Lack of FUZE accessories; I would not buy it again

I have to wonder why Sansa dropped the ball with the FUZE. It is almost completely unsupported by any accessories, does not provide a line-out function, and the dock that Sansa advertises is a discontinued item being clearanced by the manufacture. Even the large dock with the speakers is sub par since it doesn’t have a clock. How much more could a simple digital alarm clock have added to the cost of a hundred plus dollar speaker dock? The Apple version has an alarm clock making the unit much more functional; oh, and the list price is exactly the same as the clockless Sansa compatible version.

 

It really looks like Sansa wants the FUZE to fail; maybe their engineers and marketers all own Apple stock or just hate their company. Why design a quality player then destroy your market by isolating your product? Almost every boom box, home theater system, clock radio, or other electronic device docks the ipods; and not a single one accepts the FUZE. Why stick us with a proprietary plug that you don’t actively support; in house or on the secondary market?

 

Based on this lack of after market support, I think we can look forward to some really discounted FUZEs in the near future as retailers start dumping their stock. I would not buy another at full price, and none of my friends will either. So if you just want a good personal player keep your eyes open for sales; otherwise, look for something better supported or at least with a line-out jack.

Well, the fact that the Griffin power dock is being discontinued - is a good thing for us now, because you can buy it for $15 from Griffin, free shipping.  It’s a basic line out dock.

What IS sad is that a Sansa rep has confirmed that line out could be enabled to a cable via firmware update - but most likely won’t because you can’t use it at the same time as headphone out.  There’s no hardware to auto detect unless a power source is available, and adding a GUI option to enable line out could cause warranty complaints because people hear nothing from the headphone port.  To me, this could easily be resolved by minor rework of the GUI.

Djb, I agree with you about the digital clock thing…I have the offending player, and was surprised it didn’t have a clock…kind of seems like a no brainer doesn’t it? It wasn’t a deal breaker for me tho’, I wasn’t looking for an Alarm Clock. I’m very happy with it.

I don’t understand why Sansa can’t simply make thier players compatable with ALL the myriad of players out there for the iPod??? They have added another docking Radio to the list, but two isn’t much of a choice.

And I agree with that crazy chicken about the Griffin dock being discontinued…puzzling, but an excellent opportunity…I bought one also. 

I vote to add any and all options possible through Firmware. Because people might get confused  is NOT a good reason to deny us a needed option…it seems a lot of people want a Line out through the cable! Look through the MB…a lot of very simple things confuse a lot of people.(present company excluded of course LOL)

All in all, I LOVE my Fuze!!

I don’t understand why Sansa can’t simply make thier players compatable with ALL the myriad of players out there for the iPod???

OooOOooo… multiple question marks.  You must be really confused on this point.

A. Apple patents their connectors, product and technology. 

B. Apple doesn’t like competition. 

A+B.  Thus Apple does not licence their connector patents to other DAP manufacturers to produce competing product. 

Personaly, as long as I can get a spare cable, a soft case and a screen protector for a DAP, I’m set.   I couldn’t care less if I have a clock radio for my Fuze, since I can listen to music on cable, on my computer or by CD when I’m at home anyhow.

I think it all comes down to demand. Apple doesn’t make a lot of accessories for the iPod either, but since they command some 80% of the mp3 player market, its the obvious choice for accessory makers. As far as I know Sandisk is still in second place with some single-digit percentage (spread out over about four players). Subtract out the majority (probably) of users who don’t care about line-out (or don’t even know what it is!), and you don’t have a lot of demand.

I see a lot of small independent resellers selling View cables (e.g. via eBay or Amazon marketplace), and I have to admit I find it odd that they don’t sell a combination lineout + USB power cable for the Fuze & e-series (the kind that you would find for the iPod in just about any place that sells car stereos). Its probably a bigger market than the View.

When I bought my Fuze I was just interested in a 4gb MP3 player at a good price for music, audiobooks and podcasts.  So I got a Fuze and I’m glad I did. 

I can connect my Fuze to any computer and be up and running for downaloads.  Love that.  Use it at home and work without wondering where the software goes on the computer (unlike iPods).

And then I found out that there’s a place for more memory!  I love that.  And since I accidentally ordered 2 of the 4gb, I will use one of those exclusively for Christmas music and then I don’t have to load and delete the music (and whatever else I put on there) after Christmas.

And I found I can use it on my car radio with a cassette adaptor.  And it works with my little speaker pillow I had for my cd player (and matches).

So I’m very happy with it.

If I ever wanted accessories, I would have looked at what accessories were available (I had saw a ton at the store before I bought one as I was just looking around) and then decide on a player (told a coworker that since some had changable covers to match outfits or whatever).  But that’s not what I wanted in a portable player.

Message Edited by Dalaug234 on 08-25-2008 10:59 AM

Message Edited by Dalaug234 on 08-25-2008 11:00 AM

@polloloco wrote:

What IS sad is that a Sansa rep has confirmed that line out could be enabled to a cable via firmware update -

Sansafix must be a politician. Here he says it can’t be done via firmware; it’s a hardware issue.

Then he flip-flops here and says, “Well, maybe if you do this & this.” Basically, he saying it might be possible, but it ain’t gonna happen.

No, that’s not a flip flop, that’s an honest engineer speaking.

