Sansa Express jostles with iPod Shuffle
Posted on Jan 21, 07 07:45 PM PDT
Here is another example when you talk about pre-medidated murder - the Sansa Express looks set to do a number on the 2G iPod Shuffle sales if the specifications are anything to go by. In addition to the direct USB connector, you get a quad-line OLED display, an integrated FM tuner, voice recording capabilities courtesy of the built-in microphone, 1GB of internal memory along with a microSD card slot to further expand your storage space. File format support includes MP3 and protected WMA. With a battery life of 15 hours and a $59.99 retail price, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Sansa Express will definitely prove itself to be a worthy opponent to the overhyped but well-marketed Shuffle 2G.
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Legacy Comments
By Pale Darkie , 24/06/08 10:41 PM (CommentID #745054)
My Express also would not turn on. no fix worked. I put in a micro SD card, switched on and it worked !!! No problems since that
By ??? , 16/06/08 11:02 AM (CommentID #729299)
yes just go into it via My computer (just the drive for macs) go into recordings and go into FM recordings. they will be there.
By christopher fisher , 10/04/08 5:43 PM (CommentID #623487)
my sansa express won't play any music it won't stay on ipush the power button it flash sansa and go right off some times apicture of a lock shows then off connect to computer and computer don't reconize. help please
By Mo Salam , 06/04/08 7:01 AM (CommentID #613830)
I've had the sansa express for three months now. I don't use it as my primary mp3 player but as a backup player and pen drive for my work. Has not given me a single problem, considering how cheap it is, sounds pretty decent, with a good set of ear phones. The MircoSD slot i love, means i can keep a copy of my work on a card which i leave at work as a extra piece of security. Ive been very impressed with it, well worth the 20 pounds.
By ehb , 05/04/08 7:25 PM (CommentID #612936)
Does anyone know how to access the microSD from Linux. I can get to the internal memory fine...
By willh , 12/03/08 12:35 AM (CommentID #551033)
my sansa express works great in linux. I put all my albums in the recordings directory so I can access them by folder. I suspect some people's problems may be with a corrupted fat32 filesystem on the drive.
I just tried fsck.msdos on the drive to see if it would work. It does. It detected an error and fixed it.
By reginamp3 , 08/03/08 4:20 PM (CommentID #543272)
thanks this worked my sansa wouldnt get passed the logo but the sd card worked
By banditsgirl , 14/02/08 6:39 PM (CommentID #486343)
thanks for the hard reset tip mine wouldnt turn on after one day and this saved it
By Carlos , 09/02/08 2:44 PM (CommentID #474878)
Yes. It looks like a great product. I have owned 2 since Christmas and they both died. Too bad. It looked like such a nice product...
By Frank , 30/01/08 6:00 PM (CommentID #454807)
I actually figured out how to safely eject it under Mac OS X. I had to:
1. open the Disk Utility (under Applications/Utilities)
2. select the two disks associated with the Sansa (one for the internal storage and the other for the microSD card)
3. Hit Eject and notice how long the disks take to come back, and what the activity on the little display looks like.
4. Once you've got a feel for the timing, hit Eject, and a split second later (really, just about a tenth of a second) pull it out of the USB port.
I was able to get this to work on my first try. I can turn it on/off, etc.
When I just tried unplugging it trying to eject the disks individually, I had some "issues" (no buttons would respond) until I messed with it (different button combinations) for some amount of time.
By Blake , 12/01/08 7:04 PM (CommentID #427692)
just turn it on and let the batterys die then plug it back in to your computer thats what i did
By Irasema , 08/01/08 12:30 PM (CommentID #422210)
I have no idea why you people are so in love with the sansa express, my brother got me one when he plugged it into a lap with windows vista it worked well, then the same day he plugged it into a mac and it stopped working completely, he lost the ticket so he couldnt return it so he just put it away one week later when he arrived in mexico it worked just fine with my pc, he bought it on sale for $40 and it turns out a couple of days latter he saw another mp3 player from sony about the same size, with the little sceen, a better volume and better shuffle the only bad thing i saw was that you need software but it was $20 so who cares, because my sansa stoped working after 1 month, i read that to make it work you need to buy a micro sd from sandisk which here cost about $30 almost the same as my sansa, and more then my brother sony mp3, hes works just fine and its way better then the expensive shuffle and the useless sansa, so buy that one, sansa looks good but its crap too cheap to be true and the sony is so cheap is ridiculously functional. if anyone can tell me another solution for my sansa please e mail me: sherylkz@hotmail.com because i tryed to fix it with xp, mac and vista and its just not working.
