SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Silver) by SanDisk
|
List Price: Our Price: $76.95 You Save: $18.04 (19%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $45.00 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Silver)
Digital camera Review: Amazing Portable Entertainment System
Summary: 5 Stars
The 8 GB silver Sansa Fuze is the best portable entertainment system! Who needs an Ipod when you have this thing?! It plays video, music, FM radio and shows photos! My only problem is that it does not come with instructions or a Sansa Media converter CD. You do need Sansa Media converter to put any video or high quality pictures on it! First you need to go on the Sansa website and download the Sansa updater and you can check for updates on your player and the Sansa Media Converter will show up. You can then convert the videos and some pictures to the right format for the player. It is all free and completely safe! I did purchase the very low priced 8 GB Micro SDHC card on Amazon! It makes the player 16 GB and you do not need a card reader for your computer to do anything because the player does it all with the Micro SD card. When you plug it into your computer it shows up as the external memory for the Sansa Fuze. The easiest way to put media on the player is Windows Media Player or it is really hard. Overall, best MP3 player I have ever had and has the best quality!Digital camera Review: Amazing little device
Summary: 5 Stars
I own one of the previous generation mp3 players from SanDisk, the e260, version 1. That was a fine device, with it's quirks but represented a great value. The e200 series are now discontinued as of October 2009.
The Fuze is the next generation with totally new chip and architecture. The user interface is similar but there are improvemements. The scroll-wheel is improved and much more iPod-like. The screen is slightly larger than the e200 at 1.9" (diagonal). The older e200 had user-replacable battery...the Fuze does not. Slight downside there.
Aesthetics are different. Very nice lines, super thin and very light. Sound quality is greatly improved with better bass presence and realism, greater detail and separation...even with the (suprisingly good-sounding) outer-ear earbuds. Video quality is great, very nice LCD display. You still have to use Sansa's separate software, the Sansa Media Converter (included on disk and downloadable for free)to put photos and video on the device. SMC processes various movie formats and converts them to avi format and "pipes" them into the Fuze, while connected to the computer. It takes some time. You won't want to mess around with very large video files. Even if you have existing avi files you cannot drag-and-drop the files onto the device the same way that you can with music files. Photos are converted from jpg to bmp files and "piped" to the Fuze.
The Fuze now supports ogg vorbis and flac files with the most recent firmware update. The stock version of firmware will not. Check the Sansa website for the downloadable firmware update and instructions for how to do this.
You get FM radio and a pretty good quality on-board voice recorder too!
The device supports accessory micro SDHC cards, and the 8 gig cards work, supposedly the new 16 gig will too and THEORETICALLY the 2009 32 gig cards should work. Video plays off the cards just fine.
Amazing device, great looks and sound quality, great capacity with the externals cards...hard to go wrong here. Highly recommended.
Only caveat is LCD screens scratch easily. Research "screen protectors" (Zagg is one good one I am told) and put one on the Fuze right way. You'll regret not doing it when the scratches build up. And they will!
Check the Sansa website FORUM for great user information on Fuze devices.
[...]
Mainly some pretty knowledgable users but Sansa tech help monitors the forum as well. There are all kinds of technical tips to help get you up to speed and troubleshoot. Don't know what I would have done without that site.
Digital camera Review: An all around winner
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't go into great technical detail, as there are already plenty of reviews here that do that.
I will say that at the price point you can find this, especially when it's on sale, you won't find a better deal. Some people have said it's an iPod Nano rip-off. Okay that's fair. But for around half the price of the Nano, you get the same functionality, plus FM radio, voice recording, FM recording, and expandable microSDHC memory (it has 8gb built in, you'll soon be able to buy 32gb SDHC cards, right now it's about $15 for 8gb or $50+ for 16gb).
The video playback is great, though it can take a while - depending on your pc hardware - to convert the video and load it on the fuze. The audio great, as it should, and the interface for podcasts and audio books is great as well. For the best features, make sure you update the firmware when you get it.
Digital camera Review: Another great Sansa product
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the 6th Sansa MP3 player I've purchased. I've bought larger capacity, newer versions for myself, my husband, and our daughter as they've come out. Every single one has been worth everything paid for them. In fact, I don't think there's a better brand of MP3 player on the market. I'm not into buying the latest gadget from Apple. Too much money for not enough performance. So, the Sansas are perfect.
The sound is great on it. Syncing files is easy. There's more than enough space on it for what I need. I've found all of our Sansas to be durable. We still have all 6 of our purchases. Only one shows any mechanical difficulties, and it's 3 years old. While still playable, the volume control doesn't work anymore.
As for the cons of the Fuze, I only have two: 1. The in-box user information is virtually nonexistent. This leads to #2: The volume controls are impossible to find without help. There is no button. I looked in the settings, and the only choices were "Normal" and "High." Even on High, I couldn't hear my music. I was just about to return the product when I did an Internet search. I learned that the scroll wheel adjusts volume once a song is playing. Now, everything works just fine. If there had been instructions in the box, the frustration would have been nonexistent.
Those are relatively minor annoyances, though. I love the size (capacity and physical) of the device. I love its ease-of-use. I love my past experience with this company. I would definitely buy another, and recommend it.
Digital camera Review: Another quality mp3 player from Sandisk
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought this to replace an E260R series Sansa (I have two). Very impressed with the improvements in the firmware over the E200 series of Sansas. Supports OGG and FLAC files, has volume leveling, and most importantly (for me) the database does not refresh every time you turn on the player when you have an expansion memory card installed. The screen is a tad bigger than the E200, but I still don't see it as practical for video playback. It does seem to have a sharper image for pictures, if you fancy to carry a few around w/ your audio files. As a long-time Rhapsody subscriber, this is the perfect device to take my music (subscription and purchased) "to go" with me. It is also compatible w/ both of my "sansa ready" portable speaker systems that I bought for my E260Rs. One downside note: I don't like the little slider bar on the bottom r/h side of the player to turn the unit on/off. I am constantly "oversliding" the button which causes the unit to "lock" and then shut off. I have also read some negative comments about the headphone jack being on the bottom of the player, instead of on the top like the E200s. However, I have found I prefer it on the bottom, so it's hardly a deal-breaker. Overall, great bang for the buck! I also have two M200 series Sansas, and can honestly say Sandisk makes a quality product.