Sansa Fuze v.s. Sansa E280

[sandyd]

Im planning on getting either the Sansa Fuze v1 (http://factorydirect.ca/catalog/product_spec.php?pcode=SA1440) or the Sansa E280 (http://factorydirect.ca/catalog/product_spec.php?pcode=SA0280) and Rockboxing it, then giving it to my cousin

Both are rock-boxable, ive comfirmed, but which one should I get?

[clonne4crw]

I own both, and I think the Fuze is better overall. It has a much better scroll wheel. Also, the compass (up/down/left/right) buttons are a little weird at first on the e200s, where they are located on the outside perimeter of the wheel, and are a little hard to hit, whereas on the Fuze they are actually on the wheel. The Fuze also has a bigger screen, but they are the same resolution (The e200 is 176x220, the Fuze is 220x176). The e200's screen suffers from that "messed-up colors when viewed from the wrong angle" problem way more than the Fuze does, too. Hope this helps.

[ubunterooster]

Clonne was right, but realize that the Fuze does not have a replaceable battery while the e200 series does.

Also, the e250 makes recording easier.

So, you have the best of both sides, but I prefer the Fuze.

[sandyd]

Clonne was right, but realize that the Fuze does not have a replaceable battery while the e200 series does.

Also, the e250 makes recording easier.

So, you have the best of both sides, but I prefer the Fuze.
hmm. I decided on getting the fuze. apparently, they only have e280s on refurb...

[clonne4crw]

the Fuze does not have a replaceable battery while the e200 series does.

They are technically replaceable.. You just have to pry the front plate off and (carefully) remove the LCD and circuit board. Then just desolder the 3 battery wires, and resolder a new one. Some people might call that a lot of work, though. It helps to have a small Sansa 'graveyard' of broken ones like I have ended up with.

[LeifAndersen]

There both rockbox-able (both v1 and v2 for both the e2xx and fuze series), the fuze has a smaller body and is much lighter, also the chipset in the fuze is much better than the e200. I had both (the e200 recently (as of 6 months ago) died and I replaced it with a fuze), and I could actually hear what I think was the processor 'thinking' through my headphones, not to big of a problem, and any actual audio completely drowned it out, but if you do get anoyed by a pseudo-buzz like sound in between tracks/podcasts, and especially while your in the menu, I would stay clear of the e2xx, apparently it's a common problem).

The e200 has a metal back, while the fuze is much more plastic. In fact, the fuze seems like it is the perfect size to grab some sort of cohesive, and stick it on the back of my left hand, somewhat like the com system in Babylon 5, the e2xx is much to big for that.

True, the fuze doesn't have a replaceable battery, but for systems such as this, I don't think it matters. Like a cheap watch you buy at walmart (which has a battery life of 1 year, and the one time you actually put a new battery in, the watch only lasts 2-6 more months anyway), these devices are much more 'disposable'. I don't mean you'll be throwing them away all the time and getting a new one, but it should only last you for 1-3 years (depending on your usage), which is okay seeing as you can get them refurb for >$45, and new for not much more.

Also, the original firmware on the fuze is much better than the e2xx. You could not use the e2xx without roxbox (IMO anyway), but the fuze does have a usable firmware (although still not great). It lets you actually browse your collection with both ID3 tags, and a file browser, as well as having OGG support. (Both should have FM radio, and the fuze is 'slightly' better, but not enough for me to say that definitively, I may have just had a bad e260 and a good fuze for example).

A few things about the e2xx I did prefer over the fuze: 1. The battery life on the e2xx seems to be longer than it was on the fuze. I could go 1.5 weeks without charging my e2xx (although usually less as I used it more), I have to charge up my fuze every few days. (I could probably go a week with very little playback though). 2. The location of the headphone jack on the e2xx is on the top, and the fuze is on the bottom. I prefer it being on the top, but it's okay on the bottom, if you only get striate headphones, and put it in your pocket upside down).

So, in all, I prefer the fuze, but the e2xx is still a nice little device.

[clonne4crw]

Yeah, I like the rubber backing on the Fuze better, although I had mine so long that it began to wear off in the corners and near the power switch, revealing the same metal casing as on the e200s.

[sandyd]

There both rockbox-able (both v1 and v2 for both the e2xx and fuze series), the fuze has a smaller body and is much lighter, also the chipset in the fuze is much better than the e200. I had both (the e200 recently (as of 6 months ago) died and I replaced it with a fuze), and I could actually hear what I think was the processor 'thinking' through my headphones, not to big of a problem, and any actual audio completely drowned it out, but if you do get anoyed by a pseudo-buzz like sound in between tracks/podcasts, and especially while your in the menu, I would stay clear of the e2xx, apparently it's a common problem).

The e200 has a metal back, while the fuze is much more plastic. In fact, the fuze seems like it is the perfect size to grab some sort of cohesive, and stick it on the back of my left hand, somewhat like the com system in Babylon 5, the e2xx is much to big for that.

True, the fuze doesn't have a replaceable battery, but for systems such as this, I don't think it matters. Like a cheap watch you buy at walmart (which has a battery life of 1 year, and the one time you actually put a new battery in, the watch only lasts 2-6 more months anyway), these devices are much more 'disposable'. I don't mean you'll be throwing them away all the time and getting a new one, but it should only last you for 1-3 years (depending on your usage), which is okay seeing as you can get them refurb for >$45, and new for not much more.

Also, the original firmware on the fuze is much better than the e2xx. You could not use the e2xx without roxbox (IMO anyway), but the fuze does have a usable firmware (although still not great). It lets you actually browse your collection with both ID3 tags, and a file browser, as well as having OGG support. (Both should have FM radio, and the fuze is 'slightly' better, but not enough for me to say that definitively, I may have just had a bad e260 and a good fuze for example).

A few things about the e2xx I did prefer over the fuze: 1. The battery life on the e2xx seems to be longer than it was on the fuze. I could go 1.5 weeks without charging my e2xx (although usually less as I used it more), I have to charge up my fuze every few days. (I could probably go a week with very little playback though). 2. The location of the headphone jack on the e2xx is on the top, and the fuze is on the bottom. I prefer it being on the top, but it's okay on the bottom, if you only get striate headphones, and put it in your pocket upside down).

So, in all, I prefer the fuze, but the e2xx is still a nice little device.
ive read on the rockbox forums that the v2s are still unstable (and they still are) and many have the top porttion of the screen missing, which is an issue, because the person im giving it to is not exactly technically compenent.

I also liked the firmware on the fuze a LOT more than on the connect. The one on the connect was garbage -_-

[icechen1]

Fuze would be a better choice, one of my friend has one and is pretty satisfied with it. He didn't put Rockbox it though.