Believe it or not , Apple is not the only maker of MP3 players out there. They're not even the best. Sansa is a much better option. First, it costs significantly less than an Ipod and you get more for your money. You have more features - such as the ability to delete a song on the go. You also don't have to deal with ITunes and the hassles it creates with DRM. It also has a radio tuner, the ability to store audiobooks, videos and it records. Probably the biggest advantage of the Sansa Fuze is its ability to accept MicroSD cards. This expands the memory from 4GB up to an addition 32GB. You have the option to play just the songs on the card or mix them in with the music stored in the internal memory. This makes it so much easier to update your music. Keep the core songs you like on the Fuze's main memory, then swap out the MicroSD to bring in a fresh collection of songs. For example, keep your favorite holiday songs on a card and swap it in at Christmas time. One downside to the MicroSD cards is the time it takes the Fuze to load them. When you add a new card, be prepared to wait a minute or two for it scan the card and information on it. Another drawback with the Fuze is the display window. They tend to wear out first. This makes it harder to use the Fuze, but it still works when it happens.

RonAmatic

USA

I loved the sound and durability of this MP3 player. To date it had been dropped more times than I care to count, and it still works. It store a good amount of songs (more than enough for a long train ride or a session on the elliptical). My biggest problem is how hard it is to swipe out of menus and scroll through songs. Perhap I have fat fingers or an immodest touch, but it can take minutes to press the right buttons in the right combination to get it to respond the way I wanted it to. Wow, i sound like my ex. Any way the product was satisfactory. Battery Life Like all products, the battery seems to hold out less and less over time, but it still can last some 4 hours of near continuous play. Ease of Use Seriously, make it easy to get out of menus Design Except the usabilty issue, the design is pretty good.

WhattaWoman

USA

Loved my first fuze so much that I had to get the next generation when I finally killed the first one. It survived for over 5 years (kid 9 to 14). It still held a good charge to the last day. Even with a dead display, it played fine. So I bought the next generation and it is just a reliable. (IPOD Touch lasted 5 months with this kid) Sound Quality sounds great - did get better headsets. Performance responsive - easy to control Battery Life while playing music, it outlast just about everything. Haven't used it for videos so I can't comment on that. Durability Solid Ease of Use controls are good and responsive Design too size. Do wish you could get more cases for it.

phoneguy

USA

I am impressed with this little powerhouse. The case is durable, the battery seems to last forever and I love the Slot Radio feature. Sound Quality My son is anti IPod- always has been. For a while he was heavily into RIO MP3 players until RIO dropped out of the market. His current favorite is a ZUNE, but he was so impressed with Sansa Fuze for everyday use that he bought one for himself and gave one to me for all of my traveling. The player has a built in microphone for voice recording and has the ability to playback Audible, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WMA and WMA (DRM) audio files- all with great sound. The only drawback of this player is the pair of earbuds that come with the player. I gave them to my grandson and listen to the player through by SkullCandy Buds. I can live with that! Performance The Sansa Fuze 4GB flash player holds tons of music and has the ability to expand with a micro SD card slot. The display screen is a mere 1.9 inches but is adequate for individual viewing. Battery Life It does NOT come with an AC/DC charger but comes with a USB cable for file management and charging the Rechargeable Lithium Battery. The packaging states the battery will last 24 hours. I haven't tested that but I have gone across the country while only recharging it once. Durability With an added silicone sleeve the player looks as good today as when I first got it. Ease of Use I love the Sansa Fuze 4GB flash player! It is smaller than a credit card and very slim. It doesn't have a clip, but I like it that way. At 2.1 ounces it easily slips down into my pocket without feeling heavy. The wheel control is simple to use and very user friendly.

Meri

Northern, FL

I bought this MP3 player hoping for something like an ipod without all the hype and cost.  I wanted to be able to play videos on it so I could keep my preschooler entertained on long car rides.  The ipod lived up to the basic functions I wanted but the first MP3 player I ordered malfunctioned. I got the pink version and after almost a year, the dial wouldn't turn anymore.  Customer service informed me that this was a known issue and that it would be replaced, which it was.  And the replacement has worked great for over a year now.  But before they would agree to send it to me, they asked me about four times if I had dropped it.  If it's a known issue, it needs to be fixed without interrogation. I like the software that came with it for video conversion, and I love that it's so lightweight.  I'm an avid runner and the less I have to carry, the better. One thing I would like to see is to be able to charge it and listen to it at the same time.  When the battery died while I was at work, I would have to plug it in for an hour or so before I could listen to it again. I would buy this MP3 player again but stick with the black.  I don't know why different colors seem to cause problems with electronics, but that seemed to be what happened in this case.

