Which card (16 GB) to this player? MicroSDHC or MicroSDHC Mobile Ultra?

Hi everyone. I’ve just bought Fuze+ and I’m wondering about buying an additional card to it. I assume that 32 GB won’t work (or will it?) but I noticed that there are (at least) two types of MicroSDHC cards. Is “mobile ultra” going to work well with the player? It seems to work faster but I don’t know if I will see the difference. I do not care to much about the speed of copying files to the card - rather working of the player (really fast, stable, no freezes - even if the memory is full). I want to add that I’m interested only in music, not playing films or seeing pictures on it.

Can you give me some advice about the card and capcity?

Thanks in advance.

Loocas wrote:

Hi everyone. I’ve just bought Fuze+ and I’m wondering about buying an additional card to it. I assume that 32 GB won’t work (or will it?) but I noticed that there are (at least) two types of MicroSDHC cards. Is “mobile ultra” going to work well with the player?

 

There’s no need to waste your money on an Ultra card. They made for cameras and such that need (or benefit) from a faster write speed. Just get a regular 'ol Micro SDHC card. And yes, a 32GB card will work (theoretically anyway).

Loocas wrote:

I do not care to much about the speed of copying files to the card - rather working of the player (really fast, stable, no freezes - even if the memory is full).

 

There are people here who would say you probably shouldn’t have bought a Fuze+ then. :stuck_out_tongue:

Nah, I wouldn’t say that in the least.  The Fuze+ is a fine machine, with its issues centtered on the unique hardware it uses.

The touchpad is very sensitive, and can be problematic if you keep the device in your pocket, for example.   As a tabletop machinethe pad is simple to work with.  The “lock” feature is inportant if you’re on the go. 

If you have a very large music library on the device, that initial database refresh is slow.  This is because the platform (processor and operating system) handle the database differently than other Sansas.

Regarding the Mobile Ultra card, if you are into video, it’s great with the player.  Equally so if you use the Fuze+ as I do, I swap the card with the Nikon camera, using an SD card apaptor.  It can play the media directly from the card, and the speed of the mobile ultra is a plus when using it with the camera.

If you find the Ultra cards at a good price, they are a good all-around choice.  The Fuze is happy with most every type of card I’ve tried with it, though I am partial towards the SanDisk cards, as I’ve never had any problems with them.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

Thanks for your answers. I’ve got a few questions more. :->

@tapeworm wrote:


There’s no need to waste your money on an Ultra card. They made for cameras and such that need (or benefit) from a faster write speed. Just get a regular 'ol Micro SDHC card. And yes, a 32GB card will work (theoretically anyway).

@neutron_bob wrote:

If you have a very large music library on the device, that initial database refresh is slow.  This is because the platform (processor and operating system) handle the database differently than other Sansas.

 

OK, I understand that there are hardware or software issues (processor and operating system) but maybe a faster card will help to minimize that fact? If not, which card should I buy - class 2, 4, 6 or 10? Of course, I can buy 10 or “ultra mobile” but if the player won’t use that (due to processor speed or OS) , there is no point to… Have you got any experience or links to tests about that?

PS. I asked a question about 32 GB card because I can find no official information on the site that my player will work on this player - there is only information that 16 GB card will work.
Thanks for your time. :slight_smile:

Yes, the 32GB card works fine with the Fuze+.  The primary advantage to the higher-class (speed) card becomes apparent when using it in a video or multiple-shot mode on the camera.  On the Fuze+, even using a class 2 or 4 device, I haven’t had any issues.

The read/write speed is limited by the processor itself, as the Fuze+'s Freescale chip handles the USB transfer and memory access.  The only time the transfer speed really shows itself is when you’re transferring a huge block of files, which in my experience isn’t too often.  I usually transfer a few albums or books, or a group of podcasts.

For the Sansa, the basic card is perfect, especially if this is your primary use for the microSDHC.  The Ultra cards are faster, but not a necessity.  They will last for years, and may find use in different devices.  I have seen, on occasion, Ultra cards available at prices comparable to the basic cards, especially as the larger capacity devices come down in price.

The database (all media) of the Fuze+ is handled differently than the Austria Microsystems platform Sansas.  The firmware is a completely different format, and the way it parses and stores this information takes noticeably longer than the AMS machines.  As many have discovered, having a large collection on the Fuze takes a while.  The speed class of the microSD has little effect on this process, even though it is doing successive read / write operations; the actual database building process consumes more time than the memory operations.

Bob  :stuck_out_tongue:

That’s the answer I was expecting. So… to sum up. There is no noticeable (for a human) difference between card class 2, 4, 6 or 10 while using Fuze+ (only) for listening music? Does 32 GB card work without any additional problems (it’s correctly detected from the start as a 32 GB card)? Yes, I know the difference between FAT16 (microSD) and FAT32 (microSDHC). :slight_smile: I just don’t know how the player will behave. Hope it won’t be naugty. :smiley: Thanks again for replies. You’ve helped me a lot.

SD cards can actually be formatted either FAT16 or FAT32 (or for that matter any other file system, but only fat is supported on the Fuze).

I’ve got a SanDisk 8GB Mobile Ultra in mine, it was the cheapest card I found on amazon at the time of purchase, it’s rated class 6 but I think that’s only if used with USB 3, it’s not something I was worried about because I was only going to load it up once.

It’s more or less full, about 150Mbs left - I can’t say that it noticeably slows down start up, it’s ready to go about 25secs after switching it on.