SanDisk Sansa Connect
Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp. Part number: SDMX8N-4096K
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sansa Connect is a nicely designed player with desirable features and advanced wireless technology, making it a great choice for early adopters and Yahoo Music Unlimited subscribers. With a bit of tweaking to the integrated Wi-Fi, this device could become a "must-have" music player for users who want fresh content all the time.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/02/2009 |
CNET editors' review
SanDisk Sansa Connect price range: $42.89
- Reviewed by: Jasmine France
- Reviewed on: 04/12/2007
The good: The SanDisk Sansa Connect has a high-quality design, a lovely, user-friendly interface, and good audio quality; it offers desirable features such as a MicroSD card expansion slot and a built-in external speaker for sharing tunes. The Connect is also Wi-Fi-capable, letting you access Internet radio for free and the entire Yahoo Music catalog with a subscription (with wireless downloading of desired tracks). You can also browse Flckr's online photo catalog while "on the go."
The bad: The Connect cannot communicate wirelessly with your PC; it also can't get past certain open Wi-Fi networks' "Terms and conditions" pages (yet), and a few private networks may cause issues. The observed Wi-Fi battery life is not impressive.
The bottom line: The Sansa Connect is a nicely designed player with desirable features and advanced wireless technology, making it a great choice for early adopters and Yahoo Music Unlimited subscribers. With a bit of tweaking to the integrated Wi-Fi, this device could become a "must-have" music player for users who want fresh content all the time.
Back in January, SanDisk announced the Sansa Connect, a slick-looking flash MP3 player capable of hopping on open Wi-Fi networks and sharing songs with any other Connects anywhere. The device was sweet enough to garner a Best of CES award in the MP3 player category, and that was when we just had an inkling that a compatible service for cordless music acquisition was in the works. Now, the rumor has become a reality: SanDisk has partnered with Yahoo to offer its Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go service on the Connect, which means users can update music wirelessly from anywhere with an open Wi-Fi connection. This is a sweet feature indeed and will hopefully help to usher in a whole new era of wireless music. The Connect is not without a few irksome limitations, but there's no denying SanDisk is on the right track.
At $250, the Sansa Connect is priced on the high side for a 4GB device, but it's not unreasonable to pay a bit more for advanced technology. Plus, you can always add more memory via the built-in MicroSD slot--we certainly can't complain about expandable memory. We also can't complain about the player's design and interface. It's a slick little player with a nice-feeling black enclosure and a cute, stubby antenna poking out of the top, rather like those on a portable satellite radio device. Fortunately, the Connect is a bit more compact than such devices (the Pioneer Inno comes to mind) at 3.5 inches high by 1.8 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick. The 2.2-inch screen is nice and bright with good color saturation, and the icon-driven menus are fun and easy to navigate. We especially like the bubbly main menu selections that rotate in an arc across the lower portion of the screen when you hit the "Home" button.
Fortunately, the Connect's controls complement the interface nicely. Below the screen is a tactile scroll wheel, which can be clicked in four directions as well: "Up" activates the Home function, pulling up the main menu wheel at the bottom of the screen; "Down" starts and stops playback; and "Right" and "Left" serve to shuttle between menu levels and tracks. A dedicated volume rocker sits on the left spine, while the power button and a hold switch reside on the top. The bottom of the unit houses the proprietary USB port and the 3.5mm headphone jack. There's even a built-in speaker on the rear of the device--of course, you just get mono audio out of it, but it's still a nice touch. The whole thing has a polished, high-quality feel that is uncharacteristic of most previous SanDisk devices, which are positioned as budget MP3 players.
Also uncharacteristic is the Sansa Connect's relative lack of traditional MP3 player features. There's no video support, no recording capabilities, and no FM tuner, though this last detail is not entirely necessary as the player can pick up Yahoo's free LaunchCast stations (provided you're connected to Wi-Fi). In addition to its wireless compatibility with YMU To Go, the Connect supports all DRM WMAs, including those from other music subscription services (such as Rhapsody), though you'll need to connect to the computer to get those. Naturally, MP3 files are also supported. You can also view photos on the device. In fact, you can browse photos on the go through Flckr, which is another neat wireless feature.
