Customer Reviews

SanDisk Sansa Fuze 4 GB Video MP3 Player (Pink)

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

About three years ago I had purchased a Sandisk Sansa m230 Mp3 player (the blue 512 MB one). I loved the little gadget, until it was in a horrible accident involving a heavy book bag and the floor. Amazingly the player still worked, but the screen was scattered. So I used the device for the past year a bit messed up, then I saw that Sansa was coming out with the Fuze in March. I new that if my little mp3 player could be smashed by a 20 lb. book bag and still work, the Fuze would have to be wonderful.

I never even considered an iPod. They are not worth the money and friends have had way to much trouble with the devices for me to begin to think about buying one. The Fuze has all the abilities of videos, radio, pictures, music (of course), and so much more. And their prices for the about of memory that you get is amazing. Who ever uses 80 GB of memory anyway? If you do or have, I applaud your unimaginable music library.

Since I was going away to college, I decided to spend a bit of my graduation party money on one, I bought a 4 GB Pink Fuze. When it arrived, I have to admit I was surprised how small it really was. But it fit perfectly in your hand, so the smallness doesn't really affect anything. The screen is unbelievably bright. I have it set to the lowest brightness and still can see things perfectly fine in complete darkness. The turn wheel glides smoothly, and is easy to select the songs you want. The sound is wonderful also. The headphones that come with the Fuze fit so nicely and sound terrific. I wish I could buy just those!

I will admit that the screen does scratch a bit easy. I was cleaning it, something which I obsess over a bit, with an eye glass cleaning cloth and little scratches appeared when I was finished. So it might be a good idea to invest in a hard case that covers the screen or those screen protectors that companies make for GameBoys or something like that.

You should also know that you must convert videos and pictures using a download found on the sansa fuze forum. It takes a little while to download, but the conversions don't take all that long to finish. It also puts them right to the Fuze. There is also a firmware download on the Fuze forum that might be a good idea to download. It doesn't take very long either.

I love my Fuze and wish I would have bought one sooner. You can't bet the price for the memory and the quality of the product. Sansa put that little bit of effort into their products that make them extra special. For example the silicon like back on the Fuze to help the device not slide. It feels neat too. If you are thinking of buying one, DO IT! You won't regret it! They are awesome!

I have been looking for a new MP3 player, and I am so glad I got the Fuze. It works great and has all the options I need. It is easy to use - I especially like the drag and drop feature, which eliminates the need to use any special programs just to add music.

The player is bigger than the ipod nano, which for me was a little too small. I really like the pink color, too, because it stands out. There is nothing shiny on the case, so it does not show fingerprints, in fact the back side has a silicone like feel to it. The screen is clear and bright. The scroll wheel works very easily and is raised a little, which I think is helpful.

I think this is just as functional as an ipod, but costs about half as much. I also like the fact that you can add more memory using the micro SD card slot. I've had my fuze for a little over a week and have already put on more than 2 GB of songs, so it is nice to know that when I fill up the 4 GB, I can still add more using the SD memory.

Overall, this is a great item and I would highly recommend it.

I bought a pink 4GB Fuze for my best friend and a red 4 GB Sony Walkman (NWZ-S616) for myself. I opened them both up when I got home to charge them and try them both out.

What they both have in common:
-sound great
-similar in size (Fuze is maybe 1/4" wider)
-Both came with a few MP3s and a video already loaded on them.
-Both have an FM receiver that picked up all the local stations.
-Both (like most MP3 players) come with headphones and a USB cable for data transfer and charging.
-Both allow you to drag and drop files, or use Windows Media Player to add music, video, or pictures. Drag and drop worked well for MP3s on both players. I did not try using Media Player for either one.

I like the video quality on the Sony better. I like that the Sony has a longer battery life, though it does take longer to charge than the Fuze. I also like that the headphone jack on the Sony is on the top and that the volume control is a separate button on the side. The Fuze has the headphone jack on the bottom (no biggie) and the volume control on the Fuze is the scroll wheel which is also used for navigation. I found myself changing the volume when I was trying navigate which was annoying.

Here's why I like the Fuze better. The Fuze has features that the Sony does not: an expansion slot for an SD card, voice recording capabilities, and FM recording. I did not try the FM racording, but the voice recording picked up the sound well and was clear and easy to use. You can also delete files on the player with the Fuze. This is a very nice feature.

The biggest plus the Fuze has over the Sony is SanDisk gives you free conversion software (in form of a download) to make your pictures and videos the right size and format for adding to you player. Sony wants you to pay $13 for the Pro version of their software. You must have the pro version to use their software to convert videos. You can format video with other programs, but I have yet to get the Sony to accept any videos even though I have converted them to the format that should work. Research has shown that this is a common problem with Sony media players.

