't so slow powering up.
  I'm going to give the Zen V Plus a chance when it's 8 GB unit ships in the near future.
  
  

• Great ... simply great.

  
  By A402IK8HX9SBN on 2007-03-28
  I'm a long time customer of SanDisk memory products, so when I heard they were making MP3 players, I was intrigued to see how they'd do. If the e200 series is any indication of how they're doing, I'd say they're doing VERY well.
  
  I got the d280 with 8gig of memory and a cross section of features that was perfect for me, including the standard MP3 player, FM radio, FM record, voice recorder and the ability to display both video and photo files. This is really a perfect set up for me, as I plan to use my unit as much for sharing small sample photos and videos as for listening to music. I'm a photographer and writer by trade, and this little number is a lot like having a business card that doubles as a mini-portfolio. With the capacity to hold a couple hundred thousand photos ... it's more than I'll ever need for that purpose ... leaving lots of memory for video samples and music. What an incredible bundle of fun stuff in such a small, well made package.
  
  The unit I got came as advertised with SanDisk software (user manual and photo/video conversion utility), USB cable, a small sleeve to protect the unit, a wrist/neck lanyard and screen protection shield. The software installed easily on my WinXP machine and allows me to easily drag and drop photos into a utility that converts them to a format that displays on the e280. I've passed both bmp and jpg format files into this unit and so far have had no trouble at all. The resulting images that reside on the e280 range from around 40k to 80k. The display feature on this unit is quite nice for something so small, but certainly was not intended to be a high resolution photo or video viewer. But as a business card sized "portfolio in your pocket" this unit works REALLY well. Now, no matter where I am, I can slip this unit out of my pocket and show someone individual samples or a slideshow of my work. Video playback was surprisingly good for such a small screen and I think will enable me to use this unit for displaying video samples as well.
  
  The MP3 player, FM radio, FM record and other music functions seem work very well and I have no complaints at all. If you're a music junkie and are looking for lots of advanced music handling features, please read other reviews of this product, as this is not my primary interest in this unit. The FM radio works well even in places where my dedicated radios don't, the sound is clear and true and the volume and tuning controls are easy. The menu and playback options for MP3's are quite suitable by my standards, but again, read other reviews for more details on that.
  
  The menu system on the unit is pretty intuitive and easy to navigate with the thumb wheel and buttons found on the unit, though there are a couple of corners of the menu that still have me scratching my head, I'm sure I'll sort them out soon.
  
  The user manual is not the best I've ever seen, by a long shot. It covers the basics and it's not hard to understand, but there are a lot of obvious questions for which it doesn't provide answers. As someone who writes such manuals as part of his job, I'd have to say that the only disappointment I've had so far with the e280 was the manual. But, since the unit is such a delight to use, that's not such a big deal.
  
  In terms of construction, the unit's titanium alloy back seems quite rigid and sturdy and gives the unit a light yet very substantial feel. The buttons all seem to work well, the screen is clear and bright, the cables all plug in easily (usb and headphone) and using the unit is very easy and intuitive, even for someone with slightly larger than average hands like me.
  
  Notables ...
  
  This unit comes with the ability to add up to 2 gig of extra memory on an insertable chip, but this memory add on can't be used to house photos or videos ... interesting.
  
  The Lithium Ion battery can be replaced by the end user when it finally dies and recharges via the USB cable, though it requires the PC be on while charging. After market cigarette lighter (car) and AC recharge adapters are available.
  
  The carrying case that comes with the unit isn't much to brag about, so I'd recommend one of the after market units there too. The one recommended by Amazon when looking at this unit is quite good.
  
  
  I'm VERY happy with this unit and look forward to using it quite a lot every day.
  
  AFTER A BIT OF USE
  
  Now that I've had a bit more time to use the Sansa, I can say I really do love it. It works like a charm and it's fun to use. I do have a few comments for would be users to allow you to make your choice of an MP3 player with as much information as possible.
  
  a) Controls - The for arch shaped buttons arranged around the thumb dial are a bit hard to access for larger fingers, especially if you keep the unit in a leather carrying case. I don't find that this bothers me, but some folks certainly might.
  
  b) USB Cable Connection - When plugging the USB cable into the Sansa, I find I have to carefully push the cable firmly into the socket to make sure that both little catches on either side of the connector are in place. It's not hard or tricky, but I'm not paying attention and just plug it in with the same force as I do my cell phone, quite often one or the other catches on the connector won't seat properly and the cable could slip out. After just a few instances of this, I got in the habit of plugging it in more carefully and I've had no troubles since. Again, I don't find this difficult or tricky or even troublesome ... but it's something that might annoy some folks, so I thought I'd pass along the information.
  
  c) Transferring Photos - As I mentioned in my review, one of my chief uses for this unit is sharing photos. I find the software what comes with the unit does a fine job of creating small versions of my photos and meets my need as a sort of digital business card sized portfolio. But it should be noted that when the software reduces the images to this size, there are some minor imperfections in the smaller pictures. I don't find them objectionable, but some might. Again, just something to be aware of.
  
  d) FM Radio - Like many of us, I work inside a steel frame building and I've found that getting a good FM radio signal at work can be VERY tricky. I wouldn't have been too upset to find that the Sansa didn't deliver any better an FM signal than my dedicated radios did ... but I'm OVERJOYED to report that this little unit delivers a GREAT FM signal even in the depths of the building. I get great reception where no radio I've owned has gotten even adequate reception. QUITE happy.
  
  e) Voice Recorder - good enough pick up for dictation, but not really usable for group settings like meetings. I have a Panasonic voice recorder for my more serious voice recording needs, but it is handy to have a VR built into this unit for jotting down ideas when I don't happen to have my Panasonic with me.
  
  f) FM Record ... works really well and is quite handy. I love this feature.
  
  g) LOCK UP - I rather foolishly tried to change modes on the Sansa while plugging in the USB cord ... my mistake. This locked up the unit in what appeared to be the OFF mode, and none of the buttons would respond. I read the digital owners guide, saw that I needed to hold down the START/MENU button for 15 seconds to reset ... did this ... and nothing seemed to happen. I then pressed the START/MENU button again, and it started up with no problems and no loss of data. Everything was fine. My only note would be that the user guide doesn't mention that the 15 second depression of the START/MENU button must be followed by then turning the unit on by pressing the START/MENU button again. Some units restart when you reset, some don't. This oen doesn't. So ... if it gets locked (which only has happened once, and it was clearly my fault), FIRST press and hold the START/MENU button for 15 seconds ... nothing will appear to have happened. THEN ... press the START/MENU button again ... it should fire up just fine, as mine did.
  
  h) USER GUIDE - I find that this user guide covers all the necessary bases, but rather in a minimalist way, leaving out some rather important details. I've bene able to figure most of the missing details out on my own, but as a writer of such manuals, I can't say the manual for the Sansa is one of its strong suits. I LOVE my Sansa ... I don't love the manual.
  
