SanDisk Sansa Fuze 4 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
by SanDisk
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa Fuze 4 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
Customer Review: I'll take a Fuze over an iPod anyday!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Sansa Fuse 4gb and I've put in a 4gb micro card. I used to have a Sansa e250 before I had my Fuze, and that little guy still works today. I upgraded to a Fuze because I had a micro memory card that wasn't compatible with my e250, and the Fuze was by SanDisk-the ONLY mp3 brand I'll EVER trust. That, and the Fuze had more internal memory and was thinner than it's older version.
I got my Fuze back in August 2009, and it runs like a charm to this day. Let me tell you, I use this thing ALL THE TIME. I use it when I'm drawing, exercising, waiting for someone to pick me up-things like that. In the spring, summer, and fall I go jogging everyday, and I always bring this device with me. It's perfect for working out because it's small enough that you can carry it in one hand or strap it to your arm. It's got a cool play list feature that allows you to create your own lists of music, and if you want to listen to just those, you select the list and the player will play only the songs that you have on it. I use that feature every time I go jogging-I select my GoList and set the settings to SHUFFLE and REPEAT ALL.
I've only used it a few times to watch videos, and the picture and sound quality were really good. My primary use for this is music though-so I can't really rate the whole video thing. Same goes for the picture feature. I got this so I could play music, not look at pictures or videos. I used to have a few on the internal memory, and they were pretty good quality.
I LOVE the built-in radio in this thing, and the ability to record songs or talk shows from it is awesome! I use this feature a few times a week when I listen to 89x and Dave and Chuck the Freak. It even has a counter when you choose to record-which tells you how much time you have left for recording, and how long your current recording is. If you have nothing on the internal memory, you can get a good 10 hours out of it. I've tried to figure out how to get it to record on a micro, but I don't think it will. Though, if you decided to move your recordings to a computer, be careful! The Fuze uses WAVE format-which is the rawest format you can get music in. This means that it isn't compressed AT ALL, in fact, one of my recordings was 20 minutes. On the Fuze, it's not that large of a file-but when I moved it to my computer, it was a huge 144MB file that needed some serious compressing!
The mic is really cool-and something my e250 had as well. It doesn't seem like it would, but the built-in mic is actually really strong and can pick up sounds from a fair distance away. I've used this mic several times, mostly to record funny moments and lectures at my college. Again, the mic uses WAVE format-so the files are pretty big when you move them to your computer, but they take up hardly any space on the internal memory.
The battery on this thing still works for me! I still have the 24 hour charge, and I only have to charge this thing once or twice a month! If you want the most out of your battery life, let me tell you that dimming the back light and changing the screen off setting to 5 seconds is the best way to conserve battery life. However, I know that some people wouldn't want to do this, but it's been working for me!
If you get a Fuze, I recommend getting a cover or case of some sort for it. Is it fragile? No, not at all-but it IS prone to fingerprints. This drives me CRAZY-I hate having fingerprints anywhere on my Fuze, so I bought a nice black felt-like cover for it and I use a small rectangle of see-through cling wrap on the screen to stop fingerprints. Then again, maybe you don't care.
Also, the Fuze does NOT come with a media sync. This means that if you want to upload pictures and movies, you'll have to go to SanDisk's website and download the Sansa Media Converter. I'm pretty sure that if you buy the Fuze from a store brand new, it'll come with a small instruction manual that tells you the website to go to in order to download the Converter. Don't worry, it's completely free! :)
All in all, the Sansa Fuze is another great mp3 player by SanDisk. In my personal opinion, it is a thousand times better than an iPod-and way more affordable. I'll choose a SanDisk mp3 player over ANY brand every time-they're just that good! This mp3 is great for someone who wants a reliable device without paying an arm and a leg for it. Mine has lasted me over a year, and it works just as great as the day I bought it! I'll recommend this product to anyone looking for a mp3 player!
Customer Review: GREAT FOR STUDENTS: and for general use!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well lets dive into this packed little device!
Fist off my main points for buying this.