The Connect's wireless capabilities are neat, though not without limitations. For example, the player currently cannot get past a "Terms and conditions" page, so if the nearest open Wi-Fi has one (such as with CNET's public Wi-Fi and much of the Wi-Fi found at hotels), you won't be able to get on (SanDisk is working on a fix). Also, unlike the Slacker device, the Connect doesn't cache the Internet radio stations--nor does it hop on to satellite signals--so if you're moving around and listening to "radio" or streaming from the YMU service, you're music will cut out. Sure, this happens with terrestrial radio, but only after you go several miles--Wi-Fi range is considerably less (about a half a block). However, the player will let you handpick songs from the YMU service (provided you're a subscriber), which is something the Slacker player does not do, and it will save "mixes" to the device. You can also send music recommendations to other Connect users or to anyone on your Yahoo Messenger list--all you need is a Yahoo ID. Plus, the player grabs firmware updates wirelessly, which means you never have to connect to your PC to get the latest features.
On the whole, Wi-Fi performance was great--it's even quite simple to get onto protected networks (provided you have the wireless key), and the Connect will remember your preferred networks so you don't have to enter the key more than once. It must be noted, however, that not every Wi-Fi network provides a hassle-free connection experience. My home network, for example, is set up specifically to get a Mac computer to work with a non-Mac-compatible router, and this presented some problems for the Connect. Note that if your router is not set up for a DHCP server--that is, if it is set to a static IP address--the Sansa won't work with it, as there's no place on the player to enter a specific IP address. Also, if you're one of those ubersecure people who has set MAC addresses as a filtering mechanism on the router, make sure you enter the Connect's MAC address as allowable (find that under Settings>WiFi>WiFi Status). For most networks, however, connecting is not an issue
We're pretty impressed with the Connect's snappy processor performance and overall audio quality. Even through the included earbuds, music sounded nice and balanced, though perhaps too bright for my taste. Swapping in a set of Shure E4cs improved sound quality a bit and brought out the bass. Still, I could've done with a bit more kick on the low end. All in all, though, tunes sounded warm, clean, and encompassing across all genres. Interestingly, neither SanDisk's box nor Web site has a rated battery life for the Connect, but in preliminary testing I did notice a sharp drain on battery with Wi-Fi running. I would estimate around 8 to 10 hours in that mode, which isn't great. In CNET Labs tests, the Connect acheived an uninspiring 11.3 hours of playback.
User reviews
-
-
Missing key features
by AGZELA on April 9, 2007
Pros: Wireless B and G
Cons: Pricey, no search by artist, battery life w/wireless terrible
Summary: I bought it today and I am a little disapointed first the battery does not last long enough as I expected with the wireless on. The other thing is that ...
Summary: I bought it today and I am a little disapointed first the battery does not last long enough as I expected with the wireless on. The other thing is that if you download songs from yahoo onto your pc it will not automatically transfer to the MP3 player. You have to create a playlist of the songs you want on the pc side of the yahoo software in order to get them on the mp3. You dont have a search like the pc version of yahoo. Why cant they add a search by artist then I could just download the albums I want straight from the MP3 player?
Updated
I keep getting errors when transfering from the Yahoo Music Jukebox software. Dont buy this thing until they iron out all of the bugs. I am returning it way too expensive for it too have these many problems..6 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
More fun than anything else out there
by iBuzz on April 13, 2007
Pros: Use of WiFi to download music directly to the player. No PC required! Internet Radio. Download playlists similar to the song you're listening to. Messenger integration. Just plain fun to use!
Cons: Can't search for specific songs to download from the device... yet! (that still requires a PC) Which is why I didn't give it a 10. I'd love to see this feature added in a firmware upgrade!
Summary: I just got one a few days ago and I've been having the greatest time with it. You can use it exclusively over WiFi without ever having to connect ...
Summary: I just got one a few days ago and I've been having the greatest time with it. You can use it exclusively over WiFi without ever having to connect it to the PC. This is the first MP3 player that I've owned that can download songs right to the device from the Internet without using a PC. This is what the Zune should have been.
You can listen to Internet Radio on it, and when you like a song, press a button on it and BOOM (sorry, Steve)... the song is downloaded right to the player through wireless. Press another button and BOOM it downloads a complete playlist of songs similar to the one you're listening to. Rate a bunch of songs on the player and it then ask it to download a playlist based on your recommendations. When you're playing a song, just press a button and ask it to download the rest of the album. Now that is cool!
