Asif Suria

iPod Wars: Microsoft and Toshiba Team Up Against Apple

Carl, check out the Sandisk Sansa e250. It has the potential to give the iPods a serious run for their money. Err, did I just say that? All Apple enthusiasts please ignore the last statement.

I already own a Sandisk Sansa as I wanted something that would work with Rhapsody To Go and noticed the e250 (there are 4GB and 6GB versions as well) when I went to pick up a Sansa M240 for someone. This is one of the few MP3 players from a company other than Apple that actually has the "cool" factor and costs less. As Rhapsody continues to gain traction (last I checked they had 2.25 million subscribers), I expect the Sandisk Sansas to do well.

I still don't understand why Microsoft decided to get into the highly competitive music download segment instead of acquiring a company like Real Networks.