SanDisk Sansa e200 Series Review
The SanDisk Sansa e200 series includes the e250, e260, and e270. The 2GB, 4GB, and 6GB are a new breed of high capacity flash based MP3 player set to compete in features, as well as price, with the Samsung Z5 and iPod Nano. The Sansa e200 has a few advantages over the two, such as a brilliant 1.8” screen, video playback, expandable memory, and a user replaceable batter.
SanDisk, seemingly out of nowhere, has come up with something to shake up the portable audio market. They will be an interesting competitor to watch.
Accessories
Inside the box you will find earphones, lanyard, proprietary USB cable, software disc, protective pouch, and the player itself. It is a nice set of accessories to get you started, most notably the protective neoprene-velvet-esc pouch.
The proprietary connection is a good indication that SanDisk will have other accessories available for this player. SanDisk already makes a speaker dock and car dock with the same proprietary connection for the e100 series. These two items will probably work for this e200 series as well.
Update: SanDisk has created a "Made for Sansa" program and many third party manufacturers and now creating accessories for the e200 player. These include cases, docks, speakers, FM transmitters, and many others.
Transferring Music & Software
SanDisk gave us the best of both worlds by including MTP and UMS transfer protocols, which are switchable in the user settings. MTP gives you the option to automatically sync your media with Windows Media Player 10 and other DRM services. UMS (SanDisk calls it MSC, or Mass Storage Controller) allows you to drag and drop your music onto the player, keeping the folders organized how you want. UMS also means that the Sansa e200 is compatible with virtually all operating systems. When the device is disconnected after using a UMS connections the player automatically updates and sorts the newly transferred songs to the database. The e200 uses ID3 tags for it’s indexing of songs and does not support file tree browsing.
The player will allow the use of both methods simultaneously, so all of your music will show up on the player no matter how you put it on. However, when the device is plugged in as an MTP device you will not be able to see the tracks you loaded via UMS and vice versa.
The e200 comes with Sansa Media Converter software that will convert and transfer photos and video to the device in the supported file type. …more on this in the photo and video section below.
Design
Unlike the e200’s smaller sibling, the c100, it feels very solid. The back of the player is made from Liquidmetal and the front is a hard glossy plastic. The plastic is not the same plastic found on the Zen Vision:M or the iPod, which is very susceptible to scratching from normal use. The plastic found on the e200 is much more resistant to scratching. It is not to say it won’t scratch, but it holds up very well for everyday use.
Since the plastic is very glossy it shows fingerprints very easily. Surprisingly the Liquidmetal back shows fingerprints easily as well. It seems to pull the grease out of your hands onto the velvety feeling metal surface.
Screen
The screen is comparable to the Zen Vision:M’s screen- very bright and very crisp, with a very consistent backlight. Overall the colors are produced accurately, but whites tend to get exaggerated and washed. The vertical viewing angle is very good and near 180 degrees, but the horizontal slightly suffers.
The brightness levels can be adjusted to 12 settings. By default it is set right in the middle at 6 which is more than adequate for almost any lighting environment. Setting 12 is very bright, almost too bright for viewing in low light settings.
Taken as a whole, the screen will please almost everyone, being that it is one of the best screens I have seen on an MP3 player.
User Interface
The Controls
All of the controls respond well, but the navigation ring and the center button feel loose. In fact, if you shake the player you can hear the center button rattle. The scroll wheel is great for flipping through hundreds of songs easily, but it doesn’t feel smooth. If you look at the picture of the inside of the wheel you can see that it is basically a gear and it feels that way. You can actually hear the gear turn as you rotate the ring. Everything is durable and works, but it doesn’t feel right.
I don’t hate the controls and they wouldn’t keep me from purchasing the e200, but I think they could have been better. Even a 5 way directional button like on the iAudio MP3 players or even the setup on the Samsung Z5 would have worked better. Additionally, a dedicated volume button would have been great to have on the side.
The GUI
The graphical user interface is very responsive. It moves as fast as you can press the buttons. The menu transitions are animated and slide in and out smoothly. The only time the GUI pauses is when it switches to radio mode or saves a recording, but in general the GUI provides pleasant experience.
Battery
The good news is that the battery is user replaceable. The bad news is it cannot be replaced on the go because you need a small screw driver to take off the back. I still commend SanDisk for making the battery replaceable.
The battery takes 3.5 hours to charge and is rated at playback of 20 hours. I did not do any formal timed testing of the battery, but based on the many other players tested and my informal testing of this unit, you can expect around 15 hours of playback from normal use. These ratings are heavily dependent on many factors of how you use the player. These factors include, file bitrates, file types, screen brightness, photo viewing, track scanning and even file browsing. So take the rated time with a grain of salt.
Inside the Sansa e200
The Sansa e200 uses the PortalPlayer PP5024B SoC (system on chip), which is a newer chip from PortalPlayer designed for flash based MP3 players. What the interesting thing about this chip is, is that PortalPlayer states on the product page that the chip does have the video-out capabilities. Weather or not SanDisk built that functionality into the hardware and firmware is unclear.
Features
FM / FM Recording
The FM reception on the e200 is typical to any portable radio, with an auto program function for quickly flipping though all the available stations in the area. Recording FM is not the greatest. Like the c100 it only records in 32kbps WAV format. This bitrate is not tolerable for listening to music. But this feature will work ok if you want to record your favorite morning radio talk show. The player is missing schedulable recording, but it will allow you to set the duration of recording.
Voice Recording
Voice recording is good, but again it is only recorded in 32kbps WAV format. One problem with recording is that the microphone will pick up mechanical noises from the loose buttons and scroll wheel if you are messing with the player while it is recording. On the left side of the e200 there is a quick record button, which can be nice if you do a lot of voice memos, but I would have liked to see a dedicated volume button instead.
MicroSD / TransFlash Slot
On the left side of the player there is a slot for additional memory. Currently there are 2GB 1GB MicroSD cards available that can bring the total capacity of the e270 to 8GB 7GB of storage. When music is added to the MicroSD card and then inserted, the player automatically indexes the songs, combining them viewed as one media library. When the device is used in MSC mode the MicroSD card will show up as a separate drive; there is no need for a separate card reader. Additionally you can play protected MicroSD cards called Gruvi cards with preloaded content.
Photo
Photos must be transferred to the player via Sansa Media Converter, which converts and downsizes the photos to fit the screen. Browsing photos is very easy with either list view or thumbnail view. Slideshows can be played with music and adjustable slideshow intervals.
Video
The only video type supported natively by the Sansa e200 is QuickTime. The Sansa Media Converter will convert video to the supported QuickTime files. The official supported convertible codes are: Windows AVI, MPEG, Video CD (.DAT), Advance Systems Format (.ASF), DVD (.VOB), QuickTime (.MOV), MPEG-4 (.MP4). DVDs are a snap to get onto the player because it is just a matter of ripping the .VOB file with DVD Decrypter then converting with the Sansa Media Center. I have successfully converted a few XviD and DivX files that played back, but most of them did not play. This somewhat held true for the other officially supported formats, as a few of them did not playback correctly when converted. The video conversion is not perfect.
