gajabhuja funda: Sandisk Sansa E280

06 December 2007

Sandisk Sansa E280

I had already written about the fact that I own a Sandisk Sansa E280.

However, the scroll wheel of that player got bad and hence, I got it replaced as it was still under warranty. What do I get in the replacement ? A Sandisk Sansa E280 V2 !! The second version of the player, which unfortunately does only MTP and no MSC. For the uninitiated, MTP is Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol for media players. More on that is up here. MSC is a generic protocol for accessing USB devices. More on that here. That totally sucks.

Now I am forced to download some extra software for my Mac to maintain playlists on the player. Luckily, there is a free alternative called XNJB.

There is however a hack I found on the internet to switch the Sandisk Sansa E280 V2 to MSC mode. Here it goes. First, switch off the player. Now, move the hold key, found on top of the player, to lock all the keys. Now, while keeping the |<< key pressed, connect the player to a PC. The player switches on and gets recognized in MSC mode. Now, you can use the remaining space in your player to store any kind of files that you want.

But, one thing is for sure. I am not recommending Sandisk Sansa E280 to anyone from now on, for the simple reason that they force people to use some shitty M$$ protocol. Any iriver owner wants to trade his/her player with me ?

Update: XNJB locks up my player, and quite horribly at that. Time to see which other software I can use to sync up my player and my Mac.

K.Shyam

PS: Yes, I do admit that Sandisk Sansa E280 V2 kicks some serious ass when compared to the previous version. The buttons feel better, the scroll wheel is nice, and most importantly, the quality of FM receiver has gone a few notches higher.

PPS: Update: As of 18th December, Sandisk has released a new firmware for Sansa E280 V2, which enables one to force MTP or MSC mode. The MTP mode still does not work with XNJB, which I am sure would be sorted out in the next few days. Sanity at last !!

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