Hands-on Sansa SlotMusic Player

The Sansa slotMusic Player made it onto my "Techie gifts under 50 bucks" because of the price, but what you're getting for $20-$35 is actually not bad at all. The player is about the size of pack of gum, and feels pretty solid in your hand. If you remove the cover, which is interchangeable, you'll find a place for a single AAA battery that powers it for up to 15 hours. Having a battery powered player comes in handy when you're traveling, and simply don't have time to charge it for six hours.

A microSD slot is located at the bottom of the player, volume buttons are at the top, and play/rewind/fast-forward controls are on the side. The Sansa-branded slotMusic player doesn't have a built-in display, on-board memory, and it doesn't include a microSD card for your music, so that might be a big turn off for some.

On the bright side, the $20 Sansa-branded player includes earbuds, AAA battery, a quick guide and a player shell. This may be a good buy if you already own a microSD card or plan to buy one (SanDisk just released a 16GB microSD card), but if you want to start using the player right out of the package consider the artist-branded player instead.

For $15 more, you get an artist-branded player and 1GB microSD card pre-loaded with the artist's album. The cards also include album art, liner notes, and other artist content. The sound quality of the music stored in these slotMusic cards was superb, and the card has plenty of room to store all your other music files in either MP3, OGG, FLAC, or WMA formats.

The artist-branded player includes the slotMusic card with a case, a microSD USB adapter, battery, earbuds, and a guide. Currently, you can find slotMusic bundles featuring artists like Abba, Akon, Connie Talbot, and Robin Thicke. Additional shells and slotMusic cards are sold separately. 

If you're looking for an simple and inexpensive digital player for your teen or non-techie friend, this is one to consider since it doesn't even require a computer to use. You can find more information about this player over at Sansa.com.