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What is Salvation?


Ms. HON-derstood?
Denise Whiting shows a guest to her cozy breakfast nook. The kitchen is retro-stylish yet unfussy, with old-time tile, a big double oven, and stainless-trimmed counters. She seats a reporter across from her son Thomas Whiting and next to her public relations consultant, Paul Jaskunas. “I was gonna clean things up,” she says of her kitchen, “but then it would be pretending.” She pours coffee and ...

With the Sandisk Sansa Fuze MP3 player's budget friendly price and many features, it is no wonder that it is such a popular gift for older children and teens. This tiny player, which is only about as big as my credit card, is also great for grownups and includes some very useful options, such as a memo feature.

While the Sansa Fuze is very much a plug and play gadget, you can get even more out of it with a few great accessories. I recommend buying a docking station, a wall or car charger, an arm band and an upgraded set of ear buds. You'll also want to shop for a case, which will help protect your new MP3 player if it falls or gets bumped into something. If you are downloading a ton of videos or storing all of your photos, you'll also want to get a Scandisk memory card.

For parents who don't want to hassle with downloading songs and syncing players, Sansa has slotRadio and slotMusic cards, which are like music disks for an MP3 player. All the "I'm a big kid with a cool MP3 player" fun without the hassle of monitoring song choices and whether the download a child made was legal? Sounds good, doesn't it?

The Sansa is available in a variety of colors, from sophisticated black or silver to eye poppingly colorful red, pink, or blue. I love the different color options because you can buy one for each family member without having to deal with any of the "That's mine!" "No, it isn't. It's mine!" arguements that getting two identical toys or gadgets can lead to.

People who are comparing the Fuze with another MP3 player, such as the iPod nano, will notice some major differences. One major difference is that the iPod players require iTunes. Some people think it is a wonderful requirement, but I prefer using the Fuze and the Windows media player because iTunes always seems to freeze up for me. (As does the nano when I'm trying to sync things for the kids. Not fun.)

The other major difference between the two is that the nano shoots videos. If you want that option in an MP3 player, you'll obviously choose the nano. I would rather use my digital camera to record videos, so that feature doesn't really matter to me. However, the family member who has the nano uses it more as a mini video recorder than as an MP3 player, which makes me wonder if I should have looked into a Flip instead!

Parents who are wondering if the Sansa Fuze media player is right for their child may want to check into a few other Sansa players, too. The Shaker is often as much as $20 less than the Fuze and looks like it would be fun for a child or teen to hold. The View costs a bit more, but has a longer battery life. The Clip is a small player without the ability to play videos or view photos.

Once you make your choice, don't forget to check around for a good deal. Shopping for your new Sansa player online means you can find deals like free shipping on orders over $25, discounted prices and/or bonus items.

Homespun Christmas has more information about Sansa MP3 players, other gift ideas and ways to enjoy a simpler holiday.

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