  Yes, all in all, I'm THRILLED with my purchase, especially since it included the E200 series Travel Case Kit. The combination of these two is making me a very happy camper.
  
  
• Looks great and works good --> recommended!
  By ARY61BY4J2W0Z on 2006-11-27
  I've got this device two weeks ago and I am very happy with it.
  
  PROS:
  + solidly build, scratch resistant, looks great (truly "sexy")
  + great looking interface, easy and quick navigation
  + tactile navigation wheel for fast navigation (also looks great when shines blue)
  + good sound, custom EQ, also loud enough
  + sharp display; even videos are looking good
  + good tuner reception, sensivity over average, works also in Europe
  + 20 hours with one battery charge
  + the battery is replaceable: $19.99 if you need it one day... in contrast to $60+ for an iPod
  + supports MSC (Mass Storage Compliant) mode: no need for any software to transfer files, can be used for any data as USB stick
  + supports MTP (Music Transfer Protocol) and MS PlaysForSure (eg. for Napster To Go)
  + can by extended to 10GB with an microSD card
  + is not an iPod ;-)
  
  CONTRAS:
  - supports only an old QuickTime format for videos (big files)
  - buttons are quite small and may be difficult to push
  - upper surface is a fingerprint magnet (easy to clean, fortunately..)
  - no gapless playback (very short - maybe 0.2s - breaks between live tracks)
  - bad quality FM recording
  - sometimes crashes during video playback
  - microSD Card can only be used in MSC mode if I am right.. and can only be used for music, no photos/videos
  
  I don't really need video, so big .MOV files is not an issue to me, and also don't care about audio recording... therefore I can easily give 4.5 stars ... or even 4 3/4. Truly great gadget!
  
  
• my second one
  By AZMOM619PTO5B on 2006-11-23
  this is my dream movie/mpeg player, i bought one in october and used it continuously until tonight i accidently put it into an olive jar with no olives but lots of olive brine and left it for several hours, (dont ask) so i am ordering my second one. i watch movies on it in bed and i listen to audiobooks on it. where ever i find myself in a situation where i have to wait it is a great companion and i can get all my spanish lessons on it as well. i have also purchased a 2 gig micro sd card bringing my total memory to 10 gig, that much memory does the job. i dont understand people who want to store 80 gig of files on their ipod or archos, it makes no sense and forces you to use hard drive based players which in my opinion are a real problem for an 'active' person.
  
  now for the bad news, it is buggy, and does lock up, Plus you have to unscrew 4 small screws to change the battery to reboot, which can be a problem if you are on a bicycle tour and cant recharge, why not make battery change easier. it uses the quick time movie format which is limiting, and the software conversion program is written by archsoft and doesnt give you 'any' options, i bought the full version from archsoft. the movies i convert are large 4 to 7 gig and in mpeg2 dvd format, and the software/hardware combination wont handle it and the audio gets out of synch VERY badly, i found a solution, i also have an archos 80 gig hard drive type video player so i convert the file to archos divx format first and then using that file i convert to the quick time format killing 2 birds with one stone but the file actually gets "larger" in quicktime then in divx. another irritation is that the player only handles 10 minute video files so the converter chops them up for you and rotates the frame to fit better, i can live with the 10 minute files, but every 10 minutes you get a 20 second pause as it opens the next 10 minutes, plus the conversion program leaves several rows of pixels unused on the screen, and i'd like the screen to be 1/4th of an inch bigger all the way around but NO bigger, i like it small so i'll always carry it. i also dont like sansa's firmware updater service since if you have toasted the snasa's operating system the computer wont recognize it and the updater wont update the non-existing operation system, i am still trying to find the firmware on their web-sight.
  
  so with all this pain why buy another, well 'love' is like that. flash memory is really 'sweet' and the battery lasts and lasts, but for me the main thing is that it is SO small and light weight that i always have it with me, and when you find yourself stuck waiting at the doctors office and you are content watching a movie while those around you are stuck reading dog eared cosmopolitan magazines you'll love it, even those people who have other video players wont have them with them because they are just toooooo big.
  
  hopefully later products will 'iron out' some of these little irritations. and thats why i only rate it 4 stars not 5. hurry up ups i need my sansa.
  
  
• Great Alternative to Apple's Proprietary Garbage
  By AALQ2573MUS0X on 2006-10-20
  Let me start by saying that this thing is really small. I saw the pictures and even some video reviews on youtube, but I was still pleasantly surprised at how tiny this player actually is. My Motorola Razor cellphone dwarfs it.
  It's cheap, so unless you're a dedicated Apple user (i.e. have more money than brains), you're getting a great bargain.
  I got it mainly because of nice size and compatibility (no need for dealing with iTunes - this baby looks just like another drive to your comptuer, which means drag and drop support for files).
  I wasn't expecting much from video - but changed my mind, after being able to watch tv series episodes on it during my commute to work, or full movies during recent flights. The resolution/quality of the LCD is simply amazing.
  FM tuner gets great reception, even in my basement - not to mention the fact that I can quickly record a new song directly off the radio, so that I can listen to it later.
  The only downside I can list at the moment is the button interface - the rotating wheel could be a little more depressed, to make pressing buttons around it easier, but you get used to it really fast.
  Other than that - this device is definitely the way to go. I couldn't be more happy with the purchase.
  
  
• Ipod sucks
  By AZQTRMWJWGWQF on 2006-09-15
  Why would you buy a product from a company who builds obsolescence blatently into their product. My ipod nano's screen scratched beyond readability from the first time i put in my pocket. Do you even stop to think that so much R&D goes into these things how could they not have known that their product is so fragile. They do it on purpose to screw the customer and make you buy a case or a new ipod. Sandisk takes the other approach and rubberizes the case so it won't scratch. It also has more features than the nano and isn't restricted to use with only iTunes. All in all you are getting a much better product for the same price. Ipods are just fashion statements bought by lemmings.
  
