American Express-Savings
- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 35 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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13 out of 14 people found this review helpful
3.0 stars
"Battery comments too harsh"
Pros: AAA batteries
Cons: Small screen size
Summary: The heavy criticism for 15 hour battery life does not acknowledge modern battery technology. As recent merchandizing trends at Wal-Mart, Target, and others suggest, rechargeable batteries using dependable technology such as NiMh are beginning to catch on in the general consumer marketplace. For Geeks, most already have one of these chargers for our other toys.
A set of 4 AAA rechargeable can be had for less than $10. That's 60 hours of battery life for the c150 and far more flexibility than a proprietary rechargeable system. If you don't have a charger, a 2 hour charging kit with 4 AAA batteries can be had for less than $20.
If one argues this raises the price of a device like the c150, then one also has to consider that having a charger provides the flexibility to power all of your other AAA and AA devices at a massive cost savings. Proprietary battery systems cost the same or more. If/when the battery goes bad, proprietary rechargeables typically cost far more to replace and are more difficult to find.
- 2 replies to this review
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there are positives to both power options, and users who both fit. for the average person built in batteries are just simpler they are much more convenient. say you're joe schmoe. would you rather plug your mp3 into the wall (or computer) to charge it up, and unplug it when you want to leave, or would you want to remove the battery, pop it in the charger, plug it in, and then do the reverse when you want to leave? i'm not trying to make it seem more substantial that it is, its really pretty trivial, but its added steps that built-ins don't require.
the cost for AAAs does add to the cost of the player. you're argument about using them in "all your other devices" doesn't hold much water, at least for me. can i use them in a flashlight? not if i want to work in an emergency (nimh self discharge too quickly). my camera takes AAs.
you're argument about replacing built-ins costing more is also inaccurate. depending on the battery, li-ions should provide 2-3 years of service. at that point if you have a popular mp3 player, you can replace the internal battery yourself for around $20. -
i use a creative muvo tx fm at the moment and all i use is a NIMH battery and it works great. if it goes dead, throw it back in the charger for 15 min and it is good to go again.
Where to buy
SanDisk Sansa c150 (2GB):
$59.95
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$59.95 | Yes |
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