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July 21, 2006

SanDisk Sansa e260

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.

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Independent customer reviews from

SanDisk Sansa e260 scored:
8.7 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 3 reviews:

12 Aug 2008 rob, london

8

Good Points

a good (and much cheaper) ipod alternative

Bad Points

wheel seems a little less robust than I'd have liked.

13 Aug 2008 ange, east grinstead

9

Good Points

Best purchase I've ever made. it's excellent and fantastic value for money. I think it is one of the best media players around. The sound and picture quality are excellent, I also like that I can increase the memory with a micro sd card. The player works & looks the same as an Ipod, but is alot cheaper and I think alot better.

Bad Points

none

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Features

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SanDisk Sansa e260

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