Customer Reviews

SanDisk Sansa M260 4GB MP3 Player (Blue)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

(...) As for the sound quality it is great. The unit is very compact and easy to carry. I mainly use it to listen to 'Audio Books' and if you pause it before turning it off you pick up right where you left off. It has great battery life and uses easy to change AAA batteries. If I had to list some bad things, they would be: You have to remember to hold the power button for several seconds or it powers right back on, I assume that is designed to prevent people from bumping the power button and shutting it off. Once you get in the habit of holding it in for a few seconds it is not a big deal. The documentation is lacking. The only other complaint would be the battery compartment lid does seem flimsy.

I bought two of these players for my daughters for Xmas. They worked for a while until my daughters added songs using Windows Media Player. The unit is now hung in an uncorrectable "initializing" state which can't be cleared, reset or corrected. I am returning my players for a refund. The problem is listed all over the internet if you search for it but Sandisk does not acknowledge it on their FAQ/Support site.
Buyer beware.

I received this MP3 player for Christmas of 06, and have experienced a flaw in it's design that is well documented with it's user base. I will simply paste an explanation of the problem I found.

"There is a known issue regarding these players' tendency to display "unknown artist" or "unknown album" even when Windows Explorer, or Media Player clearly reflect the correct artist and or album of a particular song when the unit is connected via the USB port. This issue appears to occur randomly and even the most recent beta firmware (version 2.2.5) has not resolved it."
[...]

Other discussions about said issue can be found will a small amount of research. However, there is no solution to this problem. I contacted SanDisk via their on-line tech support system on Jan-9, and received no response after several days. I then called their tech support line, as assigned case ID #982315 and was told I would be contacted the next day by somebody named Jason. I was never contacted by said person.

After a week of waiting, I wrote their customer service again. On Jan-23, I received an e-mail instructions to return my MP3 from where it was bought.

Replacing my MP3 player with the same model containing the same fundamental design flaw is not what I want, I want a solution. This MP3 player cost over $200, and it was shipped with a known defect.

Based on my experience with SanDisks customer service, the bug this player was shipped with, and SanDisks inability to correct said bug via firmware updates in over a year, I will not buy another SanDisk product.

Ok, it has an FM radio that works swell, too.

But that little MP3 player rocks! I go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week, and I take this with me every time. Sometimes I work out hard for 45-minutes and other times I'm in there for a hour and a half. Anyway, I got this player on Oct. 12th, and today Nov. 15th I am still using the same single AAA battery that shipped with the player. I have about 20 of my favorite workout CDs ripped to MP3 and loaded on this player, and the player is set to play them on random. One thing I've noticed: about half the time the player picks 2 songs in a row by the same artist. Maybe it's a programming glitch, but I think it is neat!

The M260 comes with a printed QuickStart Guide and the full manual on a mini-CD, but the device was so simple to use that I have yet to look at it.

To turn the player off, you have to hold the power button down for about 5 seconds. This comes in handy and prevents you from turning it off accidentally by bumping it. Also, if a song is playing when you turn the MP3 player off, it starts right back up in the same location when you turn it back on! Nice, huh?

Another nice feature is using Windows Explorer to copy files to the M260 device. I wasn't sure what folder in the device the MP3s were supposed to go into, so I used the Sansa interface to copy over 1 song. It didn't really take any longer to copy the file that way than it does using Windows Explorer, but I'm more familiar with Explorer than I am with the Sansa software.

It does voice records. Kinda cool. It would have helped a lot for recording lectures while I was in college, but all we had back in the 90s were those mini cassette recorders.

The FM radio works well, and I'm in an office that doesn't get good reception at all.

Negatives (There are 2):
1) The Sansa draws a lot of power off of the USB port. Now, I develop software for PDA devices here at work, and PDAs also connect through and draws a lot of power from the USB port. I can't have the PDA and the Sansa connected to the same port at one time. Luckily, my PC's USB ports are not hubbed together, so I have other ports available.
2) I have not found a way to tell how much space is free on the Sansa. So, how do I know when my 4GB of space is used up? Maybe that information is in the manual somewhere that I've never had to read.

