The latest MP3 player from SanDisk plays music and videos, and displays photos. Plus, it’s expandable, works with music subscriptions, and includes an FM radio. Can your nano do that?
Review summary of the SanDisk Sansa e260:
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 The SanDisk Sansa e260 offers good sound, long battery life, and a competitive price, giving the nano some true competition. From its scratch resistant body to its larger LCD, FM tuner, and voice recorder, the e260 ups the stakes and comes out a winner overall. Sound is crisp and the player is easy to use. Photos and videos look decent on the e260. A microSD Card slot and a user-replaceable battery are also nice perks, should you need more storage or have a failing battery. Release: March 2006. Price: $100.
Pros:
Cons:
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Mediocre |
Good |
83%
VERY GOOD |
Excellent |
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Full review of the SanDisk Sansa e260:
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Sandisk's new Sansa e260 offers everything that makes apple's miniature flash player a hit, plus a few things the nano doesn't: it's scratch resistant, its battery is replaceable, and it's compatible with music subscription services.
Music and video - Very good
music sounded full and crisp, and even when the e260 was at full blast it showed no signs of distortion. seven presets control the EQ, and while it would have been nice to have custom controls, these seven options get the job done.
the only complaint that we had with sound was a faint clicking noise that occurred whenever we changed the volume. the FM radio was also clear, while the 4 GB storage capacity was easily accessed.
a 1.8-inch screen displays album art and photos in vivid colors, and it's slightly larger the nano's LCD. sadly, images are cropped in order to fit the screen ratio while videos were watchable but difficult to view from the sides.
Ease of use - Very good
controlling the e260 is simple thanks to a dial that is similar to the iPod, making navigating through menus and adjusting the volume easy. granted, it's not as smooth as apple's click wheel, but we had no problem finding songs.
the four action buttons are a bit small, but we got used to them fairly quickly. the power button doubles as an exit button for the user interface, which also holds a battery meter and the time at the bottom of the screen. the voice recorder, meanwhile, sounded decent during playback.
included software is fairly straightforward and easy to navigate with self-explanatory choices such as Music, Video, Photo, FM Radio, Settings, and Voice.
Price and availability
The SanDisk Sansa e260 will start selling for $100 () in March 2006.
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