SanDisk Sansa c150 (2GB)

Summary: I was looking for another flashdrive player that would hold up better than my Nano and to supplement my hard drive player, as I`ve locked up two due to vibration on my motorcycle.
After much research,I decided to try the c150. Purchased for $129. Within 5 minutes after opening I was listening to the installed music,navigating through the menus and listening to the radio, without even glancing at the manual yet! Talk about user friendly interface.
Sound quality- pleasantly surprised. Even
with some inexpensive headphones I was able to tweak the equalizer to get really impressive sound. When I jacked in my ER6 earbuds the quality and range was excellent. Much better than my Nano, especially the depth and high frequencies, and I`m somewhat obsessive about sound quality. For what it`s worth, I haven`t tried the included buds yet.
Ease of use- The c150 is the perfect example of plug-and-play. When I got home, I hooked up to my laptop,was instantly recognized, was asked if I wanted WMP to manage the device, chose "do nothing", opened my MusicMatch library,clicked on "portable device", dragged and dropped three albums, initiated and named a playlist, moved over twelve tracks, and presto!, was done. Unhooked, checked the c150 library and playlist, everything was there, AND I STILL HAD NOT LOOKED AT THE MANUAL OR LOADED THE SANSDISK SOFTWARE YET!
Also, if you want to stay away from the copyrighted music protocols, you have the option of using MSC mode and dragging and dropping as files and folders.
Controls- Tactile and responsive, but not overly sensitive or touchy like some. I needed to be able to atleast be able to skip or backup while wearing motorcycle gloves and it turns out I can. Very intuitive. Logic controls, in other words,menu,scroll,select,scroll,select,back out or hit menu to jump to original start.
Display- Clean and clear with backlightand contrast control.
Volume contol is a nice long toggle on top. Volume at max is way to loud for me but in a very noisy environment and cheap headphones, I`m not sure if the range will be enough.
Music options- You can play or organize by album,artist,genre,playlists or play all.
Shuffle options and repeat song or repeat all. Customizable equalizer and five presets.Custom equalizer is realtime, in that as you change settings, the effect is instantanious, the same with the preset choices.
FM radio- Living in a remote area of Montana, I was surprised at how good the reception was. Several presets and you can select scan to automatically preset available stations.You can also record FM broadcasts.
Battery life- With a good alkaline battery I`m averaging 13 to 14 hours when not using the backlight a lot. When I have the backlight on a lot (making playlists or screwing around with the photo options)it goes down to around 9 hours. My NiMh rechargable is good for about 17 hours. My Nano was half that, and my wife`s iRiver T10 gets over 30 hours, but with an AA battery, which explains the iRiver`s heavier weight and more bulk.
Construction- First impression was that it was very light and cheap feeling, but now I deem it a good design and material choice. Very durable, more so than the Nano, which cracked in my pocket. The c150 has been riding in my front jeans pocket for two weeks now with none the worse for wear. I have since bought a silicone case that is a stretch fit and has a thin film over the controls but still allows operation with no problems. You have to get over the opinion that light means cheap, as my wife`s iRiver is much heftier and durable "feeling" but has not held up as well as the c150.
The USB cable that comes with the player is a proprietary design, in that it won`t fit any other devices except SanDisk, but I found out the reason for this is due to the upcoming release of docks and accessories that will fit the c100 series ports.
My only real complaint so far has been the battery life. While not as bad as some, it seems for it`s size and screen dimensions, the battery life could at least approach the 20+ hour mark, but considering the other attributes of the c150, I`m satisfied.
I`m sorry this was so long, as it`s my first review, but I haven`t felt the need to do a review before, but for the money, I was so impressed with the ease of use,features and music quality of the c150 that I had to give my 2 cents. I`d trade the Nano and T10 for another c150 in a heartbeat.