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Engadget Podcast 085 - 08.22.2006
What's with all the negativity, man? It's summer time and we'd think everybody'd be at the beach or drinking a beer, and yet it seems like we can't get through a week without this company or that going at another's throats -- or just laying down dead. EchoStar and TiVo have been really heating up this past week, but we really, um, exploded with the news that they are launching what amounts to be the largest consumer product recall in recent memory -- possibly in the history of consumer electronics. 4.1 million Dell batteries will make their way back to Dell at the same time Boeing kills off their in-flight internet access division, Connexion, but it's not all doom and gloom. SanDisk's latest 8GB Sansa is out, and you know we're excited about that. Plenty more on today's podcast! Get the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3). [MP3] Download the show (MP3). [AAC] Download the enhanced show (AAC). [OGG] Download the show (OGG). Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International) Format: 37:14, 17.1 MB, MP3 Program: 0:52 - TiVo awarded $90M and permanent injunction aginst EchoStar 2:05 - Federal Court grants stay on EchoStar's TiVo injunction 8:00 - Dell recalls 4.1 million batteries 13:05 - Boeing disconnecting Connexion 21:35 - Wii for November under $250, and it "won't have hidden fees or costs" 27:13 - SanDisk unveils 8GB, expandable Sansa e280 LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com
SanDisk unveils 8GB, expandable Sansa e280
SanDisk is making its latest push against Apple's venerable iPod nano, and unlike the sour grapes iDon't campaign, this one has definite potential to knock a few precious percentage points off of Cupertino's still-overwhelming market share. Besides officially unveiling the 8GB Sansa e280 that we'd seen coming for awhile, the Milipitas-based company also announced price drops on the entire e200 lineup of players, bringing the 6GB e270 down to $220, the 4GB e260 to $180, and the 2GB e250 to just $140. As with other members of the Sansa family, the e280 also includes a microSD slot for jacking total memory up 10GB -- meaning that even if Apple can get an 8GB nano out the door by the holiday season, SanDisk will still hold the title of "most capacious flash-based DAP." The other value-added features that have helped SanDisk quickly acquire its number two position in the marketplace are also still present: you're getting video playback capability (using a proprietary converter, granted), an FM tuner with "on-the-fly" recording, a user-replaceable 20-hour lithium ion battery, embedded voice recorder, and support for MP3, WMA, and PlaysForSure tracks. All this functionality will set you back just $250, so unless you've already got thousands of FairPlay songs sitting on your hard drive (and don't feel like stripping the DRM), the Sansa e280 looks like an awfully strong contender from where we're standing.
More clues about SanDisk's 8GB Sansa
So it's starting to look like those leaked pictures we saw last month supposedly depicting an unannounced 8GB flash player from SanDisk are the real deal. You'll recall that an Anything But iPod forum member claiming to be a SanDisk tester posted a shot of what's generally referred to as the Sansa e280, and now the eagle-eyed editors over at ABi have discovered even more tantalizing clues on the company's website. The most telling bit of evidence comes when you launch the 360-degree demos for either the 4GB e260 or 2GB e250, which instead of featuring the players' respective capacities on the backside, show a model clearly adorned with an "8GB" label -- see the screenshot, right. Furthermore, the entire Sansa lineup is being hit with price cuts, which could be an indication that a product launch is imminent. If SanDisk is in fact able to get this model to market before Apple breaks us off with an 8GB nano -- aluminum enclosure and all -- it would seem to do more for the company's market share than a negative advertising campaign ever could.[Via Anything But iPod]
SanDisk planning 8GB Sansa e280?
So we can't vouch for the validity of the photo you see here, but if we're to believe an Anything But iPod forum member claiming to work as a tester at SanDisk, then it depicts a pre-production version of the unannounced Sansa e280 with a "nano-killing" 8GB of flash memory -- plus a memory card slot to jack that total up to 9GB. Although anything posted to forums should be viewed with no small amount of skepticism, a WHOIS query supposedly confirms that this member was indeed posting from SanDisk's Virginia campus when he revealed his info, and the fact that the pic looks pretty legit only further enhances this rumor's believability. Plus, Apple will surely boost the nano's capacity at some point or another, so it's obvious that SanDisk will have to do the same if it hopes to shed its runner-up status -- because simply insulting potential customers doesn't seem like a great way to gain market share.
