Here is an unexpected curve ball for you from the Sansa team. The newest firmware has added video and getting the new firmware is as easy as turning your Connect on for a few minutes and connecting to your wi-fi network. The Sansa Media Converter handles the conversion process just like it does with the View. Video is converted the 3GP format at 15 FPS common to mobile phones. The video does look choppy at the low frame rate, but still is pretty damn good for a player that was not intended to have video in the first place.

Check it out in action below.

We at abi>> have started a some social activities outside of our little world at FaceBook and Last.FM. To get you to stop by we thought we would give you a chance at a brand new SanDisk Sansa Connect for simply hanging out with us (yes you are that special). Join our anythingbutipod>> group at Last.FM, FaceBook or both to double your chances of winning. The winner of the Sansa Connect will be randomly chosen on October 7th.

Also, be sure to check us out in the forums. There is currently another random drawing for another Sansa Connect going on till the end of the month. Additionally you should check us out on IRC if you are up to some real time chatting about the latest MP3 players and audio gear in general; nothing to win there, but it would be nice to chat with you.

I just want to send out a special thanks to all the reader over the years for making abi>> a great DAP community. =)

[abi>>FaceBook | abi>>Last.FM | abi>>IRC]

We really have a great community here in the abi>>forums, with many helpful people that take time to give you a hand with your MP3 player or offer advice for your next purchase. The forums are also host to the largest Sansa community on the net with everything you could possibly need to know about the e200 or the Connect.

But in addition to the Sansa Forums, there are forums for all major brands of players including but not limited to: Archos, Cowon iAudio, Creative Zen, Insignia, iriver, Microsoft Zune, Samsung, and Toshiba Gigabeat. You can also check out the bottom right sidebar for a full list of players and forums.

Stop in, register, and check out this thread for details on winning a Sansa Connect

This is the first of three Sansa Connects we will be giving away to celebrate the new site design. The first contest will be our spin on the guessing game. You will have to guess how many gigs are in the jar. Hints: You might want to browse the reviews to get an idea of what is in the jar; this may give you a better guess. Also, it may or may not be an exact number of gigs. Tiebreaker will be guess the number of songs on the players.

More photos and video are below to help you out, along with official rules. The contest will end Sunday and the winner will be announced on Monday. Good luck!

SanDisk are introducing adjustments to two of their Sansa players. Firstly, without dropping any qualities from the Sansa Connect a sizeable $100 has been cut from its price. The 4GB player will now retail for $150, on top of which the unlimited WiFi downloads from Yahoo! Music Unlimited come at a monthly charge of $15.

The second change is to the Sansa Shaker. Previously available in a single storage capacity of 512MB, a 1GB model is also presented by Sandisk. The 512MB and 1GB models are now $35 and $50 respectively.

[Product Page via Engadget]

Dell announced today that it will be acquiring privately held Zing Systems with plans “…to continue improving the entertainment experiences…” Those unfamiliar, Zing is a software and service that helps device users find new music , share playlists, and add more functionality to audio streams. It is a sort of semi-social music discovery system. That’s the best way I can describe it without putting a device that uses Zing into your hands. Zing’s latest infiltration is the Sansa Connect which uses Zing to create automatic genre or artist playlists though its Wi-Fi connection.

Dell ditched their MP3 players some time ago, but could this mean they are getting back into the portable audio game?

[Zing]

SanDisk rolled out their new line up this year at CES after a fairly successful run with previous generations. One of these included the Connect, which aimed to bring wireless players to the mainstream. Yes, the Zune hit the mainstream with wireless too but it was barely worth the battery power to leave the Wi-Fi turned on. On the other hand, the Sansa Connect has really taken advantage of this connection to offer direct downloads, internet radio, Flickr photo viewing, and buddy list features.

The Connect will not be for everyone. It is a new breed of device that falls somewhere betwixt satellite radio and a standard MP3 player. Music lovers who are willing to subscribe to Yahoo! Unlimited, though, will be very impressed with what the Connect has to offer.

Of course I couldn’t resist cracking the plastic on this one. However, this disassembly was a bit disappointing in that most chips where covered by soldered-in plates. They look like they could be desoldered from the board but I don’t have the right equipment or knowledge. I do know that the main SOC is made by Texas Instruments.

The main housing is snapped into place on the four corners and on each side. I was able to get into it by using Teflon sticks to pry open each snap connector. Then inside are a few screws to release the main board from the face of the player, which houses the controls and LCD.