The Sansa Shaker is a small hour-glass shaped MP3 player and both its packaging and unique shake feature suggest it is aimed at children. Beyond its unique shape, the Shaker stands out because when you press the play button and physically shake the unit, the Shaker (what's in a name, eh?) will select and play a new song at random.

You may be thinking this all sounds very gimmicky and childish and you'd be right. But there's more. Underneath it all, the Sansa Shaker really is quite a good little MP3 player. And despite the 8+ label on the box - Not just for kids.

Read on for more..

OUT OF THE BOX

The shaker stands 7cm tall and at its widest point has a diameter of just under 4cm. The top of the Shaker has a drilled speaker grille, while the bottom has a thin rubber stopper. On the sides (perpendicular to the play button) are two 3.5mm headphone ports (one on each side). The unit feels good in the hand and despite weighing only 75g, looks and feels sturdy enough to survive living with your average destroy.. err.. child.

• The Shaker itself
  
• 512MB SD card
• 1x AAA battery
• Small karabiner with attachment
• USB to Mini USB connector
• Headphones
• CD-ROM
• Stickers
• Manual
• SanDisk Product Flyer.

PLAYBACK

The unit is able to playback MP3 files or 16bit uncompressed WAV files through its two 3.5mm headphone ports or via the internal speaker on its top. In testing, I found its internal speaker output to be quite pleasant and I'd consider it as a perfect accompaniment to an outdoor lunch break.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't audiophile sound - not even close - but considering the Shaker has a single speaker the size of a twenty cent coin, its sound output is more than acceptable and not grated or harsh, as one might expect.

Sound through the headphones was excellent also and (for better or worse) comparable with my fifth generation iPod.

USAGE

As you would expect, using the Sansa Shaker is child's play. Press and hold the play button and the Shaker starts to play. When turned on, it gives a short "drum roll up" sound which is matched by a "drum roll down" sound when turned off.

As mentioned previously, holding down the play button during playback whilst shaking the Shaker jumps randomly to another track. When shook, the Sansa makes a "shutter" sound to indicate it has successfully changed track. These feedback sounds occur through the headphones (when plugged in) or through the internal speaker (when no headphones are connected).

Transferring MP3 files to the unit is a simple drag and drop procedure. When connected to Windows XP via the included USB cable, the unit was automatically detected and basically acted as an SD card reader. While I consider the 512MB unit reviewed as a bare minimum in capacity, the SD card format allows you to upgrade the Shaker’s capacity relatively cheaply and easily.

In testing, I found that the Shaker was able to playback MP3 files from both the root folder and at within at least one layer of nested folders. Interestingly, the SD card supplied contained six children’s/classical MP3 files pre-loaded for instant use.

CONCLUSION

I really like the Sansa Shaker - Much more than I thought I would. It's decent sound quality, neat look and its solid build are only matched by its excellent pricing.

If you look hard enough, you will find Australian online retailers selling the 1GB Shaker for under $40AU. At that price, this is a no brainer.

The only problem is deciding whether you are buying it for your child or for yourself.

The Sansa Shaker comes in 512 or 1GB configurations and is available in either blue or pink. For more information, take a look at Sandisk’s international website.