No doubt Apple is the king of the hill when it comes to MP3 players, but SanDisk keeps climbing the totem pole everytime a new model hits the Sansa product line. So, with Apple announcing new iPods the other day, it's not surprising that SanDisk would follow suit with a few new surprise products of their own. And holy cow do they look pretty nice...

SanDisk is getting a bit smarter with each product they launch, and is now really focusing on their strengths and previous successes with each new release. They're never going to compete with Apple on the touch screen front (at least not anytime in the foreseeable future), and probably wouldn't have much success going after full size players like the iPod Classic. Where they have created a name for themselves is in the ultra-compact and compact flash player market with excellent products like Sansa Express and the Nano-killing machine that is the Sansa Connect. It makes perfect sense, too. SanDisk is, after all, one of the largest manufacturers of flash memory in the market. They should be quite competitive in that arena.

Sansa View

The biggest addition to their lineup is the all new Sansa View. It's changed its look quite a bit since it was introduced at CES. In fact, it doesn't look anything like the full size PMP I played around with at the booth. That's not necessarily a bad thing either. I'm not sure the full size flash-based PMP would have been able to compete with some of the slicker options already filling that space.

What they have done, however, is start with the really nice e-200 series, put it on steroids, then sell at a ridiculously competitive price. That's actually an understatement; Sansa View is a smokin' bargain.

Sansa View comes complete with support for audio, full motion video, photos, FM Radio, Voice recorder, brilliant 2.4 inch screen, and a built-in lithium batter claiming 35 hours of music time or seven hours of video. It's compatible with the typical array of audio formats found in other Sansa products (MP3, WMA, protected WMA, WAV), and includes video support for H.264, WMV, and MPEG4. DiVX support is an obvious omission, but SanDisk is promising a downloadable tool that will easily convert various video formats (including DiVX) on the fly when you load the player.

It will be available in 8GB and 16GB flavors (each with a MicroSD slot for easy-to-add capacity) priced at $149 and $199 respectively. With an 8GB MicroSD card, you're talking up to 24GB of Sansa goodness in your pocket.

Features:

• Supports most audio formats, including MP3, protected and unprotected WMA, WAV, DRM-free MP3 downloads
  • Gapless playback for smoother music transition
• Digital FM radio with 20 pre-sets
• Audible audiobook support
• Video compatibility with MPEG4, WMV, H.264
  • Additionally, the Sansa Media Converter supports a large number of other video formats, including DivX
• Smooth video playback at 30 frames per second (fps)
• Photo JPEG viewing capabilities
• Slim, thin and lightweight design for easy portability - 8.8mm at the slimmest part
• Vibrant, 2.4” TFT color screen with 320x240 resolution
• Rechargeable, long-lasting lithium polymer battery for up to 35 hours of audio or seven hours of video
• Voice recorder with built-in microphone
• MicroSD/SDHC™ expansion slot for additional memory capacity and content portability

Sansa View is expected to be available in October.

Sansa Clip

As someone who doesn't "embrace uncertainty," I've never been a huge fan of Apple's iPod Shuffle. Sure, it's tiny... I get it. I tried to use one for about a month, and hated the fact I could never listen to the song I wanted to hear when I wanted to hear it. It's the same old complaint that others have made, and while some people like it and others don't, the ones who don't will find true love with the new Sansa Clip.

Without trying to sound gushy, I haven't even seen it in person yet and I'm already in love with this thing. It's got a super compact size, and while it may not as small as Shuffle, it's certainly small enough to clip on your jeans without feeling weighed down by a bulky player. What is remarkable is that it comes with a good sized screen and controls to pick the music you want to hear (of course, there's a shuffle mode for those edgy folks in uncertaintyville), FM tuner with 40 prests, 15 hour internal rechageable battery, and voice recorder. It's certainly a much more impressive feature list than its competition.

Oh yeah, and while that new fruity colored Shuffle will cost you $79.99 for 1GB of music, Clip will cost you half at $39.99. Better still, you can get 2GB worth of capacity for only $59.99. Ummmm... Shuffle who?

The only thing they missed out on was an add-on slot for MicroSD. I dream of the day I can tote around 10GB of storage in a player that size.

Feature List

• Plays MP3, WMA, secure WMA and Audible audio file formats
• FM tuner with 40 preset channels
• Up to 15 hours of play time with internal rechargeable battery
• Voice recording with built-in microphone
• Large OLED display with simple interface

Sansa Clip comes in three colors (black, blue, and red) and is expected to hit stores this month.

What do you think of Sansa's View and Clip? Post your comments below.

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