SanDisk Sansa e260 (4 GB) MP3 Player

Sandisk must have been brave. They introduced a MP3 player right in the middle of the iPod Nano hype, with similar dimensions, and similar market targets. In reality, the Sansa is exactly the same size as the Nano, being only 3mm thicker, and a bit rounder than the iPod rival. And what do you get for that extra 3mm? Well, a whole lot really.

For starters, you get a much larger screen, that not only displays your normal MP3 functions, but is also for playing your videos. Yes. Load up the Sandisk-bundled CD, and you have a 3rd-party program that converts all your favorite videos into a format readable by the Sansa. Mind you, the screen really isn't cut for a movie flick, but it's more than enough to show your friends what you caught on YouTube last night. Besides that, the brightness is also adjustable, rather than a simple on/off. Make it brighter in morning for legibility, turn it down at night to save power.

Sound wise, the player is great. As you know, Apple players just aren't cut for the bass sounds. With a expensive set of Shures, Sure, but then anything will sound powerful with the Shures. Even with the good quality earbuds that Apple supplied (which works well with the Sansa) the bass still manages to sound closer to flactuance. With the Sansa e200, it's a different story. Pretty much any buds will sound great with the player, including its own. The EQ works rather well too, it doesn't seem to consume any more power and it gives me my bass. Rather than saying "Sounds are rich", I'll just cut the crap and say the Bass is great, vocals are good and the treble is awesome. You can't go wrong with that.

Using the Sansa e is like using an iPod, but change all the white backgrounds in the screen into pictures and a whole ton of settings for you to personalize your music experience. Same story with the controls, except you get mechanical components rather than a touchpad. Touch is cool, but sometimes it lacks feel. And if it's for looks, the translucent ring wheel on the Sansa glows deep blue while you use it. Looks good to me.

The ease of use is one of my favorite things about the player. Rather than being ONLY compatible with iTunes, Sandisk made it easy so you just drag and drop. You CAN use Rhapsody, Windows Media and Napster, but you can also just open the music folder and dump everything into the player with a simple click and a drag. The player also works the moment you plug it into the computer. Drivers are not needed for windows XP and above.

The fact that you can expand the memory is a nice touch. With a MicroSD/TransFlash slot on the side, you CAN buy small now, and expand it later on when you run into more money for the memory.

Lastly, none of that extra thickness was really used for achieving any of the above. The extra thickness was only for the better; it helps enlarge the battery compartment, which is home to a very juicy rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that just doesnt seem to run out of power. And the better news is, you don't need to pay Apple hundreds of dollars to replace it. Loosen the screws on the metal backing, and you can do it yourself for a fraction of the cost.

And with all of that, you pay... less than the Nano.

So, if you've missed the iPod bandwagon, it's ok, because it's an expensive ride.

Really, the price just doesn't justify the functions that Sandisk managed to stuff into this thing.

It's small, black, and comes in sizes of 2, 4, 6 or 8Gb's.