It also supports logging into Yahoo Messenger so that you can see what your buddies are listening to either on their player or on their PC. If you like a song that they're listening to, just press a button and the SanDisk downloads it. Maybe I'm still fascinated by the novelty of it all, but it's really been a lot of fun. I haven't used my iPod since I got this thing.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Welcome to the Beginning of Wi-Fi Radio
by ll McBain ll on April 6, 2007
Pros: Internet Radio, Large Colorful Screen, Slim Cell Phone Size, External Speaker
Cons: Missing Video Playback, No FM tuner, Limited to Yahoo Radio Service
Summary: I just got this player today and straight out of the box and a couple of clicks to connect to my WEP network and my Yahoo account, I was listening ...
Summary: I just got this player today and straight out of the box and a couple of clicks to connect to my WEP network and my Yahoo account, I was listening to internet radio in no time. Well first impressions are it's nice intro player into the WiFi player arena but the player seems to be missing a few quirks we've been accustomed to, notably the player is missing a FM Tuner, video playback, voice recording. But on the plus side you do get to view your photos wirelessly from you Flickr account (granted you do need to sign in using a yahoo acct though), and has the ability to share subscription music with friends(granted both members must have a yahoo unlimited music account). $249.99 retail, seems a little steep for this type of mp3 player (same price as a 30GB Ipod or Zune), but seeing how the wall charger is included and just the ablility to do internet radio, some of you might justify the price.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Nice MP3 idea but not compatible with Vista
by Jurislaw on December 30, 2007
Pros: Decent sound quality and Wi-Fi connection to Yahoo! Music
Cons: Not compatible with Vista, no playlist capability on the device, must import playlists from Yahoo Jukebox
Summary: Recently, I "upgraded" to the Vista o/s, and found that neither Yahoo! Music's Jukebox nor WM 11 could recognize the Sansa Connect. What that means is that you ...
Summary: Recently, I "upgraded" to the Vista o/s, and found that neither Yahoo! Music's Jukebox nor WM 11 could recognize the Sansa Connect. What that means is that you cannot synch your device with Yahoo, and you cannot load subscription tracks from Yahoo. In short, your Sansa Connect device in Vista is practically worthless. Oh, you can load your non-Yahoo subscription tracks using Vista's My Computer...but that monthly subscription to Yahoo is money thrown away.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Decent mp3 player but the unlimited to go option may be vanishing
by Food doc on October 1, 2007
Pros: Good MP3 player with WiFi for listening to LaunchCast radio
Cons: Yahoo unlimited to go may be vanishing making the WiFi relatively useless
Summary: Unfortunately yahoo has removed the "Unlimited to go" option from their website unless you've bought a Sansa Connect. Based on that and reports in reputable sources such as the ...
Summary: Unfortunately yahoo has removed the "Unlimited to go" option from their website unless you've bought a Sansa Connect. Based on that and reports in reputable sources such as the WSJ and other business based reporting it may be that the "To Go" option is being phased out.
Actually, IMHO, I think that Yahoo is coming to the realization that the Unlimited to go pricing model just doesn't work. It's based on the assumption that a person will only download about 8 - 9 new songs per month to their MP3 Players (figured as $.79 per song and the price differential between monthly Unlimited and Unlimited to go subscriptions). Most people, when they learn the potential for 'all you can eat music' download much more than that. From a financial point of view the $6.00/month "sample all the music you want on your PC" and then get a $.20 discount for buying the music makes much more sense. Unfortunately this will cause major problems with the Connect unless they can set up an option for an "Unlimited" account to be accessed on the unit and then you hit a "Click here to buy" function. This will also required them to allow for a wider access to their on-line store through the Connect something which may not be possible. Presently the Connect only has limited access to the 'most popular' songs in the Yahoo music store via WiFi, apparently a bandwidth/software issue. If you have to connect the unit to your PC to download songs that way the WiFi is relatively useless.
