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Sandisk's Newest Players - Sansa Express and Sansa View
comment: 30 | Saturday, January 06 (2007) 03:50AM | Posted by Michael
With CES just around the corner, some companies are having a hard time keeping everything under the lid. Just a few days ago we learned of two players from iriver and now it's Sandisk's turn. Browsing through a part of their site you can see two new DAP's that are going to be revealed at CES.

The first is a device that has a built-in USB connector and has an OLED display. The player looks pretty simple and should be comparable to players like the Samsung YP-U2. More surprising is what appears to be a full scale video player. It's hard to tell the from the picture whether we're looking at a PMP or something smaller like the Cowon D2. Either way, it's a definitely a step in the right direction for Sandisk. With their recent announcement of 32GB flash drives for notebook computers, we'll be seeing high capacity flash PMP's in no time.

Austin and Rob are on their way to Vegas as we speak. They'll be bringing you some real life pictures of these upcoming players and plenty more. Make sure to keep your browser locked on to this site for our full CES coverage!

LINK

Thanks, tobey

Update

Sansa Express

Browsing through Amazon's site I was able to find the new simple-profile flash player mentioned above. It is called the Sansa Express. It will feature:

  • 1GB Capacity
  • Built-in MicroSD Slot
  • FM Tuner and FM recorder
  • 15 hour battery life (lithium polymer


The player will retail for $59.99, which sounds about right. You can pre-order the player right now from Amazon as well, but it won't ship till April 1st.

Pre-order the Sansa Express at Amazon
Comments

Ricardo Dawkins

Comments: 380
 		Jan 06 (2007) 01:45PM  

ummmm ..the PMP thing is like the D2. Picture proportions and size of the one below.



mhelliwell
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Comments: 44
 		Jan 06 (2007) 01:54PM  

I think that the tiny flash player is unnecessary. They already had the C200 and the the E100 series this year - e100 having been out only a few moths- and now they have both been replaced.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jan 06 (2007) 02:07PM  

Well there's still a market for players like that. A lot of people in the forums here ask for players with a built-in USB and there are very few choices available. Sandisk is in the position to sell them at really great prices so I'm positive it will be popular.



rockinamigo14

Comments: 188
 		Jan 06 (2007) 02:17PM  

a high capacity touch-screen flash player (meaning > 10gb) would cause me to fall in love.



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jan 06 (2007) 02:34PM  

@mhelliwell: I think you mean the c200 (square D-pad) and the c100 (round D-pad) series. I thought the c200 (which is the newest version) was going to replace the c100, but they are both still selling in stores. I don't think the new USB DAP (c300 series??) will replace the c200, as they are both pictured in the image that the above was cropped out of.

It looks like Sandisk is mirroring Creative Labs business practice with all the myriad of flash DAP's. Even the little monochromed DAP's that are simply called "Digital Audio Players" are still sold:


Design Fabulous

Comments: 1038
 		Jan 06 (2007) 03:13PM  

Sandisk wasted their time with that little flash thing, I doubt it will sell too well and most people are buying more featured flash devices like the U10, T9 or D2. I guess we could call the "premium" flash devices.

I hope Sandisk improves the quality a bit, their players seem a bit entery level.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jan 06 (2007) 03:26PM  

Design, believe it or not low end flash players still sell extremely well. There is a reason why Memorex was in the fourth position in marketshare in a recent report.

Just because we expect more from flash players does not mean the majority of mainstream consumers feel the same way. Many of these people who are buying DAP's for the first time are transitioning away from CD players. To them, 1GB worth of music seems like a whole lot. Not every flash player has to have tons of features. There's still room for simple-profile Music DAP's.


You mentioned players from iriver, Samsung, and Cowon, but remember where Sandisk is in the market. This one simple player will probably outsell those, especially with it's nationwide retail availability (Cowon anyone?) and great pricing.



