SanDisk's answer to an iPod Alternative (Sandisk Sansa View 16 GB)

Member Name: Deru

Product:	Sandisk Sansa View 16 GB
Date:	23/08/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good battery life, good playback, easy navigation, Lots of storage, nice design, MicroSD slot

Disadvantages: Wheel is a bit cheap and tacky

INTRO

I bought myself a SanDisk Sansa View (16GB version) because I found my previous MP3 / Video player a bit too bulky and heavy (Creative Zen Vision M 60GB) to carry around. I figured I was hardly using any of the storage anyway so thought a 16GB alternative would suffice. I didn't want to be tied into iTunes to transfer music to the device so an Apple iPod was out of the question. This one cost me £103 from Amazon.

The Sansa View comes in 8GB, 16GB and 32GBcapacities. All have a MicroSD memory card slot so you could add some more memory should the need arise. Not sure if it supports cards of more than 8GB though. It has a good amount of storage without the memory upgrade, which can be used for music, videos and any other file with maybe a size restriction of up to 4GB due to the file system (the format the drive is structured to save files on the hard drive).

DESIGN

The device looks pretty attractive with its glossy front and rubbery back but the front does pick up fingerprints. The build feels solid enough. The size is similar to a chocolate bar shaped mobile phone but the Sanza View may just be a third slimmer. Not too dissimilar in weight either weighing in at 83 grams. It has two buttons and a wheel, which was probably influenced by the iPod's 'Click Wheel'. The wheel is nowhere near as sleek looking as the iPod's version and unlike the iPod's one, the Sansa View's one actually moves round and so doesn't have the Play / Pause, Next, Previous, etc buttons labelled, although they are there despite the lack of labelling. Unfortunately, this wheel looks a bit cheap and does seem to scratch and mark easily due to the rubbery material.

On a brighter note, when turned on and when navigating, the blue light around the ring looks nice. It also displays a Play/Pause, Menu and Home icons, which are not visible when not lit. When playing videos, which automatically plays in landscape mode, these lit up icons move to different positions and correct orientation, which I think is quite nice although it meant that they did have to exclude Next and Previous buttons to make room for this. Not labelling everything doesn't hinder the usage of the player though as it is very easy to navigate.

PLAYBACK

Sound quality varies according to what headphones or speakers you use but with a good pair of headphones, I think the sound quality is excellent. Saying that, I'm no audiophile so I wouldn't be able to comment further other than the audio is loud and clear.

With the video, the 2.4 inch (320 x 240 color TFT) screen is just big enough but the quality doesn't look particularly sharp. However, subtitles near the bottom of videos are readable for some of my videos that have them so it's acceptable quality. Video must be converted using software beforehand before they can be played. I've tried copying video files (AVI / MPG / MP4) straight to the device only for it to complain that they are in unsupported formats. The SanDisk Video Converter software is poor and doesn't work most of the time with the player still complaining about the format but I managed to find a free one online called 'Free Video to iPod Convert' by DVD Video Soft, which works a treat for AVI, MPG and MP4.

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life is excellent. I tried to drain the battery playing MP3s by leaving it running but it kept going and going. They quote 35 hours but it's probably something between 10 - 20 hours for music if you navigate around regularly. Video battery life is substantially shorter.

OTHER

It also has built-in FM radio, which works great, and a voice recorder function. It seems quite easy to build a playlist by using the player itself rather than having to rely on software on a PC. It does, however, use a non-standard USB cable, which is included but if you want to use it to transfer documents, you would need to carry this special SanDisk cable around with you.

It also supports Chinese and Japanese characters if you happen to have MP3s with file names using East Asian characters. Lastly, it has other bits like the Hold switch and the ability for you to rate the music so that you can search for what you like most. can't seem to organise music by folders though.


SUMMARY

PROS
- Nice design
- Good quality sound
- Big enough screen
- MicroSD card upgradability
- Drag 'n' Drop transfer of content
- Easy navigation
- Built-in Radio and Voice Recorder

CONS
- Cheap 'Click Wheel' replica
- SanDisk software is poor and you need to find an alternative
- Video quality isn't great
- Non-standard USB cable

VERDICT

It's a good solid player with good battery life and even has some nice extra functions. Video playback is not perfect but acceptable. Music playback is terrific and it's easy to use as well so recommended!

Thanks for reading!

Summary: SanDisk Sansa VIEW MP3 Player

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