What ever happened to the Sansa View?

Sandisk rolled out their Sansa View in January 2007. There was a lot of interest in this portable video player – which promised to put movies and TV shows onto a 4-inch screen that fits in your pocket. It is a device for playing music, displaying photos and playing videos.

Who can't imagine enjoying one on plane flights and long commutes?

t was the only large screen pocket viewer that relied on flash memory – which made it lighter and thinner that the competition. It had a removable battery – which I always consider a big plus. This PMP (portable media player) looked like it had gotten it right.

The View was scheduled for release in May 2007. And lots of folks were looking forward to it.

That month of May came and went.

Then Sandisk announced they were not going to actually put the Sansa View on sale.

Sandisk's public explanation was straightforward:

“The market is changing fast and furious and we want to shift our efforts to develop a PMP that will meet the needs of the market versus pushing out the wrong product. So we're taking another look."

The Sansa View would still be released, Sandisk said, but now the release date has been pushed back into 2008.

A lot of speculation raged in all the usual internet corners:

Was Sandisk disappointed by the operations of their new device?

Were they spooked by the approach of Apple’s iPhone, and wanting to wait to see the performance of their competition?

Were there too many PMPs being released this year, making Sandisk wary of being part of the herd?

Those who know the answers to these questions aren’t talking.

Those who ARE talking don’t know the answers to these questions.

However this fact is clear: The Sansa View is not available. It is back on the drawing board. And there may or may not be a Sandisk PMP in our hands next year.

Read More In: Sansa View