SanDisk launches highest-capacity flash player

SanDisk this morning announced the Sansa e280, the highly anticipated 8GB version of the solid Sansa e200 series. We'd seen alleged photos of the feature-filled device as far back as two months ago, and pretty much everybody saw 8GB as the next plateau for flash players (we're expecting an 8GB or even a 10GB iPod Nano soon). What makes the SanDisk even better is that it can be expanded with a 2GB Micro SD card to hit 10GB. And the price is only $250.

The Sansa e280 has the same look and feel as the rest of the series, and it packs in pretty much every feature you'd look for in a compact digital audio player. Check out our review of the e270. The prices of the existing models have also taken a plunge, with the 6GB e270 at $220, the 4GB e260 at $180, and the 2GB at only $140. According to SanDisk, new (major) firmware for all the models should be available for download within two weeks. SanDisk's aggressive flash player pricing will certainly affect the rest of the industry--even Apple.

But remember--the bigger (but still sleek) 30GB iPod will cost you only $50 more than the flash-based 8GB e280. We'll have an e280 (hopefully with updated firmware) in for review soon.