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SanDisk busted at IFA, forced to take down display DAPs
Now we've never actually manufactured a product ourselves, but if we had, and we were showing off said product at a major European trade show, we'd be mighty embarrassed if a bunch of lawyer-types showed up at our expensive booth and told us to stash the goods out of public view. Well apparently that's exactly what happened to Sansa-manufacturer SanDisk over the weekend at Berlin's IFA exhibition, after an Italian patent management company called Sisvel convinced a German prosecutor to issue an injunction against the US's number two DAP seller. No surprises here, but the beef that Sisvel has with SanDisk centers around certain MPEG audio patents that many big-name companies -- including Apple, Archos, and Creative, to name just three of over 600 -- have taken seriously enough to license, with SanDisk being the one notable exception. SanDisk and Sisvel are already locked in heated legal battles in several large countries, and until the courts pick a winner or SanDisk decides to pay up, Sisvel wants to make sure that they can only show pictures of their products at events like IFA -- not exactly the best way to impress potential buyers. If we were SanDisk in this situation, we might take a page out of iPod Shuffle knockoff manufacturer Luxpro's book -- you know, the ripoff artists who got busted by Apple legal at CeBIT -- and comply just long enough for the hired guns to leave the building, followed by a mad dash to put the players back up on their displays and put our big fake sales grins back on our faces.
SanDisk's Sansa Base Station dock with remote for Sansa players
If you're one of the non-conforming, iDon't conformers then you'd best get with the program son. SanDisk just hit us with their Sansa Base Station which, for all the hyperbole about it transforming your Sansa MP3 into a home audio jukebox, is just a run-o-the-mill dock and remote for you Sansa player. As such, it includes a USB 2.0 and RCA jack, remote control, and of course, a "universal connector" which slots into the bottom of your e200 or C200 series players for some hot DAP-on-dock charging action. Thing is, for all their marketing audacity, the only bit we find surprising is the fact that this "must-have" accessory didn't already exist. Yours for $70 bills by October in the both the US and Europe, you choose.
SanDisk intros Made for Sansa
You're doing your damnedest to position your MP3 players as the top alternative to the iPod, so what do you do? Well, if you're SanDisk you counter Apple's "Made for iPod" licensed accessories program with your very own "Made for Sansa" licensed accessories program, right? SanDisk is launching the program with about 40 different products, including speaker docks, travel cases, headphones, armbands, FM auto transmitters, chargers and cables, from many of the same companies (Altec Lansing, DLO, Griffin, HandStands, Macally, Maximo Products, and Speck Products) who are already making iPod accessories. It's a smart move on SanDisk's part -- the massive ecosystem of accessories is one way that the iPod maintains its dominance over the market -- and presumably they aren't asking for a licensing fee of 10% of the wholesale cost of each accessory like Apple does with the Made for iPod program.
SanDisk intros Sansa c200 player
SanDisk is kicking out a successor to their aggressively-priced c100 line of flash-based players. The c200 won't be out until October, but you're looking at a 1GB model (the c240) that'll sell for $80 and a 2GB model (the c250) that'll go for $100. Both will support playback of MP3, WMA, and WMA DRM files (that includes PlaysForSure compatibility), and sport an FM tuner, integated voice recorder, a microSD memory card for adding up to 2GB of additional storage capacity, a 1.4-inch, 128 x 98 pixel LCD screen, and a battery life of about 15 hours.
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.