  
• Great for 2 hours then died after firmware upgrade
  By A2B7OBM3H8SXY4 on 2006-12-22
  E280 has great features and capacity for the price. The player has a quality feel to it except for the thumbwheel which doesn't rotate smoothly. Pictures, video and music were easy to load. Video and pictures were very crisp. FM, MP3 and voice recording audio were all very good. The player's GUI was intuitive and easy to use.
  
  Now the bad news... The manual and Sansa web site recommend upgrading to the latest firmware (the player shipped with 01.02.12A). When I upgraded the firmware to the latest release (01.02.15), the player would not start up again. The thumbwheel would illuminate but nothing else worked. I called the Sansa help number (1 866 726-3475) and after only a 2 minute wait, a native English speaker answered the call. He walked me through some procedures to get the player in fail safe but none of them worked. The customer service rep said that the 1.02.15 firmware offered very little improvement over 1.02.12A and recommends staying at 1.02.15 (too late to help me!). The rep offered a RMA number but said it would be much quicker to return directly to Amazon (Sansa would take 4 - 6 weeks minimum).
  
  I decided to return the player to Amazon. Since I had a few questions I decided to call Amazon, rather than processing the return via the web site. Finding their 800 number is not easy, and I had to Google "Amazon customer service" in order to get it (800 201-7575). It took a lot of patience and punching in numbers to get through to a person. When the rep finally answered, she was very nice and is sending out a replacement unit. Unfortunately it will not arrive for five days (12/27), so I won't be able to enjoy the player over my Christmas break.
  
  Quality issues can occur with any brand and I'm willing to give the E280 another shot. Assuming no firmware issues with the replacement player, I believe that I'll be happy with the E280.
  
  
• Great machine, but not without its flaws
  By A1KSO56UWS2R7I on 2006-10-07
  As most of you have realized, this is most likely Sandisk's answer to the Nano. With a sleek, slim, design, this has a lot the iPod doesn't have, but also has a lot of bad things the Nano too, doesn't have.
  
  SOUND QUALITY - Not bad. Very acceptable; the earbuds could be a little nicer for a high end flash player, but they do just nice. The bass is a little heavy, and midtones are softer than they should, but at full volume, your ears won't notice much of a difference.
  
  INTERFACE - Pretty nice. Icons are clear and concise. I had no trouble getting through each of the devices many features. More on features will be later in the review.
  
  DESIGN - Not a fan. I do like how it has the expansion slot; because of the extra expansion slot, it gives the device the potential for the largest capacity flash player on the market, at 10GB. Whether or not you need 10GB, or just want to upgrade to a hard drive MP3 player, it's up to you, but when it comes to flash player, this packs a lot of bang for the buck. I like the idea of the button layout and spin wheel, but it often gets stuck, and the plastic feels cheap. It smudges, but not as much as the Nano (1st gen), and it much more difficult to scratch. The back is made out of some really durable metal alloy, so it feels safe to drop, although I wouldn't recommend it. Light, sleek, thin, bright/vivid screen, great looking device, but has quirks.
  
  FEATURES: Large feature set. Supports a lot of media inputs, including subscription services, and also has built-in FM tuner, which gets decent reception (all FM tuner MP3 players have pretty lousy reception, so don't expect much). Voice record and FM record are nice features, and it also plays videos. With a battery life of 20 hours, it remains in the upper groups of its class.
  
  BOTTOM LINE: If you are not a fan of the whole Apple trend, and want a feature packed alternative, this is the way to go. If you want amazing quality, excellent sound, tons of accessory options, better looking design, and a thinner, more compact MP3 player, the Nano is your choice. It really depends on if you like iTunes or not.
  
  
• iPod Nano had better watch it's back! The Sansa competes and EXCEEDS in most if not all categories!
  By A3HCUYBTKERLBT on 2006-11-06
  Don't fall into the white earbud trance any longer!! Wake from your Apple induced slumber people and open your eyes to the SanDisk Sansa e200 Series!! This review pertains to the Sansa e280 8GB mP3 player and let me tell you that the iPod Nano and Apple for that matter, had better watch it's back! The feature set capabilities and price point of the Sansa e 280 should have no trouble making Nano into apple pie as long as users like me help educate consumers to the realization that yes, indeed, there is a whole market of AWESOME mP3 players that in fact cost LESS, have more features, better reliability, and a company that backs its unit even after it has been sold!
  
  For a long while now, many consumers have a certain "fruit" in mind when it comes to the mP3 player of choice. Well, I have news for you. The Sansa e280 outstrips the Nano in almost every regard. the e280 was the first flash player to come out with an 8GB capacity. The Nano soon followed with it's own 8GB (2000 songs) however, the Sansa has and expandible Trans Flash/Micro SD card slot enabling the user to ADD Storage!! Yes I said ADD IT! Currently SanDisk makes a 2GB micro SD card for about 100$ enabling you to add 2gigs to your player(about 500 more songs). Nano doesn't offer this and yet it is still priced the same or higher in some cases as I found my Sansa for under 200$. with this capability, the life of the player should be extended because of increased volumes for SD cards that come out continuously. Unlike with an apple product where if more storage is needed, you have to buy a new player and spend another 250 bucks! You can plug the storage card into the player and all the music transfered to it automatically integrates into your albumn folders which is a fabulous benefit!
  
  Another Nice feature that the Sansa offers is a larger display screen. At 1.8 inches, the colors are bright and crisp. I would have liked to see a higher color resolution, however, still much bigger than the Nano and quite easy to read and see.
  
  The construction of the Sansa is excellent with a poured metal back casing that is virtually un-scratchable (unless you drop it I would imagine) but you really can't scratch it like an iPod or a Zen. It also doesn't use the same plastic as the iPod or the Creative Zen so the front is SO much more durable!!! You would really have to scrape something pretty sharp against it to show scratches on its face unlike the iPod and Zen player in which you just have to place them in a pocket to receive one.
  
  The e280 has a tactile wheel for navigation which is similar to the iPod platform but I find it to be a bit better. The dial has tiny grooves enabling the user to have more control through the screens. Unlke the iPod, the wheel lights up an electrifying flourescent blue color enabling you to navigate in lower light conditions and it also enhances the sleek look of the player.
  
