Gadgenista Review: Sansa Fuze From SanDisk!
September 2, 2008 by Lia Espina
Filed under Uncategorized
I’ve been meaning to get myself an MP3 player for some time now. I used to have a 30GB iPod but it didn’t last very long. Shortly after one year (when the warranty expired… augh, what timing really…), the logic board or dock port or whatever it is conked out. I tried having it repaired but the price I had to pay was the same amount as just buying a new unit.
So, I just left my iPod for dead and decided that I’ll just buy a new one some other time. Of course, my initial choice was buying another iPod. It never really occured to me that there are other MP3 players worth checking out aside from Apple brands.
And then one day, I received a Sansa Fuze from SanDisk for review in my mail!
On to the review!
The Un-Boxing. (Click on images for a larger view)
The UPS package that greeted me when I got home from work!
Things inside the box! The Sansa Fuze and some PR materials that I breezed thru.
Almost there… *giddy feeling* *gadget-gasm*
Manuals, warranty and installers. Comes with a free Rhapsody account which I can’t really use *sad face*
The unit comes with earphones, the USB cables and a cute little black velvet case that I’m actually using now.
And finally… the Fuze!
I was pretty pleased with how the Sansa Fuze felt it my hands. The front part of the Sansa Fuze had a nice smooth, shiny, plastic-y feel, while the back part had a rubbery, sort of iodized aluminum feel similar to an iPod Nano.
The Menu Interface
Well, I can’t blame Sansa Fuze for taking on a look that’s similar to iPod’s click wheel. It pretty much makes going thru the menu a breeze. So if you’re familiar with how to use an iPod, you can pretty much say that using a Sansa Fuze will just come naturally, hehe.
One of the things I LOVE most about the Sansa Fuze is that you can actually copy your music FROM the Fuze TO the computer, as it acts like an external storage drive. Unlike the iPod, there’s no such thing as direct iPod-to-Computer transfer. (or is there? Tell me how!)
Basic Features.
Sansa Fuze comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB models and you can actually add extra storage since the Fuze has a microSD slot.
The battery life of the fuze is really great. It can last me 2-3 days if I use the player (playing songs, not videos) for around 4-5 hours a day. Charging the battery to full (from empty or near empty status) though can take quite a while, around an hour and a half (1 hour 30 mins) to 2 hours via USB charging.
Photo Viewer.
It’s a pretty decent photo viewer. Not exactly the best. It supports JPEG photos.
Music Player.
The music player supports MP3, WAV files, Audible (for audio books) and WMA.
And I think it pretty much compatible with all earphones and headphones. It works well with my Skullcandy Headphones, hehe.
FM Radio.
A very big PLUS for me. There are just some days that I get sick and tired of playing the songs on my MP3 player that I would love to just listen to the radio and find out which songs are on top of the charts. (so I can download them, bwahahaha)
The signal of the FM Radio is actually quite decent, not that strong but decent enough to get a clear broadcast in an open room. There are times, though, on the first floor of my house where the walls are thicker that the signal is a bit weak.
Video Player
Well, not exactly the best video player around. For one thing, the resolution isn’t all that great and the screen is too tiny (I’d say the same thing for a Nano, I really see no sense in watching videos on a screen THAT small. Eye torture, much?!)
Voice Recorder
I looove it that the Sansa Fuze has a voice recorder. And the quality of the recording is actually quite crisp and sharp. The only thing I don’t like about the video recorder is that it actually picks up the “clicking” sound of the click wheel. So at the end and start of your record, you can actually hear a “click” sound. Hehe.
Sansa Fuze Media Manager
Sorry to say, I wasn’t able to test this out as it’s not Mac compatible. Boo.
My verdict: If there’s one thing I have to say, Sansa Fuze totally opened up my eyes and made me realize that there are other great MP3 players out there!
So if you’re not an Apple fanboy, you might want to get your hands on these babies! I *heart* Sansa Fuze!
My only qualm is that they’re (the Media Manager anyway) not that Mac friendly . But I’m sure someone’s going to come up with a Sansa Fuze Media Manager that’s compatible with Mac soon… I hope!
Price: Starting price of $79.99 for the 2GB model.
Comes in Pink, Red, Silver, Black and Blue.
Interesting… I am actually looking for a non-ipod player right now, for plugging my ears at night because P SNORES…
This sounds like a better deal than the iPod, IMHO ^^ But I could be biased.
You said the magic words: extra storage via microSD card!
i’d like to see if things are really true and if its really worth it.
omg. microSD slot?? now that’s an offer <:
While I still use iTunes to manage my iPod (unfortunately, it’s still the best iPod manager out there), I keep both Floola and SharePod on my iPod. This’ll let me copy music TO AND FROM my iPod, to ANY computer.
I hope that helps.
Of course, you don’t need that now that you’ve got the Fuze.
I need high quality memory storage supplies for my job. I have tried different brands while choosing the right one. SanDisk is what I ultimatly preferred. It’s reliable and highly professional. The above review proves this. As for the Sansa Fuze, it looks like a good deal to me: incredible battery life in a 0.3″ thin device and the increasing memory storage.
Im not an apple admirer because some of its functions are not user friendly, but it seems that in your review about the Sansa Fuze this gadget has what it takes to be user friendly and at the same time it doesnt lack the features and capabilities of a gadget compared to its competitors. For a techie like me who doesnt want the hassles of a gadget the Sansa Fuze is worth my money.
The Sansa Fuze is worth a try specially when everybody wants an apple ipod, I think this gadget can be a good investment specially it is priced lower compared to the apple units.