SKIPPING / POPPING ISSUE:
-- Many user have been complaining about a skipping and or popping issue with the audio coming from their Fuzes, I ran into this problem and figured out the cause. You must make sure that the headset jack is fully seated into the device. If it's not you'll get this skipping problem. I noticed this a couple times and after playing with the device each time I realized that the jack was not fully inserted. So if anyone else comes across this problem this is the solution.
I am a full time student again (it's been 10 years since I last was in school). And seeing as I really hate taking notes I decided I'd just record the lectures and then cut the parts out that aren't needed so I can just listen to the lectures and get what I need again and again and have exactly what was said and not misinterpret things.
This little Fuze has a nicely sized storage space on it and room for expansion with that there is more than enough room for me to record an entire days worth of lectures, considering I often sign up for the 3-4 hour classes and try to get them all on the same days so I can continue to work at the same time.
MICROPHONE:
-- The Fuze has a built in microphone that really pics up audio from all around it and it's all quite clear. Clearer than I expected. It's pretty easy to export the audio to your hard drive, cut the audio up in a program like "AUDACITY" and then code it into MP3 format. BTW the device only records in .WAV format but there is supposedly a plugin for it to record in MP3, I haven't been able to locate it just yet thought. You can record about an hours worth of audio per 168megs of space from what I can tell.
VIDEO:
-- While it's not the greatest it's still doable on the Fuze. It might be small but when you are stuck at work doing nothing or stuck on a plain doing nothing then well it's a nice thing to have around!
MUSIC:
-- Very clear and easy to get things rocking.
you can adjust the equalizer setting as you like or select a preset.
just spin the dial to crank it up, click the top side to mute. Also just drag and drop files to the device instead of having to use a program to add and remove files.
RADIO:
-- You can actually listen to FM radio on this player. Just go to the radio option in the menu, select and them move to the station you want. You can set it as a preset and then refer back to it as you like. You can even use the built in recorder to record the radio broadcast, which is great, especially if you have particular radio shows that you like to listen to but can't because of meetings or whatever life throws at you.
Using the Fuze couldn't be simpler.
NO NEED TO INSTALL ANYTHING!
unlike Ipods and most other MP3 players you don't have to install one thing on your computer to transfer music to your Fuze. Just plug it in and your computer will recognize it, open the folder that shows your device from "My Computer" and then drag and drop whatever music you want to the device. It's that simple! You can use Win Media Player 11 or even Rhapsody if you choose but you don't have to.
To transfer VIDEO, you will need to download and install the Sandisk media converter. it's a simple tool that will convert your file and load them to your device as needed.
Photos: you will also need the Media converter for this as well.
Don't try to use Rhapsody or Win Media Player to transfer anything other than music or you will get errors. So for video or photos you need to use the Media converter tool from SanDisk.
About the only con of this device is the fact that there isn't a world of accessories like the Ipods have out there. There are quite a few though and the number is increasing as people realize that the Ipods are OVER PRICED and don't have as many bonuses like the FUZE does. There are many player chargers that are coming out as well as many other accessories.
So if you are looking for a particular accessory to work with the Sansa line then just look it up. All the ones that I have found on amazon are of pretty good quality. I would like local stores to carry more though but that'll come in time...
Customer Review: Excellent Player, Excellent Price
Summary: 5 Stars
SanDisk has come out with an extension to their array of MP3 players, beyond the Clip and the View. Their new mp3 player, the Sansa Fuze, is definitely geared towards casual someone who just wants a basic, functional, and well-put together media device for their pocket.
The Sansa Fuze may look like a tiny device at first, but this thing packs some serious features. It has the ability to playback music, video, photos, FM radio, as well as audiobooks. The features for the Sansa Fuze are very impressive to say the least, as it also features a microSD card slot to add extra storage space, content, etc.
The first feature we will focus on is the one which will likely get the most use, the audio aspect. The music menu is organized with artist, album, song, genre, etc. There is also a recently added section which shows the most recent songs added onto the device, as well as a top rated section.
The album menu allows you to see album icons as you are scrolling through the various albums. There is also the ability to form a playlist directly on the player.