  The Sansa is compatible with Windows Media Player(free) and Rhapsody which is a paid music subscription site just like iTunes. However because this is not an apple product, you are not confined to the Apple platform.
  
  The Sansa offers an FM tuner which is spot on and crystal clear, a voice recorder (useful if you are the memo on the fly type), video playback and photo viewing capabilities. The Nano has video and photo but does NOT have FM radio or recording capabilities. Easy and user-desirable things to add and yet Apple still hasn't caught on.
  
  The cost of ownership for this is already cheaper right out of the gate with the lower price point but also a GREAT feature that Apple refuses to offer as it would effect their bottom line DRASTICALLY is that the Sansa offers a USER replaceable battery for about 19 bucks. You have to send your iPod out to Apple at the cost of shipping and $50 per battery. Not to mention the battery life for the Nano is 15 hours where the Sansa e280 played for 22.5 hours before dying!
  
  All in all I spent 177.00 and got a FAR SUPERIOR PLAYER!! SanDisk customer service is top notch as well. I owned 2 very expensive $300 a piece 20 Gig ipods. in just over a year each(right after the warranty was up) they had hard drive failure which cost 268.40 to repair. I was told it was cheaper to buy another iPod and was sent rudely on my way by Apple rather than their customer service trying to work with me to keep me as a customer. I have done research on every player out there, Hard Drive and flash. I bought a Sandisk. They are the leaders is flash memory for a reason. Not to mention their customer service was STELLAR!! Top notch and happy to have me convert.
  
  In closing, the Sansa is most definitely worth your time and your investment. Don't spend the 250$ on the Nano for your child's christmas present. They will be receiving a far inferior product, will have to replace it or fix it and the cost is RIDICULOUS! Educate yourself and purchase a Sansa.
  
  
• Nice, but No Control
  By AUCISQA1YXX86 on 2006-11-07
  I had high expectations for this product, having bought some of Sandisk's other products. The problem with the e280 is that Sandisk doesn't give users the control or the versatility over file management. For example, using it in the (mass storage) MSC USB mode, one is forced to create playlists in Windows Media Player. This works, but one of the drawbacks is that playlist creations can be plagued with files that have errors or are skipped.
  
  It would be far better if one could just drag folders and music mp3 files to the right folder and play them, with multiple folder levels. This would allow catogorizing music the way the user wishes; instead, Sandisk adopts an almost Microsoft mentality in its approach. "It's our way or the highway." Once one masters creating playlists, they have to settle for dumping them all into one directory.
  
  It's too bad because reading the manual and reading the reviews, one can easily get the idea that the e200 series can be set up like just another USB storage device (including other, previous Sandisk products). Well, you can, but it won't make much difference if the device won't play.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sansa E280
  By A2KOI6UZA2HUV9 on 2006-11-20
  When my Zen Micro blew up on me a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to purchase a new MP3 player. I had long tried to avoid the iPod but after playing with a friend of mines new 8GB iPod Nano I decided I would get one. Fortunetly, I stumbled across the Sansa E280 by chance while looking for a good deal on the Nano. I decided to take a chance on this relatively unknown device and am now thrilled that I did!
  
  While it is basically the same width and height as the Nano, it is slightly thicker which might bother some people but I still don't even know it's there while in my pocket. The Nano has a color screen which can be used to view photos and 8GB. It's actually a nice little player but compared to the Sansa E280 it falls easily to a comendable second place. the E280 has an internal 8GB but there is a slot for a 2GB expandable memory disk! It is very easy to connect to the pc as well. I am by no means a computer expert and I use Windows Media Player to store my music. When I first connected the E280 to the pc, it asked me did I want to sync the two, which I said yes to. Ten minutes later the Sansa was loaded with all my music, no problems what-so-ever.In addition to displaying photos as the Nano does, it also plays videos. When reading reviews I thought this was a clever gimic but nothing worth using on such a small screen (it is only slightly larger than the nano's). I put an episode of South Park onto it when I first got the E280 and was suprised by the quality. I still wouldn't recommend replacing your tv with one of these but it is actually far better than I thought it could be. The packaged video coverter works well. I literally dragged and dropped the episode into it and the it was converted and transferred to the E280 before my eyes. The fm radio is also brilliant. My Zen Micro had an fm radio that never really worked. I didn't expect much better from my new MP3 player but once again I was suprised. No problems picking up the local stations at all.
  
  The player itself fits comfortably in my hand. The only complaint I have about the physical player is the rotating wheel. At first I was disappointed with it as it felt very cheap, particularly when compared with the rest of the player. I got used to this very quickly and don't have a problem with it anymore but I think it is worth noting all the same. The other complaint I would have about the player is that songs cannot be deleted from the player itself, you must hook it up to the computer and manually remove them.
  
  All in all, I would highly recommend the Sansa E280. Of the many MP3 players I tried out, this one really came out of top. It is beaten on size by the iPod, although the difference is near negligible. If your looking for a great little player packed with more features than you'd know what to do with, pick a Sansa E280 up!
  
  
• New Product Has Limited Functionality
  By A3NIK0TGM5VBWU on 2007-11-28
  There are two versions of the e280 - v1 and v2. v2 is NOT an upgrade but is in fact a downgrade and one that is not pointed out to the consumer. You are no longer permitted to switch your USB mode from MTP to MSC mode meaning your device no longer doubles as a USB drive! You are also locked into using Windows Media Player and DRM only mp3s. What an upgrade!
  
  Aside from the rant, the product is a phenomenal piece of technology. I only wish I wasn't deceived into buying a newer, lower version of a fantastic product.
  
  
• This is some headache-causing hardware!
  By ASMALKVPXXWDX on 2006-10-18
  My beloved Zen Micro Photo's hard drive died, but thankfully, I had Big Box Retailer's extended warranty on it. Unfortunately, they no longer stock that unit, so I had to pick out another one. The Sansa looked like the best out of the bunch: Small, high-quality screen, video playback, high capacity, flash-based, and most importantly, it had a built-in voice recorder.
  
  Almost from the outset, there were problems. I don't use any online music services, so having Rhapsody foisted upon me was an immediate annoyance. The media manager application had a propensity to randomly crash, particularly in the middle of file transfers. Not good. The design felt very badly thought out, with a mechanical scroll wheel that feels rough and gets stuck (I see why Apple dumped them!), and buttons that are tiny, hard to press, and don't feel like they're being pushed when they are.
  
