When is a new firmware update going to become available? Regular updates used to be created almost monthly. Nothing new since SlotRadio? Looking for a fix for the bug that deletes user ratings. Thousands of songs took hours to rate and I often used the play favorites option. All Gone because of a bug. And no new firmware since.
I suspect the question shouldn’t contain “when” but “if ever” … At the moment the OS on the Sansa Fuze is rather pitiful and can’t come even close to cheap Chinese mp4 players: no proper logical folder access structure - the access to folders is hidden at the end of long list of the functions many people never use; no proper real bookmarks, no text viewer - in a word, it looks like as if the Fuze is at the end of its commercial life span.
@tribeart wrote:
When is a new firmware update going to become available?
Only the SansaShadow knows . . .
and those are just some of the things wrong with the sansa fuze firmwarealong with a memory access problem that has yet to be fixed by sansa.
As much as I am one of the first to jump on Sansa for missing features, I actually gotta’ stand up for the little player here.
It ■■■■■ because it doesn’t have a text viewer? Really? That would be useless to most folks and how much text can you read on that tiny screen anyway? I can’t believe that ruins it for you.
No clue what the memory access problem is.
I will give you the no bookmarks one. That would be nice and many players do have it.
But this is why you have a CHOICE in buying whatever the heck you want.
AND… let’s face it, as I’ve said before. The Fuze is one of the cheapest players you can buy. It is the cheapest player of the well known brands. It has a few features that some higher priced devices don’t… but also misses some features the more expensive players do have. What do you want for a $40-$80 player that can be expanded to as much as 24GB? I think for the cost it beats most other players hands down. even the “Chinese” ones… but it is certainly not the best.
Peregine - a text viewer is enough for a list of actors, a short annotation to an audiobook or a reference. I know quite a lot of people using this missing function on the other players. That is the reason why my Fuze is just idling on the shelf until futher notice - I’m using Cowon D2 instead.
Fuze is a nice little player hardwarewise, but the OS has been screeching for improvement.
The low price is not an excuse for a lame software. It is a bad marketing.
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-10-2009 11:24 AM
Ask, and ye shall receive…
How about this update then? Hot off the press, baby.
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
Bob, they’ve done it just to please us… 
Apart from certain improvment in radio reception I can’t see any laudable point there. It still looks a bit amateurish.
@etoja wrote:
Peregine - a text viewer is enough for a list of actors, a short annotation to an audiobook or a reference. I know quite a lot of people using this missing function on the other players. That is the reason why my Fuze is just idling on the shelf until futher notice - I’m using Cowon D2 instead.
Fuze is a nice little player hardwarewise, but the OS has been screeching for improvement.
The low price is not an excuse for a lame software. It is a bad marketing.
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-10-2009 11:24 AM
If SanDisk was to respond to your points, they would probably say, “We’re about value players, if you want more features, buy something else” 
The firmware upgrade added an INCREDIBLY OBNOXIOUS AD for Slot Radio. How can I remove the Slot Radio Icon added to the main menu?
@marvin_martian wrote:
@etoja wrote:
Peregine - a text viewer is enough for a list of actors, a short annotation to an audiobook or a reference. I know quite a lot of people using this missing function on the other players. That is the reason why my Fuze is just idling on the shelf until futher notice - I’m using Cowon D2 instead.
Fuze is a nice little player hardwarewise, but the OS has been screeching for improvement.
The low price is not an excuse for a lame software. It is a bad marketing.
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-10-2009 11:24 AM
If SanDisk was to respond to your points, they would probably say, “We’re about value players, if you want more features, buy something else”
In this case how come that the most “value” players have those features, and Fuze hasn’t?
@etoja wrote:
@marvin_martian wrote:
@etoja wrote:
Peregine - a text viewer is enough for a list of actors, a short annotation to an audiobook or a reference. I know quite a lot of people using this missing function on the other players. That is the reason why my Fuze is just idling on the shelf until futher notice - I’m using Cowon D2 instead.
Fuze is a nice little player hardwarewise, but the OS has been screeching for improvement.
The low price is not an excuse for a lame software. It is a bad marketing.
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-10-2009 11:24 AM
If SanDisk was to respond to your points, they would probably say, “We’re about value players, if you want more features, buy something else”
In this case how come that the most “value” players have those features, and Fuze hasn’t?
What value player, at the Fuze price range, has a text viewer? And why would you want one on a 1.9 inch screen anyway?