The sound quality is very well-done. If you have a great set of headphones you will not be disappointed in the least bit.
The video aspect is definitely not the highlight of the Sansa Fuze. Part of this is due to the low power of the device, and partly due to the screen itself. The supplied Sansa Media Converter does make it easy to convert movies into a format for the device though. A typical movie will take up a little under, or over 1GB. The video looks respectable, but can get a bit choppy at times. One very cool feature about the video is the ability to add a bookmark while watching it.
The photo viewer is very standard as you can view photos from the internal memory of a microSD card. You can set up a slide show with time intervals, and add music as well. The images looked quite sharp.
The FM radio feature is done extremely well on the Sansa Fuze. You get some great reception and the auto program feature picks out crystal clear radio stations. It also has the ability to record radio in WAV format.
This works with voice recording as well thanks to a microphone located right below the microSD slot.
Podcasts and audiobooks are pretty self-explanatory, but one issue with the audiobooks is the lack of a bookmark feature.
The overall user interface for the Sansa Fuze is put together nicely, set up in such a way that a first-time user could pick up this device and feel right at home with it. You have a scroll wheel as well as a home button and a middle click wheel. The scroll wheel can also be clicked up and down, which can make things a bit confusing at times. Overall though, beyond a few hiccups with organizational aspects of the UI, this is one easy device to use.
Getting media onto the Sansa Fuze is extremely simple as you can use any desktop media player to create playlists and such, easily syncing them to the device. It also supports drag and drop without the need for any software. We used Windows Media Player as well as a few other media players to test this all out, and syncing was as simple as can be.
The quality of the device itself is top-notch, as the screen can put out some great contrast and vibrant colors in spots. The screen is extremely clear and does a nice job with photo presentations. Battery life is equally as impressive, as I have been getting around 20 hours on each battery charge thus far. Video playback came in at around 6 hours on a charge.
The package comes with a proprietary USB cable and a pair of earbuds, pretty basic.
Also shipping with the Sansa Fuze is a great bonus, a microSD card which comes with DRM-free music from more than 50 new and emerging artists. This is a great way to immediately test out the music capabilities of the Sansa Fuze, and also adds value to the entire package. Music videos, images, and more are also included on the microSD card.
Overall SanDisk has done a great job with the Sansa Fuze.
Customer Review: Love it
Summary: 5 Stars
I've never been an ipod user. Don't like either Apple domination or Apple attitude. Don't like the limitations Apple puts on its products nor the software it provides.
So I've stayed out of the Apple empire. But, I've very much valued portable mp3 players.
My last mp3 player was a Creative Zen Vision: M. It had 60gb of storage, some pretty nice video playback, and a decent software. The hardware was a bit frustrating at times, as it could be a too sensitive pad, but it was adaptable. Unfortunately, a while back (a few months after the warranty expired) I got a dreaded "USB connection not recognized" message when I plugged it in. Everything else worked fine. But, I found out that these Creative players had hardware failures that blocked any and all USB connection. Everything else worked fine, for a while, but I couldn't connect it to the computer anymore. That defeats a whole lot of capability and freedom. For a while I just used what was on it, as is. That got tiresome. To fix it, according to Creative, would have been several hundred dollars. No thank you. No more creative for me.
But it worked still as a player, so I couldn't justify spending several hundred for a new one either.
Found this Fuze and thought that would be a great replacement.
I couldn't be happier. The video is not as top notch as the Creative, but that's okay. I have a laptop, and the screen is tiny anyway. I never used video on these anyhow.
The music plays great. The player works with a variety of formats with or without extra software. You can use Windows media or just Windows explorer to directly control the files and file structure.
I got the Durable Flexible Soft Black Silicone Skin Case with Belt Clip and Armband + USB Car + USB Home Travel Charger + USB Data Cable for Sandisk Sansa Fuze for under ten dollars to go with it, and that adds protection and different charging options. Quite pleased.