  But the real deal-killer for me was a problem I don't think many others will experience: I have a great deal of music whose filenames and ID3 tags are written in Japanese characters. The Sansa's US firmware does not support Japanese (and other Asian languages as well, I'd assume), and as a result, the player will choke whenever it's asked to play a file with even one Japanese character in it. Since about half my music library fits that description, and it would take forever to go back and manually rename all those files in English, I was extremely annoyed. Perhaps a firmware flash would fix it? I tried to get some firmware of Sandisk's Japanese site, but they don't have any direct downloads. Maybe the newest US firmware has Asian language support, I thought to myself. I found the firmware, unzipped it, and loaded it onto my player.
  
  Dead as a doornail. Tried it again. And again. And again. At that point, I just gave up.
  
  Some people don't seem to have any problems with this. Well, more power to you, I guess, but based on my experience, this is NOT something I would recommend. If you're in the market for an iPod alternative, Creative's units still offer the best combination of features, functionality, and design.
  
  Now I just need to figure out what I'm gonna buy after I return this thing.
  
  
• Great player. No hassle
  By A11PJAT1ARYS47 on 2006-10-27
  Overall this a great player with many capabilities. The FM tuner, voice recorder, pics, and video are specs that everyone knows but it comes together nicely here. Replacable battery is always a plus.
  
  Sound is great. If you don't like what you have you can manually adjust the equalizer settings. There are many to choose from. You might want to invest in some higher quality headphones though. The factory set isn't bad at all, but you could go better.
  
  I've heard a lot of complaining about the scroll wheel and the buttons. The wheel is easy to use and DOES NOT JAM as some other tend to think. Yea the Ipod click wheel is nice.. but this isn't an ipod is it..? When pushing buttons, it seems that your pushes does not register but it does. No issues there.
  
  Battery Life is great. Running through the menu, playlists, and all the other functions obvioulsy drains the battery but not significantly. It'll last for at least 9 hours depending on usage.
  
  Ease of use: You can't go wrong with this player, and it is incredibly straight forward. The installation cd gives you a user manual just in case you have any questions but you can figure it out yourself by just running through the menus.
  
  File transfer and media converter is straight forward. To easily create playlists the cd will update your windows media player, so make sure you install it. Media player tends to be moody at times, but once you start dragging and dropping your files, its easy.
  
  Just something to point out. An earlier review said that the boot time was around 5 minutes or so. That's totally exaggerated. I have a little under 6GB of USED space and it takes about 10 seconds max to boot.
  
  Obviously, you should take care of your player. Buying a case is a best bet even though it comes with a slim fabric case. Take care of the player and it'll take care of you
  
  
• I like it a lot.
  By A4HBHLPAUITFJ on 2006-12-07
  Sansa 8GB.
  
  I read all of amazon review before buying it, I was a little scared of what I read, I bought it anyway for my wife, I been playing with it for a bit (it is for her Christmas), let me tell you the wheel is a little mecanical compare to a I-pod (who cares), but works great, I was able to dump 3.5 GB of songs ( ran out of MP3) and copied one video over and 15 pictures I have 3.7GB used, the screen quality is really nice, I bought it for $184 + free shipping, I don' t think you can do better then that..... I will recommended it in a heart beat,it is small, cute ,a really nice piece of electronic. I also read that people have problems with the software and complained that you have to use the "media converter" , but I read the manual and that works great too... (I think people do not like to learn new tricks). the only thing is that it would be nice to be able to dump the video on the Sansa, (it shows up in Mycomputer), but I think the software resize the pictures and video to the screen size of the sansa..... so it is worth the effort.... my take on it rely nice, the best buck for the money, the feature I like the most is it as a clock !!!I-pod do not have a clock, the FM radio is also nice, *****GREAT ALL IN-ONE *****
  
  
• Cheap Scroll Wheel
  By A1V2WAZ1BPMSHV on 2006-10-12
  I been waiting to get my hands on the e280 since it was announced. I finally got mine today and have been less then impressed. For one, even though the unit feels solid, the buttons and especially the scroll wheel feel very cheap. The scroll wheel isn't smooth and locks up at times, not too bad but enough to be annoying. Every time you add or removed media, the sansa reboots and does an "inventory". I had about 4 GB of songs and it takes well over a minute to boot up, I'm sure it'll take much longer with 6 or 8 GB. Don't be me wrong, for the price it does have some nice features that the nano doesn't like FM tuner and video, but I ended up returning mine and will probably look at the nano or creative mp3 players. If sandisk would make a smoother scroll wheel and easier to manage media, this would be a nano-killer, but as it stands - not yet.
  
  
• Impossibly difficult to use
  By A2SY62XT85J1N5 on 2006-11-13
  I ordered this unit with high expectations, lots of memory, expandable, multiple modes, from a well known company and an excellent price; how could I go wrong?. Easily enough, as it turns out.
  
  I was unable to load it and control the play lists. Trying to use it in MTP mode always crashed the host (BSOD) so I reverted to MSD (Mass Storage Device) mode using drag and drop.
  
  Dragging a folder to the device was pointless. Most of the time the files didn't even show up, and when they did they were scattered all over the place. I copied 82 files from the Lord of the Rings set into a single folder, only 52 could be found even during play back, but they could be seen from "My Computer" on the host system. After fooling around with it for a couple of hours I gave up and called SanDisk technical support certain they would be able to help me sort it out.
  
  I have to admit that I was pleased with their support even though in the end they were unable to resolve any of the problems other than by suggesting that the only way to use drag and drop was to dump everything into the MUSIC folder where it would play in whatever order the device wanted; a totally useless method.
  
  This was totally unsatisfactory since there was no control over the play list and no way to even find all of the files that would fit into 8+gb. Imagine listening to the first movement of Swan Lake followed immediately by something from 9 Inch Nails, then maybe a Bach Cantata!.
  
  Using Media Player to sync did no better. Creating a playlist (m3u) of 82 files and then syncing did exactly the same as drag and drop. A hopeless mess, no play order, missing files and so on.
  
  After spending 3 hours with SanDisk tech support we were both more than ready to quit. The tech had no more idea that I did about how to solve the problems that plagued the player and we both gave it up as a bad job.
  
  This is little machine has plenty going for it in the specification, but it's hopelessly flawed in the implementation, and this is without complaining about the stiff control wheel or the overly small buttons.
  
