 Sansa View vs. iPod from My View |
| Review Date: November 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: humansitis, Texas |
I have owned my View for a month and I love it even more than when I first got it. I will tell you about all the complications I have had, how I overcame them, and why this player rocks my world.
The View is small, like the nano and provides equally excellent sound, photo/video quality. It comes in 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32GB, but trumps the iPod with its memory expansion slot which allows you to add up to an additional 16GB of data for just the memory card's price. Be aware however that it only takes microSD chips, which for most people needs an adapter, but an 8GB card can be bought for $20 with an adapter, so it still isn't bad.
Upon receiving my sansa view, I knew instantly that it would be prone to scratches and fingerprints, especially since the screen and the player itself are one, so I recommend buying at least a screen protector. The material of the player is more similar to the first generation iPod nano, which doesn't feel as cheap as the new generations of iPod. The face of the player is easy to clean with a soft cloth (like those glasses ones). When it comes to the design, I like the View over the iPod because the back of the View is a very comfortable soft rubber grip that doesn't attract ugly fingerprints and isn't cold to the touch, and the menu wheel actually turns, which just feels good when you use it (you'll understand...)
When it comes to their interface, I'd say they're very much alike. The menus are self explanatory, and both have their pros and cons about their menus. One notable thing about the View is that you can choose your background color on the View's menu screen, which to me isn't very important, but when I'm bored it's one more thing for me to play with.
Now, the controls. After using the iPod for so long, it took a bit of time to adjust to the View. For example, when using the iPod, you simply press the up key to go back one step in the menu no matter what you are doing, but whenever I press the up key while something is playing on the View, it will play/pause it. If you press left or right on either players, it will go backward or forward in the track list. So then that leaves the down button, which on the iPod pauses or plays what you are playing, and on the View gives you the song/video/photo menu (it adjusts to whatever you're doing) and from there you are able to get back to the music list. What will really spin your head about the View though is that when you're not on the "now playing" screen, you use the left/right buttons to navigate the menus...so it keeps your mind sharp. So sometimes, it's one more click than necessary to navigate the View, but once you're used to it, there really is no difference. Plus, whenever I'm lost in the controls, I simply hit the handy home button and start over again.
One cool feature from the View which doesn't exist on the iPod is its voice recording. I am in college and I use this feature to record lectures, or simply to punk friends. The sound quality from the recording is amazing, and unlike other recorders, it doesn't alter the voice being recorded. Also, if you are listening to the radio on the View (yes, it has an FM receiver), you can record what you are listening to, which is pretty cool also. For me, voice recording and radio are the most used applications on my View, and maybe that's because I've never had an mp3 player with those options. Whenever I'm like "darn, why do I love all the songs on my View? I want something to compare it to so I don't get used to all this good music", I simply switch to the radio.
When it comes to battery life, I would hands down give the award to the Sansa View. I've never had an iPod whose battery lasted over four hours on one charge. The View can last me a whole week without recharging, as long as if I control its volume, backlight, and be sure to turn it off when I'm not using it. I use my View for at least 2 hours everyday. But one thing about these players' battery is that it all depends on your luck or willingness to ask. Lithium Ion Batteries will die when its time comes, so when you purchase one, you can rely on luck to get a fresh battery, or you can ask them how long this player has been sitting on the shelf. Of course, if you're buying from Amazon, you won't have that option. Therefore, I bought my player from Best Buy.
Now, to the most important part of this player: actually getting music/photos/videos on there. Let me tell you, there is nothing simpler for the View. Plug your View into the computer (be sure you switch its USB mode to MSC, or it won't let you do anything but charge), and drag and drop your files into the correct folder. If you know how to use an USB, you'll have no problem with putting music on your View. Also, the SUPER BEST part is that you don't need another program like iTunes on your computer to do it. I almost cried (in joy) at its simplicity and how much time this feature has saved me. Also, one very good feature in the View is its ability to delete songs from the player itself. So if you decide that you've outgrown one of your songs and you never want to hear it on your View again, you don't have to go to the computer to delete it, you can do it right then and there wherever you are.
