A Really Simple And Solid Choice To Make.

Sandisk won't win any awards for edgy innovation with the Sansa View, but this Personal Media Player couldn't be much more simple to use with one exception. Loading pictures and video is a little more tricky than with some of the other choice PMP players out there.

Most media can be just Drag-n-Dropped onto the player but the videos have to first be converted into a specific format, which is not always easily accomplished with the included Media Converter, and the pictures need to be rotated and cropped so that they best fit the screen manually.

Once you get the hang of it though, the player functions quite well. Videos are smooth and sound quality is better than it's predecessor, the E200 series, though I still wish the bass was a little more abundant and rich.

I have a multitude of iPods and MP3/MP4 players and I'd rank this player a little over mid way as far as sound quality goes, yet with a really good pair of headphones it's even better than that. Ya gotta be careful though, the View can deliver rather high volumes that may be damaging if you like it loud like I do.

Again, the UI is pretty self explanatory yet gives you a relatively fair amount of customization. Playlist are easy to make and navigating your library is no chore either. You can browse albums, artist, genres, as well as individual songs.

Battery life is actually quite impressive, with audio playback lasting as much as 30 hours, and video chugging away for approximately 8 hours.

Take care of the included USB core because it is a proprietary cable and will cost a little extra to replace.

As for the looks of the player, the Sansa View is far from ugly with it's black glossy front while the backside has a rubbery texture. The 2.4" screen is bright and quite nice too. Over all it's a tiny bit big, but it has a nice feel in the hand, like a small candy-bar style cell phone.