  Throughly frustrated, it was in the mail being returned less than 8 hours after I received it. I just cannot recommend this player, it needs a through overhaul of the interface and firmware; and fixing the control wheel and buttons would be a plus as well. As it stands, it's without merit as a player.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Not quite an iPod killer, but a decent MP3 player nonetheless
  By A3A49I329LEHNZ on 2007-03-05
  After my old MP3 player broke (Creative Zen Xtra Jukebox; the LCD screen cracked after getting crushed in my backpack), I was in the market for a new MP3 player. Since the main situation I used my old MP3 player was for running and I'm a fan of new technology, I wanted to get a flash memory-based MP3 player (for those of you not so technologically literate, flash memory is the same kind of memory in USB thumb drives and has numerous advantages over traditional hard drives although currently has less capacity). I was faced with a difficult decision: go the iPod Nano route, or go with an off-brand, which worked very well for me last time? I ended up choosing the latter by purchasing the Sansa e280, and while I don't regret my decision, I can comfortably say that the folks over at Apple needn't be trembling in fear about this product.
  
  First, there are some definite advantages the Sansa has over the iPod Nano. The most obvious one is price. When I bought mine, the Sansa was a solid $30 lower than the iPod Nano 8 GB was at the moment. Another perk is the presence of FM radio and Voice Memo on the player. These options come in very handy and round the player out well. In addition, the presence of two USB modes works to the Sansa's advantage. The Sansa has two choices: MSC (Mass Storage Control) and MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). In the MTP mode, the Sansa acts just like an iPod would, but with Windows Media Player instead of iTunes. In the MSC mode, however, the Sansa in essence becomes a USB drive. This is very helpful if you want to not add your entire music library on your (or someone else's) computer onto your MP3 player.
  
  All those nice features aside, I've ran into my share of frustrating problems with my MP3 player. The headphones and lanyard that came with the MP3 player were both rather low quality (the lanyard was obscenely long, which boggled my mind). The firmware on the player has frozen on me occasionally, requiring a hard restart of the system. Setting up a playlist on the Sansa is a pain; you have to be in MTP, set up a playlist, transfer it over to the device, and then sync it to the device (it's partially because I think Windows Media Player has a shabby interface and I don't like dealing with it, but I can't even transfer a playlist from another program I use to listen music, which bothers me). The internal clock on the MP3 player seems to run slow. There's usually a delay after you click to play a song. I had some problems uploading videos to the device, but those were ironed out.
  
  All in all, that's a lot of little annoyances to get in the way of an otherwise great MP3 player. I think the number one thing that testifies to the comparative quality of the Sansa e280 to its Apple equivalent is that the interface is extremely similar to Apple's; in fact, the only major difference is that the scroll wheel moves instead of being touch sensitive. It shows that the Sansa is trying to be like the iPod. If an MP3 player is going to dethrone Apple, they need to do it by innovating instead of packing a few fancy features on an otherwise identical product.
  
  
• Great player. Not for Beginners.
  By AGYHT8IO5U2RF on 2007-09-26
  I bought this MP3 player to replace my Creative Zen Micro that died on me. I was leaning towards the Creative Zen V plus, which is comparable to the SanDisk Sansa e280; however, there are several reasons why I chose this player. I figured a review was in order after working with the player over a 3 month period.
  
  Note: This review is based off of the "older" model of the Sansa e280.
  
  Pluses
  -Long battery life! (20+ Hours, depending on usage and settings)
  -Vivid color LCD screen
  -Sleek design
  -Solid Construction
  -Expandable Memory
  -Excellent Radio
  -Voice Recording
  -Video/Image Playback
  -Great Audio
  -Easy Firmware Updating
  
  Inconveniences
  -Wheel feels loose
  -Screen goes completely dark without Backlight
  -Hiccups or hesitations between tracks in albums
  -Buttons can be difficult to press
  -Lengthy Boot time
  -Volume resets after booting (edit)
  
  Cons
  -NO Organization Software!
  -No AC charger
  
  This player really offers a lot to users who are looking for a decent player, even though it has a few extra frills. I only wanted to use my player for music. I am not one for burning my eyes out on a tiny screen. The radio receiver is great, even picks up stations my car cannot get. The player's sleek, small, and well built design makes it ready to go anywhere, but the buttons take some time to get used to until you find the "sweet spot." The hiccups between tracks in albums are annoying, yet are nothing too serious.
  
  After seeing this player and the Creative Zen V Plus sitting next to each other, I was so happy I chose the Sansa e280. The Zen Vs are way too small, in my opinion, and the Sansa e280 fits well into the palm, especially if you have larger hands. Some people may be turned off about the stiff wheel, but I find it nice, since I will not skip over the track I am looking for as easily.
  
  The real down fall of this product is the lack of a media organizer. Some people may find this terribly aggravating, especially if you have never owned an MP3 player before. I tried coping and pasting my music library into the device, which works, but everything was jumbled up. I read in a previous review on this product that mentioned a media organizer called Media Monkey. I tested it out and I really like it. The program is free and even has an itunes feel to it. There are other media organizers and I highly suggest downloading one once you get this player. The only software it comes with is the media converter for images and video clips.
  
  Overall, I think this is a great player that provides most of the essentials, even though it lacks a crucial element for MP3 players. This player delivers and is less expensive than similar devices; definitely better than an ipod nano.
  
  [EDIT]
  I forgot a few things.
  
  Every time you boot the player, whether from an auto shut down or not, the volume level automatically resets to a specific default setting, 50%. It's just an inconvenience.
  
  Tips when using the Sansa e280
  -Regardless of what others might have said, you can save your place in a long track, album, or playlist. Just pause the track and shut down the player with the power button or let the player go into auto shut down. Then simply reboot the player and it picks up where you left off. Just remember to recalibrate your volume.
  -In case the device does not boot properly, hold the power button until the player shuts off. Then try again.
  -Firmware updates come out about every other month. You should at least attempt an update once a month. Follow the simple instructions to do so.
  -How do I go back to the music list while I'm still listening? Simply press the "Submenu" button, the one with 4 bars on it, and select "Back to music list."
  