Overall? I like it, I do not regret my purchase, and I would not hesitate to buy it again. Death to IPOD! :)

--- Update:
Ok, here it is 15 days later: Nov. 30, and I wanted to let others know that my first AAA battery just died. That means, I used it for a month and a half in the gym before needing to swap the single battery - I like that!

A little background: To turn the player on, one has to hold the power button down for about 3 seconds. Apparently the Sansa M260 displays a "Low Battery" note on the LCD when the battery is getting low. Unfortunately, I'm a creature of habit: I've gotten to where I just hold the button down without looking at the display. Well, yesterday the player died on me in the gym. Stunned, I looked down to see it had turned off. As I was turning it back on, I looked a little closer to find the "Low Battery" message that I probably should have responded to a week ago! Still, the player obliged me by playing my music for me, but I promptly changed that battery when I got home.

I hope some of you find this information useful! I still like this little gadget a lot! ~JP

--- Update 2:
Still using this daily, 6-months later! It is great! The little IPOD Nano is cool, too, but it does not come with an FM radio like this one does.

Another thing I noticed: With song play on random, I can stop playing an MP3, listen to the radio, then restart the MP3 player: Every time, the MP3 player will start playing with the same song! I'd like to be able to "re-shuffle" the playlist.

Another request: I'd like to be able to delete a song using the device, but that isn't possible. I don't sync this player to my Windows computer very often (ok, I never have), and it would really be nice to delete that darned Diddo song that keeps wanting to play when I am at the gym. Ick! :)

--- Update 3:
I can't believe they stopped making this 4GB Version. It is fantastic! Here it is, 3 years later, and I still use this daily at the gym and occasionally when I have work to do out in the garage by plugging it into the Sansa Docking Station.

A great buy for my money, and I wonder why there isn't a comparable version out there anymore.

--- Update 4:
Here it is, October of 2010, and this is still my favorite player! I purchased a SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8 GB MP3 Player) (thinking I needed something new), but it doesn't play nearly as loud, I have to click a button to see the display, and I have to charge it when the battery runs low (this one, I just pop in another AAA for another 2 or 3 weeks worth of run time).

in this day and age, why do i need to subscribe to a service to get music? why cant i just do a simple drag and drop to my player and go? well i can with the Sansa.. i dont need any, ANY, other program. as long as i have the MP3 or WMA, i can just go to the flash drive letter that appears when i plug in the player and copy over what i want and listen. DONE!.. and although some reviews say the 4gig player doesnt do data files, i have used it for this purpose several times already.
Glad to not be an ipod lemming....

I was looking for an mp3 player with 2 features: 1st to work with regular batteries and 2nd without a hard drive. I know, I'm weird, but I wanted to be able to replace the battery when it runs out, not to wait until I have a chance to charge it again. And I wanted something that I drop and it still works, hence I excluded the hard drives.
So I came upon Sansa M260, I got it and I fell in love with it.
Pros:
Easy to load songs from Windows media player.
Long battery life.
Easy to browse.
Radio.
Plays lots of formats.
Cons:
I didn't like the headphones. I replaced them with Sony ear-buds, dramatic improvement in sound quality.
It turns off automatically a little too fast if you pause it for a few seconds.
Over all, I'm very happy with my choice.

I was attracted to the M260 as I could Drag&Drop my wma files. That was easy. I also liked the use of rechargable AAA bateries. Unfortunately, my M260 went into a "reformating disk" mode, then a "rebuilding library" mode for a couple of hours then DIED. I had used it for aobut 6 hours total. I returned it to the POP and will research iPods!