Video plays back superb without any blocky artifacts; it is not just an extra feature SanDisk through in, and the video is very watchable, even on the 1.8” screen. The video is very smooth despite having a frame rate of only 15 FPS. The audio track is lacking, however. It sounds very flat.
SanDisk used QuickTime probably because it is the only thing that the PortalPlayer chip can play. The QuickTime format is an extremely inefficient antiquated format, compared to new formats today. When SMC converts a 175MB XviD 20 minute file it will result in a 200MB+ QuickTime file with half the pixel size, half the frame rate, and a much lower bitrate audio track. Videos will eat up memory on this player really quick. A 21 minute 42 second TV show will take up 234MB of space or a little over 10MB per minute.
Audio Playback
The audio sounds good for a flash based player. The e200 plays distortion free at its loudest volume with a flat EQ and little to no distortion on a good pair of headphones. The player drives regular headphones and earbuds at more than loud enough volumes. Some heavier duty headphones were loud, but could have been a touch louder. There was some audible “electrical noises” when nothing was playing while navigating through menus or photos. Overall the Sansa e200 is a little better than average in sound quality and will not disappoint.
The e200 is missing one critical audio component, a custom EQ. This is strange due to the fact that the c100, the lower end model, has a custom EQ. As a matter of fact the e100’s EQ works great. Why SanDisk did not include this is a mystery. There is a possibility that they will add a custom EQ in future firmware updates, but for now you will have to settle for the pre-programmed EQ settings. Custom EQ added in the latest firmware version. Check out the Sansa forums for details.
One last item worth mentioning about the audio playback is the track order. The Sansa e200 disregards any track numbers and just plays the songs in the order it feels like, no matter how you transfer music over, MTP or MSC (UMS). This problem can be fixed in future firmware updates. Issue fixed in the latest firmware
Conclusion
There are a few things I find annoying about the e200. The resume fuction is buggy, the tracks do not play in the correct album order, and there is no custom EQ. All of these are possible to fix in the firmware, so hopefully SanDisk will fix them in the near future. The tactile scroll wheel works but it doesn’t feel right, the controls could have been better with a different type of interface.
Despite those issues, the Sansa e200 series is a very nice player. The build is solid, the screen is bright and crisp, and the battery is replaceable. It is also nice that SanDisk has made this player more manageable by including UMS support so that it can be used with any operating system without the need of any additional drivers. SanDisk seemingly appeared out of nowhere with the e200 series making the company a major contender in the portable MP3 player market.
Purchase
Check out Amazon, they usually have the best price. For EU and the rest of the world you can buy it from AdvancedMP3Players.
Pros
- Solid Build
- UMS & MTP
- Crisp Bright Screen
- User Replaceable Battery
- OTG Playlists
Cons
- Tactile Scroll Wheel
- Proprietary Connection
- Fingerprint Magnet
No Custom EQ
Comments
Kamil on March 27, 2006 7:44 PM
Well it pisses all over the iPod Nano, thats for sure.
Great product, its got potential to be perfect, fix the damn lack of a 5band EQ and that ID3 order playback and im sold.
Don on March 27, 2006 11:54 PM
Thank you for the review (and all the reviews) I've been trying to find more info about this player since January.
James on March 28, 2006 1:38 AM
I don't have this unit but I'm quite sure it can playback tracks in the same order as they are on an album (assuming the tracks are properly tagged).
I have a Sansa M240 and this problem puzzled me for a while until I figured out how to make it work. From the Menu select Play Music/Album or Artist and select the album you want. Do not select Play ALL - instead select the first track and the rest of the tracks will play in the correct order.
Roger on March 28, 2006 4:17 AM
Anything But iPod:
You guys do a great job with your reviews.
This particular review was timely and thorough, with lots of pics to help me with the purchasing decision. I specially appreciate the detailed yet reasonably sized pics that you have posted so that people with dial up (like myself) can benefit too.
You have proven that this is THE premier site for digital audio player reviews. Once again thank you and keep up the good work.
EnzoTen on March 28, 2006 7:28 AM
James, just tried that, tracks are still in a completely randome order.
deb on March 28, 2006 11:35 AM
I like the idea of a replaceable battery and long battery life! However, I would also like to know if it has a bookmark feature?
Jason on March 28, 2006 10:55 PM
I recently bought this product online on bestbuys website. It's coming in 2 days, I can hardly wait to watch and listen to this during schoo...ummmm...i mean work on my school work. Anyways, thanks for all your reviews and opinions.
yinxzon on March 29, 2006 3:21 AM
when is the 6gb e270 gonna come out???
no one has it yet!
Pepe on March 29, 2006 3:41 AM
Thanks for the review.
Since the firwmare is not that great, how about starting a Rockbox port for the E200 ?
If you guys at ABI have some spare time, could you take high resolution pictures of all the boards and components ? That way we can get the port started even before the E200 hits the stores.
Thanks !
teuron on March 29, 2006 1:58 PM
The 6gb is said to be shipping on/around Apr 15 (in the US)according to amazon.com
Julian on March 30, 2006 3:45 AM
You said in the review that "Photos must be transferred to the player via Sansa Media Converter, which converts and downsizes the photos to fit the screen"
Q. If you have photos on an SD card from a digital camera, is it possible to transfer them directly onto the internal memory of the e200 by just plugging it in to the player without changing the quality?
Thanks
Julian
Adam on March 30, 2006 5:24 PM
...newest firmware on the site (01.00.07a). Hopefully they will release a new firmware update soon that will correct the tracklist problem.
EnzoTen on March 30, 2006 7:50 PM
Penfold: It does not have a book mark feature
If you are looking for the e270 it is available now, use the search box under “Purchase” above.
Julian: The photos cannot be transferred to the device from the microSD card, nor can they be viewed. This could possibly be added in the firmware. I don’t know for sure.
Pepe on March 31, 2006 8:21 PM
Have you had any of the hanging problems mentioned by all the user reviews in cnet ?
The firmware (both initial and latest version) seems to be very unstable at the moment. BestB*y has even removed the e200 from their website.
Adam on April 1, 2006 6:20 AM
I haven't had any hanging problems, but the album order bug is still there. Everyone's flooding SanDisk with complaints so I hope they fix it soon.
It's the only problem I have with the player at the moment and it's such an obvious bug too. Other than that, I'm completely satisifed with the e250.
Scott on April 2, 2006 8:16 AM
Hey dude,
Three questions if you don't mind.
1/ You mention that there's no dedicated volume-control buttons. How do you change volume? Is it a hassle?
