SanDisk Sansa e250 (2 GB) MP3 Player

Since I have most of my music files ripped in WMA format, I've been looking for a flash MP3 player to compete with the IPOD Nano. After much research, I decided to take a chance on this newly released player.

I'm very impressed to start. The player is small (just a bit thicker than the Nano), and fairly light. The screen shows excellent color- based on the menus. I'm not planning to use it much for video or photos, so I'm not very concerned with the screen size, which is expectedly small. The player in general is very easy to use. I looked over the quick reference guide and didn't even bother with the user guide (user guide is in PDF format on the cd-rom.) The overall appearance is excellent.

You can load music by dragging and dropping, or using Windows Media Player 10. I prefer to use WMP10 to sync, since I have my music organized well. Syncing in this manner was very simple. I didn't encounter any issues with the first two syncs I've performed. If you have your id3 tags correct, the Sansa will display your music by Artist, Album, Songs, or Genere. There's also a "To Go playlist". The Sansa sorted my music just fine. The display is informative when playing music. The sound so far is excellent. I've used a few different headsets to test it and have no complaints.

The center dial/wheel rotates and glows in a bright blue. It allows you to scroll through menu items and to increase/decrease the volume. The directional buttons around the wheel are a little difficult to use with only one hand. Because the center dial is raised so much, you end up needing to use the tips of your fingers to press the buttons that surround it. I suppose it will take a little getting used to- but it's not a dealbreaker for me.

Following the precedent set by other companies. The USB connector is of course proprietary. This is currently the only way to charge the Sansa, so don't lose it. I don't see any wall/travel charges offered yet- even at the Sandisk Website. Since it's new- there aren't really any accessories offered. This isn't a concern to me personally- so I bought it anyway. I definitely would like a separate charging apparatus, rather than having to charge via USB- so I hope Sandisk offers such an item, sooner rather than later.

It comes with a small velvet pouch. I'll be searching for some sort of "skin" to protect the player, instead of relying on the pouch. It's just not efficient if you want to protect and use the player at the same time.

Pros:
It looks beautiful.
Plays WMA Files.
Easy to sync.
Drag & Drop available.
Sounds great.
Flash memory- so no need to wory about hard drive skipping.
2GB of memory with models that go up to 6GB.
Expansion slot for miniSD cards for more memory.
Lots of features: Music, Video, Pics, FM, Voice Recording, etc.
Price - $159.

Cons:
Buttons can be hard to use.
Charging via USB only (at this time.)
Not many accessories offered (yet.)
Doesn't support many file types.

Again, please understand when reading this, that my primary use is for music. All the other features are merely a bonus for me. So if you're looking for something to use regularly to play video, pics, etc- please do your homework to see if the player is a good fit for your needs. Most of the time when I read negative reviews, it's because the reviewer bought something that did not fit their needs. Companies are in business to sell their products- do your own research to determine if the product is right for you.