Top MP3 Player Under $150: The ScanDisk Sansa

I bought a ScanDisk Sansa e250 about 5 months ago and I have had a very good experience with it so far. The particular model I own is the 2 gigabyte version. This is enough space for the average person whose main interest is to have a good selection of music to listen to while exercising or for waiting for transportation etc. This is not the player for the big time music lover who needs to have thousands and thousands of songs on his portable player.

The Sansa has a sleek design, which makes it visibly attractive. The player is 1.7 inches wide, 3.4 inches long and .7 inches in depth. The player is a little big for a runner who wants to listen to music during his workout but it is still small enough to be bearable and defiantly small enough for the average listener. It is still smaller and more comfortable to carry then some of the higher end ipods and other larger portable players. This player has a lot going for it but it does have some flaws that take a little bit from it.

Pros:

The positives to this product are as mentioned above that it is small and be carried in the palm of your hand. It is also a dependable, it doesn’t freeze up, the music quality is good and it has tons of features that make the experience of using the Sansa that much more enjoyable. The features are both useful and plentiful. They include the ability to listen to FM radio. The inclusion of an FM tuner is a rare inclusion for an mp3 player.

Although the reception is not quite as good as you would get using a regular radio it you can still listen to the radio on your player. Another important feature that comes with the Sansa E250 is the voice recorder. This is another feature that isn’t included among other players. One of the biggest pros when analyzing the Sansa is the ability to play subscription music. This compatibility allows for a more affordable and legal way of acquiring music than the expensive I-Tunes service. The Sansa is compatible with all major subscription music services including Napster, Rhapsody, and Yahoo.

Yet another aspect of the Sansa is its video playback capabilities. The Sansa is part of a new age of mp3 players in which you can display pictures and even play video on. Even though the screen is a little small, you can still enjoy a solid video experience with the Sansa. Although you won’t get all the video quality with an Ipod, the Sansa is more than enough to keep the casual watcher satisfied.

Cons

The biggest negative aspect of the Sansa is the fact that it comes with very poor organizational software. I would recommend using Media Player to manage your music but unfortunately you cannot use Media Player to manage your video. The software they provide lacks the streamlined and ease of use that I-Tunes and Windows Media Player have.

The bottom line is that the ScanDisk Sansa provides a lot of bang for your buck so to speak. For between one hundred and thirty and one hundred fifty dollars you get 2 gigabytes of space to store music on. You also get video playback capabilities and the ability to store and view photos on demand.

When you add a voice recorder and video you come out way ahead in terms of value. Even though the Sansa doesn’t provide the same experience that the much flashier Ipod does it is still a great device and one that I would defiantly recommend.