Home > Consumer Reviews > SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black

I wanted to wait about 3 months before writing this review - I'd feel horrible if I praised it after 2 months, only to have it go bad on the third. Anyway, unlike most happy owners who praise this as a great alternative to an iPod Nano, I'm kicking myself for ever getting buying an iPod (okay, it was a present for my wife) seeing how much better a player this is. The Sansa isn't as slim as a Nano, but when you hit the size of a Zippo lighter, does every extra mm down really matter that much? It's really my first mp3 player, so much of my love stems from the novelty of being able to carry around gigabytes worth of music.

I'm no audiophile, but the sound quality was good, and the Sansa's firmware allows you to sort through your music by song title, album, artist or genre. (To get your song's identifying info just right, you should download a good mp3 tagging program; I've been happily using "mp3tag", which is available free for DL - it's simple to use and configure, but that doesn't mean that there aren't better programs available on the internet).

Transferring your music is simple - your Sansa will connect to the computer using a USB port. The Sansa uses two connection modes: MTP (which treats the Sansa like a media player to be synced) and UMS (which treats the player as an extra HD - happily enough, this mode, which I find easier to use, also allows you to use that add-on tagging software, so you get the best of both worlds). The buttons are bit on the thin side, and you have to be careful when using the forward or reverse buttons to scan through songs lest you also skip to the next/earlier track. You can easily scan within mp3 tracks or add songs to your "go list".

The surprise here is the video player. Though the screen is small, and pixelations are a fact of life on playback, the resulting images are easily watchable. (Although it's probably optimal for character dramas and sitcoms that lack any demanding visuals; the included movie, a 30-second spot likely inspired by one of the latter "Star Wars" movies, was an unfortunate choice for spotlighting the Sansa's video capabilities.) Framerate is about 15fps - it's noticeable, but it's hardly a slideshow. Video files have to be converted before they'll play on the Sansa which...is no problem at all. The accompanying software is simple and is finicky only against files with really long names. Just find the files you want, click "convert" and the program takes care of the rest. My commutes are now survivable thanks to the Sansa and hours of unwatched TV. Playback can be a problem though - if you fastforward too much, the video breaks down. Luckily, the software automatically breaks every video file down into half-hour sized chunks. Left alone, the video played well - with only infrequent skips, and few jumps between video and audio syncing.

The Sansa charges off your PC's USB port. For those not connected 24-7, a Macally charger can be had for about [...]. However, the Sansa has good endurance - I packed one on vacation and managed to not need a charger despite watching several hours of video and listening to a fair number of mp3s. The Sansa isn't just a great alternative to the iPod, it's a great player all around.

i've been looking for an mp3 player like this for a long time. the ipod is nice, but i always had little gripes that stopped me from getting one (such as the inability to use anything but itunes to load music).

this player is a great alternative to ipod. it's about the same size as a nano, but a tiny bit thicker, and a little heavier. the scroll wheel has a nice tactile feel to it, and contrary to other reviewers i like the way it feels (although i concede the buttons are a little hard to press without adjusting my hand). the screen is impressive-- bigger, brighter, and clearer than nano. the menus are well thought out, though this is my first tag-based player (vs. folder-based) so there is a slight learning curve for me. mine came already loaded with the most current firmware.

the first time i connected it to my computer i nearly panicked-- the unit would turn on, then show an error and turn off. then i realized i had the "hold" button on. switching it off fixed the problem. i didn't install any of the sandisk software and windows xp found the device and gave me the option to sync it with my music in windows media player. you can also open the player as a folder in my computer and just copy music that way if you prefer. to copy photos or videos you do have to install the sandisk software. i copied over all the music i could think of (maybe 30 albums?), and i still have 1.5gb left. i was considering ordering an extra mini-sd card to expand the memory, but now i think i will hold off since i'm having a hard time filling it as it is!

all in all, great mp3 player! i will update my review if my impressions change.

