The SanDisk Sansa View returns

So you might remember that earlier this year SanDisk introduced, and then somewhat abruptly cancelled, the Sansa View, a new widescreen flash-based portable media player. At the time they said they wanted to "re-scope the product" and "develop a PMP that will meet the needs of the market." Well, the result is the all-new Sansa View, a completely different device that seems more like a proper successor to SanDisk's much-loved Sansa e200 series than a follow-up to the product we played with at CES back in January.

The result is a smaller player that less video-centric, but does improve on the e200 series in lots of important ways. They've upped storage to 16GB (there's also an 8GB version coming out), made it thinner (it's about 8.8mm at its thinnest), added better video codec support (it handles MPEG4, WMV, and h.264), increased the screen size and resolution (to 2.4-inches and 320 x 240 pixels, respectively), eliminated that dedicated voice recorder button which we were always accidentally pressing (yes, we should have disabled it in the preferences), and replaced the sub-par music control buttons with a clickable scroll wheel (which we're hoping is as good as the one on the Sansa Connect). There's also an FM tuner, integrated digital voice recorder, a microSD memory card slot that can handle microSDHC cards up to 8GB in size, support for playback of MP3, WMA, and WAV audio files, and enough battery life for playback of at least 30 hours of audio and 6 hours of video. Should be out sometime early next month, with the 8GB model retailing for $149.99 and the 16GB model going for an extra fifty bucks. Click on for a gallery of high-res images.

Gallery: Sansa View

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[Brad J @ Sep 10th 2007 2:21PM]

Why does it play mp4 video but not the mp4 audio a lot more people are also using now?

[Galley @ Sep 10th 2007 10:36AM]

I've always wondered the same thing.

[geezer @ Sep 10th 2007 7:12AM]

while I was at IFA talking to the responsible MP3 Player spokesman, he already hinted that "we will announce somthing new soon" - I asked if it might be the reviewd SansaView and he just said "well, could be". So there it is, looks good to me, have to get my hands on a review sample.

[cozmeci adrian @ Sep 10th 2007 7:18AM]

i like this gadget, i take with me every where i go

[TheLostSwede @ Sep 10th 2007 7:26AM]

Ok, if you buy the new iPod nano, then you're just plain stupid when this thing is around. The Sansa e200 was nice, but this :D
And it's cheap too!!!

[M@ @ Nov 14th 2007 11:23PM]

I know everyone will just shout me down as a crapple fanboy (I'm not), but at about 10 x 5 x 1cm isn't this more in the league of the ipod touch than the nano?

Obviously not in terms of price, but that's secondary ;)

[Chau @ Sep 10th 2007 7:30AM]

WoW!! very nice!! 16GB for only $200 plus a 4gb MicroSDHC is only about $50
so you can have a 20GB MP3 player for $250 and it looks this good and isnt apple!!

WINNER!!

[GumbyX84 @ Sep 10th 2007 7:34AM]

Wow. I was thinking of getting rid of my Sansa e250r for a Cowon D2, but after looking up the upgrade the Sansa View got, I am not so sure. I love the new design (yay for clickable scrollwheel!!!). Re-working those hard to press buttons of the e200's is well appreciated. Here's hoping the UI is reworked as well. Not so sure about the nano-like slim-ness though.

I want to know if it sounds just as good as the e200 series. If so, I might as well save $50 and get the 8GB version instead of spending $200 on a 4GB Cowon D2. : wonders: Anyone got a D2 that might be able to help me make up my mind?

[zoo @ Sep 10th 2007 7:34AM]

Meh. I was hoping they were going to make the original view touchscreen and slimmer so we have a cheap competitor to the (now) ipod touch.

There's plenty of choices at this form factor already.

[Aravind @ Sep 10th 2007 7:47AM]

This one is going to destroy the ipod nano, if people can get over the apple-fever. And it is $100 cheaper. It is even $50 cheaper compared to the 16GB creative zen v plus, which has a smaller screen, thicker size and no expansion. The screen is only just smaller then that of the creative zen. I like the zen because it has a full SD expansion slot, not a micro-SD like the sansa.

does anyone know if this one can support full-res pictures, and other formats then jpeg? or does it resize them when you load the pictures into the sansa?

also, the sansa c200 series couldnt play video from the micro-sd card. can this one play video directly off the micro-sd card?

what about divx and avi support?

the crative zen is $100 more expensive, but looks like it might have much broader range of format support and a full sd slot.

tough choice! i am in the market for a high-capacity flash player (8/16 gb) and i hope that this one might be the answer to my prayers!