2/ Also, re the scrollwheel, I gather the blue glowing thingy is the scrollwheel itself and the button in the middle "selects" options. True?
3/ I have some Etymotic Research phones and would appreciate any more detail on the sound quality. Are the "electronic noises" distracting? How does the sound compare with a Nano or Samsung's Z5?
Thanks heaps.
S.
Thanks
Joe on April 2, 2006 11:56 AM
I wish those MP3 players were alsready on the market. because I can't wait no more.
I'm sick and tired about these stupid Ipods that I have to lunch the damn software to put my music in and it does not support wma, fuck this shit.
perfectionistTN on April 2, 2006 12:55 PM
I'll answer some questions:
You mention that there's no dedicated volume-control buttons. How do you change volume? Is it a hassle?
- While a song is playing with the scroll wheel. There's also a Normal/High option in the Settings menu.
Also, re the scrollwheel, I gather the blue glowing thingy is the scrollwheel itself and the button in the middle "selects" options. True?
- True. It glows when you scroll with it and turns off about 2 seconds later.
How does album art work? Does it work in UMS mode? Thanks!
- Somewhat. Some of my album art worked over UMS by ID3-tagging it. Then, I had to transfer the rest over MTP to get it to work. Even then, some album art didn't work.
Now for a question:
Anyone else have any problems with getting videos to play even after they are converted and on the player? Because my e260 keeps having the message, "Convert this file with Sansa Media Converter." or something like that even when I've already converted it.
The file is 279 megs.
TX3089 on April 2, 2006 5:43 PM
This is great ive been looking for info like this. Hopefully most of these little problems will be fixed before its released
EnzoTen on April 2, 2006 7:48 PM
*The “electronic noises” only seem to be audible when the player is not playing music. Its not a major issue. As far as audio quality comparatively, it sounds better than the nano and inline with the Z5.
*Volume changing is not a hassle with the scroll wheel, it is just nice to be able to change the volume at ANY time with the dedicated volume buttons. If you are in the middle of scrolling through tracks you will not be able to adjust the volume until you are done.
*The Resume function “works” just not very well. It is buggy. I will correct that above.
jk on April 3, 2006 8:11 AM
Can anyone tell me where I can buy the e250? I would like to get one overnighted but all sites seem to say "not yet available" . Going to mexico on vacation this Saturday and want it with me. Thanks
Seb on April 3, 2006 1:04 PM
Can you say a little bit more about the resume function? You say it "works" just not very well...in the review it says no resume function. It's a very important feature I want on a mp3 player (ebooks etc...) And when I shut it off, I want it to open the exact same place it was when it was turned off (middle of a tune...)So is there one...if yes, what is not working fine?
EnzoTen on April 3, 2006 4:38 PM
jk I got this from Best Buy's website. From what i heard they have since pulled the player from the site as well as the store pending firmware updates.
seb When i tested it with the first version of the firmware the resume fuction was not working at all. In the next update it worked about 90% of the time. Somtimes if it is paused and you turn it off it will not resume. Or if you turn it off and on again without playing anyting then turning it off, it will not resume. Resume works it is just buggy and "fragile"
However, the player has a feature for hour long mixes and audiobooks that will help you get back to where you were. The player has a "scan though song" fuction that will allow you to seek to the a point in the track by using the scroll wheel.
seb on April 4, 2006 8:57 AM
thanks for answering!
Just a few more questions. This player seems really great, and seems to have it all (almost). About the recording...other mp3 players give the option to record in different formats (mp3, wav...)and different quality (32, 128, 256kbps). With this player: "it is only recorded in 32kbps WAV format" Wav format takes a lot more space. so my question is: Can this issue be fixed in an upcoming upgrade of the software. Having the option to record in mp3 would be better! Is this something that can be done? Last, it would have been great to have a line in recording (I would use it a lot) DO you think that they might add it if the demand is there? thanks again for answering my questions! :)
schnupi on April 4, 2006 5:39 PM
Hey great reports guys! I just wanted to thank you for the great report! I was so looking forward for something better then the ipod nano and i think i found it.. i am just going to wait until the software problems are fixed...i suppose the 6 gb one will be around 300 euro would it? i pay for it..
Scott on April 4, 2006 11:14 PM
Hey Schnupi-dude,
The 6gb Sansa is being advertised on some US websites for about US$250, which is 204 Euros, according to the XE.com currency converter.
However, You'll pay about US$40, which is 32 Euro, to get it shipped to Europe.
I know all this because I live in South Korea, and the only way for me to buy one is from a US website.
Try doing a froogle.com search ("e270" and "6gb") and a whole bunch of websites will pop up. Unfortunately, only a few ship overseas, but one or two (eg: neutronexpress.com) do ship overseas.
I hope this helps.
Scott
Scott on April 4, 2006 11:19 PM
By the way, I mentioned neutronexpress.com because it's the cheapest I've found so far, once overseas shipping costs are included.
If anyone can find a cheaper price - including overseas shipping - then please let me and Shupi-dude know about it!
Cheer
Scotty
schnupi on April 5, 2006 3:06 AM
hey cool thanks for your help. €204 is damn cheap for a player like that. I hope they will introduce them here in Ireland sooner or later..well we will see. Hopefully that software error gets fixed soon..I honestly can't wait anymore, I need a mp3 player ahhhhhhhhh :)
wonderer on April 5, 2006 9:22 AM
Just a small question. How are the songs sorted in "Play All" view? Are they sorted by artist name, for example? And how is the song name displayed in that view? Is it the basic [artist] - [title], just the title or something else?
There are quite many artists with only a couple of songs in my music library so the "Artist" and "Album" views aren't probably that useful. I'm used to my phone's Oggplay software where you can sort the songs by artist and playlist is in [artist] - [title] format, and I would like to know if this player behaves in a similar way.
Tero on April 5, 2006 4:13 PM
Great review!
I've seen a review on another site which claims that the expansion slot can't be used to read/write other types of data (say, documents, spreadsheets, etc), only 'playable' ones, thus limiting the posibility of using the device as a microSD/TransFlash drive. Is this true?
schnupi on April 7, 2006 8:29 AM
yeah and could someone tell us when the firmware problem is solved?
ct on April 7, 2006 10:51 AM
Is there even any proof that a new firmware update is even being worked on by Sandisk? Whos to say that they will actually even listen to us and drop a new update to fix these problems?
Mo on April 7, 2006 5:58 PM
Samsung Z5 vs. Sandisk e200, Which is better? What if Samsung adds an FM tuner, like was recentlty reported?
Pepe on April 8, 2006 12:25 AM
I'm pretty sure that they are working on fixing the firmware. They did not ship any more players after they found how buggy their firmware was, and this delay must be costing them a lot of money in lost sales.
