Consider the SanDisk e200 line if you're in the market for a Nano, and are willing to sacrifice a bit of cool-factor for a whole lot of extra features!

I've been a fan of the iPod Nano for a while now. Heck, the original Nano is my main MP3 player. However, after reviewing SanDisk's e260 player, I've been re-thinking my choice. And when I go for walks, I now finding myself reaching for the e260 more often than the Nano. Why? Read on and find out what this player has that the Nano lacks.

Before we begin, I should point out that while the e260 is the $149 4GB version, there are also 2, 6 and 8GB versions for $119, $169 and $199 respectively.

In Squaring off with the Nano, we must first look at the interface. There are no touch-sensitive scroll wheels on the e260. SanDisk have opted to use a traditional moving scroll wheel with blue backlight. In my opinion, it's more complex and harder to use than the iPod equivalent. But, once I got used to the interface, I had no troubles operating the e260 on the go.

In terms of size, the e260 is considerably larger than the Nano. It's double the thickness, and a fair bit wider. The upside is it feels very confortable in the hand, and the build quality is outstanding. The back of the player is made of LiquidMetal, which is an alloy designed to be scratch resistant, unlike the shiny mirror casing on the Nano. The front is black and shiny, but fortunately it too seems to be reasonably scratch resistant.

The screen itself is a 1.8 inch TFT color unit - bigger and better than the Nano screen, which is only 1.5 inches. The e260 supports limited video playback, though you might as well forget all about this feature since the screen is so small, and is portrait orientated. In order to watch videos you also have to run them through the bundled software before transferring them to the player. Hardly worth the effort since the screen is so small.

The main menu consists of a scrolling list of sub-menus. I found the UI to be very quick. There is no delays at all, suggesting the processor in this unit is well and truely up to the task.  The unit supports USB mass storage, so adding your MP3 files is as simple as dragging and dropping them onto the player. Of course, iTunes songs won't work due to digital rights management restrictions imposed by record companies, but that's standard fare.