SanDisk Sansa e260 (4 GB) MP3 Player

My wife and I shopped around throughout 2007 for a portable music player and found a couple that seemed perfect. We tried a Creative Labs ZEN Vision M and our daughter is on her 4th ipod. The SanDisk Sansa e200 series topped them both! Selling points were the user replaceable battery and the built in FM radio.

PROS:
1. Perfect size and weight, feels good in the hand.
2. Great disply.
3. Great sound.
4. Easy to navigate. The buttons and wheel have a click feel so that you can navigate while the unit is in your pocket.
5. Easy to load music. You can drag/drop files using Windows Explorer or synchronize music to the Sansa using Windows Media Player. Either way, the player will read each songs tagged data so that you can find a song by artist, album, genre or title.
6. No special software is needed to load songs to, and from, your Sansa. Audio tracks are not converted into a propriety format as with ipod and Zune. A file can thus be transferred between a PC and your Sansa, (in either direction - to or from), without loss of quality.
7. The Sansa e200 series can also display pictures and play video.
8. The unit has FM radio built in.
9. Includes a microphone to record voice memos.
10. The rechargeable battery has a long life and excellent time between charges. If it should fail, the battery can be replaced by the user. I believe ALL other manufactures require you to send the unit in for a battery replacement (for a substantial fee!).
11. Great reviews from both ebay and Amazon. Owners are very satisfied with the e200 series portable multimedia players, more so than for ipod, Zune, ZEN.
12. Flash based memory means INSTANT access from one song to the next, even in random mode. There is no clicking sound while waiting for the next track as with hard drive based units.
13. Micro SD memory card slot built into unit so that an entire different play list of songs, (or video), can be played without deleting some tracks to make room for the new ones. I can keep a Micro SD card on hand for different moods.
14. Playlists from Windows Media Player can be transferred to the unit and played. Great for a shared device so I don't have to listen to Brandi Carlile in the mix and my wife does not get subjected to my Grand Fund Railroad while on random.

CONS:
The packaged ear buds, while sounding great, can get uncomfortable after awhile.

For a list of software types that the Sansa e200 series player can play, visit: http://www.sandisk.com/sansa/faq/faq18.asp

BOTTOM LINE:
Still one of the best portable multimedia players you can buy. User satisfaction and dependability much better than competitors and this unit is even better than the newer Sansa View series.

The SanDisk Sansa e200 series multimedia player is one of the best and easiest to use media devices on the market. There is no need to convert music to proprietary file extensions and the unit comes with an FM receiver. The unit does not need to be sent in to the manufacturer for battery replacement, you can do this yourself should the battery stop recharging properly. It has 2 to 8 GB of flash memory, not hard drive memory, so no clicking or waiting between songs, (great for random play mode!). It has great sound and a nice color display. Get one!