I contacted their tech support. They told me that they are working on the bugs, but didn't know when the new firmware will be available.
poidog on April 8, 2006 3:19 AM
After upgrading the firmware from .01.00.00 to .01.00.07a it locks up my computer and I am unable to transfer files using Rhapsody. The screen goes blank with alternating vertical stripes and the player hangs. Return product to Best Buy as defective. Also, noticed product pulled from website. Hmm, I wonder why??
winste on April 8, 2006 10:45 AM
Great review and website. Wonderful information. Question - does anyone know if you can use the "random" play mode within a playlist or would the random setting pull from all songs. I'm looking to upgrade from a RIO and the random play mode on it pulls from all songs. I'd like aplayer that will play random from a specific playlist so I don't have to get a slower song when exercising.
Donald on April 11, 2006 1:05 PM
Questions: Is e200 stable or does it freeze a lot? Is there mechanical system noise at low/no volume or when the scroll wheel's blue light is on? Do buttons feel solid and long-lasting? Thanks.
winste on April 12, 2006 10:39 PM
The E250 (2GB) is back on Best Buy's website for $189. It says it ships in one day so they must have the updated firmware version in stock.
schnupi on April 13, 2006 8:13 AM
Could be but its still the same firmware update on the homepage..I wouldnt be too sure that they have it fixed..
http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1368
I could be wrong though..
Skepticjohn on April 13, 2006 3:34 PM
I have the same question as winste - does anyone know if the 'shuffle' mode can be used within a playlist, so that it plays randomly, but only from the songs within that list?
Cliffo on April 14, 2006 3:31 AM
I received my e260 today as a gift and checked the firmware update. It is listed as "01.00.09A". I've been playing around with the unit for onlya few hours but have found no problems with the resume feature. Also, tracks play in the correct order when the albums are dragged to the e260 using Windows Explorer. This unit is simply awesome!
schnupi on April 14, 2006 6:36 AM
oh yesssss now i just have to wait until neutronexpress has the 6 GB one in..cant wait :) .. just by any chance when will this be released in europe. not that i would wait until but just out of interest
victory on April 14, 2006 11:48 AM
well schnupi i'd love to know as well... now that the firmware has been upgraded, i can't wait to see it. i've been looking for the samsung yp-z5 but i want to see how sandisk respond to that pretty nice mp3 player! Apple defenetly should pull something huge out to keep the 1st place.
btw, just a question. is there a difference between the sandisk's "proprietary connection" and the nano's? both are the same if i am right?! but i guess i am wrong cuz otherwise everyone would state that as a cons for the nano as well?!
Dman on April 14, 2006 1:11 PM
I might get a 2gb or a 4gb soon, so i just wanted to know if anyone knew how many hours of video they hold.
Noam on April 15, 2006 6:04 AM
Great review!
I think I'm going to buy one of these on my next visit to the US. I can't wait to get my hands on a 4/6GB version. They look and sound awesome.
I might even have it shipped here if they don't have any problems with it.
zack on April 17, 2006 3:11 PM
Anybody else having problems with dust collecting under the screen? I've had mine for about 2 days now and there is a whole bunch.
Lo on April 17, 2006 5:09 PM
Any reason why I should not buy this? I'm going to a Best Buy today to check it out. Hopefully they have a working demo out for me to test.
EnzoTen on April 17, 2006 6:00 PM
Zack: i took mine apart (as you can see) and put it back together without having a dust problem. But i would not dissmiss that. I have seen the dust problem with other players like the Zen Sleek. Anyone else have dust problems?
Lo: I think that one reason not to buy it would be the controls. So take some time to play with it at BB and make your own decision. Also the albums not playing in the right order is a big issue, but will be fixed in upcomming firmware updates.
lk on April 17, 2006 6:16 PM
It has some great accessories, but does anyone know if someone sells a belt-clip case or armband to wear for working out? I checked the SanDisk site, and tried Google for a third party source, but couldn't find anything.
Thanks.
Lo on April 18, 2006 1:28 AM
Thanks Enzo,
Unfortunately BB did not have a working demo. The sales guy claimed that they just received shipments two days ago.
I decided what the hell and decided to buy it. Although the wheel is a bit cheap feeling and the side buttons are a bit hard to press and get to... overall I'd say over time you will get used to these small issues.
So far I am really impressed with the player itself and like the fact that I can drag and drop songs onto the player. Also songs seem to be playing in the correct order. Make sure you enter the track number in the IDTags.
Lo on April 18, 2006 1:39 AM
I take it back haha... when you choose the option to play all under a category it seems to go in a order that is not alphabetical. Not sure how it's doing it but it must be sorting it somehow with the idtags... anyone figure this out?
Lo on April 18, 2006 1:59 AM
K no idea why but mine just froze... I have the 09 version which i think is the latest.
Moordryd on April 18, 2006 3:15 AM
Ack. If it's still buggy, I'm going to hold off on buying this. I really wanted something non-Nano, though! Gah!
On a related note, I read on Gizmodo (or Engadget) that there was a sighting in India, of all places, of a big poster that stated 5gb and 10gb Nano's were on the way. The posters looked legit, apparently, and the guys that spotted it walked into the store and asked the sales guys there about it. They confirmed that the Nano's were coming, but couldn't say price.
Could be media hype? I dunno.
too bad about the e270! :cry:
Kalle on April 18, 2006 10:37 AM
Hi! I live in Finland, and i'd like to buy this Sansa-player, but there's one problem.. I just can't find any shop that's selling it!
schnupi on April 18, 2006 1:40 PM
Hey Kalle,
I am from Europe myself and trying to buy the Sandisk e270.. unfortunately the retailers had to take back their stock because of a firmware or software problem with the player. All you can do at the moment ist wait until they have fixed the software completly and the retailers have them back in stock
a page i got recommended was neutronexpress.com/ .. they ship into europe
Noam on April 18, 2006 5:06 PM
Can anyone please give me a good, solid answer about the track order it plays? Is it good or not? Details please.
Also, please, if you can, give me a rating on the buttons and navigation. How are they, from 1 to 10? How are they compared to other players?
Thanks a ton.
EnzoTen on April 18, 2006 7:10 PM
Version 01.00.09A of the firmware. Does NOT play back albums in the correct order. Even when they are properly tagged or with the file names with numbers in the front.
The navigation is great, it is just buttons and the scroll wheel feels odd. It is somthing you will have to check out yourself. But overall i think that they are better than average.
mehaha on April 18, 2006 7:45 PM
Hi everyone i just wanted to know if i should get the 6gb or the 4gb. i also wanted to know if you think the screen is big enough.
P.S. is there a store that has it on display?
Stu on April 18, 2006 9:51 PM
Hello folks! This review site is the best on the web! Got to play with the Sansa e250 (2 GB) today at BestBuy. Nice! They are now selling the 2 & 4 GB versions. The demo music, pictures and video sounded and looked great! The wheel felt a little stiff but had no problem scrolling thru the menus. I will diffently be buying the e270 (6 GB) when BestBuy get it in.
