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.
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 2GB, an internal memory of 512 MB (e130) or 1GB (e140), 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 (including the SDMX1-1024, −512, and −256—reflecting capacity in MB), 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 (8 kHz) 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 75.2mm x 32.8mm x 20.8mm and weighs under 40g (1.4oz). Its release date was January 11, 2006.
Sansa m200
Sansa m240 in grey
The Sansa m200 series was released in four models: m230 (512MB), m240 (1GB), m250 (2GB), and m260 (4GB). It has a built-in FM tuner and microphone, and supports MP3, WMA, WAV, and Audible (.aa) audio file formats. It comes in different colors (one for each memory size) 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 1GB (c140) or 2GB (c150) of capacity. Microphone and radio capabilities are included.
The Sansa e200 series was released on January 5, 2006.[1] It includes a video player, FM tuner/recorder, voice recorder with built-in microphone, and picture viewer. The players were available in capacities of 2GB (e250), 4GB (e260), 6GB (e270), and 8GB (e280). There is also a microSD slot for up to 2GB of memory expansion. (Larger capacity microSDHC cards up to 32GB are not supported by the original version 1 firmware, but can be used with alternative Rockbox firmware or on version 2 models.)
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.[2]
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 8GB 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.[3]
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.[4] 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 4GB. Storage can be increased with microSD cards, giving the player up to an extra 2GB of storage. At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, the Sansa Connect won the Best of Show award.[5] A firmware update allows the player to support microSDHC cards for a capacity of up to 8GB and the playback of digital video.[6]
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 1GB (c240) and 2GB (c250) capacities. Later models, referred to as v2, have different hardware that adds support for the Audible file format.[7] 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 (even on v1 c200s) for up to 32GB of storage.
Sansa Express
The Sansa Express was sold in capacities of 1GB and 2GB. 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,[citation needed] though a USB cable is included in the package if needed.
Sansa Shaker
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 512MB or 1GB card is included, and cards up to 4GB (non-SDHC) 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.
Also known as the m300, the Sansa Clip was released on October 9, 2007.[8] The player is similar in size to the second-generation iPod Shuffle, but incorporates a removable clip and 4-line OLED screen (with one yellow line and three blue lines). The Clip has an FM tuner/recorder and a built-in microphone. The Clip shipped in capacities of 1GB (available only in black), 2GB (available in black, blue, red and pink), and 4GB (silver and black). In November 2008, black and silver 8GB versions were advertised in the UK.
Midway through production of the Clip, SanDisk updated to a new hardware design based on an updated Austriamicrosystems SoC. The updated design moderately improved battery life[9] 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. Rockbox was released for the Clip v1 on November 21, 2009, and then for the Clip v2 on May 14, 2010.[10]
Firmware version 01.01.29,[11] 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.[12]
The device (firmware 01.32+) has five folders: Audible (for Audible content), Audiobooks (for audiobooks that can be "bookmarked" with a resume playback feature), Music, Podcasts (which also support the resume playback feature), and Record (for WAV recordings using the device).
The Sansa Fuze, released on March 28, 2008[13] in capacities of 2, 4 and 8GB, is a portable media player with a 1.9-inch color display and a thickness of 0.3 inches (8mm). It also features a 40-preset FM radio with FM recording, a voice recorder, and a 24-hour battery life on continuous audio playback. Storage is expandable via a microSDHC slot. Firmware version 1.01.22 enables FLAC and Ogg Vorbis playback. Like the Clip, the Fuze underwent two hardware revisions, the first based on the AS3525 (like the first Clip) and the second based on the AS3525+ (like the Clipv2, Clip+ and Clip Zip). The latest firmware releases, depending on hardware version, are 01.02.31, 02.03.31 and 02.03.33.[14]
On August 31, 2009,[15] SanDisk released a redesign of the Sansa Clip called the Clip+, cosmetically similar to the Clip and maintaining its basic design, audio hardware, compatibility, and 4-line OLED screen, but with a few significant differences.
