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SanDisk Sansa e270: do we have here a valid option against the mighty iPod?

If you ask anyone for the most well known flash-based music player on the market, the answer is only one: Apple’s iPod. Let’s face it, it is good, it’s visual appealing, it’s trendy and it’s functional. So, everyone knows it. Of course that a continuous massive marketing campaign going on for years now from Apple has a lot to do with it.

But what about the alternatives? Anyone comes close to the mighty iPod?

One of these alternatives comes from the memory giant SanDisk.

I’ll be giving you a hands-on review of the SanDisk Sansa e270. I know that this is not exactly news, the Sensa e270 has been on the market for some time now (slightly over a year), but I recently got my hands on one of these beauties and had to share my findings with all of you.

SanDisk Sansa e270: Highlights

• 6Gb memory (see more bellow)
• Attractive Design and Dimensions
• 1.8″ color TFT screen
• Photo and Video playback
• 20 hours battery life
• MicroSD expansion slot
• FM radio and recording
• Voice recording
• Usable as MSC or MTP device
• Price

SanDisk Sansa e270: Memory capacity

The Sansa e270 comes with an internal flash memory of 6Gb. More than enough for a LOT of music and photos. Maybe not so much for video since it uses it’s own file system for video files that needs to be converted (software included) and hugely increases video file sizes, but on the other hand, who is going to actually want to see a full movie on this this? Anyway, it’s very convenient for small videos.

If you want, the Sansa e200 series comes in different flavors regarding memory capacity: the Sansa e250: 2Gb; Sansa e260: 4Gb; Sansa e270: 6Gb and more recently the e280: 8Gb (the first 8Gb flash based multimedia player on the market).

But it’s not all regarding memory. One of the attractive features on this player is the MicroSD expansion slot. With MicroSD cards in the market reaching 8Gb or more, it’s fairly easy to say that you can double the capacity of your music player. Since I don’t plan to move around with all my music collection, for me 6Gb was the best choice (maybe even too much).

SanDisk Sansa e270: Photo and Video

As I mentioned above, it’s not all about music. The Sansa e200 series players are full multimedia compatible, storing and displaying photos and videos. Although it uses it’s own file format for video, the list of compatible formats you can convert from is huge: AVI, MPEG-1/MPEG-2 in MPEG, MPG, MPE/VOB (unprotected), MPEG-4 in AVI format, DAT, ASF, QuickTime MOV, WMV. A big point here is the 1.8″ TFT screen. Very bright and with a high quality, this screen is adequate for the average user and might only fall back on the standards of users who want perfection. For my standards and for the use I’m giving to the player, the screen is more than what I could ask.

And of course, photo and video capabilities is something that you won’t find on the iPod Nano. By this you see how SanDisk is trying to give the user a bit more on a direct clash against the most well established brand on the market.

SanDisk Sansa e270: Battery

Another big point in the e200 series is the battery life and the fact that it’s replaceable . Up to 20 hours of playback on one full battery charge (3.5 hours). Again, slightly better than the iPod Nano but not by much.

SanDisk also makes available “battery kits”. You can replace your battery whenever you want and for what I’ve seen (currently I do not have any of this battery kits), the kit even comes with it’s own screwdriver to easily open the back cover and replace the battery.

SanDisk Sansa e270: FM radio and recorder

So, you got tired of your music or just want to tune in your favorite radio station? No problem. A FM radio tuner is included and you can even record directly from the radio to listen later. Also, allows you to save up to 20 preset stations which it seems to me more than adequate for the average user.

SanDisk Sansa e270: MSC or MTP device

I don’t like much proprietary file systems. If mp3 is THE choice for audio files nowadays why bother to convert it to something else?

With the Sansa e200 series you can just drag and drop mp3 files directly from your computer to the player without having to go through any converting software. This is a big plus for me. It makes it so much easier if you can just organize the files in anyway you want like if you were just working with a normal folder (which you are). And guess what, MSC device also means that you can use your player to carry anything (not just audio, photos or video but any other type of files) and download it to any computer without having to pre-install any software there.

But, if it’s really a must for you that you can create your playlists and organize your files somewhere else, the player can also act as a MTP device through Windows Media Player (haven’t tried with any other player software).

The Sansa player is also fully compatible with Napster, just in case you were worried about music downloads from an online store.

SanDisk Sansa e270: Size and design

In this field, SanDisk has not diverged much from the iPod. If you look at the picture above you’ll notice how similar they are. A big difference though is the wheel. While in the iPod it’s a touch sensitive pad, in the Sansa is a mechanical wheel. This is a point that can put off some of you and you should think if having a mechanical wheel is enough to stop you considering going for an alternative player. For me, it’s a minor detail: it works as it is supposed to.

As for size, the Sansa e200 player series stands at 3.5 x 1.74 x 0.56 inches  weighting 2.7 ounces (13 x 89 x 44 mm ; 78 g). Basically the same sizes as the iPod Nano with the exception of depth which is almost double, but still making it very easy to carry without feeling bulky.

The back cover is metal (Liquidmetal) which makes it hard to scratch although it’s a fingerprint magnet. To minimize fingerprinting and scratches, this SanDisk player comes with a very nice protective case (cloth). If you want to protect it from shocks, there are available some silicone cases.

SanDisk Sansa e270: Price

This is the bottom line for many of us. The quality-for-money is often the decisive point in the choice of multimedia players.

At the time I’m writing this review, Amazon is selling the SanDisk Sansa e270 for US$ 162.99. While there is no comparable iPod Nano version regarding memory capacity, the iPod Nano 4Gb (2 Gb less) goes for US$ 179.99. That is a $17 difference for 2Gb less, without photo and video capabilities.

SanDisk Sansa e270: Conclusion

While my main point in this post was to give you a hands-on review of the SanDisk Sansa e270 player, it’s almost impossible not to make comparisons with the iPod Nano. The iPod is the standard, what everyone looks for.

In here I’ve shown you how the Sansa players can be a very good alternative to the iPod (it was for me). While keeping almost the same design, you’ll get a photo and video capable player with FM radio, expandable, without having to suffer proprietary software and at a much cheaper price, which I fully recommend.

If you want to see more about this player, David Ciccone at mobilitytoday.com published a very nice videocast about the Sansa e260 where he approaches some of the points I’ve made and others about this player.

And what about you? Do you use a Sansa player? What is your favorite multimedia player out there?

Related on this blog:

• 1 Million Zune players sold
• The big day has arrived - iPhone is out of the bag