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526 of 530 found the following review helpful:
Terrific Affordable Media Player Jun 26, 2008
By Jeff ten Bosch
This little device is a high quality and very easy to use 'MP3' player. Of course it does more than just play music. From a usability perspective, I think it rivals the iPod interface and provides more feedback. While I really love the device, there are some things that I wish were a little better.
Pros
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- Very nice screen and just big enough that if you were stuck on a plane, watching a movie still is an enjoyable experience.
- Simple and very intuitive interface. I love the fact that the iPod-like wheel actually rotates.
- Expansion via MicroSD cards is a great feature. I was able to swap the MicroSD card between my BlackBerry and the Fuze and be able to share images, and music.
- The FM Radio and ability to record from it is one of the coolest features. There's something about the randomness about radio that I still really like. And the ability to record a song that I don't already have can save you some money.
- I haven't used the external mic yet, but I think that's a neat feature to have when you have a thought and want to record it. I can think of several times where I've had a thought and wasn't able to write it down.
Cons
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- The most frustrating experience I've had with the Fuze is the ability to get Video transferred. I've tried multiple formats and have been very unsuccessful in finding the right format to use. This is the main reason I've not given it a full 5 star review. Of course it's ridiculous to think that this would be a 'Movie' player. However, I have some great concerts that I would love being able to watch as well as listen to. I'm not interested in watching a movie.
- The on/off switch is great if you want to make sure that you don't accidentially turn on/off. However, I think it's overly difficult. Especially if you have large fingers. I would have preferred to press the Play button for a couple of seconds.
- The device 'hiccups' when scrolling through music that has album art. For some reason, when you get to the list of albums, the select button doesn't work until the album art appears. Often requiring you to double-click. Not a big deal, unless you're quickly trying to find a song to add to the play list.
- Finally, the device is either too new or not popular enough to warrant accessories. I really want to buy a protective cover, but they don't exist. I've read that some people are using Nano covers, but they don't fit well enough. This is really bad if you want to use the Fuze while exercising or cutting the lawn.
Overall, I would highly recommend the Fuze to anyone looking for a low-cost small media device. The cons shouldn't sway you away from buying it, but they are good to know. I'll update my review when I figure out the right combination of video formats for the device.
449 of 459 found the following review helpful:
Amazing Little Digital Audio Player Apr 10, 2008
By Phillip Rogers
What I really like about it is the size, capacity, and most of all price.
The codec support is about average, not great but it satisfies my needs as 99% of my music is encoded in mp3 format.
One of my dislikes is common among all sandisk mp3 players(and most other players) is that the charging/syncing port is proprietary. Not a big issue, mini-usb would have been nice though.
Video playback was smooth(used a mp4 350MB recorded tv show) no sync problems between the audio/video and no stuttering. Too small to really be considered for video playback though.
Picture viewing is about the same as video and by that I mean it works great and the pictures look ok but the screen is so small it is not practical to show off pics with it.
Voice recording works well, don't have to hold it directly to my face to clearly record sounds...although I'm not sure what this can be used for but it is there and works well.
The radio works great, easy station browsing, easy to add stations to presets, and reception is very clear.
The sound is very accurately produced at all ranges. The included headphones fit well and sound good. The volume goes up much higher than I could ever think I would need it. For those of you who are runners, I use the earphones that come with it and they direct the sound very well into my ears so I do not have to make it too loud and can still hear some of the environmental sounds: wind noise is hardly noticeable.
The screen is easy to see in all light conditions, bright, and easy to read.
The build quality feels great. It has generous weight to it, light enough to take running and not really notice it but heavy enough to give it a solid feel. The front of the device is a bit shiny and does tend to attract fingerprints easily but not scratches so far.
Expansion port works great, currently using a 4GB microsdhc to shuttle podcasts/audiobooks between it my pc.
Navigation is a breeze and the menus are very intuitive, the scroll wheel/buttons are easy to find and press even with the player not in sight.
Syncing I very easy to do without the need for bloated software. You can add media to it via a file explorer(drag & drop) or one of several media players like WMP, winamp, and a variety of others. The datbase is auto-updating and works flawlessly. I have seen a few reviews that say the database refresh takes a while. With a completely full internal memory and half full 4gb card my refreshes only take 15-30 seconds.
A few final notes. The boot-up is about 3-5 seconds from off to playing music after pressing the power button. It will resume the music exactly where you left it when turning it off. Actual usable memory is about 7.8 GB. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, best on the market right now but not perfect of course.
UPDATE: 2 new "cons" I have come across. Technically the device is performing as intended but I am hoping for a firmware update to "resolve" these.