Oh well, I'm just glad that I'd found this out before I bought a Connect for my son for his birthday, I'll now consider a satellite radio/mp3 player (such as the Inno (we're XM fans)) or just get a something like a view or the E series unit. BTW, if you weren't aware the newer XM portable devices allow for the saving of individual songs that you hear on the unit (instead of only saving them by time blocks you can actually find the song you've saved by title/artist) and the monthly price for the XM subscription ($7.00 for a second unit or $14.00 for a first subscription)makes those almost equivalent to the Connect, probably the Sirius Stiletto works in a similar fashion but having never used one I'm not sure about that. My daughter has the Inno so I know that that works the way I've described. The only advantage the Connect had was the ability to wirelessly transfer playlists which the XM units currently cannot although they do support playlists created on a pc/mac and transferred by USB similar to most MP3 Players. The only advantage I ever saw in the Connect was the ability to wireless transfer music and playlists and since that may be going away I'm going to stay clear of the device. Without the wireless download capabilities the device offers no advantage over the other Sandisk players and I'm not going to pay the premium for a functionality which may become useless in the near future.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
What the Zune shoud have been
by suchinlee on April 10, 2007
Pros: Internet Radio, gorgeous screen, flickr support, download via wifi
Cons: 4GB, MicroSD only goes up to 2GB, tied to Yahoo! Music, can't key in the song/artist you want, no video support
Summary: For a review on the Sansa Connect,
http://gadgetaholic.com/content/view/88/9999/Updated...
The speaker on the unit is a great feature. Something that most mp3 players onSummary: For a review on the Sansa Connect,
http://gadgetaholic.com/content/view/88/9999/Updated
The speaker on the unit is a great feature. Something that most mp3 players on the market are missing right now. It allows the user to free up his/her ears and interact with others. Welcome to the Social, baby!
You can also check out another review of the Sansa Connect here:
http://gadgetaholic.com/content/view/88/9999/1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Wonderful MP3/MP4 Player!
by Wishfour on July 15, 2009
Pros: You can sort by artist/song. Create playlists, listen to your music without using the headphones. The screen colors are vibrant. I was able to sync my music using Microsoft Media Player (Version 10) without any problems at all.
Cons: It is only an MP3/MP4 player. Product description is misleading as it does not have Yahoo Music, Yahoo Messenger or WIFI capabilities. I can't speak on the battery life because I only charged it once.
Summary: For an MP3/MP4 player this product is great! It took 3 hours to completely charge, however, I was able to sync songs while it charged. It has all the ...
Summary: For an MP3/MP4 player this product is great! It took 3 hours to completely charge, however, I was able to sync songs while it charged. It has all the features of its "protege". It can sort by artist or song. You can create playlists. The color screen is extremely vibrant. The thumbwheel is even better than its protege because it has grooves (dot indents) on it that allows you more control over scrolling up and down. A bonus feature is the speaker option (listening to your music without the headphones) which is wondernderful. The price can't be beat. There was no other MP3/MP4 player that had all of these features with 4MB for the price of $40. The downside is it does not have some of the features it advertised such as WIFI, Yahoo Messenger or Yahoo Music. So if that's what you are looking for, this product is not for you. If you want an awesome MP3/MP4 player, I highly recommend this one ! ! I LOVED IT ! !
-
it a ok working mp3/mp4
by troop85 on April 21, 2009
Pros: Can play mp4 video's (need latest firmware update). got a speaker. can update firmware just by going to internet radio in the mp3. so no cords needed to update it. connecting it to my belkin n (not n1) router was very easy
Cons: When it first came out had lots of bugs that made adding song very though. Head of it's time. License expired error. 12 hour battery instead of 24 hour batter like ipod nano (2nd gen)
Summary: ok i have mix feeling about this product.
When my brother got it was having problems left and right. when he gave it to me i haven't had any ...Summary: ok i have mix feeling about this product.
When my brother got it was having problems left and right. when he gave it to me i haven't had any trouble with it.
On the positive side: This Mp3/mp4 can play videos (latest firmware) but only in mp4 format. Has a great screen for playing video. almost looks as good as it does on tv. 320*240 resolution. The Micro sd card can now support 16 gb micro SDHC compared to before only being able to do 2 gb micro sd. has a speaker for listening without headphones. also when connecting to the belkin N (not N1) wireless router it was very easy and very quick.