[just a resident cynic @ Sep 10th 2007 8:21AM]

apparently it does support avi & divx but I am unsure as exactly how it deals with pics. alternate info link:-

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/news/2007/09/10/SanDisk-re-Launches-Sansa-View-nano-Killer-v2-0/p1

[matthew kaake @ Sep 10th 2007 8:50AM]

actually, it's $50 cheaper .

That said, I can't remember seeing any advertisements for the Sansa line in the past - that's what it's going to take if someone wants to throw down Apple's lead in the market - good advertising that makes the product more of a 'lifestyle' choice. Winning by the numbers (more space, more codecs, less cost) doesn't mean much in the end - it's about user experience and image.

[Aravind @ Sep 10th 2007 9:18AM]

This is what it says on the sandisk website... so i am not sure if that means it will convert the divx or avi video when you put it into the player... which might also mean that you can't play a divx or avi file that is sittin in your micro-sd card.

Video compatibility with MPEG4, WMV, H.264
Additionally, the Sansa Media Converter supports a large number of other video formats, including DivX

[Sean DL @ Sep 10th 2007 9:40AM]

No one is going to get over apple-fever till someone comes out with something that will put all their music on a device without them having to pull their hair out.

Us tech readers might not have a problem with SanDisk's plug and play, but most iPod users do, specially when they bought so much music at the iTunes music store.

Apple is the Microsoft of this division, and no one has rven come close to making the firefox just yet...

[Herbert Neal @ Sep 10th 2007 1:26PM]

It's not our fault that apple fans are suckers.

[fgpx78 @ Sep 10th 2007 7:58AM]

Something about battery life?

[ccutlip @ Sep 10th 2007 8:05AM]

35 hours audio; 7 hours video

[fgpx78 @ Sep 10th 2007 11:13AM]

Oh Gosh, It's even better then My T9JAB!!! I'm really looking forward to it!

[Rick @ Sep 10th 2007 8:03AM]

test

[Mrmean @ Sep 10th 2007 8:07AM]

yawn...

[pikkoz @ Sep 12th 2007 11:47AM]

MPEG4,h.264, microSDHC slot are good but i'd would have preferred to have BT output and FLAC support.

[Bazza @ Sep 10th 2007 8:26AM]

Awesome!!

[timatl @ Sep 10th 2007 9:16AM]

i guess it does not have wifi built in

[Constable Odo @ Sep 10th 2007 9:20AM]

I agree that it has better features than a Nano. It's a pity that Apple is so against card slots in all of its products. Business-wise, Apple induces buyers keep coming back to buy larger capacity models instead of merely needing to buy a larger memory card. I wish Sansa had gone with SDHC rather than the micro variant. This Sansa is definitely more practical than a Nano. Too bad very few people in the US will ever see one.

[shaliron @ Sep 10th 2007 9:31AM]

Apple is yet again one step behind in pricing, and I thought they were being aggressive with their Nano pricing.

And was I the only one to see the leaked photo gallery on Engadget yesterday of this fine gadget?

[Sean DL @ Sep 10th 2007 9:50AM]

Yeah, I saw it too. I was wondering where the story was.

And on Apple 's pricing, they have alot more difficult role of balancing their products.

4GB nano: 149
8GB nano: 199
80GB classic: 249
8GB touch: 299
160GB classic: 349
16GB touch: 399

Pretty much everything is 50 dollars apart. Also have to remember that I'm sure Sandisk has alot more flash then Apple does(they are a flash maker), so it doesn't factor in SankDisk R&D spending of making this product.

[jessy @ Sep 10th 2007 10:51AM]

you saw this yesterday? i saw it like 3 days ago... for real its been their for a while i was like did i miss the article? and i assumed i did

and yes lets take a look

4GB nano: 149
8GB nano: 199

8gig view: $150
16gig view: $200

radio voice recording micro SD card expansion

apple "probably" offers more codec support, but man they are behind on the times.

[just a resident cynic @ Sep 10th 2007 12:30PM]

[...apple "probably" offers more codec support,] - huh?

[jessy @ Sep 11th 2007 1:02AM]

when i read it it only offered a few codecs like mp3 and wmv.


i kept reading after i said that to find out they support a couple other very good codecs.

so, my bad.

[Al @ Sep 10th 2007 9:53AM]

I like it. I just hope the sound quality is on par with the rest of the market.

[BrettB @ Sep 10th 2007 9:57AM]

This guy does seem like a great alternative to the nano, but what is the software like? So far i really prefer iTunes to any other mainstream media player. I don't bother purchasing music from the iTunes store as I hate DRM, but I still like iTunes for sorting and organizing and I'd be hard pressed to leave it behind for some crappy software (I'm speaking directly to you Sony on this one). How is the sansa's software?

