Sansa Fuze+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)As humans, we sometimes tend to personify our gadgets. Having witnessed the phenomenon in others, I'm happy to see I'm not the only one (a psychologist could explain it better, but it probably stems from our post-toddler, invisible friend/stuffed animal days, but no matter). So if this little MP3 player could speak, I reckon it would probably say something like, "Hi there! I know I'm not as full-blooded as an iPod Touch or as sleekly designed as an iPod Nano, but I'll work real hard to make you happy. Honest!"
First, a bit of history: I've owned iPods since late 2003 when I bought a spanking new 15 GB third generation iPod. Back then, smart phones had yet to come of age and if you wanted a high-capacity MP3 player, Apple were just about the only game in town. It helped matters immensely that my iPod was so well constructed since I used it day in, day out for five years until it finally died and I replaced it with a fourth generation iPod Nano. That Nano sure *seemed* solid enough (what with its sleek, anodized aluminum body and all) but a mere year-and-a-half later it fell apart faster than Joan Crawford in a wire hanger factory (see "Mommie Dearest" for an explanation of that analogy). With hopes held high for an amazing sixth generation Nano, I balked at the rather stripped-down feature set and the tiny, nigh-unusable touch screen.
So, off a-shopping I did go.
Since Sony didn't appear to make a Mac-friendly Walkman, I opted to punt, snapping up the newly released Sansa Fuze+ (black, 8BG capacity). I'd known about -- and respected -- Sansa players for years as affordable and worthy iPod competitors, so this seemed the best available option. Whether consciously or not, SanDisk are filling a huge void in the marketplace right now caused by the absence of last year's multi-purpose fifth generation Nano (and as a student, I really, really needed its now long-gone voice recorder feature badly).
To define the negatives of this particular player: as many reviewers have pointed out, the Fuze+'s touch-sensitive interface can be a bit unresponsive at times and over-responsive at others. The GUI isn't anywhere near as intuitive as anything Apple could have designed. Furthermore, the industrial design is rather plain and the plastic is easily scratched (HINT: rub any scratches that appear on plastic with Brasso and a clean, lint-free cloth; after several minutes, it clears them right up -- promise!). That said...
Onto the positives: the sound quality from this thing is amazing -- rich and full! I've run battery tests only to have my jaw hit the floor when power usage on my unit clocked in at a WHOPPING 53 hours for 128 kbps MP3s and 30 hours for 256 kbps AAC files. This in itself is an astonishing discovery, particularly having come from the notoriously power-hungry iPod realm. This little fellow plays video beautifully, although the screen's visual "sweet spot" is at a slightly off-centre angle when watching a movie in Landscape mode. Also, it's got a voice recorder -- a good one -- that uses the unit's incredibly wee, shockingly responsive built-in microphone. While the Fuze+ won't win any beauty contests, it is enough for me to say that it *is* solidly constructed, having already dropped it several times without so much as scratching it (Brasso time!).
I give this player a solid recommendation -- especially (way) over the current iPod Nano -- keeping in mind that it is still quite new and there *are* flaws. However, SanDisk seems to really care about their customers, listening to their concerns and working hard to iron out the kinks. Their Website support forums are a good place to go for advice, especially considering that by buying any new first-generation product, you're essentially signing up to be a Beta tester.
It just comes with the territory, folks.

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The Sansa Fuze + MP3 player delivers a rich portable multi-media experience with superior audio and video capabilities, stylish industrial design, a best-in-class unique graphical user interface, and flexible storage expansion via a microSD card slot, with incredible value for today's overburdened consumer. From its sleek and thin styling to its invisible touch control, the Sansa Fuze+ MP3 player delivers a great user experience and lets you do more than just play back music files. Enjoy music, audiobooks, podcasts, photos, and videos with ease. Add a blank microSD card to either expand your own music library or increase the capacity of the device, or add a preloaded slotRadio content card for an instant library of songs - even listen to FM radio with the ability to pause or record stations, or record your voice with the built-in microphone. PLUS now even more! With the expanded codec package compared to the much loved legacy Sansa Fuze+ player, bring along even more of your favorite video files and photos. BLACK / SOLSTICE

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