SanDisk, looking for an edge with which to distinguish itself as it competes against Apple in the portable player space, has launched the wireless Sansa Connct player for around $250. This player, which lets you download music through wireless Internet connectivity, is also part of a just announced partnership between Yahoo! and SanDisk to bring greater music download options to Sansa Connect owners.

This new partnership, announced today by the two companies, offers some integration between the Sansa Connect and Yahoo! Music, which is the Internet portal’s online music service. Through a wireless Internet connections, Sansa Connect players can let users with a Yahoo! ID can listen to LAUNCHcast Internet radio, browse Flickr sets and photos, and see what their Yahoo! Messenger friends and other Sansa Connect owners nearby are listening to. Sansa Connect users with a Yahoo! Music Unlimited To Go subscription are also able to discover and download music, as well as listen to or download tracks their friends are listening to or have recommended.

The Sansa Connect, for those unfamiliar with it, has 4GB of internal memory and can play a wide range of popular music formats such as MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files. It works with many PlaysForSure certified subscription music services in addition to Yahoo! Music, can have its memory expanded via a microSD memory card slot and lets one enjoy their digital photos on its color screen.