Sansa Fuze: An Alternative to Ipod

By Sam Pichi

The name Ipod has become the standard in MP3 players. Like Kleenex to tissue paper, Ipod is now the thing we associate portable music with. Sometimes, we want something different and from Sandisk (the company that owns Sansa) delivers with the Sansa Fuze. I would say that it is the direct competitor to the Ipod Nano. It's about the same size and it costs about the same at some places cheaper. So why Sansa's Fuze if Apple's Ipod is the standard? Well for one, competition is good. Competition drives prices down and it forces manufacturers to adhere to a higher quality. Another thing I am sick of is following what's "in". Be different people! Don't be a mindless sheep. Let's all do our part and improve our standard of living.

I have my girlfriend's Ipod Nano here to compare with my Sansa Fuze. The Ipod Nano is thinner and is slightly longer than the Fuze. The Nano is also slightly lighter than the Fuze. The screen on the Sansa is larger. It looks almost twice as big. The Nano feels very slick and smooth. The Fuze seem to have a glossy coating on the front face and a rubbery backside for added grip. It feels good. It does not look or feel cheap. Both the Nano and the Fuze are well made and they feel like high quality MP3 Players.

My girlfriend's Nano holds 2 GB worth of songs. With the Nano there is no option to add extra storage. My Fuze holds 8 GB of music. I purchased the high end Fuze. They have a standard 4 GB Fuze. My Fuze also has a Micro SD slot that I took advantage of and added an 8 GB micro card making for a total of 16 GB or music storage. I believe the highest micro SD card I have seen was 16 GB but that was too expensive for me. The Fuze and the Micro SD card cost me about $130 all together. About $100 for the Fuze and $25 for the card, with tax included. I am not sure how much the Nano cost as my girlfriend got it for Christmas. I suspect it cost about the same but I could be off as it is an older generation of the Nano and they no longer sell the older generations.

I have listened to many MP3 Players. I have experienced Archos, Iriver, Creative Zen, Phillips, and of course, Ipod and Sansa. I can say without a doubt that the Sansa Fuze has the highest sound quality of them all. The Ipod sounds good and their headphones are awesome. I heard that their headphones use rare earth metals and are of high quality and I don't doubt it. It is top of the line. The headphones that came with the Fuze are okay. I would not say they are cheap but they are definitely not as good as the Ipod's headphones. Headphones, however can be replaced. I tell ya, get a good pair of headphones that cover your ear, maybe a Bose, and you will be blown away by the sound quality of the Fuze. The treble is very crisp and the bass thumps well.

I'll tell you straight up that the Fuze wins here. The Fuze can show pictures, video (must be converted like most other players), and has a microphone in case you need to record... I don't know. Anyways, the feature is there if you need it. To be honest, this is a moot point. I don't really care too much about this. While it's nice to have lots of features, we are reviewing and comparing MP3 players, not video, sound recorders.

This is what sold me. I love the sound quality of the Fuze but the community is with the Ipod. The problem I have, and always had with Ipods is that it is really locked down. What do I mean by this? Itunes and transferring music. Syncing. If you have ever used an Ipod, you know what I mean. I guess syncing and Itunes help prevent pirated music but that does not benefit me, the end user. I want to be able to drag and drop music into my Fuze and I can. I can't do that with the Ipod. At least I don't know how. Either way, I don't want to bother with it. Drag. Drop. And play. That's what I want and that's what I like.

Another thing that has not happened yet but might is this incredible open source firmware called "Rockbox". It is a firmware is open source project that aims to improve the original. There is one available for the Nano I believe but currently is not available for the Fuze. Hopefully it will be in the near future. Somewhat of a side track but it's good to keep an eye out for. I used to own and old 20 GB Archos and I installed Rockbox onto it and it was amazing. Made the MP3 player 10 times better. If a Rockbox is released for the Fuze, it could be a serious player that will be sure to take a huge market share from Apple.

I love my Fuze. The firmware can be a little slow sometimes as it does not respond immediately to my actions of the scroll wheel. The Ipod on the other hand is fast all the time. However, I spend most of my time with the Fuze listening to music and not playing around with the interface. The interface of the Nano better but it's still crap compared to a Rockbox firmware. I believe it is out for the Nano but the Nano is not mine so I can't mod it. Overall, if you are looking for an alternative MP3 Players thats not an Ipod, the Sansa Fuze is great. The Sansa line is great itself. The sound quality is great for the line. They have set a new standard in sound quality in MP3 players in my opinion. When you listen to this thing, you'll be amazed that your little Fuze only cost you up to 90 bucks. Granted my package cost $130 and I have 16 GB of storage! I don't think I will fill that space up any time soon. The Nano and its 2 GB of storage caused my girlfriend to occasionally "replace" and make room for some songs. Set it and forget it. I like that. Oh, and I saw the Fuze for sale at Radioshack and a Target the other day. Check it out. Some Radioshacks have a store model that you can try out. You might be able to find a deal on one. I highly recommended getting one for yourself or someone who wants an MP3 player. - 18758

About the Author:

Before you purchase an MP3 player, read Set's review on which is a better deal. The Sansa Fuze or Apple Ipod. Also don't forget to check out the rest of his articles. He shares you his story on his effects on quitting television and other valuable information.