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SanDisk has come out with an extension to their array of MP3 players, beyond the Clip and the View. Their new mp3 player, the Sansa Fuze, is definitely geared towards casual someone who just wants a basic, functional, and well-put together media device for their pocket.

The Sansa Fuze may look like a tiny device at first, but this thing packs some serious features. It has the ability to playback music, video, photos, FM radio, as well as audiobooks. The features for the Sansa Fuze are very impressive to say the least, as it also features a microSD card slot to add extra storage space, content, etc.

The first feature we will focus on is the one which will likely get the most use, the audio aspect. The music menu is organized with artist, album, song, genre, etc. There is also a recently added section which shows the most recent songs added onto the device, as well as a top rated section.

The album menu allows you to see album icons as you are scrolling through the various albums. There is also the ability to form a playlist directly on the player.

The sound quality is very well-done. If you have a great set of headphones you will not be disappointed in the least bit.

The video aspect is definitely not the highlight of the Sansa Fuze. Part of this is due to the low power of the device, and partly due to the screen itself. The supplied Sansa Media Converter does make it easy to convert movies into a format for the device though. A typical movie will take up a little under, or over 1GB. The video looks respectable, but can get a bit choppy at times. One very cool feature about the video is the ability to add a bookmark while watching it.

The photo viewer is very standard as you can view photos from the internal memory of a microSD card. You can set up a slide show with time intervals, and add music as well. The images looked quite sharp.

The FM radio feature is done extremely well on the Sansa Fuze. You get some great reception and the auto program feature picks out crystal clear radio stations. It also has the ability to record radio in WAV format.

This works with voice recording as well thanks to a microphone located right below the microSD slot.

Podcasts and audiobooks are pretty self-explanatory, but one issue with the audiobooks is the lack of a bookmark feature.

The overall user interface for the Sansa Fuze is put together nicely, set up in such a way that a first-time user could pick up this device and feel right at home with it. You have a scroll wheel as well as a home button and a middle click wheel. The scroll wheel can also be clicked up and down, which can make things a bit confusing at times. Overall though, beyond a few hiccups with organizational aspects of the UI, this is one easy device to use.

Getting media onto the Sansa Fuze is extremely simple as you can use any desktop media player to create playlists and such, easily syncing them to the device. It also supports drag and drop without the need for any software. We used Windows Media Player as well as a few other media players to test this all out, and syncing was as simple as can be.

The quality of the device itself is top-notch, as the screen can put out some great contrast and vibrant colors in spots. The screen is extremely clear and does a nice job with photo presentations. Battery life is equally as impressive, as I have been getting around 20 hours on each battery charge thus far. Video playback came in at around 6 hours on a charge.

The package comes with a proprietary USB cable and a pair of earbuds, pretty basic.

Also shipping with the Sansa Fuze is a great bonus, a microSD card which comes with DRM-free music from more than 50 new and emerging artists. This is a great way to immediately test out the music capabilities of the Sansa Fuze, and also adds value to the entire package. Music videos, images, and more are also included on the microSD card.

Overall SanDisk has done a great job with the Sansa Fuze.

Well, I don't normally post reviews, but this product is fantastic. Nano 3g ran its life, and had to replace it with something new. Looked at all the new players out, mainly including Nano 4g - Zune, and Ipod Touch 2g.

Stumbled upon this player (hadn't heard of it before) doing online research, while going into the local electronics stores, it more and more looked like a more than viable competitor.

Bought it!!!!!!!!!!!! Having this unit for 3 days now, I've mastered its feature sets, and was able to come to determinations on all the selling points outlined below.

Sound quality chipset in this player is considered the best in MP3/WMA playback for small portable units. The audio conversion to headphones or lineout sources is fantastic, with rich tones, and crystal clear highs. Custom pre EQ sets, and (which I use) a 5 band custom EQ that can be tailored to your needs. IPod and Zune out for the count on this one. I noticed things in some of my tracks that I simply never heard with clarity before. Really suprised me.

