Sansa Fuze: An Alternative to Ipod

Article Written By: SamPichi

The name Ipod has become the standard in MP3 players. Much like Kleenex to tissue paper, Ipod is now the thing we associate portable music with. Sometimes, we want something different. 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. 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 andquot;inandquot;. Be different people! Don't be a mindless sheep. Let's all do our part and improve our standard of living.

My girlfriend's Ipod Nano 2nd generation here to compare with my Sansa Fuze. The Ipod Nano is thinner and is slightly longer than the Fuze. The Nano is also lighter than the Fuse. The screen on the Sansa is larger though. It looks almost twice as big. The Nano feels very slick and smooth. While the Fuze seem to have a glossy finish on the front face, it has a rubbery back that adds to grip. It feels good. It does not look or feel cheap.It is solid. Both the Nano and the Fuze are well made and they feel like high quality MP3 Players.

My girlfriend's Nano holds 2 GB of songs. There are 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 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 with the extra card cost me about $130. About $100 for the Fuze and $25 for the card, plus tax of course. 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.

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 suggest yo to get a good pair of headphones that cover your ear, 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), and has a microphone in case you need to record... I don't know, your ex-wife admitting she lied in court? 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.

That 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 and syncing the Ipod to do it. 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 help me, the end user. I want to be able to drag and drop music into my MP3 and I can do that with my Fuse. 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 and its syncing. 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 andquot;Rockboxandquot;. This firmware is an 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. I like 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 in MP3 Players. The Sansa Fuze is great. The Sansa line is great itself. The sound quality is top of the line. They have set a new standard in my opinion. When you listen to this thing, you'll be amazed that you little Fuze only cost you about 90 bucks. Granted my package cost $130 and I have 16 GB of storage! I don't think I will fill that space any time soon. The Nano and its 2 GB of storage caused my girlfriend to occasionally andquot;replaceandquot; 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. Highly recommended.

About the Author

Before you go out and buy an MP3 player, read Set's review on which is better. Sansa Fuze or Ipod. Also don't forget to check out the rest of his articles. He shows you easy ways to relieve stress and other valuable information.

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This Article Has Been Published on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 and Read 222 Times

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