@Martin Martian
There are plenty of them. Just google and look at the specific webshops. I have a 3 y.o. noname 2Gb with an extra card slot player with 1.8inch screen which copes with this perfectly. It cost me £24 at the time. Incidentally I just looked at our local ebuyer.com and this little thing is still on sale there - for £25.
As to your last question, I have answered it several times already, so I just copy - “a text viewer is enough for a list of actors, a short annotation to an audiobook or a reference”
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-11-2009 01:28 PM
There are plenty of them. Just google and look at the specific webshops. I have a 3 y.o. noname 2Gb with an extra card slot player with 1.8inch screen which copes with this perfectly. It cost me £24 at the time. Incidentally I just looked at our local ebuyer.com and this little thing is still on sale there - for £25.
As to your last question, I have answered it several times already, so I just copy - “a text viewer is enough for a list of actors, a short annotation to an audiobook or a reference”
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-11-2009 01:28 PM
I’m guessing the no name player doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as the Fuze though. 
But I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the features you’d like on the Fuze… I doubt you’ll ever see them. They’ve never existed on a Sansa player, I don’t think.
Like I said before, they would probably tell you that if those features are important to you, to buy something else. It will be interesting to see if this way of thinking works for them, or comes back to haunt them. I’ll watch from the sidelines, and not buy another one unless they put a real equalizer in their players ( which I think would be a little more useful than a text viewer ) .
Text viewer? I have a simple solution, though they aren’t available yet. Text readers like the Sony or the Kindle are better suited to this task. Heck, have a look at the HP Mini 1000 or the Dell Netbooks for better devices for reading.
Rhapsody includes “liner notes” for many artists, information which scrolls in paragraph form via the center button. The information is quite legible, actually.
The Sansa is for listening, and it excels at that task. The wee screen just isn’t optimal for reading, even with my atomic powerful bifocals on.
I am patiently waiting for the new Plastic Logic machine. Good things come to those who wait…
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
@marvin_martian wrote:
@etoja wrote:
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-11-2009 01:28 PM
But I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the features you’d like on the Fuze… I doubt you’ll ever see them. They’ve never existed on a Sansa player, I don’t think.
Like I said before, they would probably tell you that if those features are important to you, to buy something else.
Yes, I know, a text viewer is just wishful thinking… they have to sort out the problems with folder browsing first. That’s why I bought myself Cowon D2 so that I could read the description of a book.
Actually that Chinese player is not bad at all, but the battery died recently - that’s after 3 years of listening - so I just attached to it a rechargable battery holder. Now it looks a bit bulky…
@neutron_bob, you are telling the correct thing, but, the format you mention is a proprietory one which makes me uneasy to use.
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-12-2009 07:35 PM
@etoja wrote:
A Fuze now is just for silly listening…
There are an awful lot of serious audiophiles out there that would take major offense to that statement.
In fact, I’d say the majority of members here might as well.
@tapeworm wrote:
@etoja wrote:
A Fuze now is just for silly listening…
There are an awful lot of serious audiophiles out there that would take major offense to that statement.
In fact, I’d say the majority of members here might as well.
A text reader on the Fuze might be considered silly by the majority of members here too 
Tapeworm, Marvin_Martian - please, calm down. Under “silly” listening I mean the listening to the entertainment music without particular need for the background information such as the names of the actors in the play or short précis. It didn’t mean to be deprecating. ( And I see you never played cricket… )
@Marvin_Martian I wholeheartedly agree, the majority of members here would consider a text reader on Fuze to be silly. Some would also think video or picture browser are silly. Depends what you are doing with your gadget.
Message Edited by Etoja on 10-14-2009 08:41 AM
As an owner of two Cowon players, I can wholeheartedly attest to the fact that the Fuze is NOT for “silly listening” and holds up very well against the audiophile quality of the Cowons.
In fact, if Sandisk were to come out with a Fuze+ having 32Gb base memory, and gapless support, i would forego my proposed purchase of a Cowon S9 and buy that instead. I’d also forego that purchase if Sandisk would get off its ass and add gapless to th existing Fuze.
For the record, my X5 (30Gb) has FLACs on it and my I7 mp3s encoded at preset extreme, primarily because of its lower storage capacity (8Gb). My 8Gb Fuze has an addition 8Gb storage card for FLACs.
Message Edited by roj on 10-14-2009 02:18 PM