On the down side: The biggest problem i normally face is the license expired. another down side is that the video ablity can only do 1 format. converting it can take 10 minutes with the sansa media converter to change the other format to mp4 and put it on.
overall it's a great product without the internet radio (i never really cared about any kind of radio). although if you go it because of the radio feature then it's kind of a limited on station now with out yahoo's sevices. (there still like 12 to 20 stations still on it) -
Even worse than the product is their customer support
by jancam60 on December 29, 2008
Pros: The only positive was when this product worked the way it was advertised, before connectivity was lost due to firmware update.
Cons: Features that no longer work as advertised; customer "service" is a real joke.
Summary: No longer can listen to my customized Yahoo radio station -- which is the ONLY reason I purchased this product. Customer service was a bunch of idiots who wouldn't ...
Summary: No longer can listen to my customized Yahoo radio station -- which is the ONLY reason I purchased this product. Customer service was a bunch of idiots who wouldn't admit to the problem. They kept saying it was something I was doing wrong until I researched and found that I could no longer connect to my station due to a firmware update. The Sansa "Connect" (what an oxymoron!) is nothing but a piece of useless junk to me now. SanDisk does not stand behind their product and I will never purchase anything from them again.
-
Do not buy this MP3 player; it's a waste of money!
by ProShopperEb on December 4, 2008
Pros: The look; it has a built-in speaker
Cons: Short battery life; wireless features never worked; exclusive to Yahoo Music which shut down; not compatible with certain versions of WMP for syncing music
Summary: I received this MP3 player as a gift and I am so sorry my mom wasted her money on it! Most of the features that it boats (wireless downloading, zing, ...
Summary: I received this MP3 player as a gift and I am so sorry my mom wasted her money on it! Most of the features that it boats (wireless downloading, zing, etc) does not work; the internet radio is 'buffering' through most of the songs, that is when you can get a connection. It does not sync music from certain versions of WMP; it only worked exclusively with Yahoo Music Jukebox and their to-go service which has shut down. And download tracks was no easy tasked, there were nights when I would leave my laptop on all night hoping that my songs downloaded by morning! Now I have about 400 songs that won't play because the to-go service has ceased and transferred to Rhapsody, which didn't accept previously purchased tracks. All this after paying $14.99 per month for the subscription service! So now I am tossing and going to get what what I should've had all along - an Ipod! It seemed like they had a good vision but couldn't bring it to life the right way. And by partnering with Yahoo Music exclusively, it made a lot of people lose money. Plus the Internet Radio feature doesn't work anymore because that was with Yahoo too so it's completely useless.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp.
- Part number: SDMX8N-4096K
- Description: The Sansa Connect MP3 player is the first Wi-Fi based MP3 player from SanDisk's audio line. Created by the leaders in flash memory for wireless entertainment, this flash-based player keeps you connected to your music, friends and fresh new entertainment streams wherever you are. All from one wireless mobile player, it plays music, photos and Internet radio. The very attractive, sleek design includes a 2.2" TFT color screen with advanced navigational features and an easy to use interface. The Sansa Connect provides a microSD card slot for additional capacity for your player.
General
- Product type Digital player
- PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB
- Flash memory installed 4 GB Integrated
- Digital storage None
- Included accessories Lanyard, Protective case
Carrying Case
- Case type Included
Digital Player / Recorder
- Supported digital audio standards MP3
- Additional features JPEG photo playback, PC Connection via USB
Built-in Display
- Audio system built-in display TFT
- Diagonal size 2.2 in
- Backlight display Yes
Audio Features
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Additional features Internal speaker, Internet radio
Remote Control
- Remote control None
Headphones
- Headphones type Binaural
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Connectivity technology Wired
Connectivity
- Cable(s) included 1 x USB cable - External
- Connector type 1 x USB, 1 x Headphones Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
- Slot(s) provided 1 x microSD
Battery / Power
- Power device type Power adapter
System Requirements
- Peripheral / Interface devices CD-ROM
- Operating system Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Sustainability
- CNET Labs: Battery drain test / audio playback 677.075 min
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- SanDisk Corp.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse SanDisk Corp. products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.sandisk.com/
- Address:
140 Caspian Ct.
Sunnyvale, CA 94089 - Phone: 408-542-0500
- Email: support@sandisk.com
- Fax: 408-542-0503
