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| Date Reviewed: 02/18/2008 |
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Strengths: Form factor; Direct USB connection; MicroSD slot
Weaknesses: Clumsy Controls, No Video
Summary: At this price range, you have three Sansa models available to select from: the Express, the Clip, and the older but still available C250. I have all three, having toyed around with the Express for a day. Price and sound quality are similar among the three. Here's a direct comparison: Express versus Clip: The Clip has a smaller form factor, but lower battery life. The simple OLED displays are similar. The Clip looks and feels more "toylike"--if you want a more solid feeling player, go with the Express. Big difference: the Express has a MicroSD expansion slot, so you can double its capacity for less than 20 bucks. Express versus C250: Both have expansion slots, a similar form factor and similar buttons and control systems. Two big differences. First, the C250 uses a proprietary cable, the Express just plugs right in. So if you lose the C250 cable, you are out of luck. Second, the C250 has a full color (but dimmer) display, and some models can be Rockboxed to play video. I give the C250 the slight edge over the Express because of the color display, but if you want ease of use the direct plug on the Express is really nice. Any of these three is a good cheap option, especially if you can find a sale. Whatever you do, though, do the player justice by replacing the stock earbuds with some good headphones or canalphones, I promise you will notice a big difference.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/31/2007 |
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Strengths: Small size.
Bright screen.
Expandable.
Weaknesses: Slow when switching between songs and menu items.
Summary: The strengths of this little music player are its small size, bright screen, and memory capacity. The OLED screen is much brighter than previous Sandisk screens. The interface is easy to navigate and makes sense after a short while. Direct connect using the USB plug under the cap is very convenient. Charging only through the PC usb port could be a problem when traveling, but I got a small wall charger on eBay for $5. Micro SD expansion gives me virtually unlimited storage. An extra 2GB chip works well except for the delay as the Sansa initializes during start up. Like older Sandisk players, hit the power button before untangling the headphones, and the delay is minor. I have read many complaints about the Express locking up and other technical problems. I have not seen them yet, but it does seem to be more widespread than it other players. All in all, this is a very good player. Sound is very good, navigation makes sense, file transfer is drag and drop easy, battery life is good (have only used it for 4 or 5 hours between charges), and size is great. I would recommend the Sansa Express.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/29/2008 |
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 Great small MP3 player but dont upgrade the firmware Strengths: sleek and small
Weaknesses: fimrware upgrade bricks the player
Summary: Haven't used it to record FM or Voice notes yet. Also haven't used the MicroSD yet but from online sources it works great and acts as one device when a card is used. Sound quality is as good
I also like the ease of use with its small menu; I haven't found it difficult at all. I also have not experienced any skipping as was stated in other feedbacks. It is extremely easy to charge and the battery seems to last around 20 hours.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/27/2008 |
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Strengths: easy drag & drop, minisd card slot
Weaknesses: USB charger only
Summary: This is the second mp3 player that I bought from sandisk. It has every feature that I need in an mp3 player. The availability of minisd slot is a plus. It can play for a long time after charging. The only drawback is that it is so hard to control the file folders.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/05/2008 |
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Strengths: lots of bang for the buck, packed with features
Weaknesses: mono screen
Summary: The is one excellent product! Plays pretty much all of the digital audio files out there, includes an FM radio and voice recorder! Very compact, and built in USB plug so there are no extra cables to carry! Therefore, it makes a great thumb drive as well! Plus, it is expandable with microSD cards. This may be the last MP3 player you will ever buy.
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| Date Reviewed: 07/03/2008 |
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Worth $30 on clearance
Strengths: Size, sound quality, microSD expansion
Weaknesses: Small buttons, user interface quirks, poor support from SanDisk
Summary: I've been using a 2 GB SanDisk Sansa Express for a couple of months now and can make some general observations about it that might be helpful to a prospective buyer.
1. Sound quality is very good. I was really surprised about this because I had figured that a small MP3 player like the Express ought to have pretty average sound. Why would the target market for something that is more or less an iPod Shuffle substitute for someone who doesn't want to shell out for an iPod or who wants a screen to see what is playing care about sound quality? Not sure that these users really do care, but they will be duly rewarded with a player that has clean, well-balanced sound and doesn't really need any silly equalizer settings (think "Jazz") or a stupid bass extension mode that just muddies up the sound for kids who listen to music with the left end of the equalizer jammed up all the way.
2. No software needed. Is iTunes is a fat piece of garbage that Apple forces upon Windows users in order to coerce them into buying a Macintosh? Anyone slightly in agreement with this will appreciate the fact that the Sansa Express requires no software. Sure, it works with Windows Media Player, but come on... Windows Media Player is as bad as iTunes. No, to use the Express just copy MP3 or WMA files to the drive that shows up for it under the "My Comptuer" icon. Got a Mac? No problem either. The Sansa Express enumerates as a standard USB mass storage class device, so no modern operating system (including Linux, somewhere back around MacOS 9, IIRC, or Windows 2000 or later) requires drivers for it. Just copy music to it and go.
