Sansa e280 is World's Largest Capacity Flash Memory MP3 Player

SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today unveiled the world's largest capacity flash-based MP3 player, the 8-gigabyte (GB) 1 Sansa e280 that boasts award-winning audio, photo viewing and video clip playback capabilities. Priced at $249.99 (MSRP), the e280 is the latest evolution of SanDisk's flagship e200 series. The 8GB device sports a microSD expansion slot allowing expansion to 10GB of music—or 2,500 songs—with an optional SanDisk 2GB microSD card, making it the largest capacity  flash-based MP3 player on the market.

In conjunction with the rollout of the e280 and in preparation for the holiday season, SanDisk has lowered its prices on the entire Sansa e200 line of products, including the existing 2, 4 and 6GB models.

Current pricing on the Sansa e200 product line includes a 2GB flash-based player for under $140 MSRP.

The dimensions of the Sansa e200 are 1.7 in. wide x 3.5 in. long x 0.5 in. high (4.4 cm wide x 8.9 cm long x 1.3 cm high). Screen size is 1.8-inch (4.572 cm) TFT color screen (QCIF+).

"SanDisk is once again making it incredibly affordable for consumers to purchase the most feature-rich, high-capacity players on the market at the best possible price," said Eric Bone, director of audio/video product marketing at SanDisk. "The most costly ingredient in a flash-based MP3 player is the flash memory. Since we make the flash memory, we essentially remove the middleman and pass that savings directly to the consumer."

In addition to holding thousands of songs, the Sansa e200 includes a plethora of features to enhance the listening and viewing experience. These include:

  • An open (non-proprietary) digital rights management system that allows users to purchase songs or access subscription download services from numerous sources
  • A microSD™ expansion slot for additional memory capacity and support for SanDisk TrustedFlash™ content cards that can be played not only on Sansa players but also on mobile phones equipped with microSD card slots. SanDisk microSD cards today come with capacities of up to 2GB, with higher capacities planned in the future
  • Photo and video capability facilitated through the Sansa Media Converter, which enables a superior customer viewing experience
  • Digital FM tuner, on-the-fly FM recording 3
  • Voice recording with a built-in microphone
  • Sleek, thin design with large 1.8" TFT color screen for easy viewing and advanced navigational features within an easy to use interface
  • User replaceable and rechargeable Lithium Ion battery for up to 20 hours of battery life 4
  • Scratch resistant alloy metal back casing provides excellent durability
  • Multi-pin universal connector for future accessory upgrades, battery charging and USB 2.0 connectivity
  • Simple to use, backlit controls for fast device interface navigation
  • For instant access to millions of digital songs, the Sansa e200 series players support Microsoft® PlaysForSure™ so consumers can download and pay for songs individually or download an unlimited amount of music for a flat monthly subscription fee from music stores such as Rhapsody To Go® and others.

    The player is designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of popular music formats such as MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files (such as those WMA files purchased from music stores).