I have a new Sansa Fuze. I can only get about 9 hrs. out of the battery. Any input?
Battery life depends on the kind of files you are playing. With mp3s, it should be over 20 hours–and if you are consistently getting less on what you know is a full charge, you might want to return it as defective, or call 1-800-SANDISK.
But with videos or FLAC files, which take more processing power, battery life drops.
There are a lot of factors that contribute to battery life (or lack of same). You haven’t given any clues as to your usage, therefore we cannot give any clues as to the cause. 
My experience with battery life has a lot to do with how I use my Fuze. If I am on a long car trip, and play it continuously for long periods of time, I get great battery life. I have driven for 12 hours and had almost 1/2 the battery life left. However, when I use it in normal daily situations, say an hour while exercising, 20 minutes a couple times a day driving back and forth to work, at my desk in short spurts, I get much less battery life. The on-off cycles, and short listening periods seem to have a detrimental effort on battery life.
Of course, your milage may vary.
I’m sure you did, but you did charge it when you first received it? I’ve read that that can affect the battery life after that, if that was not done.
Also going to another song or even looking for an album can use battery life. When I just let it play though shuffle all, then the battery lasts longer.
If you have videos you watch, that will also take up battery life.