EYLive on April 18, 2006 9:57 PM
I got an e250 (2GB) on 4/17/06, everything works fine. No problems with album covers, dust, firmware or anything else. The converter software that it comes with works well. The only thing that's kind of inconvenient is that it doesn't sort the songs all together by "Artist - Song Title" as it would appear on WinAmp for eg., you have to go to a different part of the menu for that. Or am I just overlooking something?
Alan on April 19, 2006 2:02 AM
I got an e250 (2GB) today for my wife after reading this and other views. Right out of the box and after charging, the e250 would display a message like "keylock error....shutting down." There is a button labelled "hold" on the top that apparently will not let the device turn on if it's in the wrong position.
After getting past that, the device seems very well thought out. Syncing my existing collection with Windows media player was trivial, and managing it is trivial, which made me very glad I didn't go with an iPod.
The screen is great - very bright and crisp, and the operating system makes good use of it. The built-in FM radio tuner gets excellent reception. The device is very solid, sleek and attractive. It's heavier than you would expect, but by no means too heavy - just solid, built like a tank.
The scroll wheel was not hard to operate at all, but the buttons on the outside of the wheel are hard to press, because they are too small. That said, most functions can be accomplished with the scroll wheel and the center button. Also, if you rest your finger on the wheel and an outside button at the same time and press hard, it is easy to operate the buttons - it just takes some getting used to.
The interface is very intuitive, responsive and well-designed - better than PocketPCs, phones and other small devices I've used. The only potential flaw is that the menu/power button is a little tricky to use - it's easy to turn the thing off by mistake if you press a little too hard/long.
I'm a little surprised there aren't little extras like an alarm clock in the iPod, but maybe that will come with new firmware.
Overall, though, it crushes the iPod nano for the following reasons:
-drag and drop management from Windows, WMA support
-FM Tuner
-Bigger screen
-more durable, imo
-longer battery life (and replaceable)
-about $50 less
The few,minor drawbacks vs. the nano:
-clickwheel/buttons not as nice
-no alarm clock
Noam on April 19, 2006 5:09 AM
Thanks for the reply, EnzoTen.
And thank you for your little mini-review, Alan. It helped.
Noam on April 19, 2006 7:22 AM
EnzoTen, one more thing. Could you maybe post a picture of an in-relation-to-a-penny?
Thanks.
Alan on April 19, 2006 11:23 AM
A few more thoughts:
Custom EQ was present on my device (if custom EQ means selecting "jazz," "pop," "rock," etc. settings), with version 09 of the firmware. Also, I had no problems with the resume function.
One other hint: If giving as a gift, remove the exterior plastic packaging and just wrap up the inside box. The plastic packaging makes this thing look cheap relative to the nano, even though it beats it in nearly every way.
Also, I probably didn't rave enough about how easy this is to use. For music only, there is no software/drivers to install. Just plug it into a USB port and transfer your music. Use Windows Media Player to automatically sync selected playlists. From what I understand, the nano is nowhere near this level of simplicity for Windows users. My wife doesn't use a computer (believe it or not), so I just show her where to hook it up to let it charge and autosync, and that's all she needs to know.
Also, for those who say on other sites that 2GB of music is plenty - it's not. I want to carry everything I have on one device, so I can pick playlists based on my mood without messing with the computer. Get the biggest possible flash memory device you can afford, and buy the Sansa for the simple reason you can expand it with a chip later on if you want to. My only regret is I wish I had bought the 6GB. Ideally, I would never have to swap out music because there is not enough storage.
Scott on April 19, 2006 11:39 AM
One more question for the reviewer, please: you've now reviewed the Sansa e200 and the Samsung Z5, which are the hottest two "nano-killers" right now.
Out of the two, which is your preference? In other words, if you had to choose, which one would you take?
Lo on April 19, 2006 11:51 AM
Anyone know where you can get a decent arm band for this player? The lanyard doesn't work very well for working out at the gym. Thanks.
Alan's review is pretty much spot on. I'd still recommend this player despite the interface flaws... I think Apple has a patent on their scroll wheel which is the best design by far.
Charlie on April 19, 2006 3:42 PM
RE: RANDOMIZED TRACK PROBLEM
Here's a response from Sandisk on the randomized track listing problem. It also includes a possible temporary solution.
"This is a known issue, that the tracks are ordered randomly. We are working on a firmware to fix this.
Alternatively, you can make playlists with Windows Media Player and transfer them to the player. Save the playlists you want (in wpl or m3u format), then use Automatic Sync to send them to the player. The Sansa must be in MTP mode for this to work. Once done, they should appear as playlists on the player."
Hope this helps.
Charlie
Pepe on April 19, 2006 3:56 PM
New firmware available (Version 12).
Sandisk posted a new firmware version for the E200 in their website. The latest version is e200fw01.00.12.exe.
Could anyone that owns the E200 try it and check what fixes/changes this version includes ?
A custom equalizer (not just pop, rock, jazz, etc) would be nice ...
Noam on April 19, 2006 5:16 PM
I have yet another question for any e200 owners:
Would you say that the small (and hard-to-press) buttons are ones that one can easily get used to? If I purchase the e200, will I have a hard time getting used to them?
Also, compared to the averages, would you say that the e270 is reasonably priced?
Thanks.
Noam on April 19, 2006 5:22 PM
Me again. Sorry for the flood of posts.
Enzo, or anyone else that has the player, could you please take a picture of the front of the player while it's on?
Thanks.
CS on April 19, 2006 8:16 PM
My only holdout on the product is the Arm Band.
It's a must have for the gym but can't find one anywhere. Any ideas? Is this on the BestBuy site as I could only find the 2GB?
Stu on April 19, 2006 8:39 PM
To: Kalle
The brick & mortar stores in Virginia has the e250 (2GB) & e260 (4GB) models in stock. The http://www.bestbuy.com/ site presently offers the e250 model.
Call 1-888-237-8289, BestBuy's Customer Service for a current inventory status.
Hope this helps!
Lo on April 19, 2006 8:46 PM
You will eventually get used to the buttons. It is a small inconvenience but it really isn't that big of a deal. I bought the player without even testing one out and I'm getting used to it more each day. I'd say try the player out if you can. So far the player has been running without freezing... I'm going to download the new firmware version right now. I will keep you all updated.
EnzoTen on April 19, 2006 10:09 PM
They fixed the track order issue!
DOWNLOAD
Noam on April 20, 2006 7:04 AM
Yay! At last, a video; AND the track order fix!
It looks very good in the video.
That's it, I'm getting one. It's awfully tempting. :P
Oh, and they have a c100 video review, too. Not looking AS good. ;P
Noam on April 20, 2006 10:09 AM
You know the blue light that turns on while your rotating it? Well, is that light going to go otu (die) sometime? If so, how will I get it fixed?
