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The Sansa e280 is equipped with 8GB of flash memory as standard. For those who feel they need to put multiple versions of Wagner's Ring cycle on their MP3 player there is also a microSD expansion slot option to plug in up to 2GB of extra memory through a microSD card providing up to 10GB of memory or approximately 2,500 tunes.

The Sansa e280 features FM radio, photo viewing and video clip

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playback capabilities. It is priced at $249.99 in the US - about the same price as a 4Gb Nano iPod. Given that the flash memory is probably the most expensive component in an MP3 player, SanDisk calculates that, as the world's biggest supplier of flash memory it can undercut its rivals and provide huge memory capacities.

It requires Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10+.

However, the iPod is proving almost invulnerable to competition. A recent survey found that Apple took 75.6 per cent of US market share for MP3 players in the second quarter of 2006. Its nearest challenger while SanDisk languished in second place with just 9.7 per cent

You can pre-order the e280 now for the UK, from Sandisk.co.uk, with the models expected to ship in the first half of September.