All in all, the Fuze was just easier to use. I had no trouble figuring out the menus on either player, but my parents had an easier time figuring out the Fuze and liked the look of the menu better (the Sony navigation menu is just black and white, where the Fuze menu has more color and looks prettier). In fact, my mom liked it so much she's getting one of her own.

Both the Fuze and Sony are great little players. The Fuze's microSD slot, recording options, and ease of adding videos make it the better option though!

I did some really extensive research as well as talk to the students that work in my office. They recommended the Sansa because it had a lot of features, was small and had pretty good reviews. My research showed mixed reviews. So I took the plunge and bought it. I had an IPod so the conversion of the files was a little daunting but I was able to convert all 600 songs.

After about 1 1/2 months of using the Sansa on a daily basis it suddenly just stopped working. I tried all I could to get it running again with no luck. I shipped it back to Amazon for a credit.

After a few days of looking at other items, I went to Best Buy and bought another one and go the replacement policy. For the money, size and sound quality this is still the best buy out there I can find.

It seems all the Mp3 players have their good and bad points, I stuck with this one because I bought the accessories already and as long as I have a way to replace it free if it breaks again, I'm happy.

We previously bought a Sansa c240 1GB MP3 player for our daughter and she outgrew that capacity. So I bought an 8GB microSDhc card, only to discover the c240 didn't support more than 2GB. So, we bought this 4GB Fuze in pink to replace the c240.

I'm thrilled. The card works, of course, for a 12GB capacity. The feel of the product is great. Feels like an iPod. Has the same sort of wheel interface. Doesn't have the "Cover Flow" selection screen, but that's a patented Apple interface. Screen is very bright and surprisingly easy to read.

Like all Sansa products, it came in the door with old firmware. I've learned my lesson here! Download the free Sansa Updater and let it check your product, even if it's BRAND NEW.

Connected to Windows Media Player and transferred her ripped CDs without a glitch, also connected to my Napster To Go account and had no trouble downloading and playing subscription music.

Sound quality is excellent, but the supplied ear buds have a very thin wire without any reinforcing. They SOUND good, but I'll bet she breaks them inside of 90 days. Might be prepared for that with a spare set of ear buds.

The only thing I didn't REALLY like about it was how it presents itself to your software as two separate devices. The 4GB internal memory and the 8GB card. The software seems to manage just fine with sending files wherever you want them, but it's irritating to me to see the dual devices.

For the price, this player CANNOT BE BEAT. I'd buy one again in a heartbeat, and I'd tell my mom to buy one.

If you're looking for a great functioning player without the hassle of iTunes, then this is a great choice for you. It looks like an iPod so your kid won't get too hassled about not having the "in" thing, but it has all the functionality of an iPod for a lot less $$$$. I like the fact that when you plug it in the Fuze is just another drive where I can drop my MP3 files. I also like the new delete feature that isn't on the older Sansa e200 series.

Unlike an ipod nano, this player supports microSD cards (the Fuze actually supports microSD HC) which effectively doubles or triples your storage space if you buy just one 4-8gb card (under $30 online).

However, scrolling through a long list of songs is done at a sadly constant speed, which is far too slow. Spinning an ipod wheel quickly will accelerate song selection dramatically. To compensate, tracking forward and back in a song or audiobook file does get faster as the button is held down, whereas my brother's ipod is ironically stuck at a constant and slow tracking speed.

Videos are supported only via a bulky, proprietary, and very slow conversion software package provided by Sandisk. Expect to spend longer than the video's duration in the conversion/transfer process. The videos I have tried did not even play in full-screen, but rather had a wide black border all the way around the image.

In the end though, MP3 players are for playing songs, and it does this well enough. I give it 4 stars because I believe it is truly a better value, and certainly a better price, than an ipod. The last star is missing because the buttons click way too loudly when you press them... (and there are the other problems listed above).

I went through 3. Yep, and all three went on to have the "ticking/skipping" sound when I turned up the volume. It wasn't the earphones. It wasn't the format of the songs: it comes with sample songs on which I tested the volume. Then I look this little flaw up in google and one forum says that Sandisk is "working on it." Nice, well while they work on it this player is heading back to the store. Buy this with a warranty, just in case.

There is a lot to love about this MP3 player. If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would do so. I just purchased a little over a week ago, so the jury is still out and I have some minor quibbles, so out of principle I gave only 4.