I just got my Sansa 4 GB MP 3 Player yesterday and am already using it.
well, I must admit when I first saw it, I was a little disappointed ... it is very light and thus it looked a little cheap by material. But as soon as I played around with it, I got more and more satisfied. I really like it and am absolutely happy I got it. It's good for all the things I want to use it for ... playing my music in the car (without changing CDs all the time), going jogging and rollerblading (CD player is impossible to use there), travelling (CD player and CDs take so much space in my already crammed hand luggage), even for waiting at the doctor or at the post office.

yes, some of the things mentioned above are right:
the headset is not very good (but i have got lots of those which I can use)
the little pouch is not too great either but sufficient

well, being not a computer genius I was first a little panick-stricken when I saw there was no manual how to download music etc. I have never worked with MP3 and thus I thought I needed to invest time in asking a friend. But I have always been a person that likes to try it ... and by playing around with it, I figured everything out quite easily. no problems downloading, even no problems establishing playlist. I mean it was that easy that I could already start using it today. I have got a couple of things on there and it's only a small fraction of what it can hold. I'm looking forward to putting all my favourites CDs on there and then I won't have to mess with them anymore.

The reason why I gave it only 4 stars: I tried and tried but I haven't found a stop or turn off button yet. I mean I turn it on and it's playing and playing. I know you can set a sleep mode. But what if I'm in the car, don't know how long I'm going, stop here and there and want to turn it off? If somebody reads this and has got answer, pl. let me know. I'm desperate to know.

I really recommend this player ... so far. well, I haven't had it long enough yet to say anyhting about long-term issues.

I've owned this mp3 player for almost 2 years. At the time of my original purchase, this was pretty good player given it's price/capacity/size. Today, given the strong competition out there and this Sansa's many flaws I'll detail below, I'd recommend most people look for a different mp3 player.

Pros:
- Small/Light/Flashbased: The #1 reason I bought this player.... the physical size of this unit and it's solid state flash memory are perfect for runners. I strap it to my arm and hardly know it's there. The included elastic armband and clear plastic case work fine for running and gym use. Yes, the plastic case is cheap and not likely to withstand rough use or repeated trips in and out of tight fitting jean pockets. But this freebie is good for keeping light rain and sweat off the unit.

- Capacity: This model is 4GBs... certainly not huge but MORE than enough for exercising and about just right for normal daily listening. I typically use both MP3 and WMA's encoded using VBR 128 / 96 respectively and my player easily holds 30+ FULL albums. At this bitrate the music isn't anywhere near CD quality, but it's good enough for when I'm out-and-about. With 4GB's, I can go weeks before feeling the need to rotate new music onto my player.

-Backlighted display: The display has a nice blue backlight that allows operation in the dark. It's not fancy but it's very functional and allows me to operate the unit during early morning runs or in the car at night. The backlight duration is adjustable and can be turned off completely to save battery power.

-Uses 1 AAA Battery: Some people might consider this a CON. For me, this was the #2 reason why I chose this unit. When I go on vacation, I travel on a sportbike, sleep in a tent, and hike a lot. I don't generally have access to electricity, nor do I carry a Laptop which many of today's MP3 players rely upon for recharging via USB. This Sansa allows me to take a handful of AAA's and just go without worry. When I'm not traveling, in order to save money and be environmentally conscious, I use 850mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries. The rechargeables only last about 6-7 hrs, a little over 1/2 the runtime a normal alkaline battery provides, but who cares? They're rechargeable! I just pop another one in. One NiMH easily gets me through a workday.

Windows Media Player or straight Drag-and-Drop for music management: In MTP mode, the unit utilizes WMP for music library mgmt and syncing. Personally, I like WMP. It's fast, has a small memory footprint, and doesn't have processes that continue running memory resident even after I exit the application like iTunes. I like WMP. You may not. If not, you can set the Sansa to mass storage mode and just drag and drop files onto the unit. It's your choice.

Auto-Bookmarking function: If you power down the unit while it's playing or PAUSE the unit and allow it to automatically power down after X number of minutes of inactivity, upon start-up the M260 will automatically resume playing from where it left off. This is a must have feature for audiobook and podcast listeners becausing fast forwarding though huge .mp3 files is a pain.

