This review appears in the September issue of PC Advisor, available now in all good newsagents.
Another day, another iPod imitator. This time around it's SanDisk doing the honours, serving up a shiny black audio- and video-player complete with 4GB capacity and control wheel. How original.
For the most part, the Sansa is sturdily put together, with an extremely smart brushed-metal back cover and solid buttons. The control wheel, however, is made of flimsy plastic. It feels like something you'd find in a cracker. What's more, the wheel's raised contours make it rather awkward to access the four buttons arranged around its circumference.
Similar reservations apply to the hold key, which is too close to the headphone socket, while the record button has been placed on the side of the device where it's easily activated by accident. Other players have shown this can be an ideal location for frequently used controls such as volume, but SanDisk appears to have put little thought into the quality of the user experience.
The menu button, which in rival offerings takes you back one navigation step, instead reverts to the main menu. The back/rewind key is what you're looking for. Unless you've selected a track, in which case the down button is the correct choice. It's not rocket science, but it could have been a bit simpler.
The screen is large and clear, and the sound quality we experienced via the bundled headphones was perfectly serviceable. You can load up MP3 or WMA tracks via Windows Media Player. But for photos and video you'll need a converter application that SanDisk provides. Fortunately it's a convenient, effective program. The company wins brownie points for including a memory-card slot, enabling you to bolster the capacity of the player.
As for battery life, the Sansa impressed by actually exceeding SanDisk's claims and nearing the 22-hour mark. Not quite up there with the heroic Samsung YP-Z5 (reviewed here), but creditable nonetheless.
Comments
ffraley said: Written 22012 Long term test ltggt Ive had mine 5 years now and its still working fine Using the menu button to revert to the main menu works fine for meUsing the back button to go back one level seems as natural as breathing I cannot recall ever hitting record by mistake and I use the lock switch without looking as I slip the Sansa into my pocketI installed Rockbox a couple of years ago enabling micro SDHD card support I have a 16G in now More file formats supported tooThis gadget has met surpassed and blown away all my expectations Im getting ready to buy another one for my wifeScore for me its all fivesltggt