I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas. I decided to put a few songs he likes along with a video or two on it before I wrapped it up for him. I was expecting it to be an alright MP3 player because of the reviews I had read, but I never expected it to hold a light to any of the Apple's creations.

I took it out of the box expecting to plug it in and need the program on the cd to add music to it... because that is how the other top mp3 players work. Well, it didn't need any program installations. I plugged it into my computer and it was simply drag and drop music from my music folder to the Sansa music folder. I was very impressed with this feature. I did, however, have to install the video converter program (which comes with it) to my computer in order to put videos or pictures on my comp.... BUT this was also a very simple program to use.

The look of the Sansa also impressed me. Though it's a little thicker than a nano, it's still very small... and I love the blue light around the turn wheel. The video has vivid color and looks GREAT~!

I'm very impressed with the FM radio and the voice recorder that it came with as well because I know my boyfriend ALWAYS likes to listen to the Kentucky basketball games and he's not always around a radio (I didn't try either out-- I'm just impressed it has them)... the iPod doesn't have a radio or voice recorder.

I've owned three different music players: the 30gb Ipod Video, the 4gb first gen Ipod Nano, and *currently* the Pioneer Inno which is also an XM player. I never thought I'd say I like an MP3 player better than either of my Ipods. I never thought I'd experience one that could hold a light to either of my ipods but this one does. &for the price... I believe it may actually surpass the new Nanos (though I've not tried out a 3rd gen one).

I hate for this to be a compare/contrast review... but I know what sort of reviews I was looking for whenever I was in the market to buy an MP3 player. In my opinion I think the Sansa is easier to use than the Ipod, has just as good color with the video as the iPod, runs/loads things a little faster than my iPod did, and has more features than the Ipod. I'd love to be able to compare it to the Zune (because that's another one I was considering), but I've never experienced one of those. In comparison with the Ipod... I believe this one should win-- hands down.

The only negative I can see-- so far-- is it's lack of accessories on the market. We all know the Ipod has tons of items we can buy to use with it. Though I did buy an FM modulator for the Sansa... which is really the only accessory I ever use with any MP3 player (and I figure the only one my b/f will ever use). I don't know. I love this little thing and now I kinda wish I would have asked for one of these instead of a new Nano for Christmas...

This player has more storage for less price of a nano. Its just a little thicker, but otherwise as small. With included media converter it can play just about any type of video. I ripped a DVD to my hard drive, compressed it to 1gb, then used the convertor software to get it on. Now I can watch DVDs anywhere, its great. The battery life is rediculous, sound quality is good as well. I don't think the buttons are hard to press at all, and the scroll wheel, while mechanical, is still smooth.
As stated in the title, it does have a few small quirks. The interface does take a little practice, but after a day or 2 it was second nature. You can add songs to the "go list" while its on, but to create other playlists you need to make them in windows medial player and sync the 2 devices... Its really easy, just download the pdf manual and it will make sense. The eq has presets, but itn't otherwise adjustable. Otherwise, the only downfall is that its not as popular as iPods, so there aren't as many accessories. I think that if more people buy them and they become more popular accessories should start to appear, but I'll just have to wait for them.

I got this the day after Thanksgiving for only $129. A terrific value for a 4 gig player. Even though I have an ipod nano and a video ipod, I wanted to get this as it has something I've been wanting for a long time - an FM player. This player is about twice as thick, a little wider and a little shorter than the nano 2G. Here's my breakdown of the sansa:

PROS:
Durable
Shiny, hard to scratch plastic front
larger screen than the ipod
photo capable
album art capable
FM radio
FM radio recorder
voice recorder
MP3 player
Rhapsody channels (from best buy)
Great battery life
looks great
produced by a reputable company - SANDISK

CONS:
tiny buttons
thicker than an ipod nano
screen isn't all that sharp
scroll wheel can get tiring
no contacts or other info can be stored
FM radio doesn't have the digital info displayed such as song and name like the ZUNE does
software not nearly as good or easy to use as itunes

All in all a terrific value for a capable player.