SanDisk Sansa Express User Review (lightsout565)

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Sandisk Sansa Review

The Sansa Express is Sandisk's affordable, cable-free,1GB flash-based MP3 player which has many features,including a microSD expansion slot, FM tuner,recording capabilities, plus a direct connection to a computer with no USB cable required. The Sansa Express also comes in a 2gb version but is not found at most retailers. The Express has a 4 line, bright OLED screen which can display only blue and yellow. Audio playback supports MP3, WMA, protected WMA, WAV, and Audible files.

Accessories

Inside the box you'll find only the bare necessities; the unit itself, standard ear buds, a 7” USB extension cable, and a lanyard. There are only a few accessories out for the sansa express including a Armband, Tough Skin, and “Capsule Pouch” Since the made for sansa accessories utilize the proprietary dock which the express lacks. The Express also comes with a Quick Start Guide, Sansa Express Lil Monsta Stickers, Best Buy Digital Music Store 2 Months Free, Free Audible.com Audio Book, Sansa Express CD Version 1.0 (Your Version Might Vary)





Transferring Music

The Sansa Express is a MSC(UMS) or MTP so no software is required to transfer music from your computer to the express, you simply drag and drop the files into the folder on Windows,Mac, or Linux. You can also use Windows Media Player “Sync” feature to transfer Music.

Design

The Express is very attractive with its glossy black front and its small portable size. The express is made entirely out of plastic but has a very solid construction which gives it a nice feel when operating. The Glossy Black front however is a finger print magnet which may bother some but i don't care to much. The Lanyard hole is on the cap but the cap is secured extremely well and shouldn't get lost.



Screen

The Screen is a 4 line OLED which is only capable of displaying blue and yellow. The screen is very bright and easy to read in mid to low light situations but when outside and in sun it can become hard to read.



User Interface

Controls

The controls are almost identical to Sandisk's c200 except with the menu/power button on the top. There is a 4 way directional pad with a a center select select button and a down/sub-menu button which brings up sub-menus when listening to music,FM radio, etc. On top there is a menu button which doubles as a power button when held for a few seconds along with a hold switch next to it. There is also a dedicated volume on the bottom. I'll Post a Video of the GUI soon.


The Battery

Sandisk reports that you can get up to 15 hours of music playback. Under a repeat all mode with ¼ Volume and screen brightness, with 10 sec display on/off and playing with the interface every couple of hours I got about 13.5 hours which is Pretty good for the rated 15.

Features

FM Tuner/Recorder

With the standard headphones since they act as a antenna produced a very good signal which I was quite surprised, but, it will vary with your area and headphones. The express is capable to storing up to 20 presets and has a auto preset function. The Express can also record FM but only in WAV and is extremely impractical since a 30 second clip was 3.6 MB!

Voice Recording

Voice recording can only be recorded at 88kbps mono WAV file Which takes up about 329kb for every 30 seconds. Recordings are ok, but a big problem just like the c200 is when you pause and resume the recordings you can here the button being pressed . There is also no dedicated recorded button like the one found on the c200.

MicroSD Slot

A signature of most Sandisk players now a days is a MicroSD expansion slot which can add a 2gb microSD card to bump up the storage from 1gb to 3gb or from 2gb to 4gb which is nice on a smaller size MP3 player like the Express. The boot time will be longer Depending on how much music you have on your microSD card.



Audio

The Express has a average audio quality which will be fine for some(me) but will send others shooting in the other direction. Sandisk did add a 5-band custom EQ which you don't see on many affordable players.

Conclusion

The Sandisk Sansa Express is a very basic MP3 player good for working out or just not caring if it gets banged up. Sandisk did add some nice features on a $50-$60 MP3 player like FM radio/recording, and voice recording. The Express stands up pretty good against its competitors and shouldn't be over looked because of some of its minor flaws.



Pros

Easy and Intuitive Interface
MicroSD Expansion Slot
Affordable
MSC and MTP File Transfer

Cons

Finger Print Magnet
Can only Record in WAV
OLED Screen Hard to Read In Bright Light
Average Battery Life