SanDisk portable media players
SanDisk has produced a number of flash memory-based portable media players from 2005. SanDisk players were marketed under the Sansa name until 2014, then SanDisk Clip.
Marketing
In May 2006, SanDisk launched an anti-iPod marketing campaign dubbed "iDon't", featuring graffiti-type posters around urban areas and a website, in an effort to promote the e200 series. SanDisk later replaced the campaign with LilMonsta.com, which is also the name of the creature that resembles the player. In June 2008, LilMonsta.com was shut down in favor of a new website.On September 3, 2006, SanDisk announced the "Made for Sansa" program, following the similar program by Apple Inc. for its iPod. A number of third-party accessories have been released under it, including hardware accessories mostly for the proprietary 30-pin IO port featured on the e200, c200, Connect, View, and Fuze players. Japanese pop artist Maki Goto endorsed the Sansa e200 series with a promotional video featuring one of her songs.
Model history
Sansa e100
The Sansa e100 series has a monochrome display with a blue backlight, FM tuner with 20 presets, SRS WOW technology, an SD card slot supporting cards up to 2 GB, an internal memory of 512 MB or 1 GB, and a single AAA battery for power. It supports MP3, WMA and Audible file formats. The e140 was also known as the SDMX2. Released on January 12, 2006, it came in blue or grey, depending on the model.SanDisk SDMX1
The SanDisk SDMX1 series, also known as the SanDisk Digital Audio Player, is a low-end solid state memory MP3 player. It was SanDisk's first personal media player, and the only one of its time not to be sold under the Sansa brand. It supports MP3, WMA, and DRM-protected WMA files. It cannot play seamlessly, and imposes a non-configurable fade at the beginning and end of each file. There is a built-in microphone for low-fidelity voice recording and an FM radio. The SanDisk SDMX1 is powered by a single AAA battery for around 15 hours of continuous playback. It measures 75.2 mm x 32.8 mm x 20.8 mm and weighs under. Its release date was January 11, 2006.Sansa m200
The Sansa m200 series was released in four models: m230, m240, m250, and m260. It has a built-in FM tuner and microphone, and supports MP3, WMA, WAV, and Audible audio file formats. It comes in different colors such as blue, black, pink, and grey, and uses a single AAA battery for power. There were four different hardware revisions of this player. The first three revisions used a Telechips TCC770 SoC for a CPU and DSP, and the fourth used a chip developed by Austria Microsystems that was also used in the Clip, Fuze, and later e200/c200 models.Sansa c100
The Sansa c100-series players have colour displays and are able to show cover art and small picture thumbnails. They use AAA batteries and are available in 1 GB or 2 GB of capacity. Microphone and radio capabilities are included.Sansa e200
The Sansa e200 series was released on January 5, 2006. It includes a video player, FM tuner/recorder, voice recorder with built-in microphone, and picture viewer. The players were available in capacities of 2 GB, 4 GB, 6 GB, and 8 GB. There is also a microSD slot for up to 2 GB of memory expansion.The Sansa e200R was released in October 2006. Physically identical to the regular e200, it was sold exclusively at Best Buy or directly through Rhapsody. The player has a feature called Rhapsody Channels, which is the online service's brand of podcasting, and also comes with preloaded content. The Rhapsody firmware also added support for AAC audio files. A regular e200 could be flashed into an e200R and back again.
