I’m here to praise the Sansa Connect. I know people are upset about the dropping of Yahoo Music downloads, and I don’t blame them, but the Sansa Connect is still one sweet little device.
For about $65 (current price at amazon.com), you can get a DAP with very good audio quality, solid construction, video support, ability to stream Launchcast [Plus] stations (hey, I like them!), and microSDHC card support.
The firmware is solid. I haven’t had any problems with my Connect freezing or crashing in months. The firmware support for the microSDHC card is, in my opinion, especially impressive. I was reminded of that today when I was looking at my Connect’s display while copying MP3s to its microSDHC card. I’m looking at the albums for a particular artist, and I watch the albums and song counts updating on the display as they’re being copied to the card. That’s pretty cool, I’ve never seen any other MP3 player with that kind of expansion card integration. And you can even operate the player while songs are being copied to it … nice!
It’s a real shame that Sandisk has stopped production of this player. Even with the Yahoo Music stuff removed, it still blows away other similar players, especially when you consider the (current) price.
Signed;
Promised Planet ( not a Sandisk employee, just a happy customer )
Message Edited by PromisedPlanet on 12-03-2008 11:35 AM
I have similar feelings of appreciation just about every time I’m using the Connect. Thanks for starting this thread so we lovers of the Connect could chime in.
And for spoken word (audiobooks, podcasts) fans, it’s just about the best:
μSD with integration (I record AM and FM shows on a timer schedule on a Radio YourWay player’s (μ)SD card, and pop it into the Connect for listening)
external speaker!
PlaysForSure for OverDrive Media and NetLibrary audiobooks (and, sob, the once great Yahoo Unlimited To Go)
accelerating fast forward
audible fast forward (great for skipping commercials on recorded AM and FM radio shows [no, I’m not recording the Coast-to-Coast AM show, just auto and home maintenance and health Dr. and college bball shows])
all-files resume (including video) if player started within 72 hours of Sleep. Without the Clip/Fuze requirement of proper tagging or folder placement (Caveat: I think it’s perfect resume–lately I haven’t found any file it didn’t resume, but I could be wrong)
on-player delete (nice for getting rid of podcasts or any crazily tagged/named files like what my Radio YourWay recordings are named). Even has a special button (outside of the normal center five) for accessing “Remove Song.” Resume + easy Delete make podcast listening almost as simple as on the iPod and Zune which automatically resume and delete what you listened to, but without the requirement for special software (iTunes/Zune Software).
2.2" screen for enjoyable video podcasts (esp. without earbuds using the speaker). Such a light little gadget for enjoying video (or audio) with no buds in your ears–like a perfect little portable TV.
Except for the battery. The poor battery life isn’t so much a problem if we could find a replacement battery we could solder in. I searched quite a bit, but couldn’t determine any replacement.
And yes, music is great, #1 ranked player by PC World for SQ.
And yes, Launchcast Plus is great. Put it near your home stereo, and pipe it through Creative’s USB XMod connected to a USB charger for enhanced quality. Anyone know how the Launchcast Plus streaming quality compares to MP3 bitrates?
Who gets credit? Zing? Or did Sandisk help a little with this fabulous firmware? These designers deserve a ton of credit. Sort of like the Rio firmware designers for their time, or the Creative Jukebox 3 hardware designers.
The battery life is a bit on the short side, though I found it can be greatly improved by the usual settings … dim backlight, reduce backlight timer, and shut off WiFi.
I’ve often wondered about how much of the firmware was Zing’s. The only other portable that I know of that carries Zing’s firmware is the Sirius Stiletto 2, which I had for a while (sold recently). The Stiletto is VERY similar to the Connect with regards to the interface, syncing, expansion card integration, and WiFi control.
I don’t have any other Sansas at the moment and am wondering whether they are as good as the Connect when it comes to syncing and expansion card support. For example, can you use the Fuze (play songs, view photos etc.) while syncing to its internal memory or expansion card? Does the media library dynamically update while syncing? I guess those questions should be asked on the Fuze board.
Anyway, I’m considering getting another Connect for when this one dies!
Message Edited by PromisedPlanet on 12-04-2008 10:00 AM
I too love my connect I use it work every night. I do miss the option to download music over wifi but Rhapsody had made it pretty easy to get what I need. I love the memory card expansion and just heard that the connect will support up to 16 GB SDHC, that make for a lot of music. I have had mine for all most a year now and have only had it freeze up on me once. I don’t really think you could find a better truly portable music player any where.
I love the memory card expansion and just heard that the connect will support up to 16 GB SDHC, that make for a lot of music.
I’m not sure whether you heard about that from me; I think I wrote some posts describing my frustrating experience with Sandisk tech support, getting them to confirm the maximum size microSDHC that the Connect will support.
I’m curious as to whether anyone has actually used a 16 GB microSDHC in the Connect (and whether it actually can see all the media on a fully loaded card).
@nuts4dvds wrote:
I don’t really think you could find a better truly portable music player any where.
Shhh… Please! I got two pristine backups from eBay for a total of $46 shipped. That was months ago. I see prices have risen since then.
I figured if they were bad, at least I’d salvage their batteries. But they were perfect. They now live in the fridge, after charging them to about 40%.
I just love it for a quick listen to podcasts (video and audio), with its speaker, 2.2" screen, and proper resume (resume only works when coming from “Sleep,” which it stays in for 72 hours). Just grab it, turn it on, and Play, no earbuds to fool with. Replacement for the stack of magazines near the loo.
)