[ edited Jan 06 (2007) 03:28PM ]



Thebassness
Location: In a crappy little place called duluth,ga
Comments: 168
 		Jan 06 (2007) 03:34PM  

yay or sandisk, i wonder how well that pmpish player will compare to the d2, and i agree there's a market for cheap really newb level daps.



dap_pad

Comments: 519
 		Jan 06 (2007) 04:18PM  

I agree with ssjmichael here the low-end of the DAP flash market is still booming. Partly why Sandisk is the 2nd leading manufacturer.

Many people like the USB-key-esque design and great example can be found in the "What DAP to Buy" thread. There's been a few member who want that design and many people don't really care for photos or videos or FLAC or OGG and stuff like that they just want a DAP that they can easily load their music onto it and use it for exercise/school/etc.

Futureshop and Best Buy advertise $50-70 CAD 1GB Generic flash DAP in almost every flyer... isn't that a great sign that there is a market for these DAPs?



Lone

Comments: 973
 		Jan 06 (2007) 04:23PM  

I agree with Michael; the new small flash player won't be interesting to many of us here at DAPreview, but it's got built-in USB, looks pretty slick, will be very cheap, and it even has a display. Stuff like the first iPod shuffle and Samsung YPU2 had these characteristics, and they seemed to sell pretty well. With the introduction of this new player they should really discontinue some of their older stuff, like the e100 and c100, less they become more like Creative in that respect.



Design Fabulous

Comments: 1038
 		Jan 06 (2007) 04:54PM  

Well, maybe I'm just not so familiar with the market in America, I was refering more to another market in my post.

But I am still pretty against the way you said that many people are moving from CD players to DAPs "now". DAPs have been out for ages and most people have moved from them by the time 1GB DAPs have been out.

But once again, I am not to familiar with the States.



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jan 06 (2007) 05:03PM  

It's just the way things are design. Trust me I still see people using CD Players here all the time. In addition to that there are those that simply aren't tech-savvy and want something real simple. A good portion of these people probably don't have an extensive music library either so something like a 512mb/1GB player would suit their needs perfectly.

Not everyone wants to spend 250 or more on a player when it's their first time venturing into the DAP world. Rather, they want something as easy as possible. This is the main reason why the iPod Shuffle has sold so well. It doesn't get any simpler than that. This player should also provide the same ease of use for these consumers and others.

[ edited Jan 06 (2007) 05:07PM ]



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jan 06 (2007) 05:12PM  

Hopefully the player has a capacity of up to eight gigs or so...
[ edited Jan 06 (2007) 06:32PM ]



Lacene
Location: Standing Here, Confused By Your
Comments: 827
 		Jan 06 (2007) 05:13PM  

you can go to headfi.com and check out the "post a pic of your rig" thread, and you'll see quite a number of posts involving PCDP's and MDP's as the source player. We're still in the "baby-boomer" era, where a ton of senior citizens are still using tape cassette and CD players as their portable audio source. It's not that hard to fathom......



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jan 06 (2007) 05:17PM  

Yeah Allen, I agree. I was going to mention in my post that it's a bold move for them to come out with a full fledged video player. I'm predicting it'll have upwards of 12GB's but who knows really.

I wonder what the model would be called (V100 and V200 are taken by Creative). Let's here your predictions!
[ edited Jan 06 (2007) 05:19PM ]



dap_pad

Comments: 519
 		Jan 06 (2007) 05:42PM  

If they do come out with a 12 GB flash PMP, they would probably be the pioneers of the high capacity flash PMP business... that would be intresting.

And i second ssjmichael, there are still alot of people using CD players... usually because they're DAP broke but still alot of people are still using them.



Digitalbath83

Comments: 87
 		Jan 06 (2007) 06:12PM  

designfabulous

In the states not everyone has a DAP. In fact I think it's like 25% of americans actually have DAPs... if that.



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jan 06 (2007) 06:34PM  

Sometime this year some company will break the 10 gig barrier on the amount of flash in a player... Thats my prediction...