1. When scrolling, the speed of scrolling does not increase. Basically takes forever if the song you want is in the second half of the alphabet. This will probably be changed in the next firmware update though.
2. The podcasts are sorted by most recent first. This kind of makes since so you dont have to scroll to the bottom to listen to the newest one but it also causes a problem if you are trying to listen to a series in order and it starts playing through them backwards. :( Probably no "fix" for this issue although being able to choose how it is sorted would be great.
336 of 342 found the following review helpful:
 Fantastic Jul 19, 2008
By J. Poulson
I did a lot of research before purchasing the Fuze. My research led me to narrow my choice to two options. One being the Fuze, the other being the IPod Nano. In the end I bought both units. The Fuze I paid cash for from Amazon, the Ipod I redeemed credit card points to obtain.
After having both for about a month now I don't understand why anyone would buy an Ipod. Other than the beautifully designed packaging and product it is the most difficult proprietary product out there. You have to use Itunes to register the unit and load music. In my case downloading Itunes messes with my Windows Media Player which I use as a player linked to a hard drive which is my in home music server. In order to fix the software conflicts between Itunes and Windows Media I had to resort to uninstalling Itunes which by it self did not solve the problem. Only after defragementing my hard drive did the problem go away.
The Sansa Fuze was so simple to load with music I was amazed. Simplily plug it in and drag and drop. It even gives you the option of specifying what type of music file you prefer (ie compressed or not). With storage expansion via card and an FM player it is fantastic.
So while I appreciate the visual design of the Ipod it is extremely over rated to me. Don't buy an Ipod unless you are only interested in looks over performance.
173 of 174 found the following review helpful:
Everything I Wanted and.......More May 22, 2008
By C. Ragsdale
"Marine Veteran"
This player has really just become available. I ordered thru an Amazon seller, before it became available. Shipping was a little higher. But I wanted it right away. This thing is a perfect size, but beware..little if any accessories exist for it at the moment. I am sure this will change. A skin would be nice to protect the front face..which is very attractive to scratching. The thumb wheel works great, and I have big thumbs. All the menus are easily accessible and it syncs with Windows Media
Player 11 quickly and easily. I have mostly older CD's that I wanted to rip to file and then sync. Most all of the cover art was available with WMP11 and it rolled seamlessly into the Fuze. Several view modes while playing , one with the EQ, one with the cover art enlarged, one with time of song and time left etc;. Screen is big enough to suit my needs and it plays very well through the aux jack in my car. Battery seems to last longer than some. I would say the only drawback is that this battery is NOT replaceable according to Sansa, so hope it lasts awhile. Overall the price is great and the ease of carrying a few Micro SDHC cards give it unlimited potential. Great unit.
UPDATE: After having this a couple weeks, I would give it 5 stars, GREAT little unit...With the Fuze itself and the 4 Gig Micro SDHC card, I now have 2163 songs on it. I also had a 2 gig card with a 150 songs on it and counting. Performs flawlessly.
UPDATE 2: Dec.19,2008. I still have had no problems with mine. No skipping, or ticks. And no problem with a myriad of different headsets.
I'm sure its possible to get defective units, as anything produced in mass quantity is going to have a few slip through with a defect or two. But, from my point of view.....no problem
UPDATE 3: Jul 10, 2009. One minor drawback. With the Fuze volume all the way to max and my car volume on max, it still...on some songs is not loud enough for me. Some rock music, you know.....you just might like loud. This does not always allow that, especially over road noises. Sitting still it is fine, but if you like loud music through the car stereo, this could be a little lacking.
128 of 129 found the following review helpful:
Advantage Fuze Jun 02, 2008
By David G.
Before my purchase, I compared the Sansa Fuze with the iPod Nano (3G) and came away thinking the Fuze has a number of advantages. Its very nearly the same size as the Nano but the screen is negligibly smaller. The resolution is also a bit less (220 x 176 vs 320 x 240) but I think it is more than acceptable for most purposes. If you are going to watch a lot of videos you might want to opt for the Nano. Personally, I don't anticipate watching many videos on such a small display. The scroll wheel is also similar to the iPod but has a more tactile feel since it is mechanical and actually moves. Overall, the user interface is very responsive and easy to use. Advertised battery life is virtually identical. Some of the features that pushed me over to the Fuze are: Micro SD card expandable memory; built-in Audio Recording and FM radio; ability to use subscription services; works with MS Media Player; and, of course, significantly lower cost. The only disadvantages I can think of are the much more limited availability of accessories compared to the iPod. At this point I am very happy with the features, build quality and sound quality of the Fuze. I would highly recommend it.
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