A pull-up signal is an engineering reference to a voltage present on a signal or sensing line.  This voltage can be the 3.7v battery voltage, or in some cases, the device could want the 5v USB line voltage.  To have the requisite 3.7v requires a source at one of the other dock pins. 

This voltage may have a current limitation, requiring a resistor to limit the current.  In some cases, a diode is required to isolate the connection.

Depending upon the design, some devices even “announce” their presence via setting a control bit high or low, or a series of data bits is sent, like the case with the SanDisk remote control / dock.

Merely connecting a passive cable to the 30-pin port may not provide the requisite signal.  Say there is no pin available with the 3.7v signal.  Then, it is up to you to provide a proper signal voltage taken from the available USB cable (if it has an adaptor on the end), or a separate battery.   This voltage must be voltage and current limited.

So, Sansafix is telling you that it’s possible, but it requires more than a paper clip to make it happen.  He’s telling you that accessing the signal is possible, but it takes more than an off-the shelf cable that was made for the needs of the View, a different device, with an NTSC output on its dock pins.

Bob  :stuck_out_tongue:

@tapeworm wrote:

Sansafix must be a politician. Here he says it can’t be done via firmware; it’s a hardware issue.

 

Then he flip-flops here and says, “Well, maybe if you do this & this.” Basically, he saying it might be possible, but it ain’t gonna happen.

I think he meant that there’s nothing you can do in the FW to make the Fuze automatically enable the line-out based on the cable being connected.  However, it could be manually enabled via FW with a new switch in the settings menu.

I really hope Sandisk recconsiders the possibility of adding a manual switch.  It’s obvious from the number of threads and posts on this topic that this is a highly desired feature.  I’m sure something could be done in the UI to make users aware of the current mode and avoid unnecessary support calls.  For example, an icon indicating the mode at the top of the screen.  You could also add some text to the popup that appears when you adjust the volume to make it clear which output is enabled.

I have a IPOD, SONY, and I just purchased the Fuze.  I said the same thing after searching several stores for items.  I found this store online, which is cool, because I do most of my shopping online anyways.  I love my 8GB Fuze!!!  http://www.daydeal.com/home.php?cat=2335

Here’s the link for a list of Sansa Fuze Accessories

http://www.daydeal.com/home.php?cat=3339

@well_wisher wrote:
Here’s the link for a list of Sansa Fuze Accessories

http://www.daydeal.com/home.php?cat=3339

Other than two styles of cases and the data cables, this is all just generic stuff.


@well_wisher wrote:
Here’s the link for a list of Sansa Fuze Accessories

http://www.daydeal.com/home.php?cat=3339


Thanks for the link.

@ bdb wrote:

 

Other than two styles of cases and the data cables, this is all just generic stuff.

True, but there are a lot of cable styles to choose from.  And at decent prices.

I went to the Griffin Technology website today and they’re listing the Power Dock as a new product that is currently available for $49.99 up. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerdock  WHERE did you find the power dock for $15??? I’d like to get some of them. Thank you.

@sarainelkins wrote:
I went to the Griffin Technology website today and they’re listing the Power Dock as a new product that is currently available for $49.99 up. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerdock  WHERE did you find the power dock for $15??? I’d like to get some of them. Thank you.

That link is for the iPod version of the PowerDock.   If you go to the Sansa section, you’ll notice there is no PowerDock listed anymore.  You have to go to the “Refurbished & Deals” section to find it.

Just give it some time. The fuze only came out in March, it’s still new! Accessories will pop up one by one. And even if there aren’t many, I wouldn’t take mine back because of that!

Message Edited by gabe565 on 09-02-2008 10:08 PM

Here’s the link for the sansa

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/docksansa

And a search for Sansa in the main screen brought this

http://www.griffintechnology.com/search?q=sansa

Message Edited by Dalaug234 on 09-03-2008 10:54 AM

@gabe565 wrote:
Just give it some time. The fuze only came out in March, it’s still new! Accessories will pop up one by one. And even if there aren’t many, I wouldn’t take mine back because of that!

The e-series has been around for quite awhile and there aren’t a lot of accessories for that, either. It all comes down to making informed decisions. If you’re not going to get an iPod, you must expect to have few accessories. Its the same way with Creative, Zune, anything but iPod.

Its still a great little player!

There are plenty of accessories.  Maybe not specifically say “Fuze” or “SanDisk” on them.

I have

*pillow speaker… plugs into the earbug and isn’t loud, but works fine

*2 set of fashion speakers, does not take batteries works through earbud… again not loud but works for me

*cassette adaptor to listen in my car

*car charger

*ac charger

*micro memory cards, 3 of these (one 2gb and two 4gb)

*silicon cover

*arm band (came with cover)

*micro memory cards zipper case (not really big enough, you’re suppose to take the cards out of the plastic cover they come in, but I like those to write on them so I know what’s on the card)

Just bouth

*Griffin Docking Station…

Now I need more money on my credit card for other accessories :wink:

The Fuze is a good player, but a few things about it annoy me.

1)Lack of a choice of browsing by folders or ID3 tags. ID3 tags aren’t so bad for organizing music, but are horrible to use  for  navigating through many podcasts.

  1. A proprietary connector and proprietary cable. UGH!

  2. The headphone plug must be removed from the player to press the release button on the cable plug to remove the cable from the player. On other players I have had, I never needed to disconnect the headphones to connect or disconnect the USB cable.