There are 2GB (black), 4GB (black, red, blue, white or indigo) and 8GB (black) models. The case has been redesigned to look more square (including the navigation pad, which is also no longer backlit) and is constructed of higher-quality plastic,[16] the clip is no longer removable, and the player now supports folder browsing and ReplayGain support. Transition times between tracks were reduced, but SanDisk officially declined to support gapless playback.[17] A microSDHC card slot has been added, allowing the storage capacity of the device to be expanded by up to an additional 32GB. The Clip+ also has added features when playing slotMusic and slotRadio. To make room for the microSDHC slot, there have been some changes from the old Clip, including moving the volume switch to the left side of the device and changing the power/hold switch to a simple power button. Hold mode is now activated by holding the "Home" button on the device. Like previous Clip and Fuze products, the Clip+ retained a directly coupled headphone amplifier, allowing for highly accurate reproduction of bass frequencies and very low distortion on difficult-to-drive headphones.[18]
The Sansa Clip+ proved popular with audio enthusiasts and programmers because of its very low cost, excellent DAC,[clarification needed] and relatively mature Rockbox port, the latter of which substantially improved battery life and added features such as parametric EQ, completely gapless playback and AAC audio playback.[19] The Clip+ replaced the discontinued original Clip, with which it shared nearly identical hardware aside from the microSDHC slot.[20]
The Clip+ User Manual provides instructions for copying music files and folders from a PC onto internal and external memory. It also provides instructions for creating playlists using Windows Media Player. However, varying degrees of success have motivated many users to experiment with other applications, such as MediaMonkey[21] and Winamp.[22]
The Sansa Fuze+, announced on August 31, 2010 in capacities of 4GB (US$79), 8GB (US$89) & 16GB (US$119), is a portable media player with a 2.4inch QVGA color display and touchscreen capability. It also features an FM radio with FM recording and RDS[clarification needed] capability, a voice recorder, and 24hours of audio playback from a single charge. It supports the following audio formats: MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, and Audible files. For video, it supports MPEG-4, H.264, and WMV. Storage is expandable via a microSDHC slot, which can be used to play SlotMusic and SlotRadio cards.
Sansa Clip Zip
Sansa Clip Zip
On August 24, 2011, SanDisk announced the Sansa Clip Zip, an update to the Clip+. Two versions are available, a 4GB model for US$50 and an 8GB model for US$70. The 4GB model comes in nine colors (red, blue, black, orange, white, grey, purple, lime and teal), while the 8GB model is only available in black or grey.[23]
The Clip Zip includes all the features of the Clip+ and is based on the same processor as the Clip+ and Fuze v2 but includes a larger 1.1-inch full-color OLED[24] display with support for album art (but called "LCD" in a press release[25]), redesigned controls, a Micro-USB connector, a new user interface similar to that of the Fuze+, a stopwatch, RDS radio capability[26] and support for DRM-free AAC audio files (such as those purchased from the iTunes Store).[27] The new Clip Zip will be sold alongside the Clip+. Internally the Clip Zip is similar to the Clip+ (apart from the Zip having a color screen), and so retains its high quality DAC and amplifier.[28]
SanDisk Clip Sport
SanDisk Clip Sport (2014)
The Clip Sport was announced on February 10, 2014, with capacities of 4GB and 8GB.[29] It is similar to previous Clip models, with a larger screen and longer battery life, but with no voice recorder. Later firmware uses the menu button for locking. A microSDHC card slot is provided to increase storage capacity, but does not support SlotRadio. The Clip Sport is the first SanDisk Audio player to not carry the Sansa name. It was discontinued in late 2018.
Clip Jam
SanDisk Clip Jam
The Clip Jam was released in 2015, replacing the previous Sansa Clip and Clip+ models. It has a microSDHC card slot.
