SanDisk Sansa
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The SanDisk Sansa is a line of flash memory based digital audio players produced by SanDisk.
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[edit] Features
The Sansa line of MP3 players is based on flash memory. The price range for a Sansa is about $40 for a 512MB m230 player to around $250 for an 8GB capacity e280R. The series supports MP3, WAV and WMA formatted songs, and some players also support AAC. The series also features an FM tuner to listen to/record the radio (not on some European models) and a microphone.
[edit] Upcoming models
At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, SanDisk displayed three new players for the Sansa line. The Sansa Express features a built-in USB male port and a 1.1" OLED display, 1GB of memory, microSD slot, FM radio, and voice recorder. This budget DAP is target priced at $59. Another is the larger Sansa View, and is dedicated to video rather than music featuring a 4" LCD screen and 8GB of flash memory, A/V out up to 1080i, and an SDHC port allowing up to 32GB more storage.[1]. it will retail for $299 in Q1 2007. The final was a surprise player shown at the SanDisk press conference. It is the Wi-Fi equipped Sansa Connect which comes in 4GB capacity with a 2.2" LCD screen and support for internet radio and Flickr connectivity. The Sansa Connect is reportedly [2] based upon Mono and Linux.
[edit] Current models
| SanDisk Sansa e200 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | SanDisk |
| Type | Digital Audio Player |
| First available | 5 January 2006 |
| System storage | 2/4/6/8 GB Flash memory |
| Screen | 1.8" (4.6 cm) QCIF+ LCD screen, with a resolution of 176×220 |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Online service | Rhapsody |
| Predecessor | SanDisk Sansa e100 |
| SanDisk Sansa c200 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SanDisk |
| Type | Digital Audio Player |
| First available | 2006 |
| System storage | 1/2 GB Flash memory |
| Screen | 1.4" LCD screen |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Predecessor | SanDisk Sansa c100 |
[edit] e200 series
The e200 is the top-of-the-line product from the Sansa series. It features a 1.8” (4.6 cm) TFT color display and can display album cover art. It enables the user to view pictures and MJPEG encoded QuickTime videos through conversion on the Sansa Media Converter. The price range for the e200 series is $110 to $250 and comes in 2 GB, 4 GB, 6 GB, and 8 GB capacities.
The e200 Series feature a user replaceable and rechargeable lithium ion battery, microSD expansion slot, FM tuner, FM recording and voice recording. Older models had a Liquidmetal back casing, which has since been replaced by an Aluminium alloy. The FM tuner and recorder are not available in some parts of Europe.
Many new accessories were released in late 2006 [1] through the "Made for Sansa" program.
[edit] c200 series
The c200 series is a replacement to the c100 series player. The c200 has a removable Li-ion battery, FM tuner and voice recorder, 1.4" color display, and a microSD™ slot for expansion up to 2 GB. It was also designed to be compatible with many of the e200 series accessories, such as the docking bay, unlike the c100. The c200 is available in 1 GB and 2 GB sizes.
But a few problems some users have dealt with is with cold weather as some reported the display to crack and then not being able to see the menu to access music and such.
[edit] c100 series
The c100 series players have color displays and are able to show cover art and small picture thumbnails. They come with 1 GB or 2 GB of capacity, costing $80 or $110, respectively. [3]
[edit] m200 series
The m200 series has four models: the blue m230, the silver m240, the black m250, and the metallic blue m260, which hold 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB respectively. The price range is from $40 to $140. It's compatible with MP3, WMA, secure WMA, and Audible audio file formats. The digital FM radio allows you to access local radio stations, as well as preset up to 20 of your favorite stations. With five equalizer types for the FM radio and music player, you can optimize your sound for your favorite style of music, such as, Rock, Jazz, Classical, Pop, and Custom (user-defined). You can also use the built-in microphone and voice recording function to capture interviews, classes, and short voice notes to yourself. [4]
[edit] e100 series
The e100 series is the least expensive series. The MP3 player features a black&white screen with blue backlight, FM tuner with 20 presets, SRS WOW technology, an SD expansion slot for cards with up to 4 GB size, internal memory of 512 MB or 1 GB depending on the model, and uses a single AAA battery for power. It supports MP3, WMA and Audible file formats. [5]
[edit] Developments
[edit] Rhapsody Sansa e200R
On October 5, 2006 SanDisk announced a new Rhapsody enabled player, the e200R, which features integration with RealNetworks Rhapsody music service [6]. The firmware has improvements including anti-aliased text, an AAC codec that supports MP4, M4A, RealAudio in addition to MP3 and WMA formats, and "Rhapsody Channels" [7]. The players are otherwise identical to the standard e200 series. They are only sold from the Rhapsody online store and Best Buy.
[edit] RockBox on the Sansa e200 series
A port of the open source firmware alternative (Rockbox) is currently under development for the Sansa e200 series. The port is functional, although radio and recording are not yet implemented. Rockbox now supports audio as of 3/11/07, after a meeting with the chip developer.
[edit] Marketing campaigns
In May 2006[2] SanDisk launched a controversial anti-iPod campaign labelling iPod users as iSheep, iChimps, etc. These campaigns featured graffiti type posters around urban areas and a website, iDont.com.
SanDisk has since replaced the iDont campaign with LilMonsta.com.
[edit] References
- ^ "SanDisk > World Tour".
- ^ Mono-based device wins Best-of-Show at CES (2007-01-17).
- ^ "Sandisk Sansa c100 Series MP3 Players"
- ^ "SanDisk Sansa m200 Series MP3 Players"
- ^ "SanDisk Sansa e100 Series MP3 Players"
- ^ "Best Buy Teams with RealNetworks' Rhapsody and SanDisk to Launch the Best Buy Digital Music Store". October 5, 2006.
- ^ "The Rhapsody MP3 Player".