[GumbyX84 @ Sep 10th 2007 10:11AM]

Rhapsody (which is used in the e200/e200r lines) works just as easily as iTunes. You take the songs or playlists you want to use and drag it over. Rhapsody also works with ANY mp3 player that supports PlayforSure. I personally like the setup of Rhapsody better then iTunes. The only thing that they really need to work on is getting more artists and tweaking the search engine.

Its a free download, so why don't you give it a try?

[GumbyX84 @ Sep 10th 2007 10:18AM]

I believe the Sansas use Real Rhapsody. I used it before I moved to a linux OS and I really liked it. Its similar to iTunes and it works with ANY mp3 player that supports UMS or MTP. The player DOES have to be compatible with PlayForSure, but most on the market are. Its a simple drag and drop for all your songs and playlists. The music store could use a little work, as they do not have as many artists or labels as Apple, but its still worth looking into. Its a free download, so why not give it a try?

[GumbyX84 @ Sep 10th 2007 10:18AM]

Ga sorry.... Thought my first post didn't go through. :(

[nonstatic @ Sep 10th 2007 10:26AM]

if it supports xvid without transcoding, i'm sold.

[Aravind @ Sep 10th 2007 10:26AM]

sandisk's proprietary connector just pisses me off though. why cant they use mini-usb like the rest of the civilized world?

and for a player that size, i am sure they could have fit in a full-sized sd slot. but they probably calculate that most people will end up buying the sandisk micro-sd card, so thats just more business for them. not too many companies make micro-sdhc at 8gb capacity.

[vic2kx3 @ Sep 10th 2007 10:39AM]

Ahhh goodbye my e280 you have done me well but it's time for the sansa view FTW!

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Sep 10th 2007 10:45AM]

Now that this is coming out, who needs a new fatty nano?

[Rick @ Sep 10th 2007 11:05AM]

Thanks SanDisk for complicating my life yet again! I was all ready to go buy a 16Gb iPod Touch and now you come out with something half the price that does almost the same thing. Is the WiFi, touch screen and slick interface worth the price? Well I guess I have to wait for the View to come out and do a hands on of both of them at a big box store. I have already parted with my e280 (gave it to my daughter) and I thought the upgrade process would be straight forward. I was wrong again! I could just buy both!

[Sam @ Sep 10th 2007 12:52PM]

If it had Bluetooth I'd upgrade

[ashokrk @ Sep 10th 2007 2:06PM]

my first mp3 player was Sansa e130 and has almost decided to buy iriver clix gen1...thks to Sandisk View i am all confused now... does anyone knw the ETA of the sweet baby...

[projekt84 @ Sep 10th 2007 2:10PM]

bigger screen, double capacity, half the price, yet still will probably sell millions less than ipod nano...

this tyranny from apple must stop. ipods have turned into overpriced brand name instead of a quality product. these are electronics, not lip gloss.

[matt @ Sep 10th 2007 2:34PM]

Not sure where you got half the price from, but ignoring that...

While I agree that to many, the new Sansa represents a better value than the Nano, I don't understand why people talk about the iPod line as though it's a cheap plastic toy from a cereal box. Sure, it's trendy (is there something wrong with that?), but it made its name because it's a solid MP3 player with an excellent UI, hooked up to another great program (iTunes) that works well.

I don't have an iPod right now, and probably never will, but I just don't get why people act like it's trash *shrugs shoulders*. Anyhew, the Sansa looks nice - if I ever see one in a store, I'll give it a whirl...

[Tim Anderson @ Sep 10th 2007 2:37PM]

Does anyone have anything to comment on the current Sansa player's interface? I know Apple is king in this arena, but how does SanDisk do. My first MP3 player was a Creative Nomad, and the interface difference between that and the 1st gen iPod was drastically better.

[Alex @ Sep 10th 2007 3:26PM]

sweet, I was contemplating buying a e280 but after seeing this i change my mind. also, I was wondering why the e280's were disappearing from stores. Now I know why....

[Tony @ Sep 10th 2007 4:01PM]

What's the UI like?

looks horrendous

[Steve @ Sep 10th 2007 4:50PM]

Gapless playback? Check.
Audible book playback? Check.

I'm upgrading my Sansa e260 the day this thing is released.

[steve @ Sep 10th 2007 5:25PM]

wow that is sweet
if i wasnt already happy with my e280 plus rockbox i would definitely buy that

[Frank @ Sep 10th 2007 6:21PM]

All I want to know is...does that COOL pencil come with the unit or is that extra?
If they are smart like Apple, they'll charge ya for it!

[MercuryCat @ Sep 10th 2007 8:27PM]

gimmah!