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This SanDisk Sansa View 8 GB Video MP3 Player is packed with features at a price that is far below what you would expect to pay for this level of features and quality. First the screen is the perfect size for portability, it is neither too big to be portable nor too small to make it hard to view. You can download and watch full length movies as well as most other videos and photos. Of course you can download a tremendous number of songs but, for those times when you don't want to bother with downloading new songs or simply want to listen to something different, you can also listen to the built in FM Radio with presets. This unit can also be used as a voice recorder great for meetings or classes. This unit feels substantial in your hands and features very easy to use controls. This is a feature packed powerhouse at a budget friendly price. If you are looking for the features of an iPod video but don't want to pay the high price then this is the player for you! I would not hesitate for one moment to recommend this fantastic item to everyone. The only one small downside is that in order to charge the battery you need to plug it into your computer. This is easily corrected however with the optional AC adapter and car adapter for those times your away from a wall outlet but still need charging.

With the original firmware, you can only use a 2gb micro sd card. With Rockbox open source firmware, you can use sdhc cards of 8gb+. This gives you more room and access to programs and features that aren't part of the original Sansa firmware, or updated Sansa firmware. Rockbox firmware is always free.

It's easy to install and significantly updates your play to work with ID3 tags, games, applications and best of all - album art. You can also download skins. Check it out. The newer Sansas are awesome but if you are on a budget you may want to stick with an older model made better with some new tricks.

I purchased an 8G Sansa View after doing some research and the following are the things I did to maximize my experience:

*) I ordered the Crystal clear hard case and the Wall/Car chargers (they work just fine. The case was because I read that fingerprints are a neusance with the View
*) After I recieved the produce, I dloaded the Sansa Media Converter but found that the Prism Video Converter (Free) was much easier to use and allowed me to place the videos in the folders that I wanted.
*) I downloaded the manual and printed it (all 37 pages) because I KNEW in advance that the paper manual that comes with the product leaves a LOT out!!!
*) I started using WMP (Windows Media Player) to sync my albums to the device but since it won't go higher than 192 bit rate, I now use my own program (yes, I wrote a TAG manager in C++ and Visual Basic). If interested, I can e-mail the program, it's free but has NO help files (cause I am a LAZY programmer).
*) When you use the WALL charger, remember that if you plug that into the View when the View is off, it will go into BM/Mini mode and you can not do anything with it. So, before you plug the wall charger into your View, power the View on first (this is only if you plan on listening to/watching while you are charging).
*) The manual is not clear so I will state it here: To power the device off, hold the HOLD/Power button on the left side up for about 3 to 5 seconds, it will go into shutdown.
*) The videos are only as good as you make them. So, please use a decent frame rate when you create them, then convert them to MP4 format. You can then put them on the View or (like I did) put them on a Micro Card and just plug them in.
*) You might want to purchase several micro cards (2G if you do music, 4G for music videos and 8G or more for full length movies). Yes, I watched Lord of the Dance (1 Hour and 42 Minutes) on the View without any problem.
*) I noticed that if you plug the Headphone out into a computer's MIC input, the following might happen - computer dependent: You will get nice sound, you will get low volume sound and when you mic-boost, you will get sound that has some feedback in it, no sound at all). For this reason, I HIGHLY recommend that you use the LINE-IN and not the MIC jack.
*) Because, even in the crystal case, the ports are open, I keep my View in box when not in use or in cotton hanky when in use because I live in a very dusty area (call me paranoid).
*) Lastly, when I listen to music off the View in the bedroom, I use external (Powered) speakers that sound fairly decent and just plug the cable into the headphone jack on the View. Works VERY well and with the WALL charger plugged in (no computer in the bedroom), I can listen to HOURS of music without draining the battery.

Hope my experience helps others who have stated that they had some problems (like with the wall charger). I don't know how you will request my TAGGER program (since they do not like you to leave E-Mail addresses in reviews) so if anyone has an idea, post it in a review and I will try it. Lance