Oscar on April 20, 2006 11:20 AM
Great review and great posts! This player looks very good... just a question: Anyone knows why it doesnt have FM tuner and recorder in Europe?? Maybe it can be fixed with new firmware? If not i'll think about getting it shipped from USA
Thanks!
EnzoTen on April 20, 2006 11:24 AM
Oscar: European laws i think. You may be able to load US firmware to get around this.
Todd M on April 20, 2006 12:58 PM
I spoke with SanDisk customer service yesterday inquiring about why the 270 is not out yet. She didn't give me a definitive answer on why they were delayed, but did tell me that they were not going to be released until mid-2nd quarter, possibly into June. I can only assume that it's a firmware issue, but with the release of the 12 firmware, one might believe that this is the same firmware on the 270's and should be able to be released now. She did say that the 250's and 260's are out there, but most websites say they are not available yet (including SanDisk's website which states they are backordered 4-6 weeks), but they are in Best Buy stores, even though BB's website doesn't list the 260's.
Has anyone else heard any other information about a release date for these? I have never had more of a problem finding information about a product as I have the 270. I am almost ready to break down and grab a 260, but I want to wait for the 270 but don't know what the delay is...
Peter on April 20, 2006 3:24 PM
Oscar: doesn't it have FM radio in Europe?
I'm from Denmark and ordered mine 4 weeks ago -hope it get released soon in Europe.
Pepe on April 20, 2006 4:22 PM
Version 12 does not solve the playback order issue completely.
Somebody in the dapreview.com forums noticed that the latest version of the firmware does not solve the sorting issue completely.
http://www.dapreview.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?37000
Could anywone with the latest firmware check this ? Also, check if the mp3's ID3 tags that are set are version 1, version 2, or both. It could be that the E200 just reads version 1 or version 2, and WMP only sets one version.
In any case, if this is true, Sandisk engineers are pathetic !
Arash on April 20, 2006 6:12 PM
Thank you very much for the review and the pictures!!! Ive been looking all around the internet for pictures of all of it and this is the best and only site i found. Im probably going to get this device. Thanks
Trini_Can on April 20, 2006 9:33 PM
Just got my E250 last night. Charged the battery. Worked fine. Then I ried to upload the latest firmware (version 12) and got a "load main image failed error". "Switch to Recovery mode". There lies my problem.....any ideas how I do that?
Thanks in Advance for your help.
roz on April 21, 2006 1:17 AM
ok so im so close to buying one! i thought i wanted the 260...but now i really want the 270 but im nervous that itll say error to me! im still in between on buying one. ive been looking and i really like this one better then all other mp3 players...but is it worth it?!?! and is the 270 out yet????
schnupi on April 21, 2006 7:07 AM
Why? Dont really know but buy the US version because its seems to be better anyway.. and cheaper .. well at least for me here in ireland. they would probably charge me here 350 euro for the 270 :o
Todd M on April 21, 2006 7:29 AM
roz and Peter, the 270 is delayed everywhere. I don't know a definite date (not even SanDisk can give a straight answer; 3 different SD reps have given me 5 different 'answers') or even know why, but neutronexpress and costcentral both list the 'availability' date as 5/5/06, which is the first time I have seen two independent sources list the same date for release. The 250s and 260s are available, but it's tricky finding them online, but they are available in the US, not sure why they aren't in Europe.
I posted something earlier to see if anyone else had heard anything different or anything corroborating, but nothing yet as far as getting something more definitive.
Night Surfer on April 21, 2006 11:26 AM
I checked out the e250 at Best Buy on Monday. I was unimpressed. I had grown tired of waiting for the e270 to come out so I bought a Samsung YP-Z5 with the intent to "trade" it in for the Sansa.
After spending about 30 minutes w/ the Sansa I have decided to just stay with the Z5. While I did not notice any noise on the Sansa at any setting, the sound quality and volume on the Z5 is superior, hands down.
The video on the Sansa worked well but I found that watching it on such a small screen was less than thrilling. I find the screen on the Z5 to be brighter and crisper than the Sansa. The Sansa seems kinda "washed out" by comparison. One nice thing about the Sansa though is that the album art takes up the whole screen making it larger than the Z5.
Since I am not really interested in video, voice recording, or FM radio, I am going to stick with the Z5.
I will miss the 2GB (potentially 3GB) extra storage though.
James on April 21, 2006 12:01 PM
Night Surfer what size did you purchase 2gb or 4gb?
roz on April 21, 2006 12:15 PM
i called the academic superstore which has the 270 listed the cheapest i found and they said they will be getting them in next week. hopefully she was telling the truth! well see...im gonna order it!
Night Surfer on April 21, 2006 12:56 PM
James:
I have the 4Gb Silver.
D303pv87 on April 21, 2006 6:50 PM
Where is the best price for the e270, I got this place saying they will receive them monday the 30th
Todd M on April 21, 2006 8:14 PM
D303pv87, what place is telling you this? The soonest I see, besides roz and the academic superstore, is 5/5/06, or two weeks.
D303pv87 on April 21, 2006 8:28 PM
sorry no chance im telling you, maybe after i place my order.
Todd M on April 21, 2006 9:01 PM
Nice, D303pv87. Thanks for the help and even mentioning it here. Everyone is helping everyone else, unless your 'place' is only going to get 1 unit in.
AG Kong on April 21, 2006 11:27 PM
does anyone know how to create playlists?
all i can use is the go playlist.
Alfredo on April 22, 2006 2:34 AM
ok Todd, you making me feel bad. Try www.ecost.com they have the e270 for $240, and ive called twice and spoken to 2 different reps and i also sent them an email, and ive gotten responses like "on april 30th they will get 40 units" but there are already 10 of those on back order including mine :) ....so you better hurry up and get in line. ok i hope this helps
Todd M on April 22, 2006 7:59 AM
Thanks, Alfredo! I apologize, I wasn't trying to make anyone feel bad, but I appreciate the info. I have been looking at several places online, but there hasn't been any consistency on the 'availability' dates except for the two that I mentioned earlier.
I figured there would be numerous places that will end up getting them, but the well will dry up quickly. Thanks for the heads up!
winste on April 22, 2006 8:25 AM
Alfredo, Watch out for e-cost. I personally have bought 2 items from them and have not had problems (both small tickets items). But they have a horrible customer service reputation after the sale. Check out this link- http://www.resellerratings.com/. Given the cost of the item and some of the problems others have had with this unit already, you may want to wait a week or two and get it from a seller with a better history.
FxChosaP71 on April 22, 2006 3:14 PM
got a e250 last night. Charged the battery. Worked fine. it froze while listening to a song i reset it, Then I tried to upload the latest firmware (version 12) and got a "load main image failed error". "Switch to Recovery mode". now it wont go away. any ideas how I do that?
