IFA 2006: SanDisk reveals Sansa Base Station, licensed accessories
The Sansa e200 proved itself to be a pretty versatile and reasonably priced MP3 player and it looks like the upcoming c200 will follow suit. But killing the iPod will take more than the player alone; Apple’s players are as much about the wide range of avaible accessories as the distinctive design and the iTunes Music Store.
Therefore SanDisk has just revealed its first Sansa accessory, the Sansa Base Station, as well as announcing an agreement with several other manufacturers to start producing Sansa compatible accessories including travel cases, wireless earphones and portable speakers.
The Base Station will support the e200 and c200 players and will act as platform for transferring data to the player or as an audio output (using RCA) so you can play your tunes through your Hi-Fi. It also comes with a remote and will charge your player for you. It has a similarly reasonable retail price of $69.99 (about £36) and should be available in Europe in October.
Meanwhile, other accessories will be unveiled towards the end of the year from companies including Altec Lansing, DLO, Griffin Technology, HandStands, Macally Peripherals, Maximo Products and Speck Products. Eric Bone, SanDisk’s director of consumer products marketing, had this to say: “With each new addition to the line of licensed Sansa accessories, we are creating a more complete ecosystem for enhancing the user experience among the growing base of Sansa owners. Now our users will have many options to enhance, customize and personalize their SanDisk players.”
Accessories offered under the Made for Sansa license program include:
- Portable stereo speakers from Altec Lansing and Macally Peripherals.
- Travel cases and armband holders from DLO, Griffin Technology, HandStands and Speck Products.
- Wireless headphones from Macally Peripherals and wired earphones from Maximo Products.
- USB cables, chargers, adapters and other peripherals from Griffin Technology, Macally Peripherals and Maximo Products.
