Buy.com has the SanDisk Sansa C150 2GB MP3 Player for $49. This unit is ideal for the Gym because it it so small, lightweight and has an FM tuner. It’s also great as a “beater” for those times where you may not want to bring your expensive Ipod. You don’t even need any software to get songs onthis player, just drag and drop files.

Allthough we have 4 Ipods in the house I have been quite content with my Creative MuVo 256mb MP3 player. What I really like about the MuVo is that I can just plug it into any USB drive and then drag and drop music onto it. I don’t neeed any special software to move music onto it. It also doubles as a USB flash drive.

I do wish my MUVo had more memory and an easier to read screen.

I did a search and found that the SanDisk Express™ MP3 Players may be exactly what I am looking for. What I really like about this unit is cable-less USB connection. This means I can plug it into any PC to copy files. It has a 15 hour rechargeable battery. I prefer a replaceable AAA but I suppose if it charges off the USB port I could live with that. The Sansa is currently available in only a 1GB model but it does have a microSD slot to expand the memory. You can buy 2GB microSD cards for less than $40.

The listed price for the SanDisk Sansa is $59.99. Ad $40 for more memory and you have a killer 3Gb mp3 player with a flash drive for about $100. It’s a definite alternative to the IPOD Nano for less than half the price.

More info here about the new Sansa