SanDisk this morning quickly ended leaks by releasing the Sansa Fuze, the company's particular take on the same small, widescreen player formula as the third-generation iPod nano. Much shorter than the Sansa View, the Fuze has a small 1.9-inch screen but still includes a full jog wheel and the newer music and video playback features, effectively replacing the outgoing E200 series. In contrast to most devices in the category, however, it also sports a microSDHC slot: users can add as much as 8GB or more to the storage of their existing player if they run out of space or want a permanently rotating collection of music.

The Fuze line also adds FM radio and a voice recording microphone to the equation and supports music subscriptions from Audible, Real Rhapsody, and many Windows Media stores in addition to unprotected MP3/WAV audio and MPEG-4 video. In a rare addition, SanDisk also notes that the normally Windows-only device will also work with Linux and Mac OS X systems when used in mass storage mode.

SanDisk ships the Fuze in early April and hopes to beat Apple and most other competitors in terms of sheer price: a 2GB black version will sell for $80, while a 4GB version in black, blue, pink, or red sells for $100. An 8GB silver version will be available for $130 -- a full $70 less than the price set by most rivals.