By Lim Yee Hung, a student at the University of Warwick

THE Sansa Fuze looks like a fatter version of the third-generation iPod nano with a pimple (the menu button) on its right cheek.

Sounds pretty unappealing but the Fuze - a portable music player - looks cool in its own way with a sturdy build and a glossy finish.

The set I reviewed was red (there's also silver, blue, pink and black) and I liked how the area around the scroll wheel glowed bright blue when I turned it on. It gave the player a futuristic look.

As with most of Sansa's MP3 players, the scroll wheel of the Fuze rotates when you move your finger around it instead of reacting to touch as in the iPod, so there is more tactile feedback when you scroll up or down. Another plus is the Fuze's intuitive graphical user interface: I was fiddling with the player like a pro soon after taking it out of the box.

The capabilities of the Fuze are pretty standard: photo, music and video playback, as well as FM radio.

Don't expect much visual enjoyment as it has just a small 1.9-inch screen. The player impresses in sound quality, augmented by the decent earphones provided.

A microSDHC gives the option of expanding the 4GB internal memory.

The battery life lasts a respectable 24 hours. One minor quibble: the dock connection is a proprietary one, so tough luck if you lose the cable provided.

There's nothing out of the ordinary about the Sansa Fuze, which chooses price and not special features to distinguish itself from the crowd.

FINAL SAY

The Sansa Fuze gives value for money as a full-featured MP3 player but it boasts nothing special.

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 8, 2008.