By kirky , 07/01/08 10:28 PM (CommentID #421464)
I have not have this for a month yet and it won't turn on and I plug it into the computer it won't work or charge , what a piece of garabge
By gaelle31 , 30/12/07 9:02 AM (CommentID #411272)
I have a sansa express 2 gb But i don't find radio.I just have music ,voice and settings.Is there anybody who know why?
By michele , 29/12/07 10:02 AM (CommentID #410177)
Yes, record the FM station or music to the Sansadisk recorder and on your computer go to the record folder and open your music will be there, you will have to name it
By michele , 29/12/07 9:59 AM (CommentID #410175)
Buy the Sandisk microSD Mobile memory kit 2GB and it will restore your Sansa Express. On sale at Radio Shack
By Recognition , 17/12/07 2:20 AM (CommentID #396043)
Hi,
My Computer(XP) does not recognize the player.. any solution??
By Aw... , 01/12/07 12:54 PM (CommentID #381402)
Hello, anyone know what to do after that the sansa express just completely died off?
By Jim K , 25/11/07 1:46 PM (CommentID #375894)
No! The Sansa Express does NOT have a AA/AAA battery. It only has a built in lithium battery that charges via USB. It works on a Mac, but not well. You can drag and drop but not dismount the player. I've heard (and my experience shows) that as long as the device isn't actually reading/writing via USB, you can unplug it with no problem. Mine works well. I don't like that you can't delete files on it without being hooked up to the computer.
By Cole , 11/11/07 8:37 AM (CommentID #359222)
Does anyone know if you can take recorded FM music and put them on your computer?
By Brent , 07/11/07 8:22 PM (CommentID #355554)
Can anyone send me the pdf of the user manual file found on the original software? amused4u@gmail.com Thanks for your help.
By C.K. Rajan , 22/09/07 9:28 PM (CommentID #309713)
I bought this about 2 months now from Best Buy. I had certain problems with uploading and deleting songs and Best Buy replaced this to me which is workig perfectly. Deleting a read only fine or folder from the unit is not possible. You have to transfer the songs ton your computer and remove the read only ticker if it exists and then transfer the song to Sansa. You will have no problem for deleting the songs.
I have now bought a 2GB micro sd card to expand the memory. Until now I could not read the songs on the sd card on Sansa. Through computer I can play the songs if I select the file from the expansion memory. I wonder if I can select and play songs from the sd card in the Sansa. If anyone has any suggestion I would glad.
By Aiko Smith , 19/09/07 8:34 PM (CommentID #306965)
Wow. I can't believe all the bad reviews. My Sansa's lived through a wash, in the pocket of my jeans. Nothing was broken, except the battery was drained. Couple of minutes plugged into the computer, and it was completely fine. No lost music, no broken chip. I'm amazed. Totally worth it. ((I'd love to see an iPod make it through a washing machine.))
By Marcos , 18/09/07 9:50 AM (CommentID #305360)
Mine died after three weeks. It does not respond to hard resets and even when it worked, its integration with windows explorer sucks big time - sometimes it doesn't let you delete files and you have to format it. Life would be easier if it was mounted as a pen drive. Save a few more bucks and go with the ipods... forget about Sansa Express...
By Betsy , 16/09/07 12:38 PM (CommentID #303056)
Just bought the pink one and my computer wont recognize it at all. Downloaded the firmware and everything. Any suggestions? This is kinda pissing me off. It may be cheaper than an ipod, but its still $50.
By Natalia , 04/09/07 6:23 AM (CommentID #290715)
HOW TO DO A HARD RESET ON THE SANSA: press the select button along with the Volume + and hold them together, than try to turn it on again!
By ZXZxczxc , 26/08/07 8:21 PM (CommentID #281808)
if it turns off and wont come on put an SD card in it and turn it on then take the sd out and it will work fine. just did it myself.
By Inov , 23/08/07 4:02 AM (CommentID #279276)
my sansa die too after 3 months i bought it. Just insert a microSD card and connect it to the pc, backup all your music, for sure. Then, format the internal memory. Hope it works to you.
Quick Question,
Does anyone of your sansa cannot detect microSD after a certain time? I saw it happens to someone in sansa express comment forum. I doesnt hav microSD yet, i dont know, but, i will not buy any if this say is true.
By davdidit , 19/08/07 2:46 AM (CommentID #275383)
Anyone had problems with...shall we say downloaded MP3s, from a peer site? I have heard it won't take those "free" MP3s only ones ripped from CDs. This is the only thing that will keep me from buying it.
By Serge , 15/08/07 6:30 AM (CommentID #272117)
Does anyone have a problem to delete mp3 file with Read Only flag on it ? Cannot delete a file with this flag in my Sansa and cannot change the flag.
