- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 33 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Good value, easy to use, big buttons"
Pros: Big buttons, expandable with SD RAM cards, reasonable price
Cons: No belt clip or lanyard loop, USB and SD RAM port covers aren't attached, no real playlists
Summary: I think the Sansa E130 is a good value. It sounds good, the size is reasonable, and it fits flat in a shirt pocket, which is about the only place to stash it since it has no connection for a belt clip or lanyard. There is a clear plastic slip case and elasticized arm band, but I don't like them.
The buttons are nice and big, and simple enough you can easily work them in the dark. The rotary volume control is nice because you can change the volume quickly. Because it uses a AAA battery, it's easy to have a spare on hand.
The ability to use standard SD flash cards is really nice, and the fact that the E130 shows up as just a standard USB hard drive makes it a breeze to use without any complicated music transfer software.
The player lacks support for playlists other than a "favorites" list. The favorites are easy to use and program, but they aren't retained when you change your SD card. If you wanted to get fancy, I guess you could kludge a playlist using genres.
Just throw away the rubberized plastic covers for the SD RAM and USB ports, because you're going to lose them in a day or two anyway. It would have been nice if SanDisk had attached the covers permanently.
I'm not crazy about the supplied headphones. I don't like the "in the ear canal" type earbuds. I usually use some Sennheiser MX550's or one of those cheap Sony, in the ear, over the head, headphones.
I've used and owned several other MP3 players, but for the money, I really like the simplicity and ease of use of the Sansa E130. It's not especially flashy or cute, but it's very usable.
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