  
• Something really worthy
  By A1BTYNRVOOFZXO on 2006-12-02
  I was browsing Internet stores, reading reviews, checking different stores to find a good MP3 player. It took me a month to find Sansa. I was looking for megabytes, FM radio, nice design, but I found even more: it was a LOT of megabytes, RECORDABLE radio, BEAUTIFUL design, and also good screen, memory extension and an INCREDIBLE price. I thought that this is something like a joke, but for my happiness it was something real. So I bought it, I wasn't delaying a second. Now I own it for 3 months and I am still the happiest man on earth, because I love music very much, and Sansa helps me everyday too keep it close to me. This is what we need - quality, practicity and reasonable price. Bravo!
  
  
• Good but be aware...
  By A1EA90QGLTCHW2 on 2007-02-02
  The sansa e280 isnt a bad choice for an mp3 player because unlike the ipod nano, you can remove the battery by yourself(Although I haven't tried it) and overall its pretty good for its price but there are a few things you should be aware of. These things aren't necessarily bad because other mp3 players might be the same and might not be much different but you should take these things into condsideration before buying it.
  
  1. When it comes to photos and videos, the name will appear the way the actual file is named on the computer. So it's not like music where the file name can be GoD's PrOJeCt and on the mp3 player it says God's Project. The way it appears on the file name is the way it will appear on the screen.
  
  2. Unlike the photos, you can't have seperate albums for your videos so you'll have to name your videos in a way that will organize them. So if you want all your rock videos in a section you could put a 1 in front of the name, then your rnb videos with a 2 in front of the name so that you don't have to scroll up or down and all over the place to find the videos you're looking for.
  
  3. Because you can't fastforward or "scan" like in your songs, it'd be wise to NOT have a compilation of videos into one. This usually only happens with reggaeton videos where they'll show like two or three songs from the album on that one video alone. I haven't tried movies yet as their resolution is too high and it takes to long to cut them into parts but if you must, don't put the whole thing in one clip.
  
  4. Unlike the videos which are formatted in the best way to fit the screen, the photos can be put in in different angles. If you want to get the pictures to fit the screen the best way possible, change their angle so its a standing rectangle just like the screen. It will fill most of the screen and you'll be able to see your pictures better.
  
  5. There is a recorder for voice and FM but be aware, it won't sound as good as when you're recording the song you hear on the radio. This meaning you can't record, send to computer, turn into mp3, send back to sansa, and hear it with same quality sound. It's not totally useless as you can keep the recording until you find the name of the artist and/or song or you can understand the lyrics enough to find the name of the song. Hopefully in the future we'll be able to record the song from the radio and hear it with the same quality as when we were recording it but until then, use this as a way to find what you're looking for.
  
  6. It can and will freeze. Don't worry it won't freeze that often but from time to time it will. I haven't found a way to fix it or unfreeze it so until then, take your time, pause what you're listening to before you change it, and just try not to do too much at one time.
  
  7. Videos and photos are formatted to fit the screen on the sansa so it's not like you can put the photos and videos in, and then copy them back to the computer and see them with the same quality as the original file so keep the original files somewhere like a dvd disk in data mode which will hold more than 70 mb of space.
  
  8. The buttons around the wheel may be hard to reach. Even I that I have skinny fingers, have a little trouble pressing those buttons. It's still better than the ipod where its hard to stop where you want it to so maybe they'll make the buttons wider and the wheel shorter next time.
  
  Be a little realistic about these things though because some of these might be a downer but you might or might not even see that many photos or videos. Some people don't even organize their music or label it right and they have to look everywhere anyway. But if you're like me where you like your music, videos and picturess organized and easy to access, there's your alternative and solutions to some problems. I didn't see these things as that big of a problem and found ways around most of them so that's why I give it a 5.
  
  
• Good design, too many bugs
  By A23KIQZHCKDQ9P on 2007-06-10
  I bought this unit because I have no interest, as many others have said, of being locked into Apple's controlled world. I run Linux on my PCs and avoid Windows as much as possible (when I have to have it, I usually run it in a VMware virtual machine). So I wanted an mp3 player I could use with Linux, thus the Sandisk. It works, but has many quirks, some of which I consider bugs. Bug 1: almost every time I turn it on, the ring lights up and that's it -- dead. I have to hold the power button for 15 seconds to reset it and then try again, which usually works. I am running the latest firmware. Bug 2: if I overwrite a bunch of tracks because I've modified their id3 tags, in spite of the "database refresh" (that takes forever) after disconnecting from the pc, it doesn't see the new tags. You have to delete the files, disconnect from the pc, reboot the system, reconnect and download the modified files. I discovered this by experimenting. Bug 3: when you upgrade the firmware, it changes the usb setting to the default. Upgrading the firmware ought not to modify your settings. I have reported these problems to Sandisk support and have gotten no response.I know how to work around these issues, but the workarounds involve extra time and effort. The Sansa has potential but feels like it should still be in beta-test. If I could find a better-executed mp3 player that wasn't nailed to Windows software, I'd buy it.
  
  
  
  
• Tempermental POS
  By AEO7XW62UARQZ on 2006-10-08
  I've owned this thing for a week and the price does not meet the quality.
  
  1st. No directions anywhere on how to sync this thing up with Rhapsody (which is the only reason I got it.) I had to figure it out on my own. The songs have OK quality but $200 and I would want the same quality as and iPod. Hell my monochrome iPod sounds better than this thing. Is that right?
  
  2nd. It takes over 15 minutes for it to count all the songs I have on it; I only have it half way filled. Don't even get me started on how long it takes to load songs onto it. Disconnect it from your computer and you are waiting for another 5-10 minutes before you can do anything.
  
  3rd. It works when it wants to. I am listening to music in my car, I didn't want to listen to a song, so I skip to the next one; It froze on a song and stayed there - I couldn't get to a menu to stop it from an obvious loop in the programing. Reconnecting it to my computer doesn't reset it. Eventually it snapped out of it's loop and started working again. It does this every day.
  
  As far as the controls go they need a TON of work. I use MP3 players in my car a lot. I can't look down all the time to change the menu items as much as it wants me to. Also the buttons are too close to the wheel making it hard to push the buttons.
  
  I heard that Rhapsody is coming out with a firmware to work better with this player but I don't think I have the patience to wait for my return policy to wear out before it comes out. That is to assume that this firmware fixes all these issues. Don't buy this thing until you hear that this firmware fixes everything. Otherwise you will be tempted to throw a $200 device out your car window.
  
  These other reviews are obviously written by promoters or people with low standards. I say keep looking for a better player for now. I hate how iPod requires you to buy every song but what other choices do we have?
  