3. Expansion via microSD. The Express can be expanded via microSD cards. I'm using a 2 GB card in mine. In fact, I just move music to and from the card so that I can leave the Sansa Express in my car. According to the SanDisk support forums, the Express can handle at least 4 GB microSDHC cards and may be able to manage all the way up to 8 GB.
4. Small buttons. Suffice it to say that while the user interface is fairly responsive, the buttons are also kind of small, which is a pain of sorts for males over the age of about 16. Related to the buttons are some small user interface inconsistencies I noticed. For example, most menu options can be backed out of by clicking the backward button. Not so with the voice recorder from which the only way to exit is by clicking the menu button.
5. Fingerprints. The Sansa Express has a shiny surface and display that is extremely prone to fingerprints and probably scratches.
6. Support. The Sansa Express is now apparently discontinued, so it can probably be had for a decent price. Mine came from Office Depot back in February for $30, no rebate needed. Firmware updates are probably no longer forthcoming, and users on the SanDisk support forum (just finding the forum is a pain) are vocal about numerous problems the unit seems to have. I've not run into these, but I also haven't used it day in and day out like some folks, so buyer beware.
Lack of support might be reason enough not to buy the Sansa Express and, for me, combined with some of the other flaws, is reason enough to give it an average rating. However, for $30 OTD, it'll be a fine replacement for my 7-year-old's iPod Shuffle when it kicks the bucket.
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| Date Reviewed: 06/05/2008 |
- febuary29
- Member Since:
Jun 2004
View Member's:
Reviews
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Strengths: -USB built-in, no cables needed
-expansion slot for additional memory
-16 hours of battery life
Weaknesses: -cannot read SDHC cards!
-player is somewhat buggy at times
-lanyard on the cap instead of on the player itself
Summary: Bought this at buy.com when it went on sale and overall very pleased with the flash drive. I never exclusive calculated battery life but I get about 12 hours or so (very rough estimate). It's compact, and very easy to charge. I have yet to find a good player out there containing ALL of the features on this player. With that said, my biggest gripe is that I am not able to use the new 4gb microsdhc cards with this player, even after using the latest firmware. (Note that some users were able to use it with the new firmware).
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| Date Reviewed: 04/29/2008 |
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 cute and light but not great to use Strengths: light
attractive
no cables
Weaknesses: flimsy
doesn't sort by title
Summary: This works ok, and it's good in a pinch. However, the buttons are kind of flimsy, the display is hard to read, the songs really, really need to be loaded with mp3 id tags since it doesn't sort properly by name, and ..... Anyway, I got rid of mine. You probably want to pass on this one. The sandisk E2xx series are much nicer.
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| Date Reviewed: 04/11/2008 |
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Large Value, Small Controls
Strengths: Direct USB Connection is very cool, bright screen mirrored polist to frontplate, lightweight, small in size. plenty loud without distortion.
Weaknesses: tiny controls. Counter intuitive interface ( for me)
Summary: This was my first MP3 player and it is very good. Having 5 functions bound to one tiny square button makes it hard to navigate it you have big hands, though. Great sound and storage, stylish looks. I have not used the voice recording function yet. Well worth the under $50.00 price tag.
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| Date Reviewed: 03/25/2008 |
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Strengths: Battery Life, USB Direct, Compact Size, FM Radio, Loud Sound, Easy Set up. Makes a great gift.
Weaknesses: Menu Options are limited. FM Radio records in .wav format.
Summary: This is a great compact MP3 Player, connects directly using the MP3 Player's USB, also if you can't connect directly you could always use the included cable extender. It also syncs your music with Media player, just drag and drop files to use as a flash drive. FM Radio is cool if you don't want to listen up to 250 songs in the internal 1gb memory. The memory is also upgradable with a Micro SD slot up to 2gb. I would also reccommend a case to protect the unit. It's great if you want to workout or jog and don't want to lose, break, or be interupted with an MP3 enabled phone, since they could be expensive to replace.
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| Date Reviewed: 03/18/2008 |
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Strengths: Small, light weight, good sound, nice display
Weaknesses: Hard to learn menu, buttons sometimes do not respon
Summary: I own an old ipod 40gb unit big, and heavy. I was looking for something light weight, and inexpensive. My son told me to try the Sansa Express. This mp3 player cost me under fifty dollars and that was with shipping too. This is a great little player it plugs stright into your usb plug, or it comes with a little flex cable for thoughs tight spots. Easy to load all tunes just drag and drop. The best of all it sounds great. I can lose or break this unit many times for the cost of an Ipod.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/19/2008 |
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Strengths: Small, not cables required, records decently, internal mic, cheap
Weaknesses: None so far.
Summary: The main reason I bought it was because it does not require any cable. I needed to record stuff and being able to seamlessly transfer the recording into to PC was important. This seems to do it well.
Also has a micro-sd slot to increase memory size
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| Date Reviewed: 12/31/2007 |
- bcompton
from CA
- Member Since:
Nov 2004
View Member's:
Reviews
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Strengths: Features (player, fm tuner, voice recorder, 2GB)
Weaknesses: Software hangs up on macs
Summary: Great little (2GB) mp3 player for the price. The added features of FM tuner and voice recorder are handy. The player holds plenty of songs due to the size. Since you can get them for around $60 the value is outstanding.
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