SanDisk Sansa View Review

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2008/01/sandisk-sansa-view-review.php' target='_blank'>http://www.anythingbutipod.com/arch...view-review.php</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;The Sansa View is SanDisk&rsquo;s flagship flash MP3 player with the ability to playback video on its 240x320 64k color screen. What makes the Sansa View interesting is its high capacity flash memory along with memory expansion putting it in close rivalry to hard drive based players. The other thing going for the View is the &ldquo;bang for the buck&rdquo; factor. It may not be a high end player, but it is one of the best values on the market.&quot;<br /><br /></em><img border="0" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201960469.usr10.jpg" /><br /><br />I really like the idea behind these being expandable. It is a pretty good value to start with (the 16 GB version is cheaper than the 8 GB Zune), but in a year or two, you might find the capacity too small. By that point in time you should be able to pick up a cheap microSD card and be able to double the storage for not much extra cash.

[Roosterman]

I have an e260 which I really like. One of the reasons I bought it was because of the expansion slot. It isn't quite as great as I had hoped. When the slot is empty, the player remembers where you where when the player was last on. Many times I have to put it down and do something which after awhile the player turns off. It's nice then to pick it up and resume where you left off. When the expansion card is inserted, this is gone. Every time the player turns on, it detects the card and organizes the library. Then the memory of where you last where is gone and takes you back to the main menu. I find this to be somewhat irritating but live with it for the additional storage. Does anyone know if this "feature" has been changed in the newer View models?

[Jason Dunn]

By that point in time you should be able to pick up a cheap microSD card and be able to double the storage for not much extra cash.

Yeah, absolutely! I love the idea of a storage-expandable player, although I've never owned one to date. As long as the added storage is seamless and treated as a JBOD (i.e.: one big blob of storage) then I think this is a great feature - especially since right out of the gate it allows you to create a higher-capacity player. For instance, I'd love to have a 16 GB Flash Zune, but Microsoft doesn't make one (well, one that's sold to the public at any rate) - if I could put my 8 GB microSD card in there and make my own 16 GB player...how awesome would THAT be? :D