bigger pic here...

current gadget infatuation: evaluating the Sansa Express 1GB mp3 player. an innocuous yet slick piece of gadgetry.

pros:

• really excellent sound
• very fast boot time
• player boots up into previous state. i.e. pause mode or play mode into the last song played
  
• long battery life (so far)
• expandable with up to a 2 GB microSD card
• custom EQ
  
• FM radio reception is excellent and configurable for USA, Japan or the world
  
• no proprietary cable required
• extremely compact and light
• the best little UI screen i've used so far (OLED rocks)
• navigable just by touch alone
• overall industrial design is very good. IMHO they hit it outta the park
• relatively environmentally friendly packaging. i.e. tiny blister pack
  

cons:

• shuffle mode sucks. doesn't really shuffle all of the songs
• occasionally the display will barf so i gotta shut down and restart
• sometimes microSD card not recognized
• microSD card sticks out a tiny bit so it theoretically can be disdlodged and lost
• no clock or alarm
• controls got into sleep mode when display turns off

bottom line? despite the bugs this is, surprisingly, one of the most enjoyable players i've ever used; neutral sound, pocketable, no cables or batteries to lose or replace and a tiny yet still very useable display. i wish it came in a 2 GB size, but i'll have to wait and see. the product was rushed to the public hence the bugs, but rest assured there will be a firmware fix fairly shortly because the exisiting bugs simply demand it. i'm not too worried about this cuz Sandisk has always been very relaible wrt firmware updates.

questions? drop me a line at johnchongatgmaildotcom