Don

Comments: 4
 		Jan 06 (2007) 06:40PM  

I wouldn't be surprised if the PMP was meant to complement Sandisk's V-Mate recorder. I thought that maybe they'd do a firmware update with the e200's to allow for mp4 playback to make them easier to use with the V-Mate, but perhaps this new player is their solution.



HipHopScribe

Comments: 126
 		Jan 06 (2007) 07:31PM  

I agree with others that there is a big market for simple flash players, coupled with this more full featured looking (hopefully high capacity) flash player, I can see Sandisk continuing to make a good push at Apple.
[ edited Jan 06 (2007) 07:33PM ]



Anthony7

Comments: 98
 		Jan 06 (2007) 08:13PM  

I wouldn't be surprised if the PMP was meant to complement Sandisk's V-Mate recorder. I thought that maybe they'd do a firmware update with the e200's to allow for mp4 playback to make them easier to use with the V-Mate, but perhaps this new player is their solution.

I actually saw an old SanDisk newsletter from last summer saying the V-Mate will be compatable with the E200 series in the future. I also heard video storage on the MicroSD card will also be coming in a future firmware release.
On the subject of small capacity DAPs....
I also know a few people who either have purchased, or looking to purchase 1-2 Gb DAPs. Always a market as people want a small DAP, and don't want to pay $200+ for an new small capacity decent quality DAP.
I am a consumer of both SanDisk storage and DAP products, and I hope they keep pushing forward.



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jan 07 (2007) 12:51AM  

I'll be interested to see the video encode support for this player...



personan

Comments: 7
 		Jan 07 (2007) 03:15PM  

The flash player is called Sansa Express, and comes in 1GB only. It retails for $59.

[Linky]



[ edited Jan 07 (2007) 06:09PM ]



Thebassness
Location: In a crappy little place called duluth,ga
Comments: 168
 		Jan 07 (2007) 05:38PM  

That's really nice for those who just need an incredibly simple player



Michael
Location: New York City
Comments: 2786
 		Jan 07 (2007) 06:46PM  

I was able to track down the name of the simple flash player by doing a search for Sansa products selling as pre-orders. It's called the Sansa Express. I updated my post accordingly.

I'll fill it into our Database system in a while too. I'm still searching for the video player.



Jamin7489

Comments: 55
 		Jan 07 (2007) 08:04PM  

they need a new interface for the video player
its too meh



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Jan 07 (2007) 10:27PM  

Nice.....



LaBreaDAP

Comments: 33
 		Jan 08 (2007) 02:31AM  

I wonder whether the Express will sound as good as the 1G Shuffle and the Samsung YP-U2 ... I have the Samsung, and it sounds pretty nice.

I have players in 512MB, 1GB, 4GB, 5GB, 20GB and 40GB capacities... and I think there's a place for 1GB players, for sure. As long as the sound quality is good, a 1GB player doesn't need all that much in the way of features.

Sandisk is certainly playing the game well. It's a shame that a quality product such as COWON is virtually unknown outside Internet forums ...


Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Jan 08 (2007) 06:22AM  

Id just like to add to LaBrea's comment "It's a shame that a quality product such as COWON is virtually unknown outside Internet forums ..." at least on this side of the world.

Member DF says it is extremely popular in south korea.



personan

Comments: 7
 		Jan 08 (2007) 01:29PM  

[link]

Sansa View.
8GB flash.
78.5mm x 123mm x 16.9mm. (3.09in x 4.84in x 0.67in)
4 inch screen.
SD expansion slot.
A/V out.
User-removable, rechargeable battery.
PlayForSure with support for subscription tracks.
[ edited Jan 08 (2007) 01:33PM ]



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Personally, I didn't buy any of those clips, great deal nonetheless - enjoy!!!!

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TDS...

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Yea! It's here Android 2.1 for the DROID

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[Linky]

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