Sandisk have definitely had their top style guru’s working on the Sansa Fuze MP3 player, it encapsulates the slim, smooth styling that we demand in a quality MP3 player. Its obvious the new Sansa Fuze is aimed towards the Apple iPod Nano market and we think it is a serious contender in this sector. The Fuze has similar styling to the Nano but with added features such as FM tuner, voice recorder and expandable memory via a Micro SD slot.
The Fuze is constructed with a scratch resistant matte metallic back and a black glossy front. Weighing in at 59.5 grams, just over 10 grams heavier than the iPod Nano. Measuring just 7.6mm thick and 78.7 tall and 48.3mm wide, the weight and construction of the Fuze give it a robust feel which for everyday use can only be a good thing.
The scroll wheel is a vast improvement over the previous navigation wheels used in the Sansa e200 series. The smooth design is still mechanical rather than touch sensitive but it is extremely easy to use and looks great with the backlit perimeter in blue.
The graphic menu system is essentially the same as in previous Sansa models and is a doddle to access all areas with the scroll wheel. The screen on the Sansa Fuze is a 1.9 inch display with 224 x 176 pixel resolution, slightly less then the iPod nano which is one of the few things the nano has over the Fuze.
Headphones and USB cable are plugged into the base of the Sansa Fuze. The USB cable is proprietary where as the headphone socket is a standard 9mm jack. The supplied set of earphones do produce good sound quality but, we found that investing in a slightly higher quality set of ear buds made a considerable improvement to the sound.
The real benefits when you buy a Sansa Fuze over an iPod nano are without a doubt the features such as FM radio and the expandable memory slot allowing you to add another 16GB (max available at present with 32GB Micro SDHC cards set to be available in the future) in capacity via a Micro SDHC memory card. We definitely think this is a good contender if you are in the market for a small, robust and fully featured MP3 player.
The Sansa Fuze MP3 player is avaialble in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities.