While there has been a discussion on our forum about this card popping up on a British site a few days ago, it's now official; microSD cards have been bumped to 16GB along with Memory Stick Micro. The cards will follow the microSDHC standard and should be compatible with the players that support 4GB and 8GB cards.

This capacity boost will mean that the Sansa Fuze will now go up to 24GB and the Sansa View will go up to 48GB which isn't bad especially in combination with the fact the Clip is coming in 8GB. Other devices and cellphones especially will also be able to use this new 16GB card. According to the press release the new card will be out in October at Best Buy Mobile stores and November at Verizon Wireless stores - the only two major retailers in the US that will be selling this card this year. Whether or not the card will be available online is unsure, but let's hope so. The MSRP is $99.99 so unless you really need the extra storage in one card the $24 8GB cards on Amazon might be a better deal for now, but as we all know prices will drop.

[Press Release via jkOnTheRun]

Congratulations to Kim. It looks like her search is over and she will be a proud new owner of a Silver Fuze and a high speed microSD card. Thank you all for joining the fun and making one killer comment thread. I actually read though them all and many were quite amusing. Stay tuned for more giveaways and more of the best mp3 player reviews on the net. Accept no substitutes! ;)

Win a SanDisk Sansa Fuze + 4GB Mobile Ultra microSD Card Sharing the same great sound quality as the Sansa Clip, the Sansa Fuze has one big advantage with an included microSD memory slot. This is a nice way to upgrade your to a higher capacity since the microSD card seamlessly integrates into the main memory.

MicroSD has become a standard in expandable memory for cell phones. Another nice use for the memory card would be to swap it between your player and you mobile phone. When I’m away from a computer one thing I do for instance is use my Nokia e71 to download podcasts and music, then swap the memory card to my Fuze. Sure I could use the phone to listen to but it needs a headphone adapter and sound terrible compared to the Fuze.

It’s also a cheap add on. Last I checked SanDisk’s microSD in 8GB was around $30 on Amzaon. Note that we are giving away the Mobile Ultra version which I tested to be about twice as fast as the regular version of SanDisk’s microSD. This works a bit better if you are going to use it in a phone.

Enough chit chat, how do I win this lovely pair?

Just comment once below (multiple entries will be disqualified) and we will pick a comment at random at the end of the day Wednesday. Good luck!

One of the great things about SanDisk’s line of Sansa MP3 players it the microSD card slot. All of them have this feature except for the Sansa Clip. This means you can double, sometimes triple the capacity of the player relatively cheap. The microSD slot is a great future proofing or rather life extending feature on an MP3 player.

While SanDisk Sansa players lead the industry in upgradable and removable storage there are a few others that contain that will be able to take advantage of this microSD card. These players include the Insignias, the Cowon D2, Creative Zen, and some of the newer irivers like the E100 and the Spinn.

The latest creation from Oppo reveals an exceptionally attractive design, as it measures only 0.27 inches thick, and contains a 2.4-inch TFT screen which spans the majority of its face, alongside a level touchpad. Proving to be equally impressive as the appearance of the Blast is its ability to handle a large variety of music (MP3, WMA, APE, and FLAC), image (JPG, BMP, GIF, and animated GIF), and video (MP4, AVI, XviD, and FLV) formats.

It is not common to come across a portable media player with the ability to play flash video on a comfortably sized screen with an expandable microSD slot all in such an easily pocketable form. The finer details have yet to be revealed, such as pricing, storage, and battery life, but when the Oppo Blast becomes available it is unlikely that it will be shipped anywhere outside of Asia.

[Press Release via iMP3]

The Sansa Express is SanDisk’s budget MP3 player selling in the sub sixty dollar price range. Although it is what you would expect from an inexpensive MP3 player, there are a few features that give it a little bit of an edge in the budget MP3 player market, one being its microSD slot for memory expansion of up to 2GB. Memory is cheap these days; last I checked a 2GB microSD card can be had for around twenty bucks.

The Express is not perfect, but it may be worth having as a second MP3 player, or it may be a nice for a first time buyer looking to get into portable digital audio without breaking the bank.

There are many digital audio players which comprise the low-capacity market, but when considering the amount of features offered for the price the SanDisk Sansa Express is one sure to stand out from the rest.