Sansa TakeTV
Released on October 26, 2007, the Sansa TakeTV is a plug-and-play storage device that allows the playback of DivX, Xvid, and MP4 files on an external display via the included dock and remote. Unlike other Sansa products, the TakeTV is not a digital audio player. The device comes in 4 and 8 GB sizes. While the user is free to play their own videos, the TakeTV came with FanFare, a program similar to iTunes that allowed the user to purchase premium content. On December 11, NBCUniversal partnered with SanDisk to provide content on FanFare after having left Apple in a similar deal. The TakeTV and FanFare were discontinued on May 15, 2008.Sansa View
The original Sansa View was SanDisk's attempt at a portable media player, with a 4-inch screen, built-in speaker and an expansion slot for SDHC and SD cards. It was announced on the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. On June 1, 2007, SanDisk announced that the player had been shelved. It has since been redesigned and launched.Sansa Connect
The Sansa Connect is a Wi-Fi-enabled player that allows the user to connect to any open network in the area. The Mono/Linux-based device has a 2.2-inch TFT LCD screen, but unlike SanDisk's previous player, the e200 series, the Sansa Connect does not have the ability to connect via USB mass storage or tune to FM radio. The player was developed by ZING Systems in collaboration with SanDisk and Yahoo!, which provides music streaming via LAUNCHcast radio and a subscription download service. Viewing pictures from Flickr is also possible with the device. The Sansa Connect was only available in the United States with a capacity of 4 GB. Storage can be increased with microSD cards, giving the player up to an extra 2 GB of storage. At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, the Sansa Connect won the Best of Show award. A firmware update allows the player to support microSDHC cards for a capacity of up to 8 GB and the playback of digital video.Sansa c200
The Sansa c200 series has a removable, lithium-ion rechargeable battery, FM tuner/recorder, built-in microphone, 1.4-inch 132x80-pixel colour display, and a microSD card slot. The c200 is compatible with many accessories made for the e200. The c200 is available in 1 GB and 2 GB capacities. Later models, referred to as v2, have different hardware that adds support for the Audible file format. The packaging of the new models has been updated with the line "Supports Audible audio file formats". The free Rockbox firmware includes a number of additional features, including support for microSDHC for up to 32 GB of storage.Sansa Express
The Sansa Express was sold in capacities of 1 GB and 2 GB. It has a built-in USB connector and a 1.1-inch, duochromatic OLED display, a microSD slot, an FM tuner, a microphone for voice recording, an internal lithium-ion battery, and a lanyard to wear the device around one's neck. It is also able to record FM radio and voice on its internal memory. The Express is not considered a descendant of the c200 series, as it only plays audio. It is more similar to the m200 and maintains much of its design and internal software structure. It is the world's first known flash-based digital audio player that does not require a cable for data transfer, though a USB cable is included in the package if needed.Sansa Shaker
The Sansa Shaker, released in 2007, is a screenless digital audio player with an SD card slot and was sold in blue, red, white, and pink. One 512 MB or 1 GB card is included, and cards up to 4 GB can be used. The Shaker's tubular design, resembling that of a salt shaker, is intended to be child-friendly, and it will randomly skip one, two or three songs when shaken. The Shaker plays up to 10 hours of continuous audio with a AAA battery, and has two headphone jacks and a built-in speaker. The upper controller band adjusts volume and the lower controller band skips songs, or fast forwards or rewinds the current song when held. Unlike with other players, the only supported audio file format is MP3. When the memory card is removed during playback, the player emits an "uh-oh" sound. When the player's memory card is put back in, it emits a popping sound.Sansa Clip
Also known as the m300, the Sansa Clip was released on October 9, 2007. The player is similar in size to the second-generation iPod Shuffle, but incorporates a removable clip and 4-line OLED screen. The Clip has an FM tuner/recorder and a built-in microphone. The Clip shipped in capacities of 1 GB, 2 GB, and 4 GB. In November 2008, black and silver 8 GB versions were advertised in the UK.Midway through production of the Clip, SanDisk updated to a new hardware design, referred to as v2, based on an updated Austriamicrosystems SoC. The updated design moderately improved battery life by introducing a more efficient ARM9E processor in place of the previous ARM9 core. Aside from requiring different firmware upgrades, there were no functional changes to the software. The updated SoC would, however, form the basis for the Clip+ and Clip Zip products. Additionally, the v2 hardware has significantly improved battery life when using the Rockbox firmware due to dynamic frequency and voltage scaling.
Firmware version 01.01.29, released in May 2008, enabled Ogg Vorbis compatibility for the Sansa Clip. The 01.01.30 firmware update improved OGG support and added FLAC support. The latest firmware packages for the Sansa Clip are 01.01.35 and 02.01.35, which depend on the hardware revision. The official firmware cannot play Ogg Opus files, but support for the opus audio codec is available in Rockbox, a third party firmware replacement. Rockbox was first released for the Clip v1 on November 21, 2009, and then for the Clip v2 on May 14, 2010.
The device has five folders: Audible, Audiobooks, Music, Podcasts, and Record.