SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip & Fuze+ Audio Players Review

[Rob Williams]

The smartphone might have taken over the bulk of our digital lives, but there's still room for the dedicated audio player, be it for working out or just wanting a convenient option. SanDisk has long offered some of the better, easier-to-use players with its Sansa series, so let's see how its latest models fare: the Fuze+ and Clip Zip.

Read through our look at SanDisk's Sansa Clip Zip and Fuze+ and then discuss it here!

[Optix]

My mobile life is non-existent so stand alone MP3 players are still of interest to me. My poor Creative Zen is starting to show its age so it might be time for an upgrade...

I wanted to say that there is at least a few other players in the MP3 world, Creative and Sony amongst the more notable. That said, I do agree that the smartphone has really eroded the market. My primary reason for using a stand alone player is playback time (my phone burns its batteries fast enough as it is) and playback quality (which is not awesome by any stretch, but better in a stand alone).

I currently use a Creative Zen2, but I am not particularly impressed with it. I could do a review on a separate post (spoiler: the touchscreen sensitivity and the complete separation of the main and SD memory are downers). My favorite unit was actually an Insignia model (Best Buy brand)--the best feature was the Bluetooth headphone connection.

Overall, nice article. Thanks,

[Rob Williams]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I wanted to say that there is at least a few other players in the MP3 world, Creative and Sony amongst the more notable. That said, I do agree that the smartphone has really eroded the market. My primary reason for using a stand alone player is playback time (my phone burns its batteries fast enough as it is) and playback quality (which is not awesome by any stretch, but better in a stand alone).

I'll be honest in saying that I didn't know either company was still that active in the MP3 player market, as our local stores have a limited selection (Apple and SanDisk are the biggest, with some off-brands I've never heard of). Creative has a couple of good-looking models (the ZEN Style strikes me as being quite good). I might see about getting one in to take it for a spin.

I agree on the battery-life aspect of these things, and it was one of the biggest reasons to come to mind for me. That, and it's also tedious to multi-task most phones when a call comes in. Using a dedicated player just seems like less hassle overall.

Thanks for the comments!

[marfig]

Originally Posted by Optix

My mobile life is non-existent so stand alone MP3 players are still of interest to me.

I'm -- happily, I must add -- on the same boat. I caught it when the name was still smart phones, and just don't want to jump ship. I don't think I will ever look at a cellphone as anything more than a convenient, if annoying, object to make and receive calls. And just that.

Hugely interested on this MP3 player. Thanks for having reviewed it Rob. It fits my needs perfectly (the Zip one) and have been thinking for a while to buy one. I actually never owned an MP3 player before.

I couldn't agree more re Fuse+ navigation. This is an mp3 player I want to love - yet can't. The navigation is sometimes too sensitive - sometimes not sensitive enough and frustrating beyond the limit of anyone's patience. The display was quite good but now appears washed out to the point that portions are not visible. I've had it less than 2 months. I'm sending it back under warranty - but I can't fathom why a company would let this product out the door. Despite the great reviews for the clip, I'm afraid to get screwed again, My ipods were more expensive but they always worked flawlessly.