SanDisk Sansa e250 2 GB MP3 Player with microSD Expansion Slot (Black)

Good

I have owned the Sandisk E250 mp3 player for almost 1 year. This is my 3rd mp3 device: #1 was a Sandisk Sansa m250 which still works ($50 refurbished), #2 was a Toshiba Gigabeat 40GB ($140 new) that died within a few months of purchase and caused me many headaches. I did a lot of research on Amazon with reviews and specifications before deciding on this. I wanted something reliable, of great quality, and easy to sync songs. My biggest problem was finding something affordable since most mp3 players with these features are Ipods and I didn't want a computer, I wanted a song device. I finally purchased this for around $38. I later received a $5/5-song music credit from Amazon and was able to download 5 free songs. It was very simple to redeem since I already had an Amazon account.I purchased a wall charger for this separately for $5 from an Amazon seller b/c I didn't want to rely on the usb charger only. That was one of my biggest concerns about this particular device but the wall charger has worked flawlessly as an alternative. The charge lasts for maybe 15-20 hrs each time.It's very easy to sync songs to this device. I've had issues with the Toshiba Gigabeat and a lot of other devices are very temperamental on this as well. I am a Windows Media Player person (b/c it's easy) so I am thrilled that all I have to do is select the songs, add them to my sync list, and hit "Sync list." You have to have at least WMP version 10 which is free to upgrade to. This device also comes with its own sync software. I do use the software to transfer pictures though there may be another way. I'm not fond of this software b/c it's not particularly user friendly but there's nothing specifically negative about it either. I think you can also drag and drop files from your computer right into the device location folder.This holds up to 500 songs but that decreases as you add pictures and video. It is also capable of receiving local radio stations and voice recordings. I have some photos stored on there for fun and they're easy to access but I mostly keep songs on there. I currently have over 275 songs and 20+ pictures stored and the device has a quick response.Aside from using this on the go, I regularly plug it into my car stereo and my elliptical machine b/c both have mp3 ports. The mp3 player itself came with a special cord that plugs into the device and any mp3 ready machine so this was a huge perk.It has a go list function, a favorites functions, random, repeat, etc. I think it may even have some sort of genius random function because I constantly have it on random and it seems to play similar genre songs together. The rotating wheel can be a bit tricky because it is so fast. It can take a little time getting used to maneuvering your way around the device b/c it's setup as 4 main menus: video, photo, music, and radio/voice? Each main menu has a subset and your listed files. The back feature can be a pain b/c it goes all the way back to a main menu rather than your previous folder/location but it's nothing worth changing my overall opinion on this device.I've had no problems with this device and I couldn't be more impressed with it. My money was definitely well spent. I recommend for anyone who wants an Ipod alternative and a great bargain.

Overall a very acceptable 2G player for under $100.Display a bit too small, image quality depends greatly on the viewing angle making it difficult to watch videos and photos.The unit is built solidly and is well designed except for the control buttons which are very hard to actuate and have very poor "feel", the scroll wheel is OK. SanDisk could have made the buttons bigger and more prominent, space would have not been an issue.Sound quality is very good, provided you get yourself a decent pair of earphones. I just don't get it, why do these companies (iRiver the same)after producing spectacular technology ruin it all by throwing in crappy 25 cents transducers(earphones)ruining the whole effect. A good pair of earphones should cost you about $10-15. You should fudge that into the final cost of the unit.The FM receiver is OK, tunning in on stations is not easy because of the poor functionality of the control buttons, setting and scanning presets is somewhat cumbersome (I like the iRiver better).Voice recording at lectures and meetings I found to be marginally useful, maybe in a pinch if you have nothing better at hand...Videos need to be converted using proprietary software and will not play if they are larger than about 60 or so megs. If you have a large video that you want to load and watch you will have to split it in sections not exceeding the critical size(I did it by trial and error, a veritable chore and a hindrance). I hope SanDisk remedies this with some kind of firmware update in the near future.Now, a little problem I found, sometimes (very seldom) all mp3 players freeze (the system crashes), it happens most frequently when connected to a computer (via USB). Most units have a tiny hole labeled "reset" where you can insert a pin like object (preferably non metallic) to reset it. Well, this unit does not appear to have one. Mine froze and I had to disconnect the removable battery on the back side of the unit to accomplish this. The manual instructs to hold the "menu" button for 15 seconds but that did not work for me I still had to do a hardware reset.Caveat, the unit does have a little hole on the top side, DO NOT insert anything there for that is the built in microphone (it is properly labeled though).On the positive side, this is one of the few units on the market that has an easily accessible and replaceable battery (in fact SanDisk makes available a replacement/backup battery for about $20, a great deal as custom batteries go). Too bad that you have to remove two small (and easy to lose) screws to loosen the battery. Why couldn't SanDisk go all the way and design a quick release latch for the battery??!!Another plus for this unit is that it accepts MicroSD memory cards. This adds expandability to the unit. I have not used this feature so I am not sure if music and video files can be played directly from the card.I also have an iRiver U10, iRivers are terrific players but significantly more expensive than the Sansas (with comparable memory capacities).Functionally, iRivers leave the Sansas in the dust. Better controls, better user interface, better and larger display, better FM tuner etc.. but at about twice the price.The Sansa is thinner and a little better constructed though.A very good value.