I also got an 8gb microSDHC for under ten dollars. And with this really took advantage of one of the Fuze's great benefits. By having microSD slot, the player not only becomes expandable, but also quite easily flexible. Have different cards handy, each with particular content. The player is then easily expanded to an unlimited degree.
Very pleased with the music quality. The provided earbuds are mediocre, but that's not surprising. Given the significantly lower price of the Fuze, it becomes quite feasible to buy more high quality earphones. Which I did. Got the Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones (Black) and couldn't be happier.
One major frustration was the lack of real playlist support. It becomes awkward to import playlists, especially as WMP only recognizes the player itself rather than any microSD card (another downside). There is a 'golist' that can be changed in the player itself, but that's pretty limited function. I found a way around this, however. There is an option in the player to "play all" in any given genre. I just changed the genres of the albums, and now have built in playlists, of sorts. Quite pleased I can play all my jazz, or all my classical, or all of any other standard or made up type without having to pay attention to the player.
The interface is really simple. But, the scroll wheel is a step up. Very easy and clear to use.
Overall, I'm quite pleased. It lacks some functionality of the major players, but more than makes up for it in price and use of the microSD slot.
Much more pleased with this than I ever was with my Creative Zen.
A great purchase.
Customer Review: Great product. You won't regret buying this!
Summary: 5 Stars
After careful research, I opted to buy the Sansa Fuse instead of an iPod. I have no regreats in making this decision! This MP3 player has great sound, is very easy to use, is light weight and small in size, has long battery life and is a bargin in price compared to the iPod Nano.
I've used it for over 6 weeks with ZERO problems and am completely satisfied. I have not downloaded any videos, so I can't comment about the ease of doing that. However, for music, this player is very easy to load using Windows Media Player. In the sync mode, all you have to do is either drag your playlist or the individual songs over to the right side of the screen and then press "start sync." The MP3 player will rapidly load and has the capability of recognizing if a song is already on the player as not to duplicate it. You will not be able to download the advertised 1,000 songs. That is based on a lower quality compression bit rate of 128 kbps, whereas most people would prefer the better sound of 192. I was able to download approximately 780 songs. However, some of them were the typical shorter 1960 era of 2 to 2 1/2 minutes in length. I recently expanded my memory with an 8 GB memory card and have not experienced any difficulty in using it. In Windows Media Player, when synching, the player will ask if I want to download to the internal or external memory (the micro SDHC card). With 12 GB of memory, I figure I have room for over 2,300 songs!
Other reviewers have correctly mentioned that if you want to access a specific song, the fly wheel will only let you start searching the play list of songs starting with the letter A. This is a major inconvenience if you want to play a song that starts towards the end of the alphabet. However, since I downloaded my songs using playlists, I can easily find any song with a minimal amount of effort by selecting the correct playlist and then I only have to scroll through a maximum of 20 names. For me, this has not been an issue because I usually listen to the player in the random mode. In this mode, it is always a pleasant surprise as to what the next song will be. The random mode will access songs from both the internal and external memory (if you added a card), so you don't need to worry in which memory you downloaded a song, album or playlist.
The "head phones" that come with the player have a decent sound, but probably won't be comfortable for small children and they tend to loosen when exercising. For walking around, I've purchased an inexpensive set of "ear buds" and, for exercising, I got from Target a conventional over the ear style pair of headphones (Magnavox MHL1600). Surprisingly, for an inexpensive pair with a cost of $7, which by the way, it is also foldable, it has a rich sound and good bass. I have not had any problems with them slipping while I'm on the treadmill or elliptical and my 10 year old daughter also finds it comfortable.
I would recommend buying a protective case to prevent accidental scratching of the screen. You will find the price for a case or battery charger on Amazon much more reasonable compared to Best Buy.
To sum up, for music, the Sansa Fuse is a great product. I'm very satisfied with it and highly recommend it!
20 JAN 2010
The updated softwear for the Sansa has corrected the scrolling issue with the fly wheel. When searching for a specific song, you can can scroll from A - Z, or the reverse, Z - A. Sansa owners with the original softwear can download from the Sansa web site the most current operating version. I updated mine and did not loose any songs that were already on my player.