Cons:

Poor Sound Qlty: OK 1st off, this is not an audiophile product nor is it meant to be. Also everyone knows sound quality is only as good as the source material so low quality encodes = poor sound. But regardless, this Sansa like other SanDisk players I've used has "relatively" poor sound. Specifically, bass and mid-bass are really poor and neither the custom EQ nor the handful of sound Presets (rock/jazz/etc...) do anything to improve the sound. Actually, the presets make things worse! Don't get me wrong, this player is NOT unlistenable OK! It won't make your ears bleed :) It's just not a GREAT sounding player compared to other brands, even those considered to have middling sound qlty like the iPod Video and iPod Shuffle in particular. Even my cheap and outdated Creative C100 Sport sounds much better... deeper and tighter bass, fuller mid-range and clearer highs. Plus the Creative's EQ is actually practical unlike my Sansa. In order to get ANY KIND OF ACCEPTABLE bass out of this Sansa, you need to buy headphones that WAY OVER EMPHASIZE BASS. I've found some inexpensive JVC headphone at Wally World that do just this. These headphone sound terrible with a normal mp3 - way too bass heavy & boomy. But paired with my Sansa, these earbuds fill in the low-end hole of the M260's audio spectrum.

Poor software/firmware expertise: As a software developer myself, I'm rather shocked at SanDisk's level of technical expertise, or lack there-of. This is a multi-million (billion?) dollar company! Do these people understand the concept of Software Quality Assurance Testing??? I recently applied their newest firmware, hoping it would fix the music shuffle problem, and had disastrous results. The good news is that my player still "plays" music. The bad news is that the display is totally hosed. As you skip through music, the ID3 tag info like Artist/Title from the previous song is not erased from the LCD display before the next song's data is displayed. In other words, the display just continues to transpose song data on top of the previous song's data. The display becomes unreadable... it looks like the Klingon alphabet!

Now Sandisk tells you NOT to update the firmware unless you are experiencing a problem that's addressed in the new firmware... some might even say, "well you did the update, so it's your fault" I say total B.S!! I'm a developer. I actually TEST MY CODE before releasing it to the general public! Also when I release code, I perform a little thing called Documentation in order to explain exactly what my code is doing. SanDisk doesn't provide release notes with it's new firmware updates so there's no way to determine what problems/fixes are being addressed. Oh, and their auto firmware installer is a horrid piece of software that automatically loads on boot-up and runs continuously in the background monitoring for new firmware updates. The biggest problem is that the firmware updater seems to interfere with the m260's ability to sync with WMP! You have to uninstall the firmware updater application to get syncing to work again! This brings up the question of why a firmware updater needs to run 24x7 in the first place - especially if SanDisk says don't update unless you need to? Me thinks they're sending mixed messages!

Music Shuffle doesn't Shuffle: This unit has a "shuffle" feature but it doesn't do anything. If you activate Shuffle and select PLAY ALL, the unit will play Songs X, Y, Z. If you turn off the unit, turn it back on, reactive Shuffle, and select PLAY ALL, the M260 will play the same songs, X, Y, Z in the exact same order. What's the point? I was hoping the new firmware would fix this... well we know how that turned out!

- Doesn't play songs in Album order, uses Alpha Order instead: This is a huge problem if you listen to Ebooks, podcasts, or are the type of person who enjoys listening to music in album order. This Sansa does not obey the ID3 tag for TRACK #. Instead it plays all music alphabetically by title. This is beyond annoying if you listen to audio books or podcasts... You'll have to go in and rename all your files alphabetically like "Chaper_01-01.mp3, Chapter_01-02.mp3, Chapter_01-03.mp3" instead of relying on the ID3 Track# tag. I have ebooks that are made up of hundreds of MP3 and this renaming is a royal pain in the a$$.