FM Radio! Get bored of the 2 thousand tracks you already have on the player of your own collection, switch over to clear clear FM broadcasts. 30 preset slots for channel use - can manually find each frequency or Auto Detect function to find clear signals at the touch of a button - and once again the Audio chipset really shines here. Fantastic audio conversion for your ears. Very rich and deep FM reception in Stereo or Mono. Ipod and Zune (Zune's FM reception is weak with only a few presets) out for the count on this one as well.

FM radio record into wave file (also voice recorder via mic built into player) for playback and retrieval back to a PC!!! This feature rocks, and is a wonder of technological wizardry. Record right from the air without wires a song or broadcast station you like over FM and push to PC for conversion in an audio editor for MP3 creation. Ipod and Zune out for the count on this one big time.

Memory card slot - using micro SD cards. Have a sansa 8gb add on in mine filled to the brim with thousands of songs - and use the internal memory of the 4gb Fuze to house videos which I will get to later. This expandability is unheard of in the portable MP3 units, and allows you to continue to grow the player with your own storage needs. 12gb total right now for about [...] total through Amazon. Half the price of the Apple wonders. Ipod and Zune can't touch that. Will be getting a 16gb micro SD card soon. Ipod and Zune..........uh, you get the picture.

Fast USB 2.0 data transfers, no need to use external card readers to place files on your unit or add on memory cards. Very fast, and San Disk is the leader in the USB flash memory genre already.

Charges quickly via USB and PC, can also use AC chargers that accept USB cables. I use my old ipod AC charger with this unit and it works great.

Music library sorting clean efficient and quick. Search Songs, artist, albums, etc.

No need to use external applications and be tied to proprietary software to get files onto your unit (Itunes - Zune navigator etc.) I use Windows Explorer with mass USB storage support with drag and drop. No installs, not nothing but music bliss. Plug and Play.

WMA support and DRM WMA support plus MP3 native support (no conversions to MP3 required). Couldn't be simpler and faster.

Video playback, although not as robust and sharp looking as the Ipod's required MP4 format - the video is still amazing. The nano did have a gorgeous video playback, but at these sizes - time killing video fun is still at your fingertips with great color, contrast, and speed. The framerate on the Fuze is at 20 FPS, so at times can look jerky or choppy, but this is very very small and not too noticeable on such a small screen, playback is still most enjoyable. The unit comes with a Sansa Converter to get video media files in a format that can be read. I want to cover this area in detail, as I have found a fantastic way to get any video source into a playable file for hours of watching greatness.

Application WM Capture available online is a VGA screen recorder that can capture any file that is playable on your PC regardless of format (Flash streams, MPEG4 - Youtube - etc.) Basically record the stream as it plays back on your screen (Hulu, Fancast, etc.) and then convert it to an AVI/WMV type file through a free program called Super © or San Disk Converter. Google these items and you will be up and running in no time. Well worth it. With the combination of WM Capture - Super ©, and Sansa Media Converter to place the file on your Fuze (included with your MP3 player) ripping video from DVD's, Blu-Ray, Streaming websites, and online video are at your fingertips. Have 8 national geographic documentaries full 1 hour length each already on my player from Hulu. Plus 5 motion picture movies, and still more space. If you need the graphic settings for these applications that work - please email me rrandreas @ hotmail dot com.

Case and build quality - nice - has a good weight to it, glossy finish, and very classy rubber backing for sure grip in your hand, and comes with a cloth slip pouch which I use to protect it. While in the slip pouch, because of the great physical wheel control system, you can navigate the unit in your pocket without looking while still being protected. Can touch the controls right through the pouch.

Very tight 3.5mm input jack and holds your headphones in very solid. Lock switch on the side of the unit. In addition Amazon carries tons of cheaply priced accessories for the Fuze unit online - clear plastic case looks like a great addition I might get. Ipod and Zune accessories are way over priced. Do the comparisons yourself.

