Editorial Review
Designed for consumers to take their favorite movies, TV shows, audio books, photos, and music on the road, the SanDisk Sansa View 8 GB multimedia player is sleek and stylish in design and easy to use. With the Sansa View in hand, you can view photos, album art, and videos on its bright and brilliant 320 x 240 2.4-inch full-color screen, or relax with your favorite MP3s and audio books, or music from the built-in FM radio, which comes with 20 programmable digital presets.
The Sansa View delivers photos, videos, and music to the palm of your hand. View larger. View more details. |
Connect to your computer via the included USB cable. View media converter interface. |
For those who like to listen to books, the Sansa View supports more than 35,000 audiobook titles available at audible.com (additional fees apply). There's a built-in microphone for recording your own audio files, too! The built-in microphone is a great feature for recording important business meetings, classes, or your neighbor's up-and-coming garage band.
The Sansa View comes with 8 GB of built-in memory--enough to store 12 hours of video or 2,000 MP3 audio files--and its MicroSD/SDHC memory card slot means storage possibilities are essentially unlimited. To ensure speedy file transfers, the unit features a USB 2.0 connection. Simply connect the player to a PC and start dragging files from your Windows Media Player 10 application. The convenient USB 2.0 connection also charges the player's Li-Poly battery when connected to a PC. The player supports MPEG4, WMV, and H.264 video files and audio files saved in MP3, secure and unsecured WMA, non-DRM ACC, and WAV file formats. The player supports picture viewing, too. JPEG photo files up to 16 megapixels can be viewed in extreme clarity on the unit's full-color display. Lightweight and compact, the player measures a mere .35 inch thick and is compatible with Windows XP and later operating systems. Powered by the long-lasting Li-Poly battery, the Sansa View can support up to 35 hours of audio playback and up to seven hours of video playback with a single charge.
What's in the Box
Sansa View multimedia player, 30-pin to USB cable, and quick start guide.
The Sansa holds up to 2,000 MP3 audio files. | 
Supports JPEG photo files and slideshows. | 
Enough room to store 24 hours of video. | 
Tune into your favorite stations via the FM tuner. |
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Customer Reviews
SanDisk Sansa View Player MP3 Player - plays less than two hours 
2008-06-19
While advertised as eight hours of play time, the player didn't make a two hour trip once in the three or four weeks we had it.
Now just waiting to get the refund we've been notified we will receive so we can try something else, hopefully something that will live up to its advertisement this time.
He likes it! 
2008-06-18
I bought this as a gift for my husband and the more he uses it, the more he is thrilled with it. Only downside is the weight.
Poor Qiality Control 2008-06-16
Despite the many reviews from folks who had to return one or more Sansa Views before getting a functional one, I figured the manufacturer must have cleared up their quality problems to stay in the market. Wrong!!!!
My brand new Sansa View 8 totally stopped functioning about 20 minutes into its first use. I'm very disappointed to have waited for my order to be filled and now must wait again for a replacement. I'm more than a month into my purchase and I have nothing to show for it but a paid bill.
Amazon has not stepped up at all, either. The order was filled by a vendor whom I've never heard of before. Amazon refers buyers to that vendor's customer service and takes no part in satisfying the purchaser.
Lots of room for improvement on the part of all three providers.
Battery capacity: clamed 35 hours is cheating 
2008-06-11
A new 8GB Sansa View, tested with the original firmware (don't remember what it was) and 01.01.06A. In both cases, repeatedly playing of 128kbps MP3 eats fully charged battery in 8 hours. No extra micro SD memory and no earphones (that is, no audio payload at all). I would understand if it played for 30 hours instead of 35. I would even understand 25 hours. At least, there would be some connection with the reality. But not 8. Not 4 (four!) times worse than claimed. Dear Sansisk, you are liers. Your reputation is getting down below the ground level.
I don't believe it is a bug in the firmware, because when playing it noticeably warms up -- very slightly, but quite noticeably. It means the player consumes at least 1 watt of power -- just my rough estimation, but definitely not 0.1 watt. When it consumes 1 watt of power, the fully charged battery must keep at least 35 Watt/hour. In my laptop it's a 71 w/h extended battery and it's very heavy. Do you believe such a small thing like Sansa View can keep 35 w/h? I don't -- it simply impossible.
I don't care much about this money and will keep using it mostly in my car, with the external power. I'm too busy and too lazy to send it back. But I want people to know: claimed 35 hours of 128kbps MP3 is bald cheating. Period.
However, I like the wheel control, it's very nice; in my opinion it's much better than the iPod touch pad. Another nice thing is there's no need for crappy software like iTunes or Rapsody. You can just drag and drop files.
Clear navigation & comfortable size, but quirky performance 2008-06-05
This SanDisk Sansa e250 2 GB MP3 Player with microSD Expansion Slot (Black) came to me as a gift, and was much appreciated, but it's not my favorite player. I use many other SanDisk products, which may be why I expected better performance.
The positives are plenty: sharp image screen, ease of navigation, compact size, and a microdisk slot for expansion. I add music, videos and pictures by loading a microdisk because tansfering these files is far easier to deal with than using the SanDisk software that came with the device (which is supposed to allow drag-n-drop, though this hasn't worked for me).
The negatives are a nuisance: sometimes the player just won't turn off, so I must let the battery run down entirely (that took over 24-hours in one occaision). Recharging the built-in battery takes up precious time and one of the limited USB slots on my laptop. While the navigation wheel makes it quicker to switch between functions, it is a nuisance when shoved in a pocket when I'm on the move because any friction seems to change programs or increase volume when least expected.