Pooki94

Kaysville, UT

For those of you who aren't interested in buying into all of the iPod hype The SanDisk Sansa Fuze is a nice alternative. Hardware wise the case is very sturdy feeling, metal not plastic, the navigation wheel has a nice feel and you can spin and click it with ease.  I like the on/off switch on the side, you won't accidently hit it and can turn it on or off quickly.  The data/charging cable attaches on the bottom which is a good location.  The head phone jack is also on the bottom which is a little awkward, when using it with a docking station or something similar it ends up sitting on the headphone jack.  The battery life is excellent. Software wise the player was automatically recognized by all of the computers I connected it to (at least 5, all Windows Machines).  You can either treat the player as a removable hard drive and drag and drop files to it or use the Windows Media player to sync files.  The benefit to using Media Player is album art is automatically transferred, it's also a bit easier for people not comfortable managing files manually.  The menu structure on the player is well organized and easy to control with the click wheel.  Compared to the iPod I like the fact that it is a physical wheel, it's easier to operate it when you can't see it (when it's in your pocket for example).  The screen is very clear. I haven't used the photo or video feature of the player so I can't comment on that. The biggest drawback to the non iPod players (this one included) is the lack of 3rd party devices to use with it.  You can't truly "dock" the player to other devices where you can remotely control the player. With the microSD slot in the player you can easily expand the memory.

thornberger

Green Bay, WI

I was in a need for a new MP3 player, so I decided to get the Sansa Fuze 4GB Digital Media Player. I was very impressed by this little device.This player reads text files, stores photos and palys videos. The battery life is 24-28 hours per charge depending on the temperature. Cooler room temperature makes the battery last longer. The unit also charges fully fairly quickly around 45 minutes. The player's best feature is the little MicroSD chip slot on the side which allows you to expand the unit's memory. I put a 4GB chip in there, have over 1000 songs on the unit and STILL haven't filled it. The SanDisk Sansa Fuze also has a built in radio, which has good reception depending were you are. Another thing is it has a built in microphone, and it dose not sound squeaky or anything, it sounds like the person is there talking to you, or the music/sound you recorded. All in all, this is very excellent product and I would recommend this player to those who want an affordable and durable mp3 player.

sigma1914

Memphis, TN

When I started shopping for a mp3 player last year (late bloomer) I had pretty much already decided that I was going to buy an Ipod, not because I had heard such great things about them but because simplly everybody had one and darnit I wanted one too!!!  After about 2 weeks of reading steady reviews about all things capable of playing music including the Ipod I had come across very few all around possitive reviews, it seemed like everyone who had purchased an Ipod had something that they didnt like about it..Im not the type of person who wants anything high maintenance so I opted for the one Mp3 player that everyone seemed to have mostly possitive reviews about and I bought my Sansa fuze!!!  I was so happy when I got home and hooked it to my computer that everything I needed to do was simply laid out for me, there was no confuzing downloads or applications to use...just plug it in hit the sync button that comes up and voila your sanza is ready to start transfering all of your music to it easy as that!  Currently I have over 16 hours of music on mine and thats pleanty for me!  Aside from the music the video feature is awesome quality too, the picture is so clear.  The only complaint that I have is that there is no clip attatched to the Fuze so you have to stuff it in your pocket when your walking.

melissareed30

Clio, MI

Sandisk continues to make good mp3 players that can compete against apple Ipod products. This little mp3 player is a very well designed product that enhances many of the features exhibited in sansa E250, while avoiding some of the pitfalls they created with sansa view. On the positive side, they retained most of the functionality of sansa e250: there's a AM radio, voice recorder, video, extendable memory, and obviously the mp3 player. They added audio books though I never tested it myself I've heard okay reviews with it. The physical buttons changed drastically from a blue moveable ring to a ipod-ish circle in the middle which can be pressed directionally for different buttons. This is a good change from the hard-to-press buttons from sansa e250. Like its previous product, the sansa fuze has brought the battery life back up to sansa e250 levels, supporting a good 19-20 hours from continuous play. (sansa view was horrible in this aspect). The audio is good, and the case again is very well designed. Since this is a newer version, the firmware is much faster than sansa e250, having able to boot up very quickly and reacts very well to the circle in the middle. On the flip side, the firmware took a step backwards in inituition with buttons. I'm finding myself expecting the wheel to loop around like sansa e250 (top to bottom), but some UI pages can't do that. Going backwards is now the left button, where before it's possible to use the bottom button. They still have the issue of charging and can't play. Overall, this is a very good product. Highly recommended.

Jose512

San Jose, CA

I received this player for christmas two years ago. I loved that it had a micro sd card, as it allowed me to add storage space, and easily transfer my music between players. This mp3 player is very easy to navigate and to transfer music to and from. To add music, all you have to do is open windows explorer once it is plugged in, and then copy music from the appropriate folders onto your player. It is also easy to copy onto the micro sd card (not included). It just shows up as an additional drive in window explorers. The menus are fairly intuitive and easy to navigate. One negative thing is that it does not have a seperate volume control. However, after getting used to the player, it does not make much difference. It is very fast. I never noticed any sort of delay when navigating or skipping through songs, even when listening to music on the micro card. It is also very durable. I had mine for 2 years and just passed it onto my dad after getting an ipod this christmas. 

ambria1992

Raleigh, NC