23 out of 23 people found this review helpful.
I returned my Sandisk Sansa e250 after 2 days of use.
Date of Review: Jul 25, 2006
The Bottom Line: It was not the player for me. I run daily and need something lightweight with deep bass - video & photos were unimportant. Not a bad player, though.
My beloved Iriver mp3 player (reviewed here in Sept. 2005:
http://www.epinions.com/content_196321840772) started acting up after about 10 months of use. Luckily, I had a replacement plan with Best Buy. Unluckily, though, Best Buy no longer carries Iriver products (except the bulkier "clix" model) and I was forced to make a decision on a new player. After a long debate, and trying to stay in the $149 range (my credit) I decided on the Sandisk Sansa e250, which I found to be disappointing.
(I have not decided what unit to get with my Best Buy exchange and will review that unit as soon as I decide. I'm leaning towards the iriver clix, but that also looks bigger & heavier!).
The focus of this review is why I did not like this player in case my reasons help you make your decision.
Screen.
The 1.8" TFT-LCD screen is cool. I put a bunch of my photos on it and the slideshow feature was very easy to setup. For smaller video clips (under 10 minutes) the unit played them nicely. I have lots of clips of my son (which are made for our website) that transferred quickly and painlessly onto the player. Anything larger, though (more than 10 minutes or about 10mb, it seems), gets cut into smaller segments. A 30-minute show got cut into 3 smaller pieces and an hour show 6.
Sound.
The included earbud headphones were very cheap. Maybe iriver spoiled me with their included Seinheiser headphones, but the Sandisk earbuds were like the $5 models you find in closeout type stores. The wire was so thin I was afraid it would snap if I tugged too hard on it. The sound was tinny. The sound was not much better even with a good pair of headphones that I own (from my wife's iriver). There is no bass to speak of, and while the unit plays very loud, without the bass, I could not enjoy it. The best buy website says "bass boost = yes" but that's simply untrue.
Navigation/Controls.
Adding files was a snap. You can drag & drop music files to the device as though it were a drive on your system. It would have been nicer if you could simply drag & drop media files (video & photo) onto the player, but you must use their conversion program for those. The controls were easy to figure out and the menus were easy to navigate. I particularly liked the inner ring on the main button that easily & very quickly lets you adjust volume. The unit responds well to button clicks and there were no unpleasant pauses when pushing buttons.
Rechargeable Battery.
The built-in Lithium ion battery is a plus, but they do not provide a charger. Rather, the unit relies on your computer's USB connection to get a charge. If you, like me, have a USB-hub (non-powered), you will not be able to charge the unit from a USB port on the hub. I had to re-arrange my hub and other peripherals to give the Sansa its own port directly from my computer. Luckily, I was able to do that – but not everybody will have that luxury, I'm sure. Also, they warn you that since recycling cycles will vary and will impact the battery's life and charge time, I suspect that connecting the unit frequently (to change songs) when the unit's battery is not fully discharged will hurt battery life in the long run. There is no option to connect the player to download music and NOT charge – whenever it connects it charges.
Recording.
The voice recorder worked well. I experimented with talking to it from different locations in the room and the microphone did a good job. You can also record directly from the FM radio, if you like.
Dimensions.
The player was much larger than I am used to. At 3.5" by 1.7" and .6" deep, and weighing in at a hefty 2.7 oz, it's a mini brick. I don't mean that to be sarcastic, because compared to the other flash players I've owned, this is very heavy. This leads me to my next complaint.
Accessories (or lack, thereof).
There is no belt clip or armband included. All they threw in was a cheap velvety pouch, which seems more suited for a bus pass and some credit cards, perhaps. For athletic use (like running), this player is too heavy to keep in a pocket. I know because I tried. With each stride, the banging against my leg from my shorts-pocket was too annoying. At least with a belt clip or an armband, the weight of this unit would be tolerable. The armband sells for an additional $30.
Memory/Expansion.
The microSD slot is a good idea if you want to add more storage later, but that type of memory costs about twice as much as regular SD memory (right now a gb of SD is $40 and microSD is $80.)
Durability.
The unit feels durable and I did not think it felt fragile. The buttons felt like they would stand up to normal use. I would not intentionally drop the unit, but it feels as though it could withstand a few good falls.
Bottom line:
I think it's a nice player if you don't mind a little extra weight and you plan to purchase (or already own) better headphones. If you want to use this for any athletic endeavor, you will need to invest in an armband or belt clip. For short video clips and photo libraries, this unit can be a lot of fun.
If you have any other questions about the unit that you think I might be able to answer, please feel free to email me privately. I will do my best to help.
