And Goldilocks said: "Just Right!"

Author's Rating:

Pros: Works well; light & sturdy; extra features and GOOD PRICE.

Cons: Headphones (easy to replace). Not too much else.

The Bottom Line: 
Look for them on sale. It's a good mp3 player but not an iPod, so SanDisk will have to compete.

Author's Review
I THOUGHT I was going to buy an iPod Nano - I have an Intel iMac and I love it. I went to Best Buy because I wanted to look at an 8 gig Nano. I had made up my mind that 8 gb was the minimum capacity I could live with. Well, they hadn't heard of 8 gb Nano (?), but they did have an 8 gb Sansa e280. It was cool looking.

This is my 3rd mp3 player:
1) Mp3 player #1 held a lot of songs, but it was large & clunky and the software drove me crazy; I rarely used it. 2) My second player, a Zen Nano Plus 1 gb, was nice & small, but 1 gb is not large enough space to hold a library that is worth toting around. I also found the controls difficult (not intuitive).
3) This one, the Sansa, is perfect. I take it to the gym and I can always find songs I like. Or I ride my bike with my helmet on and the volume low. I put it inside my t-shirt and the fast forward button is easy to get to. I actually feel like the Sansa makes me more likely to exercise.

This unit is a Sansa Rhapsody bundled with software to steer you to buy music through Rhapsody Online, as opposed to iTunes or Urge, for example. I have not purchased tunes this way yet as I am currently focused on digitizing my cd library. I have used Rhapsody in the past and I liked it.

I run Windows on an Intel Mac when I use the bundled software, by the way.

What I like about it:
Sound: Terrific, once I replaced the headphones.
Size. Perfect: Small, portable. Um, just right.
Design: Very slick. Nice to hold in your hand. Sturdy.
Screen: Very attractive & bright.
Navigation: Easy & intuitive.
Software: I had no problems loading it on my computer. I have had no problems adding songs.

Also nice: 1) Having an expansion Slot for microSD card. (Especially nice for me since I already bought one for my cell phone). 2) Being able to listen to FM radio. 3) Voice recording - nah, I don't use it. 4) The pre-loaded music in several genres supplied by Rhapsody meant immediate gratification if you sign up for the service.

What I do not like about it:
Navigation: The white wheel you spin to work you way through the menus is a little more difficult to turn that you would expect, but it still works nicely.
Headphones: I hated them, because they either hurt or slipped out like most headphones. So I bought a $15 pair of Philips (HE 591) from WalMart that come with a spool for de-tangled storage. Good investment.
Startup: Slow, but I can live with it.

Update: I'm still using and enjoying this player after more than 6 months.