  
• Everything I need in a player.
  By A8VBFOLD3VQNR on 2006-10-10
  I recently bought one and am very much satisfied. 8GB can hold a lot of songs, even at high bitrates. And the microSD slot can add another 2GB. You can go weeks without listening to the same song twice...holding the most of any flashplayer.
  It comes with software, but you really don't have to use it to transfer mp3s to it using plain ol' windows.
  Sound quality is good...just don't use the cheapo earbuds it comes with. I have a good set of Phillips that I use instead...much better!
  This version comes with a Customizable 5-channel Equalizer...something none of the ipods out there have. (Presets are never acceptable to me.) I like that feature alot! Good quality mp3s will sound good.
  For decent carrying, I had to buy a DLO Action Jacket w/beltclip. I also plan to buy an AC/usb adapter so I can keep it charged without a computer (like when I'm on vacation).
  Do note this player does not play m4a's. I had a few and had to transcode them to mp3.
  But this machine does what it's supposed to do...play alot of mp3s with good sound quality and ease. I'm happy.
  
  
• Great player for the money, but room for improvement
  By A3OTGUE8708F5F on 2006-11-16
  I have a subscription service (Ruckus) so I didn't want to deal with iPod. I did a lot of research on non-iPod players before buying the sansa. Overall I am very happy with my purchase.
  
  Design is very sleek and the size is just right. The color screen has good resolution and pictures/videos are clear. Controls are very intuitive. The side buttons are a little hard to press, but if you buy a silicone case the buttons become raised making life a lot easier. The scroll button is kind of clunky as well, but I feel the sansa's other features compensate for it. Plus it's pretty neon blue... :)
  
  After reading poor reviews about the FM radio, I have to say it works great for me. I live in a pretty rural area where stations are always a little fuzzy and the sansa comes in just as well as anything else. The antenna wires are in the headphones (standard cheap-ish round earbuds which I find very uncomfortable). I'm planning on getting new headphones, so hopefully the radio still works ok. Otherwise, volume is good, almost too loud.
  
  I wish the package included an AC charger, but now that Sansa has been out for awhile, there are plenty of after-market accessories available. Sansa's website links to licensed products. There is also a memory expansion slot, which is a big plus over competitors. However, the battery life is longer than most players and it charges pretty quickly through USB. The downside here is that you can't use the player whenever it's plugged in. This makes for one of my bigger beefs: file management. It's a bit annoying if you just want to delete a song because it has to be plugged in. If you can't remember if you want to delete a song or not and would like to listen to it to check, heaven help you... You can't play anything (either through the sansa or the synced list on your computer) so this requires unplugging the player, listening, plugging back in, then deleting. I suppose this type of occurrence is rare, so I can deal.
  
  Initial ease of transferring files wasn't great either. After a day though, I'm a pro. Yes, you may have to read the manual, but it'll save a lot of grief down the road. Although it's easier to use off the bat than other players I've tried, it could be improved. The sansa allows you to drag and drop files on MSC mode and sync through Windows Media Player in MTP mode (my preferred method). It took me a few tries to import playlists "as is", but contrary to some reviews here it CAN be done. Make sure you're using the AutoSync feature instead of Manual sync in Windows Media. (easy enough to do once I read the directions!) If you do it right, you'll still have a library full of all songs and playlists that will only play certain songs. The Sansa also has a "GoList" feature, but I've found it to be worthless. In order to add a song, you have to be listening to it. You can't queue up a playlist like in any PC jukebox program. May as well just make playlists in advance then import them.
  
  While some things could be improved, I think the Sansa e280 is a very solid player and I'm glad I bought it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to the ipod nano, based on both on price and function.
  
  
• Warning to fellow nerds: Do not buy this online!
  By ATS7DDVD37UOE on 2007-11-25
  First off, if you're only interested in playing music, have 8GB of it, use Windows Media Player to manage your music and don't mind DRM crippleware, this is a five-star piece of hardware for a five-star price. My review and rating are intended for people like me who want (and expected) more.
  
  DO NOT BUY THIS PLAYER ONLINE. If you want full nerd functionality, you must check the box in person. Here's the deal: The original Sansa e200 series supported Universal Mass Storage mode (Sandisk calls it MSC, Mass Storage Class), to allow transferring arbitrary files to and from the device. It could be used as a media player *and* a portable storage device; I originally found out about it while running searches against "UMS". I needed UMS so I could connect it to my primary computer running Linux, and I chose to spend the extra on the 8GB version because I could also carry around non-music files on the extra space among my Windows, Linux and Mac boxes. Although the default firmware's OK if you use some user-created utilities, I also intended to put Rockbox on it for OGG Vorbis and better playlist support.
  
  Nope. I just now found out that my device is a version 2. Version 2 players are crippled down to only support Windows Media Player's MTP (Media Transfer Protocol). The device will only talk to Windows Media Player on a Windows box, and will only transfer DRM-scrambled music onto it - no other files. Isn't that nice? This is exactly the kind of nonsense I wanted to avoid. It also has a different processor from v1, so even if you go through the contortions to trick it into sort-of connecting through a hardware backdoor, Rockbox won't run on it.
  
  Apparently version 2s add a "v2" after the model number on the actual package. I bought from Amazon Marketplace; neither Amazon nor Amazon Marketplace (yet) make any distinction between the functional version 1 and broken version 2. Buy a v1 in person, and you'll have probably the best piece of hardware on the market right now - aside from not talking to anything my player looks good, feels great and runs like a dream. I know I'm going to be looking around for a v1. Just don't make my $120.00 mistake - Sandisk is reneging on their marketing by selling two very different machines under one model, and stores don't know to distinguish between them.
  
  
• Needs a lower price point
  By AIDLSBD8FNBO5 on 2006-09-19
  Pros (vs new iPod Nano, because let's face it, that's the standard):
  
  * Larger screen
  * WMA compatability
  * FM tuner
  
  Cons (again vs new iPod)
  
  * Chunky (more than twice as thick)
  * Heavier
  * No iTMS/AAC compatability
  * Worse battery life
  * Screen scratches easily
  * Poor interface/imitation scroll wheel
  * Instability (significant firmware bugs - maybe updates will help somewhat with this)
  
  Verdict: At $200 this player might be a competitor, at least for people with no iTMS music investment, but at $250 it does not have a compelling feature set compared to the industry standard (i.e., iPod).
  
  

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