[ktvt] Fw: Internet and Technology News Review of SanDisk Sansa M250 MP3 Player
- From: "Nguyen Khanh Quoc" <khanhquoc78@xxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 05:41:00 +0700
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From: vy pham
To: khanhquoc78@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 5:14 AM
Subject: Fw: Internet and Technology News Review of SanDisk Sansa M250 MP3
Player
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 1:47 PM
Subject: Internet and Technology News Review of SanDisk Sansa M250 MP3 Player
Neal Colonius, Mon May 22, 10:38 AM ET Everyone knows that Apple is by far the
top
supplier of MP3 players, thanks to the iPod. Less well known is that a close
contender
is SanDisk, a company that was barely a factor in the market before 2005.
SanDisk is a top producer of portable storage devices, and now it is using its
expertise
in flash memory to build media players that offer excellent performance and
features.
For customers willing to look past the iPod, the current SanDisk models demand
strong
consideration.
SanDisk's Sansa M200 Series MP3 players are a perfect example of what the
company
offers. The flash-memory-based models are available in sizes ranging from 512 MB
to 4 GB, with reasonable prices between $59.99 and $199.99. The M200 series can
play
MP3, WMA, and Audible files, with support for music purchased from , Rhapsody,
Yahoo
Music, and other online services that compete with Apple's iTunes.
These players include FM radios, built-in microphones for voice recording,
indigo
blue backlit displays, and carrying cases. The players are powered by a single
AAA
battery that can last up to 19 hours.
We recently started using the 2-GB M250 model with content from Rhapsody's
subscription
service, and have been more than satisfied.
Look and Feel
The first thing you'll notice when you open the package is that the M250 is
thicker
than it appears in advertising. The back side of the player is rounded to
accommodate
the battery, and the player is almost 1-inch thick along the midpoint.
Even so, you're likely to be struck by its small size. At first touch, the
combination
of the less-than-imposing plastic housing and ultralight weight -- only 1.3
ounces,
including the battery -- might make you wonder if you got your money's worth, at
least until you start listening.
The controls are particularly well designed. The navigation and
forward/reverse/play/pause
buttons on the front of the player are large, and each is separated by a raised
border,
making it easy to hit the right button by feel. A hold switch is located on the
left
side of the player, and the power and volume buttons are on the right side.
Features
The SanDisk M200 models have all the features you would expect from a midrange
MP3
player: FM radio with 20 presets; voice recording; five-band equalizer with four
preset options; ID tag support; a "favorites" playlist than can include up to 30
songs; and the ability to sort tunes by genre, title, artist, and album. SanDisk
estimates battery life at 19 hours, and we found that estimate to be only
slightly
optimistic.
The player can be used without installing any software on your PC. Once the M250
is connected with the included USB cable, it shows up as a portable player on
your
desktop, and you can just "drag and drop" music files to the icon and start
listening.
The controls on the M250 are intuitively designed and sized to take full
advantage
of the limited space available. The menus are easy to navigate.
Sound quality is good, compared to competing models. Even though the player runs
on a single AAA battery, it can produce volumes high enough to drown out sounds
on
a noisy bus. The monochrome display is, well, a very good monochrome display.
But
it's not nearly as nice as the color displays on other portable media players.
The SanDisk M200 players are among the most inexpensive flash-memory players
that
also offer support for subscription music services, including all the ones
bearing
Microsoft's PlaysForSure logo.
For a fee ranging from $10 to $15 a month, you can copy any song in the music
catalogs
of Napster, Yahoo Music, or Rhapsody to a limited number of PCs and to your MP3
player.
You can then listen to those songs as often as you want if your subscription is
paid
up. We tried Rhapsody with this player and had no complaints.
Performance
The sound quality of the SanDisk M250 is very good, typical of most players on
the
market, although the frequency response of the included earbuds was a little
anemic.
We replaced them with a set of lightweight, efficient Koss KSC 35s and never
looked
back. With third-party headphones, we were able to set the volume at maximum
with
very little distortion. Transferring songs through the USB port is easy enough,
but
transfers are a little on the slow side, with speeds at a little over 1 MB per
second.
Transferring a full album's worth of music will take about one minute. You can
use
Explorer, Media Player, or software from music download services to transfer
music
files to the M200 players. Transferring playlists from Media Player doesn't
work,
but playlists can be transferred using Rhapsody's software.
The microphone can pick up and record voices from 5 to 8 feet away, so it
wouldn't
be a great choice for recording lectures in a large room. The recording quality
is
good enough for voices but not for music. Line in or FM recording is not
possible.
The FM tuner was good enough to pick up all the major stations in our area.
Occasionally
we would hear a little static as we carried the player around. FM presets were
easy
to program and recall.
The M200 does have a few weak points. One disappointment, in addition to the
earbuds,
is that you can't delete music files when carrying the player around by itself.
Deletions
must be made from your PC. And there is only one quality setting for voice
recordings.
The Verdict
The SanDisk Sansa M250 provides a nice package of features at a low price. The
build
quality isn't great, but it's good enough to last a couple of years, at which
time
it will be completely outclassed by new, less-expensive models. If you're
thinking
about trying out one of the music subscription services, you won't find a better
choice.
SanDisk Sansa M250 MP3 Player
Specs: 2 GB of flash memory; 1.3 ounces; up to 19 hours of play time on one AAA
battery;
voice recorder; FM radio; one-year warranty.
Pros: Low price; excellent sound quality; PlaysForSure support; voice recording;
FM radio.
Cons: Build quality.
Verdict: One of the best values in MP3 players.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Price: $129.99
www.sandisk.com
www.vipconduit.com
and
www.accessible-devices.com
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