The m200 series doesn’t have a card slot though. The sound quality on the m200 series is also much lower than the Fuze.
“If you design a player around a AAA battery it will be much thicker.”
I have a player that uses a AAA battery. It is only around 50% thicker than the Fuze, but is smaller in the other two dimensions. It has only onr gig of storage though. I don’t mind a larger player, as long as it comfortably fits in a typical shirt pocket.
“If you can grab a few spare batteries for your trip, why not grab a DC charger with a USB port and connect up your cable to that? No need for the computer.”
That means carrying the device, plus 4 AA batteries. That is heavy and bulky. I also don’t like the idea of charging a battery from alkaline batteries. I don’t even know how well that would work. If a Fuze battery is down to zero, how much play time could one get from 4 AA alkaline batteries? I guess there is no way to run the player directly from alkaline batteries without recharging the internal battery? Carrying a small player and 2 spare AAA batteries is still quite easy. Players built around a AA battery and especially those built around a AAA battery are typically quite energy efficient. The screen on the Fuze probably consumes plenty of power. I guess the screen on the Clip uses much less energy than the screen on the Fuze. Perhaps a screen like that
would be good for a AA or AAA battery based player?
"Disposable batteries are bad for the environment. "
One can use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries. I do that for my digital camera which uses 4 AA batteries at a time. My old mp3 player gets around 18 hours of play on a single AAA alkaline, so I use alkaline batteries with it.
“LiPolymer batteries used in the newer Sansa Product last for hundreds and hundreds of cycles, just think how many batteries would end up in landfills.”
Nimh rechargeable AA and AAA batteries also last for many cycles. The difference is that they are very inexpensive, easy to replace, and up to 4 at a time can be charged in an inexpensive wall charger. Ever since throwing away an electric toothbrush many years ago since its battery couldn’t hold an adequate charge, I have had a great dislike for items that have a built in rechargeable battery.
“Think Green”
How green is it to throw away a player just because its battery no longer holds an adequate charge?
I want to use a AA or AAA battery not just to avoid this, but to also avoid running out of power, and to be able to carry spare batteries for my player, and not have to remember to charge the player when the battery is low. If I use nimh rechargeable batteries, I could charge up to 4 at a time. Some chargers take only 15 minutes to do this, while many others take around an hour.
Message Edited by JK98 on 12-16-2008 05:31 PM