CES 2006: SanDisk e200 series aims Apple’s Nano
SanDisk presented the e200 series which is clearly aiming the Nano market. SanDisk’s vice president and general manager, Nelson Chan, said: “Ultimately, we would like to make this a two horse race, and reach 35-40 percent market share.”
Spec-wise, they seem to outperform Apple’s offering. There’s MP3/WMA support as well as support for music subscription services. You can view MPEG-4 videos and JPEG pictures on the 1.8-inch (176×220) TFT color screen unfortunately you can’t switch between landscape and portrait modes (you’re stuck with portrait). There’s an FM tuner/recorder and thanks to the microSD slot you’re able to expand the device’s memory. Navigation is done thanks to that mechanical plastic ring on the front. Of interest is the Liquidmetal alloy casing, that’s supposed to be stronger than steel and scratch-resistant.
There’ll be three models in the e200 series, differentiated by their capacity:
- e240: 2GB, $200
- e250: 4GB $250
- e270: 6GB $300
All models got the same dimensions (1.7×3.5×0.5 in.) and are powered by a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery that’s user-replaceable (though I couldn’t find estimates about battery life).
Expected to be available around March in the US and Europe.
Two comments: one, this a welcomed improvement over the “it’s decent, but lacks that something” m200 series. Two, the MSRPs are a bit high if your plan is to reach 35-40% marketshare. Though we’ll undoubtedly see reductions to those prices, they could have sweeten the deal right from the start—how about $150 for the 2GB and $200 for the 4GB model? That’s 50 bucks cheaper than your competitor’s respective offerings and a decent motive for anyone to disregard the iPod buzz for a sec and have a more thorough look at your products.
Side-fact: according to NPD Group, SanDisk owns about 29% of the flash category market, versus Apple’s 49%
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