Creative Zen V Plus reviewed
Looks like CNET managed to get a Zen V Plus from Creative a while ago, and have already put the thing through its paces and posted their glowing review of the device. First, and fairly notable: for sheer value, the Zen V and V Plus really have the iPod nano beat, since not only do Creative's new players feature similar capacity for a good bit less, but the players also have the quite convenient line-in capability, and V Plus adds in FM and video playback for a bit of extra nano smackdown. As for design, CNET seems to be a fan; noting its cute, Tamagotchi-like feel and form factor as a definite asset. They also felt more confident with the sturdier design of the player in comparison to the nano, which is thinner but taller than the Zen V, and didn't complain about the "bulk" in regards to pocketability. Unfortunately, the joystick is a bit small and cheap feeling, and the player lacks two of the face buttons of its big brother, the Zen Vision:M. We're also concerned about the lack of scrolling capability which does show up in the Sansa and nano, but we're just worriers like that. Apparently, the 1.5-inch OLED screen is looking good, with a bit of an visible pixel grid, and some bright sunlight problems, but overall "vivid" performance. We can't say that changes our mind about the actual functionality of video playback on this thing, but if you need to know, the V Plus supports MPEG-4, WMV, DivX and more, and comes with the ToolBox software to convert files for playback. The device of course supports MP3, WAV, PlaysForSure WMA and Audible audio, and you can nab podcasts with Creative's ZenCast software. Other than USB host capability, or WiFi, the Zen V Plus has about every feature you could ask for, even PIM functionality with Outlook syncing. As for what really matters, Zen V shines with 20 hours of batter life (5 more than Creative's 15 hour rating), and solid audio quality and volume. Sounds like Creative could have a winner on their hands, and CNET's Editors' Choice award can't hurt, but we're still not sure we've seen something that can actually manage to beat the nano at its own game in this market.
Sandisk's Sansa e270 gets nude
Loyal Engadget reader turned gadget pornographer Francis noticed how much we cared for Sandisk's new Sansa e200 series MP3 players, so he cracked his open and sent us pictures of the silicon and flash memory goodness that spilled forth from within. Sure, the photos don't leave much to the imagination, but you can't tell us you weren't wondering what that navigation wheel looked like under its shiny plastic cover. Don't worry, we're not here to judge.[Thanks, Francis]
SanDisk hits up Rockbox for some firmware
You already know how we feel about SanDisk's new 4GB Sansa e260, but apparently SanDisk isn't averse to a little help on the firmware side of things. They've just pinged the Rockbox community for a port of the open source Rockbox firmware to the e200 series, which at least should give them some serious nerd cred in a time when most everyone else is locking down their hardware. Rockbox has been ported to plenty of music players over the years -- including quite similar iPod hardware to that of the Sansa -- and its codec support, gapless playback, equalizer and numerous plugins make it an often preferable option to standard firmware. So there a lots of opportunities, but so far there's no word on if or how SanDisk is going to aid Rockbox in this endeavor, or if they have any plans for the Rockbox firmware other than as a nerdy alternative to theirs.
SanDisk Sansa e260 review
A couple of years ago this would have sounded crazy, but SanDisk, which is probably best known for flash drives and memory cards, just put out one of the best MP3 players on the market. Yeah, I know, I'm just as surprised as you are, but after spending a few weeks with the new 4GB Sansa e260, part of SanDisk's new Sansa e200 series, I'm going to be sorry to send this one back. The e260 isn't without its faults, but if you're looking for a solid alternative to the iPod, and haven't been so fired up by the latest models from Creative, Samsung, et al. (or are still in mourning for Rio), then you should do yourself a favor and check this one out. Or at least keep reading the rest of this review.
PortalPlayer still an iPod playa?
Does PortalPlayer -- which lost to Samsung in the contest to provide chips for the next-gen iPod nano -- have a chance of winning back Apple's business as Cupertino gets ready to roll out the next video iPod? And what exactly does Apple have in store for that long-rumored product? Those were the big questions on the lips of analysts at PortalPlayer's first-quarter conference call this week, and CEO Gary Johnson did his best to answer the first question -- and not answer the second one. Any queries about Apple were met with McClellan-esque non-answers, as Johnson insisted that the company couldn't say anything that might reveal information about the plans of its "largest customer" (Johnson wouldn't even mention the company's name). Johnson did, however, tout his latest chip, which he said could do "full high-end video playback" -- something that's not possible with PortalPlayer's 5021 chip, used in the current video-capable iPod. So, is Apple, er, sorry, PortalPlayer's largest customer, going to buy the chip? "We're working to win back that business," Johnson said. Needless to say, Johnson refused to shed any light on Apple's plans, or lack thereof, for the next-gen video iPod, though he did say that his company's video-capable chip is "a product that's available." So, if PortalPlayer's largest customer is in the market for a solution for a new portable media player, now they know where they can find one.
