Digital Home Thoughts: A Different Viewpoint: The SanDisk Sansa View

Comparing Sansa View and Ipod Nano 3G
So let’s compare the Nano and the View in specific key areas. Some of these things have been mentioned already, so this will just summarize them.

Unit Size: The Nano 3G is shorter, thinner and lighter than the View. Advantage: Nano

Screen Size: The 2 units have the same resolution, but the View has a 2.4” screen vs. the 2.0” screen on the Nano. Both are bright and sharp, but the View’s larger screen gives it a big advantage in viewing video. Advantage: View.

Memory: The Nano is available in 4GB and 8GB capacities. The View is available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities. Advantage: View.

Memory Expansion: More storage can be added to the View with microSD and microSDHC memory cards. The Nano has no expansion capabilities. Advantage: View.

Battery Life: Apple claims 24 hours of battery life for music playback on the Nano, while Sandisk claims 35 hours for the View. Real life performance typically varies, so I’ll call this one a tie.

Interface: The Nano provides the elegant interface that we all expect from Apple. The View’s is certainly workable, but lacks the Nano’s sophistication and panache. Advantage: Nano.

Controls: While the View’s control setup is heavily inspired by the iPod’s, they both work well. This one’s a tie.
Sound Quality: Both among the best available in music players. Another tie.

Video Quality: Both are smooth, sharp and colorful. The View has the advantage of the larger screen, while the Nano has slightly more accurate color. Advantage: View.

Extras: Beyond the music and video player, the Nano provides a calendar, a contacts list and the ability to play games. The calendar and contacts are read only and populated by synchronization. The View provides an FM radio and voice recorder. Both units provide useful extras, so this one is also a tie.

Music Services: This is one of the more controversial aspects of the iPod family. The only service with which iPods work seamlessly is iTunes. iTunes offers samples of music tracks with the option to buy. The View, on the other hand, works with a number of music services (not iTunes, however). I’ve used the Rhapsody service from the RealPlayer people for a couple of years. Rhapsody offers several different types of membership, one similar to iTunes as well as a few subscription services. For a set fee per month, you can download all of the music that you’d like to your player. You must synchronize with Rhapsody once a month to keep your licenses up to date. Of course, if you quit the service, your subscribed music will expire. I prefer this type of membership, because I really like the “try before you buy” aspect of it. And all of us have probably purchased a few albums based on a hit song that we like, only to find that we don’t like any of the other tracks. View wins based on the wider range of options for music services. Advantage: View.

Price: iPods tend to be on the high end of the price/feature range and are rarely discounted. On Amazon, the 4GB Nano is selling for $139 at time of writing, while the 8GB unit is selling for $179. On the other hand, the 8GB View is selling for $129 and the 16GB version is selling for $174. So for less money than either Nano, you can get a View with the next higher tier of memory. Advantage: View.

Style: Both units seem solid and well constructed. The Nano features brushed aluminum on the front and chrome on the back, giving it a very high end feel. The Nano is also available in a number of colors, including Black, Silver, Pink and Blue. While the View’s materials are of high quality, its plastic front and matte finish back are a notch behind the Nano in appearance. And the View is available in any color you’d like, as long as it’s black. Advantage: Nano.

Accessories: As with all iPods, the Nano has a wide array of accessories available, from cases to cables to speakers. And many of these accessories are available at retail stores such as Best Buy and Target, as well as online. As non-iPod music players go, the Sansa line is one of the better supported from an accessories standpoint, but the selection pales next to that of the Nano. And other than a small selection at some retailers, most View accessories are available only online. Advantage: Nano.

Image: Does any company epitomize cool as well as Apple? That image has translated into sales success for many of their small tech devices, such as the iPod and iPhone. And that’s despite the fact that the prices for those devices are 25% or more higher than comparable items from well known competitors. Most companies would kill for that kind of image. Advantage: Nano.

My Personal “View”-Point
I own an 8GB Nano 3G and I just purchased an 8G Sansa View to replace the Nano. So, besides my all-too-common “I need a new toy” behavior, what lead me to make this replacement? First, when I replaced my old Sansa E260 with the Nano, I didn’t realize how much I’d miss having a subscription-based online service (in my case, Rhapsody). Also, I’ve been getting more serious about video on my portable player, and the View’s larger screen and memory expansion are a big advantage. Finally, I was able to get the View on sale for exactly ½ of what I paid for the Nano, so it was a pretty small hit on my wallet. While I appreciate the Nano’s top drawer appearance and sophisticated interface, the View’s capabilities proved to be a higher priority for me.

Conclusions
The View combines features, performance and price to provide one of the best values in digital media players available today. Compared to the iPod Nano 3G, the View offers comparable audio performance and goes the Nano one better as a video player with a larger screen and removable storage. It also includes features such as an FM radio and voice recorder not found in the Nano. And the frosting on the cake is the price advantage. The Nano has advantages of its own, with its small size, high end brushed metal case and wide array of available accessories. But if performance, features and reasonable price are high on your list, the View should be as well.

Doug Raeburn is a data architect specializing in data warehouses. He lives in Pewaukee, WI.