Random Lockups / Crazy Static sounds - Now this is NOT a huge problem. It happens infrequently, maybe 10 times in 2 years. But it's still not very assuring. A solid state piece of equipment should not randomly lockup. Also on a few occasions the unit just starts putting out static laced music and really low audio volumes for no reason. The rectify either problem, you simply have to pop out the AAA battery and restart the thing. Takes like 5 seconds. With players without removable batteries, I've read these types of issues can be terminal. Again, not a game stopper by any means, but just one more negative issue a "modern" mp3 player should not have!

Windows Media Player: In general, WMP works just fine as a syncing/music manager. But occasionally, it does not recognize the Sansa upon plugging in the USB adapter. You then have to go through the process of unplugging, waiting, re-plugging, waiting.... with the Sansa until WMP recognizes the unit. Again, this doesn't happen very often... maybe I'll have an issue 5% of the time. But still, 5% of the time is still NOT GOOD ENOUGH for a piece of consumer electronics gear. CE gear should work 100% of the time.

Flimsy battery cover: I'm not a huge stickler for build quality. I don't require my things be made out of aircraft aluminum or titanium for me to be happy. As long as something is constructed fairly solid I'm good. That said, the battery cover on the M260 is definitely CHEAP. It has 2 TINY plastic points on one end that act as a hinge. The other end has a really weak plastic clip that holds the battery cover on. If you are not an extremely careful person like myself, I can easily see you breaking the plastic points or clip off the cover. Even just putting on the included plastic carry case can be dangerous to the battery cover. The plastic case has 2 snaps on the back to keep it secured. If you press too hard on the snaps, it puts pressure on the battery door and can easily break door's plastic tabs!

In summary, this is not the worst player out there. It's great for exercising, but so are a TON of other players on the market today. If I had to do it over again, I would not buy this unit. But in the 2 years I've had it, it's be useful... painful and annoying at times YES... but useful. Even with the screwed up display, I'll continue to use my m260 for my morning runs, but I'll have to find a better behaved unit for daily use.

Here's my bottom line: If you're new to mp3 players and you just want a gadget to store and play your favorite music without a big hullabaloo, any of the models in the SanDisk m200 series would be a great toy for you.

OK, so it's not the coolest looking player on the block and there aren't hundreds of accessories you can buy for it, but in many ways, the SanDisk m240/m250/m260 is the king of them all.

First off, being able to drag-and-drop mp3's or wma's into it as if you were using a regular usb thumb drive eliminates a lot of the techno-stress involved with using an iPod. If you have any kind of software for ripping CDs to mp3 files, just store them in a folder on your computer and copy them onto your SanDisk (using the included USB cable) as you please. No need to use the "Synchronize to Portable Device" features in Windows Media or iTunes.

Then, for playback, just decide if you want the songs to play in any specific order or if you want to just shuffle everything up and let the device surprise you with what it chooses to play. See that? Listening to music doesn't have to be so complicated!

Perhaps my favorite feature of the SanDisk, though, is its use of a standard AAA battery. I get about 16 hours out of a regular one and 14 hours out of a rechargeable. And I will never have to ship my SanDisk back to the factory for a battery replacement.

I own two SanDisks -- an m240 1gb and an m260 4gb. I use the m240 for family parties and for street fairs in my town (I am the go-to guy for any community event that needs music), and I have the m260 and a powered speaker mounted to my bicycle for long rides. People are always blown away by how incredible the m240 sounds through a professional sound system.

Yes, I've seen a few reviews by people who have had an absolutely miserable time with these things, but mine have been virtually trouble-free and I could not live without either one.

My music collection is huge, spanning the 1920s right up to last week's Top Ten. Still, the entire collection is less than 15gb in mp3 format at a 128k sampling rate. My m260 has about 1,000 songs on it...more than I need to last a whole summer. Whenever I need to freshen up the mix, I simply plug the device into my computer and swap out a few hundred songs or so. If you're a ratpacker with your music and you don't like to leave any of it at home on your hard drive, you may want to look into a model with more memory. But, if you're an average guy like myself and you're not looking to store every episode of Family Guy and all the photos from your 2008 weekend in Cancun ON TOP OF your favorite music, you should seriously consider one of the SanDisk m200 series players.