The iPod. The name has become the standard in MP3 players. Much like Kleenex to tissue paper, the iPod is now the thing we associate portable music with. Sometimes, we want something different. Sandisk (the company that owns Sansa) delivers this with the Sansa Fuze — its answer 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?
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 of songs. There is no option to add extra storage. My Fuze holds 8 GB of music. I purchased the high-end Fuze, but hey have a standard 4 GB Fuze, which is roughly 25% cheaper than the Nano for twice the storage. The 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!
Sound quality? I have listened to many mp3 Players. I have experienced Archos, Iriver, Creative Zen, Phillips, and of course, the Nano and Sansa. I can say without a doubt that the Sansa Fuze has the highest sound quality of them all. Reviews on Amazon.com support this. In fact, most dissent comes from the iPod’s incredible headphones, which are best-in-class — but replacable. If you buy a Fuze, I suggest you to get a good pair of headphones that cover your entire ear, and you will be blown away by the sound quality of the Fuze (who cares if you look foolish on the bus!). The treble is very crisp and the bass thumps well.
Feature set? The Fuze wins, hands down. It can show pictures and video, and even comes with a microphone. It does a lot more than the Nano and does it all well.
I love my Fuze. The added space and features are killer, but also, it has the distinct advantage of not being an Apple product — and therefore, can be discounted by retailers regularly. Go to Target, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and even Amazon online and you’ll see something on SanDisk products that you’ll rarely see on Apple ones: sales.