Other stuff:
The View will bookmark your podcasts and audiobooks as long as if you don't switch to another podcast or audiobook in between pausing it and going back to it. There is also video bookmarking.
For the best sound quality, I strongly recommend you adjust the EQ settings and get new earbuds.
There is a hold button, power button (which I find more convenient than iPod's "push and hold the play button for 3 seconds" way of turning off the player), memory expansion slot, and allows you to reset your player in times of freezing
There is a power saver option that will turn off your player automatically if it's not doing anything for a set amount of time that you choose - however I found out that turning off your player is still the smarter option if you are not going to be using it for a while.
You can adjust how long the backlight stays on, and of course, the shorter you set it, the longer your battery will last on that charge
You can find the shuffle/repeat options on the music menu or the settings menu
There is a slideshow option for photos, and you can even tag a song on it
There is a quick list option called "music go" and "photo go"
Charging takes about 3 hours if your battery is low
There is a "refresh" screen after you disconnect your View from the computer, but it only last for a couple seconds - it's updating your music, and it will still do it even if you don't change anything
You won't be able to listen to music, or do anything on your View while it is charging
When you're viewing photos and videos, you will have to turn your view horizontally, but Sandisk had you in mind when creating this player, so the button functions will automatically shift places so that up is still up, down is still down, left and right are still left and right when it's being used sideways...i really like this feature, lessens the confusion
Tips for optimizing your View's potential:
1. Before you even attempt to use your View, download the free firmware from the sansa website. This will solve the freezing and charging problems.
2. Charge your battery to full before using it for the first time, and NEVER let it completely run out from that point on- that is the quickest way to kill your Lithium Ion Battery
3. If you watch videos, download their free photo/video media converter. It's not as much of a pain as everyone makes it out to be. Just be patient, you don't have to stare at it while it's working =), go eat or something
4. Get an AC adapter, it will speed up your charge and provide a more complete charge. When I use USB charging, the battery hops around after a couple hours, which kinda drove me crazy, because then I didn't know when I actually needed to charge the thing.
5. If at first you can't view your photos, go to more>settings/options>system settings>display>TV out>off, if you still can't see them, try using the media converter
6. LOVE IT!
I hope this review helped. I'm still learning about my View, but I pretty much got all the features I frequently use down, and I hope it will be the same for you! |
Beats the iPod and the Zune!
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| Review Date: December 30, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Steven Marcotte, Bourbonnais, Illinois |
I am not sure why everyone has given this player a bad review. I own the 8 GB version, and I love it. I have never been impressed with the iPod. It's too over-rated, and it's not appealing to me. Although the click-wheel is cool, that's all that I like.
I also looked into the Zune, and I'm not impressed with that one either. I checked out the 30 and 80 GB versions of the Zune. The 30 GB is like a brick. It's huge! And it's heavy. And I don't really need 80 GB of space.
Then one day, strolling through Best Buy (or rather, Worst Buy) I came upon the SanDisk Sansa View. I started playing with the features on the in-store display, and I was impressed. First off, SanDisk has been around for years and is a name that geeks everywhere (like me) know and trust. Second, it's not an iPod. Third, it does all of the same things as the iPod, and it's cheaper. Let's compare.....
The 4 GB iPod Nano (3rd. Gen.) is $149.99. It plays music, video, displays pictures, has a click-wheel, and is kinda small.
The 8 GB SanDisk Sansa View is $149.99. It plays music, video, displays pictures, and has an FM tuner. It can also record through a microphone, and it has a click-wheel type device on the front for navigation through menus.
My favorite feature that blows the iPod and the Zune out of the window is that the Sansa View is expandable. You can put in up to 4 GB more via MicroSD or SDHC. I've never seen an iPod do that!
So, overall, I am in love with this iPod and Zune killer. I hope more people out there will realize that the big names like iPod and Zune are just getting money for a name, where as the other companies like SanDisk give quality products for the price of the big name stuff.
Oh, and one last thing. Windows Media Player is the only downside. I'm not a fan of the Windows Media Player, but it the sync process easy and fast. I put 4 GB of music on my player all at once, and it only took about 4 minutes. Not too bad.
Not-as-popular companies: 1 Big name companies: 0 |
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