Only plus I give the Nano's outside of their fancy GUI's, Album art, and rotating screens (which really get old after the novelty passes - and don't mean much when its in your pocket 80 percent of the time) - Sansa Fuze is by far a unit that trumps both Nano and Zune on all levels in my opinion at nearly half the cost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If just for the fantastic digital audio chipset conversion found in this unit outside of all the other amazing features, this unit has me sold BIG TIME. Sounds amazing. Thank you Amazon!!!!!!!!!! AND THANK you SanDisk for engineering such an media incredible player.

Well lets dive into this packed little device!

Fist off my main points for buying this.

SKIPPING / POPPING ISSUE:
-- Many user have been complaining about a skipping and or popping issue with the audio coming from their Fuzes, I ran into this problem and figured out the cause. You must make sure that the headset jack is fully seated into the device. If it's not you'll get this skipping problem. I noticed this a couple times and after playing with the device each time I realized that the jack was not fully inserted. So if anyone else comes across this problem this is the solution.

I am a full time student again (it's been 10 years since I last was in school). And seeing as I really hate taking notes I decided I'd just record the lectures and then cut the parts out that aren't needed so I can just listen to the lectures and get what I need again and again and have exactly what was said and not misinterpret things.

This little Fuze has a nicely sized storage space on it and room for expansion with that there is more than enough room for me to record an entire days worth of lectures, considering I often sign up for the 3-4 hour classes and try to get them all on the same days so I can continue to work at the same time.

MICROPHONE:
-- The Fuze has a built in microphone that really pics up audio from all around it and it's all quite clear. Clearer than I expected. It's pretty easy to export the audio to your hard drive, cut the audio up in a program like "AUDACITY" and then code it into MP3 format. BTW the device only records in .WAV format but there is supposedly a plugin for it to record in MP3, I haven't been able to locate it just yet thought. You can record about an hours worth of audio per 168megs of space from what I can tell.

VIDEO:
-- While it's not the greatest it's still doable on the Fuze. It might be small but when you are stuck at work doing nothing or stuck on a plain doing nothing then well it's a nice thing to have around!

MUSIC:
-- Very clear and easy to get things rocking.
you can adjust the equalizer setting as you like or select a preset.
just spin the dial to crank it up, click the top side to mute. Also just drag and drop files to the device instead of having to use a program to add and remove files.

RADIO:
-- You can actually listen to FM radio on this player. Just go to the radio option in the menu, select and them move to the station you want. You can set it as a preset and then refer back to it as you like. You can even use the built in recorder to record the radio broadcast, which is great, especially if you have particular radio shows that you like to listen to but can't because of meetings or whatever life throws at you.

Using the Fuze couldn't be simpler.

NO NEED TO INSTALL ANYTHING!

unlike Ipods and most other MP3 players you don't have to install one thing on your computer to transfer music to your Fuze. Just plug it in and your computer will recognize it, open the folder that shows your device from "My Computer" and then drag and drop whatever music you want to the device. It's that simple! You can use Win Media Player 11 or even Rhapsody if you choose but you don't have to.

To transfer VIDEO, you will need to download and install the Sandisk media converter. it's a simple tool that will convert your file and load them to your device as needed.

Photos: you will also need the Media converter for this as well.

Don't try to use Rhapsody or Win Media Player to transfer anything other than music or you will get errors. So for video or photos you need to use the Media converter tool from SanDisk.

About the only con of this device is the fact that there isn't a world of accessories like the Ipods have out there. There are quite a few though and the number is increasing as people realize that the Ipods are OVER PRICED and don't have as many bonuses like the FUZE does. There are many player chargers that are coming out as well as many other accessories.

So if you are looking for a particular accessory to work with the Sansa line then just look it up. All the ones that I have found on amazon are of pretty good quality. I would like local stores to carry more though but that'll come in time...