By ghijkl123 , 12/08/07 6:55 AM (CommentID #269249)
p.p.s its the sansa express i have
By ghijkl123 , 12/08/07 5:14 AM (CommentID #269210)
p.s i dont have a sd card slot in my computer
By ghijkl123 , 12/08/07 5:03 AM (CommentID #269200)
i am having trouble putting music on sd card. i want
to play music on the wii
By DA , 11/08/07 9:55 PM (CommentID #268932)
I got mine 2 weeks ago at Best Buy, and I thought it was awesome (considering I bought it at such a low price). Everything was going so smoothly. . . until all of a sudden it went dead. It wouldn't turn on or charge when I plugged it into my laptop. I looked into it online and found that other people are going through the same exact problem. I should've done the research before buying such a defective product. Folks, this was too good to be true =(
By Skeeterflea , 06/07/07 3:10 PM (CommentID #234033)
I had to return mine the same day I bought it, I don't recall Windows giong into hibernating mode, but thanks fo r the tip "Yevgeny Pechenezhsky"! This player rocks, I'm finding that it takes a while to get a full charge from my laptops docking station, but the battery life is pretty darn good, I left mine playing over night in the car and it still had more love to give. The radio station is a plus, and the fact it can record FM is an A plus!
By RedBlue , 05/06/07 5:58 PM (CommentID #196853)
I'm afraid the Mac OS X system doesnt support the Sansa Express hardware. Everytime I try to dismount the USB MP3, it keeps jumping back to the desktop. I had to physically dislodge it to get it out--at great risk to the MP3 player I'm afraid :(. And you have to make sure the songs are MP3, WAV or WAM(?) and NOT AAC. And all my apple songs are AAC :(:(. I had to convert. ugh
By Lee , 26/05/07 9:18 PM (CommentID #183711)
They are great products when they work, I've replaced mine 3 times in only a week and their support in India is no help.
I dont know what people are talking about with the AAA batteries, there are none, it's not big enough, but the batter life is great.
There coming out with a 2G version and with the 2G microSD card you can get on ebay for $20 it will blow the Shuffle out of the water. 4G for $80 and maybe 2 extra trips to Best buy for a replacement.
By pw , 10/05/07 2:07 PM (CommentID #166999)
>>I've also noticed that (mine at least) doesn't shuffle the tracks very much, seems to play them in the same nonlinear sequence, kinda annoying.<<
I meant when its set to Shuffle mode, btw.
By pw , 10/05/07 2:03 PM (CommentID #166996)
I've had one of these for a week now. Neat player and attractive overall. Downsides are the included earbuds are sad and require an upgrade to truly enjoy the device. I swapped in the earbuds from a 2G Shuffle out of curiousity and the sound improved 100%. Also, the shiny front panel shows fingerprints/smudges really badly and the OLED is hard to see outside. You need a protective carrying case, I got the DLO one they have at Circuit City thats made just for the Sansa Express. Its nice but $20?! Seems like a lot for a little neoprene sleeve...
I've also noticed that (mine at least) doesn't shuffle the tracks very much, seems to play them in the same nonlinear sequence, kinda annoying.
I still recommend the Express though, cool player with lots of nice features...just realize that the $60 price doesn't include some upgrades you really truly need, like a carrying case and earbuds worth putting in your ears...
By Karol , 10/05/07 10:07 AM (CommentID #166770)
This is a great player. Mine stopped working after 2 wks. I have heard of this happening occasionally w/ sansa products.Anybody know the fix for this. Emailed sansa support, as there is no firmware upgrade listed for express on their site.... waiting on reply
By Innov , 05/05/07 6:56 PM (CommentID #160655)
where to buy sansa exprz in malaysia?
How it is being charged? via USB?
By ce , 03/05/07 8:27 AM (CommentID #157550)
#22, vbob , on 24/04/07 8:51 PM
Hey, quick question.
Do the files on the microSD card merge with the files already on the built-in flash memory or is there a separate folder for the the SD files?
shows up as 2 seperate devices in winxp. kind of a pain but still beats a shuffle.
By jim , 27/04/07 3:02 PM (CommentID #152385)
"#0, jay , on 21/01/07 10:13 PM
Looks like the old shuffle...but with a display.. so small you'll nee glasses to read any text on it.. and the radio/recording functions... wow maybe 1% of the buyers will use it.. but helas.. "no itunes integration.." and with playforsure falling apart... "
hey, apple fanboy. learn how to "think different"
By bp , 25/04/07 6:20 PM (CommentID #149846)
just wondering if consumers can change the battery like the e series players, or if its a one time deal for when your battery dies.
