Reviewed by PC Magazine

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2275986,00.asp

They gave them 3.5 stars. While they made several mentions of the 3G Nano, they never explained why the fuze, which has nearly identical features, was rated lower than the 4.5 stars the Nano got. The Fuze has the very useful microsd slot and fm radio in addition to anything the Nano is offering, as well as being much cheaper.

The only thing they said is that it wasn’t as “sleek” or “innovative”. I dislike this kind of bias.

I have an inner contempt for oversimplification in all its ugly incarnations: case in point, star ratings.  They are wildly subjective, and are relied upon far too heavily.  Nobody wants to look a few moments into anything; just glance at the stars, and let someone else make the decisions.  How plebeian.

That off my chest, the rating dropped because of the writer’s experience with the Media Converter, I think.

Don’t forget that knocking Apple, or any other large advertiser, is in the back of the writer’s mind- that’s the sad reality. 

Besides, hasn’t Apple trademarked the words “sleek” and “innovative” anyway??  They’re overused adjectives anyway.  Why not use “gnarly” or “rad” instead?

I’m glad to see the buzz, though!  I for one ignore the stars (Read Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches).  They learned to ignore the stars too!

Bob  :wink:

ipod’s big advantage, and really its only advantage, is that it goes with iTunes seamlessly.no worries nothing.

besides that you can get ipod stuff everyware, but only because everyone has one. if the sansa replased ipod we’d be able to get sansa stuff everywhare

Agreed, though iTunes itself has some flaws.  It doesn’t work as well as some other apps for managing a music collection that is acquired through other sources than the iTunes Store, for example.

perhaps its based on the view which was originally deemed amazing but then failed and still is with the ■■■■ firmware

No, the Fuze is in the same family as the Clip and e200v2 for processor.  The View is a unique platform.  For now, just roll your View back to the .06 firmware.

The Fuze looks quite promising.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

There are some nice mock-ups of interfaces for the Fuze at ABI.  I bet that if the Fuze’s interface was updated to something contemporary, anther 1/2 star (jusitifiably IMHO) would have resulted–the current interface seems dated.  Of course, the expansion slot more than balances for that. 

There are some nice mock-ups of interfaces for the Fuze at ABI.  I bet that if the Fuze’s interface was updated to something contemporary, another 1/2 star (jusitifiably IMHO) would have resulted–the current interface seems dated.  Of course, the expansion slot more than balances for that.