Jasmine France,
Senior Associate Editor
April 6, 2009
In the beginning, MP3 players relied heavily on memory card expansion slots because built-in memory was painfully scarce. My, how the times have changed. Nowadays, internal flash chips offer up to 32GB of storage, and memory card expansion slots--which almost exclusively take some form of SD media--are merely offered as an extra feature. Luckily, there's a decent array of MP3 players currently on the market offering this extra, so if you're keen on the option of adding more space on a whim--or you just want to use memory cards a la MiniDiscs, swapping them in at intervals--there are plenty of worthy options.
First up, we have the Cowon D2 and the Creative Zen X-Fi, both of which are feature-packed and highly lauded by their owners. The two devices use SD card memory, but it's important to note that the Zen does not integrate the card content into its general media library (a negative for some). Other expandable playes include the SanDisk Sansa Fuze, the RCA Pearl, and the Insignia Sport all of which take microSD cards. Finally, there's the SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Player; unlike the others, this one counts entirely on microSD memory, offering none of the internal variety. Other players to consider, which are not listed here, include the SanDisk Sansa e200 and the Creative Zen.
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| Price | Check Prices | $239.99 to $299.99 | $69.99 to $124.95 | $35.00 | Check Prices | Check Prices |
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| Review date | February 27, 2007 | August 08, 2008 | March 12, 2008 | June 28, 2007 | October 15, 2008 | |
| The Bottom Line | If you can get on board with the Cowon D2's PDA-like touch screen interface, the reward is great-sounding audio, a smorgasbord of features, and a fantastic battery life. | The Creative Zen X-Fi's plastic design leaves a little to be desired, but that doesn't detract from the fact that the player is an incredible value overall: for an extremely competitive price you get a boatload of features and great sound quality. | The SanDisk Sansa Fuze is a great value--a slim design, simple interface, plentiful features, memory expansion capability, and solid sound quality all come with an easy-to-swallow price tag. | If you're looking for a better-sounding alternative to the Sansa Express, the RCA Pearl does the trick--but be prepared to deal with a funky user interface and disposable batteries. | The SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Player is a reasonable option for those who still haven't made the switch from CD to MP3, and there's no computer required, so even technophobes can use it. | |
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| Features | ||||||
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 3.1 in x 0.7 in x 2.2 in | 3.3 in x 0.5 in x 2.2 in | 1.9 in x 0.3 in x 3.1 in | 1.1 in x 0.9 in x 3.1 in | 1.6 in x 0.4 in x 3.3 in | 2.8 in x 1.5 in x 0.6 in |
| Software type | Cowon jetShell Cowon jetAudio VX | Creative Centrale Drivers & Utilities | Drivers & Utilities Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 | Drivers & Utilities | Info unavailable | Drivers & Utilities |
| Mfr estimated battery life | 52 hour(s) | 5 hour(s) | 24 hour(s) | 15 hour(s) | 25 hour(s) | 15 hour(s) |
| PC interface(s) supported | Hi-Speed USB | Wi-Fi Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB | Info unavailable |
| Flash memory form factor | Integrated | Integrated | Integrated | Integrated | Integrated | Info unavailable |
| Flash memory installed | 4 GB | 32 GB | 8 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | Info unavailable |
| Battery technology | Lithium polymer | Lithium ion | Info unavailable | AAA alkaline | Lithium ion | AAA alkaline |
| Weight | 3.2 oz | 2.4 oz | 2.1 oz | 1.2 oz | 1.4 oz | 1.7 oz |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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