Finding a Better mp3 Player then the iPod, The SanDisk Sansa

The iPod is by far and away the most popular and intuitive mp3 player in the world. Apple has made an absolute fortune on the thing along with iTunes store. Many things have gone wrong though. Battery life has sucked lately, iPods are not to everyones taste and most people simply don’t have large libraries, but require a screen to navigate through songs. This leaves us with the iPod nano. What started with the iPod mini, Apple have done it again with the nano. Even with the nano, its features can be lacking for what some people may want, even though Apple has filled the market to just about everybody that wants to listen to music anywhere.

On my lumbering search for a simple, small and full-featured MP3 player, I found the SanDisk Sansa. I could argue all day to determine the superior player, but I wouldn’t go very far as they are both equally as good, but in very different ways.

In our superficial society the iPod is a clear winner, because of its smooth and shiny interface plus its looks and its stylish package it comes in, but it basically only plays music. Which is great for 90% of people, but I wanted something more. The Sansa has radio, video, expansion slots (ect ect ect).

Here is a quick list of pros and cons for each player:

iPod nano

Pros:

• Sleek, stylish and sexy
• Plays music really well
• Easy to use
• Comes in many colors and sizes
• Comes with iTunes
• Thin

Cons:

• NO radio, video, expansion
• Tied to iTunes
• Navigation system sometimes difficult to use
• Expensive

Sansa e200

Pros:

• Cheap
• ranges from 2GB to 10GB
• Can be used as a USB drive
• Radio, Video, Voice and expansion
• Plays windows media as well as MP3s
• Syncs with Windows media player and other

Cons:

• Thicker then iPod nano
• Can’t sync with iTunes
• Can’t play AAC (Although e200R can)
• Not as sexy or as stylish as iPod (but the blue light is cool)

This was just a tiny and simple list. Based on the list, it is easy to see that although they may seem similar, they are 2 completely different products.

Now, heres an analogy fro you. For perspective, the Sansa is much like a Windows computer and the iPod is like a Mac. Ok, fanboys calm down.. The iPod does what it needs to and it looks pretty cool, everyone knows that by now. The Sansa can do a little more, but doesn’t look as good. in fact, the Sansa syncs just as well with Windows media player as the iPod does with iTunes.

The Sansa is not so much as iPod killer as anything else out there, but it comes pretty darn close. It is second behind the iPod on the market (even though so distant) and its basically the first major assault first-timers SanDisk had on the market.

So, you have a Sansa?

The Sansa is a great player to have, so in case you actually have a player and want to know what the hell more you can do with it to make all the iPod fanboys unhappy, this section is for you.

Here are the tips I have picked up from my time with the Sansa.
First thing first is get a AC adapter for your Sansa. Is it USB? Good. It will work with your Sansa (just like a iPod!).
Feeling underwhelmed with Windows Media Player? Check out a program called Media Monkey. It will tag and sync your music as well, or better then WMP or iTunes for an iPod.

Hate the look of the look of the theme included? You can make your own or download a good looking one. Like the look of a PSP? Like the look of aqua apple interface? Like the new Vista theme? Check out some of the fancy themes people are making.

Take a good look at the SanDisk Sansa, because I have a feeling you will see more of these products. Since the e200, SanDisk have also started making iPod shuffles (with screens) (Sansa Express) and a mp3 player with Wifi (Sansa Connect).

You can get Sansa Manager.. no it isn’t just the lame package that SanDisk included with the Sansa that allows you convert media, it is a full featured iTunes like MP3 Player, tagger and converter. You can seek it here and get support here

Conclusion
Pros

• Sexy player.
• Navigation easy and more portable then that of the iPod (Though can be confusing.)
• Large 1.8″ screen a lot bigger then the nanos.
• Video Support.
• FM radio.
• Voice/Radio recording.
• Pictures support.
• Bright Screen.
• Good battery life (20+ hours).
• Syncs well with Media Monkey and WMP.
• Bright colorful interface.
• Playlist and rating support.
• Cheap for high capacity flash memory.
• MSC (UMS) and MTP support.
• Feels comfortable in hand.
• Replaceable battery.
• Backing very strong and scratch resistant.
• Custom EQ.
• Good Media converter makes light work of conversion.

Cons

• The Navigation buttons feel very cheap.
• The main menu is very confusing and takes a long time getting used to.
• Limited Audio format, Just WMA and MP3, no OGG, AAC or Flac. (note: The e200R can play AAC files)
• Thicker then the iPod.
• Hard to protect, very easily scratched.
• The Video Files are extremely bloated.
• Scrolling through long lists take a long time.
• No bookmarking.
• No dedicated volume button.
• Poor playlist support, doesn’t support m3u.
• No A-B repeat.
• No chapter support.
• No MP4/DivX support.
• Clock not shown for long enough.
• Photo viewing very poor, doesn’t support JPEGs.
• No Text reader.
• Cannot play songs only from MicroSD.
• No RDS for Radio.
• Proprietary Connection.
• Scroll wheel hard to use at times.
• Gets very dirty with dirt and fingerprints.
• FM reception is average at times.
• Can’t view through folders.
• Volume reset every restart.
• Occasional freezing.
• Charging with USB can be inconvenient.