By vbob , 24/04/07 8:51 PM (CommentID #148628)
Hey, quick question.
Do the files on the microSD card merge with the files already on the built-in flash memory or is there a separate folder for the the SD files?
By Yevgeny Pechenezhsky , 23/04/07 9:16 AM (CommentID #147480)
Hibernating your Windows XP machine while the Sansa Express is plugged in will kill it. On the upside it's affordable enough to replace again and again and again.
By Ken , 22/04/07 8:17 AM (CommentID #146953)
The OLED screen looks nice in the picture but I purchased this and it is unviewable outside. A big part of that is the relective surface. I have an OLED screen on a Samsung a990 phone that looks great outside. The a990 is also viewable with the light off the express is not.
I do like that you can charge the express on any computer and it can be used as a flash drive. You can also record off the radio.
I also have the new shuffle, It boots up much faster and is unnoticable clipped to your collar.
By Martin , 20/04/07 7:59 PM (CommentID #145082)
Does the Express have Sandisk's Liquidmetal case? and presumably you don't need Media player to transfer files to it?
By Calipers , 20/04/07 4:59 PM (CommentID #145030)
I dig mine, as it is small and simple and easy to plug into my car's tape deck (with a 10 buck adapter). Wish I could figure out how to reshuffle it though. The random order once set doesn't seem to re-randomize. No iTunes makes it even better!
By akw24 , 13/04/07 7:04 PM (CommentID #139732)
Can you erase songs? The older version wouldn't allow you to erase songs.
By john , 08/04/07 6:53 PM (CommentID #134107)
it does not use AAAs. it has a built in rechargeable lithium. great sound and an incredible screen despite its size.
By andy j , 08/04/07 2:04 PM (CommentID #133924)
just got this, love it! Has a custom EQ setting along with the other standard rock/pop/classic etc. Also has a sleep timer!
the FM reception is strong, and the recording sounds great. You can create a play list on the fly.
the 1gb+expansion slot is nice, but no cover for the expansion slot.
Standard warning applies, replace earphones
By Mark B. , 04/04/07 10:56 AM (CommentID #130036)
I have two questions about this before I buy it that I was hoping someone can answer:
1.) Does this thing create playlists, & if so, what software do you use to create them?
2.) If you plug this into a Mac OS (10.4), does it appear as a jump drive you can drag & drop onto?
By Fred , 04/04/07 7:09 AM (CommentID #129909)
Can someone tell me how I can reset my mp3 player...for some reason my PCs canno recognize it anymore.I let my wife use it and now it doesn't work any help?
By Vihsadas , 01/04/07 11:48 AM (CommentID #127348)
No it doesn't. The sansa express comes with a built in Li battery. Really, there just is no competition here. having no itunes is a GREAT thing. Who heck wants a computer to keep asking you 'Would you like to erase all your songs and sync with this itunes?' whenever you plug into another computer! That's completely ridiculous.
Cmon. SCREEN, and UPGRADEABLE memory to 4GBs, DIRECT connect. I have no idea why the shuffle got rid of its direct connect. It was basically the only reason I bought it. Plus DRAG AND DROP control over your songs. This thing beats the shuffle HANDS DOWN.
The ONLY gripe you could make about this, is that there is not a built in or accessory clip or strap to clip it to your clothes. But heck, I'll just get an armband or something. I'm sold on this. The shuffle is garbage compared to the sansa express.
By darth_vader , 30/03/07 1:24 PM (CommentID #126153)
Come on, you wont use this for more than 2 years, something cooler will come out.
By AAA Batteries , 29/03/07 2:36 AM (CommentID #125254)
Does this use AAA batteries or not? That would be great and have it charge thru usb. If not, how easy would it be to find and replace the battery? I have several things over the years that still work yet it's dead because the internal battery died; laptop, Palm, Motorola Razor phone, Panasonic shaver, Nokia phone, etc. Those are off the top of my head. This is cool, but I'm figuring the battery will die in a couple of years and it will no longer work as a portable mp3 player.
By Dia Akin , 28/03/07 9:41 PM (CommentID #125123)
Got it and it's HOT!!! The four line display is nice with a variable brightness and colorful so for those of you saying "you can't see it" least there IS something there TO see...unlike your beloved Shuffle. The buttons are also backlit with a blue lighting as well. Secondly, I'm loving the connectivity. Straight to USB. No more searching for cables and stuff. Battery life is pretty nice too! I havent charged mine in two days and I'm still going strong. I'm currently at about 200 songs in wma 64bit format and sitting at about 700mb left. Plus with the micro SD slot, I can expand the memory even more. The radio feature really stood out to me because we have some pretty good radio stations around Atlanta. And I LOVE the built-in mic feature!