Todd M on April 22, 2006 3:51 PM
FxChosaP71, you are the second person here to mention this particular problem when loading the new firmware. Have you contacted SanDisk TS to see if they can walk you through it? Sounds like they might have another firmware issue on their hands...
FxChosaP71 on April 22, 2006 8:35 PM
yes, i emailed tech support this morning, i got an email saying they got my email but thats it. i found another blog where more people with e250's are having the same problem, no solution though.
smart1 on April 22, 2006 11:14 PM
when you guys install newer versions of firmware, does it have to be in MTP or UMS mode?
smart1 on April 22, 2006 11:16 PM
for people who have problems installing version 12, would it make a difference if you switch from MTP or UMS when upgrading the firmware?
Clay on April 22, 2006 11:17 PM
Mine got bricked too. I now have a $200 paperweight :(
Digiman on April 23, 2006 3:35 AM
Wow, I wish I would have read this first. I too uploaded firmware #12 and now have a dead MP3 player on my hands. Lucky that Best Buy gives you 30 days to purchase the extended warranty, it will be a lot easier than dealing w/ Sandisk. Has anyone figured out how to fix it?
Todd M on April 23, 2006 8:36 AM
smart1, here are the installation instructions for the firmware upgrade per the SanDisk website. I have bolded the section below where it states it must be in MSC mode for the upgrade. I have also bolded a section where it states that all other USB flash drives should be removed from the PC prior to the upgrade.
Installation instructions:
Player must be in MSC (Mass Storage Class) mode to run the firmware.
To go to MSC mode:
In your e200 Mp3 device, go to "Settings" > "USB Mode" > "MSC"
Unplug any other USB flash drives that's connected to any of your USB ports.
Download the firmware to your PC
Plug in your e200
Double-click on the downloaded firmware (e200fw01.00.12.exe) and follow instructions
Unplug your e200
Device will do it's own update process and will restart.
I am betting the instructions were followed by those users that have tried to upgrade the firmware, but still the problem exists. There have been some success stories, but they aren't outpacing the ones that have the message to to go Recovery Mode. There is nothing in the support pages about a Recovery Mode, so either emailing SD or calling their tech support at
1(866) SAN.DISK
1-866-726-3475
North America Technical Support 7 days a week:
7:00 am. - 4:00 am. Pacific Standard Time
10:00 am - 7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
I hope someone hears something soon about this issue.
D303pv87 on April 23, 2006 11:02 AM
Does anyone else have a place were users can ask questions about the e200 like how we do here? Or is this the best place to trade notes. cause for me it looks like we help each other pretty good. let me know if theres other e200 forums.
Andrew on April 23, 2006 11:56 AM
I too have the firmware upgrade problem with my e250. Frozen player, when upgrading from ver. 9 to ver. 12.
Sandisk tech support was pretty straightforward, acknowledging that this is a problem with the firmware, and there is no fix. He said he didn't know why the upgrade is still posted when they know it is flawed.
I was given two options,
A - wait and see if a fix is posted
B - go back to the store and exchange it.
I just bought this thing and so far it doesn't seem that great...
Jman on April 23, 2006 4:58 PM
Got mine last week. So far no big problems. I think the video interface is buggy. Im thinking a bug with the video caused a crash that corrupted the database and trashed the contents of the disk. A format in windows corrected that problem. I dont mind putting music back on the thing, but I cant loose my personal data files.
Are there any dedicated forums for the e250? If not I dont mind putting up something quicky for some sort of centralization of our experiences and polls of our wishes.
Chris on April 23, 2006 5:07 PM
Another 01.00.12A firmware bug for you, after upgrading i can no longer add or remove tracks to this device.
I can drop them on either using explorer or Win Media Player 10 Sync tab, and after unplugging the device it reboots itself, but the new tracks dont appear to be present. Deleting tracks gives a similar problem, the tracks dont disappear from the tracks list, and when you play them, they show a running time of 0:00.
I used to have a SONY NW-HD3, which was really annoying to have to use SONICSTAGE, but at least the thing worked.
Logged with SANDISK support, but reading the above i dont hold out much hope of a resolution, good job i live 5 mins from Bestbuy!.
Does anybody have an old firmware exe (pre 12) that we can try and downgrade the device with ?.
s.o.v.a. on April 23, 2006 5:15 PM
i have 01.00.07A
D303pv87 on April 23, 2006 5:35 PM
here's an option, as soon as you get your new e200......don't mess with it, don't try to dwnld firmware 12a. obviously it is causing trouble with our players. you know how the old saying goes......"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Todd M on April 23, 2006 6:46 PM
Not a problem, smart1!!
Chris, I, too, have the 7 firmware downloaded like s.o.v.a.
Andrew on April 23, 2006 7:03 PM
I just downloaded ver. 7. Any advice on how to get it loaded?
ver 12 has my player undetectable.
smart1 on April 23, 2006 9:19 PM
well i really don't have e200 yet.
but i am planning to get an e250 and waiting until they fix ver. 12 or until amazon gets some instock and order it then. But until now they only pre-order it and are probably pulling it out due to problems with firmware. So i'll just save it up and maybe later get an e270
cour on April 23, 2006 10:33 PM
hey, im having problems putting music on this device on my AMD based pc. however, it works just fine on a friend's intel based pc. anyone know if i can work around this?
Trini_Can on April 23, 2006 11:26 PM
OK, looks like I got it fixed. Seems like they are still trying to figure it out at Sandisk.
I called tech support and first they said to return it to the store for exchange. Called a couple hours later and they told me they just got an internal memo for a procedure to get the E200 into recovery mode.
- Power off the unit
- Slide the hold switch to the lock position,
- Hold the "record" button on the side pressed
- Plug in the USB port
They said that should work. Well it didn't for me. After the call, out of desperation, I tried the same procedure above, but this time I also pressed the "menu" key before plugging in the USB and that did it. I then reloaded version 12 and it has been working great so far. So far I've just loaded and played music and pictures on he device and no problems so far.
If any of you are still having problems getting into recovery mode, try this procedure and let us know if it worked.
Peter on April 24, 2006 11:04 AM
I'm also interested to get a user guide for the e200 series.
Maybe someone who has already bought such a player, may upload the user guide as pdf?
That would be fine,
Thanks
Peter
cr on April 24, 2006 11:35 AM
Does anyone know if there has been a cap placed on the size of the video playable on the e250? I was able to play a 755MB file on it with version 00, (new out of the box), but I loaded version 12(oops!) and now that same file wont play. It now will only play small 120 MB files.
Jman on April 24, 2006 12:53 PM
Hey check emule for the manual thats where I got a copy. The player I bought had xxx.09A installed I went ahead and loaded xxx.12A. My larger video files are segmented also. I got intouch with sandisk about this to see if it was a hardware limitation. Sounds likes its not if you remembered being able to play a full sized file.