It's a fine tool for displaying pictures and videos, and the voice notes do come in handy from time to time. The music player itself is good, but the built in equalizer doesn't make much difference in sound quality, at least to my ear. The fat ear buds that came with the Sansa are far too big for my petite ears, so are useless to me. Worst of all, it will not play audio certain files, and I adore books on tape from Audible.
My far less expensive RCA MP3 player recognizes a broader range of files, and runs about 10 hours on one rechageable AAA battery, so gets loads more use.
Great display, straightforward design 
2008-07-13
I bought my Sansa View 8gb three weeks ago, and it's been working great. I wanted a new mp3 player mainly to watch movies or video clips while I travel. The video quality isn't the best, but it's still very good. Same with the photo quality. The screen is big, bright, and crisp. The sound quality is good as well.
Navigating through the View is quite easy. It only took me about ten minutes to get the hang of it. Although I haven't bought a MicroSD card yet, I love the idea of an expandable library.
Several people have mentioned bugs in the View, but I haven't had a problem. I think Sandisk has worked all of those out.
My only problem with the View is that it came with Rhapsody. It's not the easiest program to work with, although they say adding music is as simple as "drag and drop". For some reason I have all my songs in the Videos folder as well as my Music folder. They play just fine, but I don't know how it happened. It may just be me not understanding the program well enough.
I definitely recommend the Sansa View to anyone looking for an inexpensive video mp3 player.
PROS:
-Inexpensive
-Expandable library with MicroSD card
-Big, bright, crisp screen
-Easy to navigate
-Slim and attractive look
CONS:
-Comes with Rhapsody
-Have to hold the Power switch a little while before it turns off
Frustrating 2008-07-09
Any problem listed in previous reviews, I encountered with mine. At which point I discovered one more weakness of this mp3 player.
It does not fare well against a hammer.
I love it!! 2008-07-03
I truly love this MP3 player. I would recommend it to anyone. Mine holds a charge for about two to three days. I play it about six hours a day listening mostly to an FM radio station; but also play music about one to two hours a day. Can't imagine life in a office environment without it.
An Elegant Device 2008-06-30
This is the MP3 player I was waiting for! It is an excellent and elegant device. Perhaps that is a problem. I read one review where the writer said he had all kinds of problems with his View that it would not work properly even after the original firmware upgrade. he blamed it all on the device and firmware. Yes, the View took a little while to get used to. It was necessary to learn how to use the device properly and learn it. Time invested will be rewarded. Pay particular attention to the thumbwheel. It is powerful, elegant, responsive and sensitive. It is plenty intuitive, but perhaps more featured and capable than one might first expect. So work with it. Menu structure and function is good but takes a little getting used to. You may find features you did not realize are there. SanDisk should really put more emphasis on helping to educate people about this. It has been worth it. I concluded that that reviewer had one giant thumb and was a Cyclops. I'll say no more. There were originally firmware issues with the device. New firmware was already out when I got mine early on 2008. Upgrading was easy. I just installed newer firmware this month. Again, easy to do. I never had a problem with it before or after. I bought the 8Gb View and later installed a SanDisk 8Gb microSD aux chip. Again worked great. Had to play around just a little with Audible dot com and Rhapsody dot com to figure that out. I have been through all the functions of this device, they will say they can be a little obscure, but they work great. The issue that people may have is the thumbwheel is so powerful and sensitive. The device is mostly controlled by it. The device is extremely capable and elegant as I said, but many may miss this if they don't take the time to learn how to really get the most out of it. The way the menus/screens and selections are navigated are very well thought out. But a little difficult and confusing at first. I would not have it any other way because it is designed right and it is sooo very powerful. You have a very capable device that will do all it should. But you must experiment and take the time learn how to use it. This is the MP3 I waited for and am glad I did. Great vivid screen and size, great capacity, form factor. All the features one should need and more. My only regret is that I did not buy a larger capacity unit. But adding another 8Gb for a total of 16 is pretty good. I use it for audio books/periodicals and presentations and for music. The recorder and FM radio features are nice also. Put a video of live 82d jump on it it works great in video mode. I feel sorry for the guy who could not get his to work. It was pretty obvious it was the User and not the View. There are simpler and less capable devices out there that sacrifice functionality and compromise on features. Those are easy to find. As I said, it is a sophisticated and elegant device, but still simply and intelligently executed. I think SanDisk design engineers must have thought hard about how to make this device really right. I think thye did that. Kudos to them. There is little that should be changed or added. Once learned, it is also easy to use with little effort. Just about the perfect MP3. I think it is clear runaway as the best flash MP3 player in its class on the market at this time. Superbly executed. SanDisk does make very innovative and solid products. BTW, I do own a little of their stock (SNDK). My next MP3 will probably be a 32 or 64 Gb View. Almost lost my 8gb microSD so I taped over the slot.
I want to like it, but... 
2008-06-28
I really want to like this product. And for the most part I do. However, it has its flaws.
Pros: Very simple user-interface. Controls are intuitive (although some advanced actions can take some sleuthing). Works with Rhapsody (main reason I bought it instead of a Zune or iPod). Sound quality is good. Very small, sleek, and light-weight. Aesthetically pleasing.
Cons: Doesn't play music while charging. A *big* minus. Also, the battery life is very mediocre. Plays for 4-5 continuous hours on a 1.5 hour full charge. The power seems to completely deplete over night (even when turned off); I have to charge it in the morning before I can use it (irritating). Uses a proprietary cable that costs $ to replace.
In a nutshell: Sleek music player at competitive price. However, you get what you pay for. If SanDisk put more effort into making a great music player, I would pay the difference.