The only negative is that the volume gets loud, but not as loud as I'd like and also the lanyard connects to the cap, not the actual unit. However, the cap doesnt come off with ease...it actually needs a pretty good tug to remove it.
Overall, for the $59 bucks I paid for it, I'd say it's a steal. In all honesty, I'd pay double for it considering it's features and quality. Anyone thinking of getting a Shuffle, everyone I know who owns one who has seen my Sansa Express are hooked on it and trying to find them in stores. So far, only place I know selling them in stores is Best Buy. It's definitely worth the money...AND some! I highly recommend this one!
By Bob Slade , 23/03/07 9:57 AM (CommentID #121879)
As usual I left some things out. It does not have AAA battery but a 15 hr lithium. It also works fine as just a thumb drive. Every PC in my house accepts it as a thumb. My car radio has usb input so I can load it up and just play it from my car radio with the player turned off. I can use my car radio controls. I rarely get excited about some of these little toys out there but this one I love. It does come with software and I loaded it up but I don't need it. It acts like a thumb drive and I can move files to and from it so there is no need to use their software. Don't delete the software first on it though. Copy everything on it to your hard drive because there is a pdf of the user manual on it and you don't want to lose that. There is a directory on the player called music. Don't delete that either. Just move your music files to that directory and you will be fine.
By Bob Slade , 23/03/07 9:49 AM (CommentID #121875)
I love this thing. Got it yesterday at Best Buy. The sound quality is great. The FM tuner is great. It's neat and sleek looking too. I don't know - for $60 you can't go wrong. It had tons of music already on it. I deleted them and loaded it up from my laptop. I love the usb plug. No remembering where you put some darn little cable with a plug the size of a knats a$$. For the money it's great. I would highly recommend it.
By mlowdrma , 11/03/07 6:00 AM (CommentID #114797)
Amazon says this will ship April 1, 2007. Wish it had line-in recording and uses AAA instead of built in Li batteries; but I guess you can't have everything (go visit the SanDisk site, this does NOT use standard batteries). FM radio is great for a change of pace, and voice recording is necessary for school/lectures. I hope the sound quality is high and comes shipped with an armband instead of an ueberdork lanyard!
By hmm , 02/03/07 9:08 PM (CommentID #110268)
but being locked into windows media player s***ks for apple users like me. what to do? i don't want to have to dual boot into windows every time i want to change my songs/access it as a storage device.
By AzBat , 13/02/07 1:12 PM (CommentID #100626)
It includes built-in Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery. I'm going to buy one to replace my Creative MuVo TX FM, which I bought specifically for the radio recorder. BTW, it also has a MicroSD slot too.
By engineer2001 , 30/01/07 1:03 PM (CommentID #092101)
Oh yeah, forgot to mention - it has regular batteries too. The iPods all have rechargeable built-in batteries (and you have to wait 4+ hours for the Shuffle to fully charge). The Sandisk lets you use AAA batteries and already have more charged ones on-hand. I can never even remember to charge my cell phone, so I sure as heck won't remember to charge an iPod. Keeping 4 or so AAAs on-hand and charging them whenever I think about it is much better!
By engineer2001 , 30/01/07 12:58 PM (CommentID #092100)
Sweet! I was going to buy my wife an iPod Shuffle for Valentine's Day, but I'm waiting to get her one of these now! She was already saying "how am I supposed to pick which song I want to hear next?" and looking all disappointed when I told her. Who cares if the display is small? At least it HAS one. The FM tuner will be awesome in the gym too, because they FM modulate the televison audio for the multiple TVs around the walls on different FM frequencies. We can listen to music or the TV of our choice on the same tiny device while working out. Heck, now that I think about it, I'll get one for me too. :-)
If this baby gets picked up by Walmart or similar (Target, etc.) so the masses can get at it, it will put the iPod Shuffle in its grave if the Shuffle stays at $75+.
By Firelight , 25/01/07 5:49 AM (CommentID #089637)
Looks like a winner. No iTunes isn't a bad thing (locked). No traditional Sandisk cable is a great thing. OLED - can't read it - get glasses - beats the heck outta not knowing what song is playing - or adjusting controls. Shuffle - want to change settings - fuggetabowtit unless you hook it to your computer.
$59.99 - now that's the real deal.
By jay , 21/01/07 10:13 PM (CommentID #087881)
Looks like the old shuffle...but with a display.. so small you'll nee glasses to read any text on it.. and the radio/recording functions... wow maybe 1% of the buyers will use it.. but helas.. no itunes integration.. and with playforsure falling apart...
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