SanDisk Sansa Connect, iPod, Zune, Walkman, Blackberry: Pick One?
Read more articles on Music and Internet.April 15, 2007
Posted by neillevine
April 15, 2007
Posted by neillevine
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An article in “The Wall Street Journal” about the SanDisk Sansa Connect caught my eye because MP3 players and wireless phones are selling well right now so I thought I would spend time looking at what is available. The Sansa Connect is wireless using wi-fi to transmit and receive mostly songs, a small convenience over a hardwire connection that is also available. However, it doesn’t have a keyboard making it difficult to customize downloads even though the software has been designed to work best with Yahoo’s myriad services. The Sansa Connect competes with the various varieties of Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune. The iPod is the leader with about three quarters of the MP3 music player market while SanDisk in second place. Microsoft’s Zune is lagging behind but with 30GB memory and easy to purchase and use content cards it is well positioned for the coming web cut to movies since video takes up much more memory than comparatively simple songs. Also explaining why it costs fifty dollars more.Sony Ericsson’s Walkman line can have up to 8GB memory, an fm tuner, a camera, along with an Opera web browser plus a cell phone depending on model.This is where Apple’s iPhone will come in with music, web and phone capabilities. Then there is the BlackBerry. The 8703e model is also positioned as a highspeed wireless modem for your laptop. None of this for you? There is always the Palm Treo competing with the Blackberry and the LG VX 9400 with a two inch screen for television viewing including cable shows at a higher charge, I might add. .
My favorite electronics chain, RadioShack (remember it is only a block away, more or less) carries some of these nifty electronic “toys.” Zunes, iPods and SanDisk MP3 players plus Samsung and Motorola’s versions along with some nifty accessories like skins, cables, cards and chargers.
Since my thing is video the Zune has the most appeal but the screen is small. Portable DVD players have five, seven, ten inch screens and movies can be played on computers, which are bulkier and heavier although some models come with so-called extra features and higher costs. But that is another story.
Just remember that a call plan can add twenty to fifty dollars or more to the cost of a wireless phone, less the discount and with computers adding memory or more hard disk space or a better screen all add to the cost.
It all comes down to what do you want and what can you afford in the world of personal technology.
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