Sansa Fuze - a real iPod rival
If you're sick of iPods, watch the new Sansa Fuze MP3 player kick some Nano arse. It may give Apple-haters some hope for the future.
Phil Muncaster
Every other company seems make an 'iPod killing' rival but the good ones normally look like crap, the pretty ones are hard to use and trying to buy an MP3 player without an apple on it is confusing. Quietly creeping into the market this month is the Sansa Fuze, one of the first decent iPod Nano alternatives.
Yes it does look suspiciously like a Nano (though not quite as sleek or beautifully finished) and comes in 2, 4 and 8 GB versions at 60, 80 and 100 quid(ish). But while they look alike, the Fuze’s feature-set is definitely richer than its more glamorous, empty-headed rival. Apart from the usual suspects – 24 hours of battery life, photo and video playback etc – the Fuze adds digital radio tuner and a good quality digital recorder. Combine the two and you get a little bit of convenient magic: it lets you record off the radio.
The Fuze is made by SanDisk, a name you may know from nearly every other memory card you've ever seen in cameras and phones. Naturally, they've added a memory slot which means you can stick an extra 8GB in via a micro SD card. You've probably already got a smaller capcity card on your phone, so you'll be able to unplug your tunes, photos and video from your mobile and have them on your Fuze.
We’re not sure if these mini memory cards will be the “CD of the future” as SanDisk's spokesman told us, but the amount of different devices that handle SD and microSD memory are multiplying as we speak; for instance, certain BMW and Audi car stereos have them already.
Cards are useful for carrying photos and videos too, but it’s not possible to transfer directly from the card to the on-board memory via the device. The Fuze also can’t play video from a memory card, which is a pain in the arse. But on the plaus side, unlike phone MP3 players (and the older Sansas), when a memory card is plugged in, the contents are scanned into the library, eliminating the need to navigate separate folders during playback.
Other good features include the tactile and mechanical navigation wheel. The touch versions you’ll find on some other players is all very well unless your hands get a bit clammy, then things can get a little hard to handle.
Finally, the sound quality on this fella is about as good as you’re going to get in any similar device. Audiophiles love Sansa players for their clarity – apparently, it’s down to the fact that the Fuze is made using SanDisk’s own chips while Apple buys its chips in. You will need to buy some earphones to appreciate this - the Sansa phones provided may as well be pound shop tat. Overall, this is kicks the Nano's arse but just to really finish it off, the 8GB Fuze costs just over a ton, around £35 cheaper than Apple's contender.
SanDisk's Sansa Fuze is available now. www.sandisk.com
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