SanDisk Sansa View MP3 Player Review - Design
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Design
The SanDisk Sansa View is rather large when you compare it to other flash-based players on the market. This player is far from bulky, though, and features a nice-sized 2.4 inch LCD display, so I find its size to be ideal. The overall dimensions of the View are 4.3 " by 1.9 " by 0.4", and it weighs less than three ounces.
The View is made out of a very durable black plastic material covered with a clear coat - which of course makes this device a fingerprint magnet, but what MP3 player isn't? The body of the View is rather plain, which seems to be a theme for this player as you'll see throughout this review. The side of the player hosts the power/hold button as well as a microSD expansion slot. The microSD slot is a great feature to have on an MP3 player, and SanDisk says that this player is capable of accepting an 8 GB card which would put the memory of the 16 GB model up to 24 GB - not bad for a sub-$200 player.
Looking at the front of the Sansa View, the first thing you notice is the 2.4" LCD display which features brightness settings that help to get the best view possible in various lighting conditions. The LCD display looks pretty good with its 320 x 240 resolution, although it's nothing special. Videos look solid on the View's 2.4" screen, which automatically flips to landscape mode when a video is chosen. Videos run at a fast 30 frames per second (fps) which is about DVD speeds. Needless to say, the video playback is nice and smooth.
Below the display there are a few controls, including the rubber navigational pad and a home button. The navigational pad works great and provides speedy navigation through the menus. The View features a nice blue backlight that will flash when selections are made on the device. The home button is a useful feature that will return you to the main menu no matter where you are in the menus.
Overall, I would describe the design of the Sansa View as plain, lackluster, simple, and maybe even a little boring. The device looks far from mind-blowing, but if you want a modest, easy-to-use player, the Sansa View is definitely that.
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