Clip Sport Plus
Clip Sport Plus 16GB (left) and Clip Sport Go 32GB (right)
The Clip Sport Plus was released in 2016, and is the first SanDisk MP3 player to add Bluetooth capabilities and water resistance. It does not have a MicroSD card slot.
Clip Sport Go
SanDisk Clip Sport Go
The Clip Sport Go was announced in 2018 by SanDisk, and subsequently released on March 2, 2019. It has a built-in microphone for voice recording and lacks a MicroSD card slot.
This table refers to the latest version of the SanDisk firmware as of 2019. Earlier versions may have fewer features. Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, ReplayGain, and folder browsing are always included in Rockbox.[31]
Marketing
A promotional picture from the iDon't campaign.
In May 2006, SanDisk launched an anti-iPod campaign featuring graffiti-type posters around urban areas and a website (iDont.com), in an effort to promote the e200 series. SanDisk has since replaced the iDon't campaign with LilMonsta.com, which is also the name of the creature that resembles the player.[32] 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. With it, a number of third-party accessories have been released, 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 has endorsed the Sansa e200 series with a promotional video featuring one of her songs.[33]
↑ Sikken, Bertrik (October 22, 2011). "Rockbox Sansa Clip Zip port status". Rockbox Custom Media Player Firmware. Rockbox Wiki. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds; Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick ; the even smaller Memory Stick Micro (M2), and the Memory Stick PRO-HG, a high speed variant of the PRO to be used in high-definition video and still cameras.
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary, non-volatile, flash memory card format the SD Association (SDA) developed for use in portable devices.
ZEN is a series of portable media players designed and manufactured by Creative Technology Limited from 2004 to 2011. The players evolved from the NOMAD brand through the NOMAD Jukebox series of music players, with the first separate "ZEN" branded models released in 2004. The last Creative Zen player, X-Fi3, was released at the end of 2011.
Rockbox is a free and open-source software replacement for the OEM firmware in various forms of digital audio players (DAPs) with an original kernel. It offers an alternative to the player's operating system, in many cases without removing the original firmware, which provides a plug-in architecture for adding various enhancements and functions. Enhancements include personal digital assistant (PDA) functions, applications, utilities, and games. Rockbox can also retrofit video playback functions on players first released in mid-2000. Rockbox includes a voice-driven user-interface suitable for operation by visually impaired users.
The Rio Carbon is a line of digital audio players that was produced by the now defunct Rio from 2004 to 2005. It was similar in size, capacity, and cost with Apple's iPod Mini which debuted earlier the same year. This was Rio's second player to use a miniature hard disk for storage, after the Rio Nitrus, which was first to market with a 1.5 GB drive in late 2003.
The iRiver H300 series are a series of portable audio players developed by iRiver, made up of the iRiver H320 and H340 models. They were first announced on September 22, 2004 replacing the H100/iHP-100. Each can play music, transfer pictures directly from digital cameras and UMS-compatible devices, such as flash drives, and display digital images on a colour screen. In the United States, the H320 initially retailed for $329 and the H340 was $429.
The iRiver H100 series is a series of discontinued portable digital audio players (DAP) made by iriver and originally released in October 2003. The models in the H100 series differ mainly in hard drive storage capacity. The players were succeeded by the iriver H300 series.
Lyra is a series of MP3 and portable media players (PMP). Initially it was developed and sold by Indianapolis-based Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc., a part of Thomson Multimedia, from 1999 under its RCA brand in the United States and under the Thomson brand in Europe. There were also RCA/Thomson PMPs without the Lyra name, such as the RCA Kazoo (RD1000), RCA Opal and RCA Perl. In January 2008, Thomson sold its Consumer Electronics part including the RCA brand and Lyra line to AudioVox. RCA-branded PMPs are still being made today in its domestic market but no longer under the Lyra name. The Lyra was an early pioneer in digital audio players, although in later years most of its output were OEM products.
