Sansa MP3 Review

The Good

Lots of size and color choices available; price is affordable; good number of features

The Bad

Battery life is poor, especially on The Clip; no LCD display on the Fuze; limited color choices for most sizes

The Bottom Line

Although the Sansa MP3 player line does include some good options, make sure to consider all of the players on the market before making your final choice. If you want an MP3 player for on the go, however, the Sansa MP3 player called The Clip is probably going to be your best choice.

Review

Sandisk, known best for making memory cards for cameras and similar devices, also has a line of MP3 players known as the Sansa MP3 models. Currently, the Sansa line includes three options: the Clip, the Fuze, and the View. Let's look at all three of these models to see which might be the best choice for your music listening needs.

The Clip is probably the most unique of the Sansa MP3 players. It's very small and weighs less than ounce. As the name suggests, the player was designed to be worn so that you can more easily take it with you while exercising or being on-the-go.

While it doesn't support video viewing, the one inch screen is suitable for navigating through your music library. Besides being an MP3 player, this Sansa MP3 model comes with an FM tuner and a built-in microphone. The battery delivers an un-impressive 15 hours of playback on a full charge.

You can get The Clip in several sizes - 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB - and colors. However, only the 2GB models are available in black, pink, red, and blue. The 1 GB and 8 GB models are only available in black; the 4GB is available in silver. Prices range from $35 to $100 depending on size.

Another one of the Sansa MP3 players is the Fuze. This model more closely resembles the original Apple iPods, including having a wheel for navigation. You'll find some of the same features on the Fuze that were included on The Clip, such as an FM tuner and built-in microphone. Because the Fuze does support video viewing, it comes with a 1.9 inch screen with decent resolution.

Unfortunately, it's not an LCD display which provides the highest quality picture performance. It also comes with an expansion slot for adding more memory. The battery life is comparable to the iPod Nano's 24 hours for music listening but is not as good as the 32 hours for the Creative Mozaic.

This Sansa MP3 model is available in 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB models. The 2 GB is available in pink, blue, red, and black. The 2 GB is available only in black; the 8 GB is available only in silver. The price is between $70 and $100.

The View is the high-end model in the line-up. It comes with the same features as the Fuze but has a larger screen (2.4 inches) and better battery life (up to 35 hours). Sizes range from 8GB to 32 GB but all three models come only in black. The price for these Sansa MP3 models range from $150 to $250.