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Photograph: Chris Manners
SanDisk Sansa c150 2GB MP3 Player - Black (Internal Flash Drive, FM Tuner, 15 Hours)
- Spec Navigator
- Battery
- Display
- Features
- General
- Included Hardware
- Included Software
- Interface Connections
- Music Subscription Service
- Software
- Storage Included
- Storage Media
- Supported Audio Formats
- Supported Image Formats
- Supported Video Formats
Features
| Equalizer Settings | 6 |
| FM Recording | Yes |
| Plays For Sure | Yes |
| Presets | 20 |
| Replaceable Battery | 1 |
| Video Output | No |
| Video Support | No |
| Voice Recording | Yes |
Interface Connections
| Firewire | No |
| Headphone output | Yes |
| Line Out | No |
| Microphone input | No |
| USB | Yes |
| USB Host Adapter | No |
Storage Media
| Compact Flash | No |
| Memory Stick | No |
| Memory Stick Micro | No |
| micro SD | No |
| mini SD | No |
| SD card | No |
| Smart Media | No |
| xD Picture Card | No |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test MP3 Players »
Pros
Inexpensive
Very good audio quality
Cons
Button use is somewhat clunky
Photos require conversion with software
Bottom Line
Button use and menus are a bit clunky on the inexpensive c150. Photos require software conversion. Uses one AAA battery.
SanDisk Sansa c150
Sansa c150 2GB MP3 Player - Black (Internal Flash Drive, FM Tuner, 15 Hours) Review, by Melissa J. Perenson May 19, 2006
SanDisk's stylish Sansa c150 ($149 as of 4/13/06) is distinguished by its compact, rectangular size. It's perfect for someone who wants to carry a selection of songs on the go, but not their entire archive, since the player has a midrange capacity of 2GB. The c150 is small enough that you can toss it into your pocket, and it uses a single AAA battery for power, so you can procure more juice most anywhere.
Its physical size is complemented by its convenient buttons, which I found conducive to one-handed operation in general playback scenarios (you'll need to watch the screen to make your way through the menus). You can control the volume via a rocker switch located on one side of the unit; the other side sports a hold button and built-in microphone. The c150's navigation ring offers access to standard forward, back, and play/pause functions; when you press down you get a context-sensitive menu that offers options linked directly to whatever mode of operation you're in (music, FM radio, voice recording, photos). The 128-by-64-pixel color display that handles 64,000 colors and shows two lines of text, plus a progress bar, playback mode (in other words, repeat and shuffle), and battery status. I mostly found the menus easy to navigate, and I loved the on-the-fly playlists--but I wish it were easier to navigate a nested folder structure of music.
The c150 ships with Rhapsody for organizing and transferring music to the player; however, since the device is recognized by Windows Explorer, you can also just drag and drop music (and data) directly to the player. The unit supports Microsoft's new Media Transfer Protocol--hence its MTP mode. Microsoft designed the drivers to connect and synchronize digital media between portable devices and a PC. In MTP mode, you can drag MP3 and WMA files directly to the Media folder on the player; in Mass Storage Class (MSC) mode, you can copy files directly to the root directory.
The unit doesn't play video, but it does handle most other files you'll want to take for a whirl, including MP3, WMA, and Audible audio book files. However, you'll need the included Sansa Media Converter software to load and resize images for the player's small screen because the c150 does not natively support any image formats, such as JPEG and TIFF. Whether you'll want to bother with photos is a separate question; I was unimpressed by the image quality on the small, odd-shaped screen. Sansa Media Converter (which is powered by ArcSoft and requires Microsoft's Windows Media Player 10 and DirectX 9), makes reference to converting video files, but then it chokes--not surprising considering that the player can't support video playback.
Audio quality was adequate with the included earbud headphones, which were quite comfy for me; they had weighted tips that kept them in place. In PC World's new audio-quality tests, the c150 performed well, earning a Very Good overall. For example, the player recreated a broad range of frequencies accurately and reached a loud volume level before introducing 1 percent of distortion--a commonly used threshold. Overall, however, the c150 introduced more distortion to its signal than any other flash player we tested.
Though I loved this unit's ultraportability and flexibility, I have a couple of gripes (bigger ones than the sloppy Media Converter interface). My biggest is that this player requires a proprietary USB cable instead of a standard mini-USB connector. The wide proprietary port takes up the entire width of the player, which is not only inconvenient--you must have this one cable with you at all times to update the player--but the gaping opening also leaves the unit vulnerable to crumbs or debris left in your coat pocket or bag. Also, the manual is thin on details and makes reference to two modes, MTP and MSC, but it never defines the difference between these two modes (or, for that matter, what MSC means).
Melissa J. Perenson
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
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80
-
83
-
60
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar MP3 Players
80
87
60
81
Performance
| Crosstalk, Average (dB) | -48 |
| Frequency Response Deviation, Average (dB) | 3.2 |
| Maximum Usable Output Level, Average (dBV) | -6.2 |
| Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Average (dB) | 80 |
| Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise, Average (%) | 0.08 |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
-
Reviewed by: mjcflex
Strengths: works ok... looks good
Weaknesses: Lasted about 2 months... then it died on me.
Overall: These are pretty cheap... you get what you pay for. The screen locked on a song when the battery got low. Replacing the battery didn't help... and there is not reset available when that happens. I can't get any of the controls to respond.
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Reviewed by: anil_in
Strengths: Easy interfaces, drag drop your music files, FM tuner
Weaknesses: Not a great sound quality, smaller display (not at all worth to see photos), saggy FM tuner
Overall: Just yesterday I bought it from Circuit City. Very easy to load and operate (just drag drop your files..and ready to go)I compared sound quality with Ipod shuffle..and result was not great. Found build in FM tuner very useful...but it gives static for most of stations..few station works fine. Wishlist is a handy option.Price is a better factor...
-
Reviewed by: hondt0
Strengths: easy to use.
Weaknesses: Sound quality is awkful ....
Overall: It's easy to use. When connecting to PC (window XP), it appears in your PC as external drive. Just drag & drop music from your C: into it.But the sound is very low & poor quality, even I set its sound with custome option & maximum equalizers.Check its web site (sandisk.com), but there is no update firmware for to improve its low, poor soud quality.
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Reviewed by:
Strengths: Customizable Equalizer
Weaknesses: Battery Life, FM Radio has a buzzing noise in it when the battery is brand new and the screen backlight goes off?
Overall: The sound quality is good, especially with the custom EQ. The FM radio has a buzzing sound when the battery is new and the backlight goes off. After the battery gets to about half power, the buzzing goes away? Extremely annoying! I contacted SanDisk and they told me they knew about the problem and were working on a firmware fix. Iv'e been checking and there hasn't been any fix yet, (4 months). Battery life not all that great either. Would not purchase again unless a patch is created!
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Reviewed by: AntP
Strengths: Uses a AAA battery that you can replace at no cost - Clear Quality Sound - FM tuner with presets, Scan, and Record function, 2GB in a VERY small form factor - Comes with pretty good in-ear headphones
Weaknesses: FM reception not the greatest compared to other mp3 players (but they were all larger that this one) .. A bit tricky to get the playlists to work.
Overall: Best Quality - Features - Radio reception for the size .. THE BEST work out/run/bike/gym/etc mp3 player out there imo. For about $20 you can get a small neoprene pocket (that also covers the screen) with a clip that attaches to anything. Also, IT IS compatible with USB 1.1 (unlike that other posting). Finally, I found it MUCH easier to sync playlists with Windows Media player in manual mode and let it create folder structure on auto. (Real Audio, iTunes and Rhapsody did quite work for me).
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