The 1GB version includes a 1.1-inch 4-line OLED display, FM tuner, recording capabilities, custom equaliser, direct USB connection, microSD expansion slot, and 1GB capacity all for $60. If this has not been enough to draw your attention, the new color change just might. A striking variation to the standard black, a hot pink version is now available from Best Buy.

[Best Buy via Ubergizmo]

Music and video content from Japanese satellite content provider Mobile USEN will make its way onto iriver’s U: MO PMP by the end of the month, but it will not be available for purchase. Instead, the player can only be rented for ¥2200 ($18) with Mobile USEN content for an extra ¥980 ($8).

The body of the device appears to be identical to the DMB-enabled B20, and it shares the same 2.4-inch display (with 320 x 240 pixels and 260k colors), D-Click navigation system, arrangement of tactile buttons, file formats (MP3, WMA, OGG Vorbis, WMV, and MPEG-4), and black and white colors. As more emphasis is placed on the availability of 8 video and 40 music channels (both types are recordable), the U: MO will only have a 1GB capacity. Expansion is offered through a MicroSD slot and the comparatively large antenna can be removed to reduce the size.

[Press Release via Impress]

This player came to me as a surprise. Nothing I would expect from an underdog like Polaroid. The MPA-20011 (I hope they change the name) is a flash-based player that will come in 512MB or 1GB models (they have not yet finalized the capacity). It is packed with all the basic features such as voice recording, FM recording, MP3/WMA audio playback, MPEG/WMV video playback, JPEG photo viewer, and a 25-hour rated battery. The screen looks fantastic measuring in at 2.2”. It also accepts microSD flash memory for up to an additional 2GB.

But what sets this player apart is the navigation and GUI. The navigation is handled by a Blackberry-like jog dial and button on the right side of the player. The GUI is also very smooth and intuitive.

The player will go on sale at Target stores come March. The price has not been set, so stay tuned to your local Target shelves.

Full video demo and more pics below.

I had the pleasure of checking out three new players being added to the Sansa lineup. We knew about the two players from a leak on SanDisk’s site, but they did manage to keep one of their stars under wraps.

The Sansa Connect will be a flash-based player with WiFi and will retail for around $250. Initially, the player will sport 4GB of memory with the ability to add 2GB via microSD. The Connect is fairly slim and about the size of a business card. The 2.2” screen is similar to the e200, but looked a bit clearer. The scroll wheel is improved over the e200 and is very smooth and fluid.

Check out the video after the jump.

It's been a while since we've heard any DAP noise from BenQ, perhaps because they've been in the trenches collecting scraps of aluminum-magnesium to piece together their latest MP3 player, the limited edition MusiQ. Etched with two different designs ("steel wings" for guys and something called "magic bean" for girls), the 512MB/1GB player has a built-in microSD card slot and comes with a decorative dog tag and metal earphone chain. BenQ is really pulling out all the stops with this one, as they've already put up a dedicated battle-themed MusiQ microsite (in Chinese).

The 512MB player will retail for about $88 and can be ordered via a hotline beginning December 4th or online beginning December 15th. BenQ will also be throwing in limited edition gift sets (metal bracelet and carrying case) at random and on a first-come-first-served basis, which is a bit of a contradiction. Pricing for the 1GB player has not been released.

The update to the c100 appropriately named the c200 series is SanDisk’s latest small flash based MP3 player. The c200 is available in two sizes 1GB (c240) and 2GB (c250). The player sports a 1.4” 64k color screen, FM radio, FM and voice recording, removable battery, and uniquely, a microSD memory slot for the addition of up to 2 more gigabytes of memory. Audio playback supports all of your vanilla formats like MP3, WMA, and WAV files. The c200 is compatible with DRM PlaysForSure music services like Urge, Napster, and Yahoo!. The player is not high-end but does offer a nice set of features for the money.

Next month, SanDisk will start selling its new c200 series of flash-based digital audio players. The 1GB c240 ($80) and 2GB c250 ($100) both sport a 1.4" 64K-color LCD for viewing album art and photos, digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations, FM and voice recorder, removable battery, and microSD expansion card slot. Like its predecessor, the c200s support MP3, WAV, WMA, and WMA-DRM files. Nothing too thrilling, but we'd probably still stand in line to get one.

[Product Page via Engadget]

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.