The Good:
1) Although it comes in a default of "auto" USB mode (which switches to MTP mode if you have Windows Media Player installed), this player is easily switchable in menu (SYSTEM SETTINGS > USB MODE) to MSC mode, which allows you to easily copy and paste MP3 (and video, see below) onto the drive as if it were a flash drive. This also allows it to work with Ubuntu Linux, and I assume Mac (but untested by me) - for audio files only. BTW, files loaded in MTP mode are not accessible in MSC and vice versa.
2) The touch wheel is extremely comfortable and has a very intuitive and predictable feel. I would have changed some of the settings (e.g. up and down for navigating menu lists like my TV remote, rather than glide 'rotating' the wheel) but that is a minor quibble.
3) Comes with free video conversion (Windows) software called Sansa Media Converter, or SMC for short (but see below for the downside). This is very nearly a mandatory software requirement to view video (unlike Rhapsody which is an optional install and not required to hear audio).
4) Player has update for firmware that allows use of open source audio codes FLAC (free lossless) and OGG (an open source MP3 alternative). I have not yet tested these formats on this player (may not be supported on earlier firmware to which I reverted).
5) FM radio is a nice bonus, and appears to work well, even in my relatively radio-wave-free neighborhood and on the train. Up to 10 presets possible.
6) MicroSDHC card expandable (up to 32gb!) I have not tested this with audio or video, but this was a strong selling point for me, and I will take it back if it doesn't work!

The Bad
1) The video. In a nutshell, even though advertised to support MPEG-4 videos, do not be fooled: no attempt appears to have been made to support compatible video podcasts (e.g. h.264 codec) or Ipods (320 x 200 size video and different codecs)...so count on pre-converting ANY video you want to watch on this player using the SMC (see above). As this is not available on Linux, you may as well not try to use video with Ubuntu Linux or any other version that I know of. I have spent many hours trying to find a codec that was both compatible with this player and available via Linux converter software (e.g. mp4 or h.263 etc) but apparently this player uses one and only one unique flavor of mpeg-4 - a DIVX version? Or perhaps something that relies on DirectShow (I have no particular knowledge about this so these are only guesses).
2) The viewable video screen is an odd size: 224pixels wide by 176 pixels high (vs. the usual 320 by 200 for IPods. This means if you transcode any ipod videos, any text will be smudged. NOTE: The Fuze screen is very clear otherwise, if a bit small to watch much of anything on for a long time!
3) The free SMC converter is kind of lousy - it takes nearly as long to convert a video as to watch it, and the Fuze must be plugged into your computer to do any conversions (ie you can't convert videos while you are out and about unless you leave the Fuze with the computer).
4) I DID find one other program (on Windows) which works well and seems faster than SMC. Its called WinAVI (google for, I believe, Version 8), and provided you choose the right settings (224 x 176, 20 frames per second, and mp3 audio, saved in an AVI container file) Just drag the resulting files into the "Videos" folder on the Fuze and you should be golden.
5) One other reason I would take off a half point is the odd behavior of inability to turn off the MP3 player (apparently common these days). This could be considered a 'feature" (resume where you left off), but it turned up as a problem when somehow the Fuze tried to play the SMC converted video with the audio player, and I didn't know how to get out of that loop, even with a soft reset (hold the on button on for several seconds, it will reset). The solution? Hit the home button, navigate to Record, start to record, but don't save...MP3 and FM radio will both be turned off. I also reverted to an older firmware just to be sure it wasn't the new firmware causing the instability.
6) It only has a built in, non-changeable, rechargeable battery, so consider this device a 'rental'. BTW, it can only be charged with its own special adapter to USB (not a generic USB connection on the Fuze proper). This means you'll probably want to buy an AC and car adapter if you're going to be out for a long time (I have not verified the battery life but it seems pretty good, at least for audio-only use).

In the future, it would be nice to see:
1) More standard open source video codec format compatible with all platforms and various other software, not just the SMC
2) More standard (larger) video screen (e.g. 320 x 200)
3) Replaceable battery (I can dream)

Overall, an excellent MP3/OGG/FLAC audio player. Video screen although clear and bright is marginally functional as a video viewere and more useful as a navigational device.

I Love my 8g sandisk mp3 player its awsome you can put extra memory and it goes to your libray no need to go anywhere else for the music on your card videos and pictures. have to be on your memory card but thats not a problem over all i will get another one of these. I got a portal speakers for it too from target its a case you put it in side it and play and wow the speakers for the size was so amazon. I use it outside in car every where even at the park.. I would say go get one worth the money