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Sansa e100 Series MP3 players provide high-quality digital music playback with sophisticated navigation and expandable memory at an affordable price. You can add up to 2GB of additional storage space with the SD slot for more MP3, WMA (including secure WMA content), and Audible audio file formats. There are two Sansa devices in the 100 series, the e130 and e140. The e130 is blue and has 512MB of built in storage and the e140 is silver and has 1GB of storage. First Impressions When I heard that Sandisk had an MP3 player with the ability to expand the storage space using flash memory I wanted to check it out for myself. The Sandisk Sansa e130 is very close to the size of a Zippo lighter. It has a nice backlit LCD screen that can show 4 lines of track information and another line for status information such as battery power and the number of files on the device. The 512MB of internal storage, Secure Digital storage slot and FM Radio are a big plus for this device. Construction The player is pretty durable, I've dropped it a few times off my computer desk already and its pretty solid. The one small issue with this player is that the scroll wheel that controls the volume does not have a "firm" scrolling action; if you slide your finger on the wheel to turn up the volume you'll probably get a different increase in volume both times. It just doesn't seem to contact very well with the internal mechanism. It's really not a huge issue, but it can become a little cumbersome. Menu Navigation The navigation buttons on the front of the player are laid out well and can easily be found in the dark or through a pocket thanks to the ridges that run out from the main selection button in the middle of the navigation area. The navigation buttons are just that, buttons, they are not touch sensitive like the iPod. To open the menu and options you use the menu button on the side of the player. From there you can navigate through all of the menus using the navigation buttons. There are a few time where you will have to push the menu button in order to go back in the menu, but this seems limited to more complex menus such as the equalizer. Playback/Audio When I first started up the Sansa there were a few audio book samples on it so I tried those out. The audio quality for the device was setup very well for audio books but not so well for music; after tweaking the EQ and SRS WOW settings I found the sound to be much better. The only issue I could find with the sound is that the bass kick from the drums on some albums can sound a little hollow on the high-end. It doesn't effect all albums, so it may have to do with how the drums are recorded. The bass guitar is not effected by this. The Sansa also comes with FM radio and the quality actually surprised me. I could get Vancouver stations (about 2 hours drive away) with no problem. In comparison it beats my bedside clock radio hands down. The player includes a nice pair of ear-buds, they are the type that actually fit inside your ear, which makes bass response good and outside noise almost nothing because they work like ear plugs. I've been wanting to to pick a pair of these up for a while because they fit my ears better. The headphones also come with three switchable ear piece sizes. This device is also able to play content protected Audible files, making it an approved device for audiobooks. Conclusion For the price this is one attractive package that is definitely better than the iPod Shuffle. The extra storage option and easy navigation of tracks and albums makes this a MP3 player worth seriously considering. If given the chance I would definitely pick one up again. Features - Plays MP3, WMA, WMA secure and AA (audible.com) file formats
- SD expansion slot for up to 2GB of additional storage
- 5 Band EQ and SRS WOW
- Indigo multi-line back-lit LCD display
- ID3 tag info
- Digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations
- Custom navigation allows sorting songs by artist, album, song title, genre, year and more
- Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port for fast and easy transfer of files
- Mass storage compliant, no drivers required, can be used as an external data storage device
- Supports Microsoft PlaysForSure
- Includes carrying case with armband
- One-year warranty
- Up to 17 hours continuous playback using one AAA battery (depending on file quality)
Weight & Dimensions - Unit Weight
with battery: 1.8oz
without battery: 1.4oz - Unit Dimensions (W x L x D)
55mm x 74mm x 14mm
2.165" x 2.913" x 0.551"
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