EYLive on April 24, 2006 1:38 PM
I got the v.12 firmware the day it was released for my e250 and I haven't had any problems. I don't have much use for the updates though. This is just an FYI that not everyone is having trouble with the latest firmware.
Digiman on April 24, 2006 3:50 PM
I just got response from Sandisk. To load the firmware through recovery mode, turn player off, then put the "hold" button on, next hold down the record button and connect it to the computer, it will turn on automatically, hold the record until the the computer recognizes the devices and it says connected.
Next I reloaded the firmware and everything worked fine....or at least I can play songs again, I haven't tried to transfer anything yet.
Digiman
schnupi on April 24, 2006 4:26 PM
didnt trinican say that already ^^ :))..
D303pv87 on April 24, 2006 6:33 PM
What is the difference from getting firmware .09a to .12a is there such a big difference, if there isnt then why upload it.
Jman on April 24, 2006 6:41 PM
FYI:
If you are using this device as a portable photo album you may want to try this to increase the screen area used to display the pictures.
Batch rotate all pictures in landscape orientation by 90 degrees to the right before converting/uploading. This allows the images to be displayed on the screens long legs.
Some of you rocket scientist may have done this already!
perfectionist_etc on April 24, 2006 10:15 PM
Formerly perfectionistTN
To Jman: I planned on that before it came out when reading about the screen resolution.
My short review/comments:
Design/GUI:
The e200 excels at this point. The design is sleek and compact. The GUI is colorful and simple. The Menu button is a handy touch, as well. Unfortunately, it's a fingerprint magnet and the beautiful screen scratches up with 1 or 2 scratches noticeable while the backlight is on.
Features:
The Sansa e200 has many great features like FM radio & recording, voice recording, photo viewing, and video playback. However, these offerings could be more refined.
- FM reception is clear.
- Photo viewing is great on the 1.8" display.
- Video playback is clear and smooth and the horizontal orientation make sense.
- WAV is space-consuming for recordings, and there's no MP3 recording option.
- Videos that aren't music videos gobble up space, but not too seriously for casual users.
- Photos and videos must go through conversion that isn't always successful. Only AVI (Uncompressed), AVI(MJPEG), and MOV files work. (Minor inconvience as you can just convert files in other formats to MJPEG format and then convert it for the player.)
Performance:
- Battery life is great at 20-23 hours.
- Lags occasionally when switching from the Now Playing screen to the menu.
Conclusion: The Sandisk Sansa e200 is a great little device, but there are various glitches that will hopefully be resolved.
Track Order Problem: The track order problem has been fixed partially. Some albums show up in the correct order, some show up alphabetically, and some still show up random. All my files have been ID3-tagged for track numbers with ID3tagIT, WMP, and then Winamp and dragged-and-dropped.
Scott on April 25, 2006 9:04 AM
Here's some news for those like myself who live outside the US and are looking to buy an e270 online.
neutronexpress.com, which was the cheapest available and advertising the units for US $247 plus $41 international shipping, has just bumped up the price to $270 plus shipping.
So I'm looking for somewhere cheaper...
Scott on April 25, 2006 9:06 AM
I guess it's my own fault for telling everyone about neutronexpress.com. They probably got flooded with orders and decided to cash in.
I'll know better next time.
muhloy on April 25, 2006 11:42 AM
i read somewhere that sandisk is supposed to be coming out with a 2GB microSD card sometime this year. i'm guessing it's later rather than sooner though.
i cant decide if i should just get the 2GB now and buy a microSD later if i need more space, or just wait until the 4GB or 6GB is available. i've only seen a couple of sites with the 2GB, and none with any of the other sizes. (memory.com has some of the 2gb for 179.95 but doesn't even list any of the other sizes).
does anybody know anything about the 2GB microSD? is it going to happen?
bdunkle on April 25, 2006 5:41 PM
Best Buy in my area actually ran a sale on the 2GB models last week. $169.99
They had about two dozen units in stock.
I'm still looking for an armband though -- anybody find one that works well???
CS on April 25, 2006 8:26 PM
I picked up the 4GB today at BestBuy for $227.
I too need the armband. Will the Nano armband fit?
Kenneth on April 25, 2006 10:21 PM
Can someone please tell me if:
1) This can do bookmarking? (not resuming but bookmarking for audiobook so i can jump from one book to antoher and come back to where i left off)
2) Shuffle within a playlist? That way it won't shuffle to an audiobook if i have audiobooks and music in the e200.
Thanks!!!
Todd M on April 26, 2006 7:57 AM
Looks like the release date of the E270 is being pushed back again. A few of the sites that say they were being released in late April are now saying mid-May.
Sandisk finally sent me a response from a week ago and the guy that replied to me said that he thought they were out already. He said he has one sitting at his desk and gave me the address for the E270 on the SanDisk website. A bunch of help that was.
Looks like we will continue to wiat for this if we want the E270 with no explanation as to why it is being delayed... again...
bdunkle on April 26, 2006 9:36 AM
CS - I too was wondering if the Nano armband would fit, since they both are similar in size. My guess would be that it is close (can't say with any certainty whether it's close enough or not though), but might not quite fit the opening(s) needed for the buttons and dial.
The only sure option at this point (that I can see) is to go with a generic armband for mp3 players...which doesn't give much access to the player while running and they are usually much larger than the player itself. That said, the larger size might be handy for storing some carbo packs or something.
DLO makes the "Action Jacket" for the iPods as well as the Samsung and Creative Zen players. I really like the style/design that they use. I emailed them last week asking if they were going to offer an Action Jacket for the Sansa e200 series and got less than a steller answer back from their Customer service. They basically said that they don't currently offer it (thanks - like I didn't know that...why do they think I was emailing in the first place???), but to check back on their website in a month and...IF they do offer it, I can find it there. DUH...
Chris on April 26, 2006 10:11 AM
Any one figured out how to make your albums tracks play in the right order? Half of the albums I have loaded work correctly, the other half dont. I have added playlist files and such, but no luck.
Duane on April 26, 2006 5:06 PM
Chris and others:
From the start I have not noticed issues with the track order. I initially had firmware 9A loaded and I used Windows Media Player Library to enter ID3 info for all of my MP3's. I upgraded to firmware 12A without issue the day it was released and still have no issues. I have ~400 songs loaded and I played each Album to confirm the songs played in the correct order: and they did. One thing that I did notice is that if you Play All songs in order they are sorted by the song name.
*A significant thing that I have done is placed my MP3's in folders similar to how Windows Media Player does: Artist\Album\Song.mp3
Hope this helps.
----------------
Also, I'm now dealing with the issue of a corrupt directory where I can't delete the files or add rarely can add files to that directory. SanDisk support suggests formating in MSC mode, so that's what I'll try later. I figure it occured from not Safely disconnecting, but you can't do that in MTP mode in Windows XP SP2 anyway!