The Motorola ROKR, the first version of which was informally known as the iTunes phone, was a series of mobile phones from Motorola, part of a 4LTR line developed before the spin out of Motorola Mobility. ROKR models were released starting in September 2005 and ending in 2011, because of the dissolution of Motorola Inc.. They were notable for incorporating support of media player features.
Yepp was Samsung Electronics' digital audio player brand until Samsung decided to retire most of their family brands in February 2011. From then on, their MP3 players were simply branded "Samsung" worldwide until they discontinued all of them in late 2013. The brand included a wide range of hard-drive based as well as flash-memory based players. The name is claimed to be an acronym for "young, energetic, passionate person".
The following comparison of portable media players compares general and technical information for important digital playback devices.
The RioForge is a digital audio player that was produced by Rio Audio, Inc. While it competed in the same market as Apple Inc's iPod mini, it is considerably different as it plays from internal memory, SD card, or FM broadcast and runs on a single AAA battery.
The Sansa e200 series is a portable media player developed by SanDisk and released on January 5, 2006. The device is available in four capacities of Flash memory: 2 GB (e250), 4 GB (e260), 6 GB (e270), and 8 GB (e280). All players have a 1.8-inch, TFT LCD display with a resolution of 176 by 220 pixels. Certain files, if not in a format accepted by the player's original firmware, must first be converted with the Sansa Media Converter Windows software. This will convert images to bitmap format (.bmp) and videos to MJPEG, for v1 models. On v2 players it will convert videos to DivX and simply resize images. It is not possible to simply copy videos to the device, even if they seem to be in the correct format; trying to access them displays an error message.
The ZEN is a portable media player in the Creative Zen series designed and manufactured by Creative Technology. This flash memory-based player is the de facto successor of the ZEN Vision:M and was announced on August 29, 2007, to be available in capacities of 2, 4, 8, and 16 GB, as of September 14. A 32 GB model was announced on December 4, 2007, setting a record for storage capacity among flash players. The ZEN is referred to also by the identifier DVP-FL0001 though this does not appear on the unit.
The Sansa Fuze is a portable media player developed by SanDisk and released on March 8, 2008. The Fuze is available in three different Flash memory capacities: 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB and comes in six different colors: black, blue, pink, red, silver, and white. Storage is expandable via a microSDHC slot with capacity up to 32 GB, and unofficially to 64 GB or more via FAT32 formatted SDXC cards. All models have a 1.9 inch TFT LCD display with a resolution of 220 by 176 pixels and a built-in monaural microphone and FM tuner; recordings of the latter two are saved as PCM WAV files.
The French consumer electronics company Archos manufactured a number of products which have since been discontinued.
The Sansa c200 series is a line of portable media players developed by SanDisk. The line consists of two models: the c240, 1 GB, the c250, 2 GB. Both models feature a microSD card slot, a 1.4-inch LCD display, a built-in microphone, and an FM radio. c200 series players are available in four colors: black, red, pink, and blue.
The Sansa Fuze+ is a portable media player manufactured by SanDisk as part of their Sansa line of MP3 players. The Fuze+ was released on September 1, 2010, and is the direct successor to the Sansa Fuze. The Sansa Fuze+ is available in five colors: Black, Blue, Purple, Red, and White. Internal storage capacities of the player vary by color.
The Samsung YP-R0 is a portable media player made by Samsung, leaked on August 10, 2009 and first released end of October 2009 in Russia. It was developed along with the YP-R1 with which it shares several specifications . The R0 is available in three different Flash memory capacities: 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB. It comes in three different colors: black, silver and pink. Storage is expandable via a microSDHC slot with capacity up to 32 GB, and unofficially to 64 GB or more via FAT32 formatted SDXC cards. It features an aluminum case, a 2.6 inch TFT LCD display with a resolution of 240 by 320 pixels, RDS FM tuner, tactile buttons and microUSB connector. Several EQ and sound effects are available through Samsung's DNSe 3.0 sound engine.
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