SanDisk Announces the New Sansa View: a Sleek Video MP3 Player with Remarkable Features and Capacity at an Unbeatable Price

MILPITAS, Calif.–SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, today announced the new Sansa® View – a video MP3 player with a vast array of features and generous capacity, at an unbeatable price. The sleek-looking Sansa View marries the finest MP3 player attributes with full-motion video support (typically found in larger portable media players (PMPs)), a larger screen, long battery life and generous capacity—all in a thin, easy-to-carry package. Expected to be available in October, the Sansa View will carry a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $199.99 MSRP* for a 16GB** flash-based player and $149.99 for the 8GB, far surpassing the competition with respect to value and price.

A significant step-up from the company’s award-winning Sansa e200 music player series, the slim Sansa View features music, photos, FM radio and audio books, plus easy video transferring capabilities and hefty memory capabilities of up to 24GB (by using an optional 8GB microSD/microSDHC card).***

“The Sansa View is a new video MP3 player that combines all of the great characteristics of a MP3 player with the video capabilities of a PMP, and packs it into a pocketable device,” said Eric Bone, vice president of marketing for SanDisk’s Sansa audio/video product line. “What’s more, we’re once again showing that category-leading technology can still be very affordable.”

SanDisk’s Sansa View video player innovates beyond the typical video loading procedure, making it easy for consumers to transfer videos natively using widely available software. Most popular formats are supported via embedded player functionality (H.264, WMV and MPEG4), or via a one-time software download of the Sansa Media Converter which quickly transcodes numerous video files, including DivX.

Consumers can purchase and insert one of SanDisk’s microSD/microSDHC cards to play up to 24GB of music, video and photos on their Sansa View. (Today, SanDisk has announced microSD/microSDHC card capacities of up to 8GB.) In addition, the microSD card allows users to easily move their content to a cell phone or other mobile device.

A MP3 player at its core, the Sansa View device comes equipped with all the soup-to-nuts features typically found in the Sansa audio line. The smooth, backlit scroll wheel and vibrant 2.4” widescreen display make it easy to navigate to: a music library; video collection; digital photos; digital FM radio with 20 pre-sets; an integrated microphone and voice recording, and Audible audiobooks.

The device supports many music download and subscription services, including Rhapsody To Go®, Napster, eMusic and others.

The Sansa View player will come in two capacities—8GB and 16GB—and is expected to be available from retailers in the U.S. in early fall with other regions to follow shortly thereafter.


The Sansa View was first announced last January at CES. In June, SanDisk decided to re-scope the product to develop a player with new features and functionality that best suit current consumer interests.

SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world’s largest supplier of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Milpitas, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.

SANSA VIEW: SUMMARY OF FEATURES

In addition to holding thousands of songs, the Sansa View includes a plethora of features to enhance the listening and viewing experience.

MUSIC

* Supports most audio formats, including MP3, protected and unprotected WMA, WAV, DRM-free MP3 downloads
o Gapless playback for smoother music transition
* Digital FM radio with 20 pre-sets
* Audible audiobook support

VIDEO

* Video compatibility with MPEG4, WMV, H.264
o Additionally, the Sansa Media Converter supports a large number of other video formats, including DivX
* Smooth video playback at 30 frames per second (fps)

PHOTOS

* Photo JPEG viewing capabilities - up to 16 megapixel

OTHER UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES

* Slim, thin and lightweight design for easy portability - 8.8mm at the slimmest part
* Vibrant, 2.4” TFT color screen with 320x240 resolution
* Rechargeable, long-lasting lithium polymer battery for 35 hours of audio4 and seven video5
* Voice recorder with built-in microphone
* MicroSD/SDHC™ expansion slot for additional memory capacity and content portability