SanDisk Sansa Shaker (512MB, blue)
Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp. Part number: SDMX9N-512B-A18
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- If you want to get your children started on digital music at a young age, the Sansa Shaker provides a great way to do so: it's inexpensive, simple, and acts like a toy.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
SanDisk Sansa Shaker (512MB, blue) price range: $49.95
- Reviewed by: Jasmine France
- Reviewed on: 04/18/2007
The good: The SanDisk Sansa Shaker features a simple, kid-friendly design and will be available in a variety of colors. The player is half-toy and shuffles up music when shaken. Fun sound effects when the player is paused or turned on and off add to its appeal. It's inexpensive and includes an external speaker and two headphone jacks for sharing.
The bad: The flap covering the ports on the bottom of the Shaker may not be durable over time, and the lack of rechargeable battery may not appeal to everyone. The player only supports MP3s.
The bottom line: If you want to get your children started on digital music at a young age, the Sansa Shaker provides a great way to do so: it's inexpensive, simple, and acts like a toy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Disney is the Apple of the children's portable entertainment market. Still, as with the iPod, others will not stand idly by and let the Mix Stick and Mix Max go unchallenged. Enter the SanDisk Sansa Shaker, the latest MP3 player aimed at getting your youngster into the digital audio game. And at $40 with a dead simple design, it's definitely up to the task.
The Sansa Shaker was designed with the little ones in mind and it shows. Its hourglass shape makes it perfect for small hands, and as it's about the size of a salt shaker (3 inches tall and 1.5 inches in diameter at the wide ends), it won't be a choking hazard. The player has no screen--just a few simple controls. There's a play/pause button on the front with an LED ring that lights up when the unit is powered on. You can shuttle through tracks by twisting a ring around the bottom of the Shaker and adjust volume via a similar ring around the top. SanDisk has taken young ears into account and implemented a volume limiter feature that defaults to a safe volume every time the earbuds are plugged in, no matter how far the external speaker is turned up.
About that speaker: its presence at the top of the Shaker definitely adds to its salt shaker-esque appearance. SanDisk also included two headphone jacks, which is always a nice touch in MP3 players aimed at youngsters. However, only one set of headphones is included with the player. A flap on the bottom of the unit conceals a standard mini USB port, a battery compartment (one AAA included), and an SD card slot. The Shaker has no built-in memory, but it does come with one 512MB card, which should be plenty for the younger set. You also might want to consider picking up a few 256MB cards (at $10 to $15 a pop) and loading each one with different content (one for sing-a-longs, one for audiobooks, and so on).
As you might expect, the Shaker is light on features. It supports only MP3s, and there's no FM tuner or recording functionality. However, as the name implies, the Shaker has a motion-enabled audio feature that makes it part MP3 player, part toy. If you hold down play/pause and shake the device while music is playing, you'll hear a "shaking" sound and the music will shuffle. A different sound effect--the "boing"--can be heard if the player is paused while you shake it. The player also emits some bubbly sounds when it's powered on and off. Sure, this is all a bit gimmicky, but anything that gets kids into digital music at a young age is just fab in my book.
Let's be honest: a plastic MP3 player with a $40 price tag with kid-specific features is probably not going to be a top contender in the sound quality competition. However, the Sansa Shaker really doesn't sound half-bad. I listened to a selection of tracks through a set of Shure SE310s and was frankly impressed by the warmth and clarity of the music. High-end detail was also quite good, though bass was predictably lacking. I could detect some light static in bass-heavy and minimalist tracks and rock tracks sounded a bit muffled, but hey, is your 7-year-old going to be bumping jungle and blasting punk rock? Probably not, and the rousing rendition of "This Old Man" that came preloaded on the Shaker sounded just fine. You can certainly do worse for your children's ears than this player. The rated battery life of 10 hours for an AAA battery is pretty shoddy, but perhaps the player will surprise us in CNET Labs test results. Check back soon for that info.
User reviews
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Cap keeps popping off, plays only 12 songs, etc.
by jkturnage on October 31, 2008
Pros: great concept and sound...if it worked
Cons: bottom cap keeps popping off, only plays 12 or so of the first songs even though more are on the card, shaking it doesn't change the songs...must use the button....why market it to children this way if it doesn't do what you claim?
Summary: I wish it worked...it's a great concept and has a good sound with external speakers....just not worth it for the kids...especially the cap factor...unless you ...
Summary: I wish it worked...it's a great concept and has a good sound with external speakers....just not worth it for the kids...especially the cap factor...unless you want to tape it and I don't!
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The BEST for kids and technophobe grannies
by ChantalMilliard on March 1, 2008
Pros: Extremely easy to use, fun, cheap, good quality
Cons: No LCD screen makes it hard to sort through songs
Summary: For adults, there are better choices...specifically anything with an LCD screen to make selection easier.
For children, or any adult that is a complete technophobe or has poor eyesight, ...Summary: For adults, there are better choices...specifically anything with an LCD screen to make selection easier.
For children, or any adult that is a complete technophobe or has poor eyesight, this unit is PERFECT! My 3-year-old daughter loves it, as does my 84-year-old French grandma who can't see very well due to glaucoma.
The best feature is the built-in speaker, again perfect for toddlers who have trouble putting on headphones...and it has 2 headphone plugs for when the kids are a bit older and BOTH want to listen at the same time.
I play Disney audiobooks on this unit for my daughter at bedtime every night, and the battery lasts forever.
This is the best purchase I made for her this year - it's the most used by far!
I give it a 10 because for its purpose, it's perfect. -
My son loves it
by vzara on February 4, 2008
Pros: Easy to use, smal but yest still with the enought poverfull speaker
Cons: If you load the hundreads of song, hard to browse
Summary: My 16 months old son loves it - great choice for trip and home entertainment. It keeps him busy for hours. The built in speaker is power enough to make ...
Summary: My 16 months old son loves it - great choice for trip and home entertainment. It keeps him busy for hours. The built in speaker is power enough to make him dance, but at the same time it's not over loud to damage his small ears. Did I mentioned - it's slam, drop, kick proof
The only really peaty is that it doesn't have rechargeable battery. -
sounds good, easy to use
by Tavane on November 28, 2007
Pros: multi-purpose device, sound quality very good
Cons: none so far
Summary: Got 2 as a package deal from QVC for about $30.00 each. One for my 10 year old granddaugter and one for me to use on my daily walks. ...
Summary: Got 2 as a package deal from QVC for about $30.00 each. One for my 10 year old granddaugter and one for me to use on my daily walks. Detest earbuds/headphones so this fits the bill nicely. Comes with a handy clip so I can clip it to my dress, sweater, necklace, etc. Sounds good and so easy to use. Opened it up, plugged in to computer, downloaded music and it was ready to go. Have had no problems with it whatsoever and will be buying more for Christmas gifts. Highly recommend.
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this thing sucks
by melray08 on January 3, 2009
Pros: dont like it
Cons: It won't let us upload any of my sons music so its just sitting up there on his shelf. whats the use of saying that this is perfect for kids when it really isnt
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp.
- Part number: SDMX9N-512B-A18
- Description: The Sansa Shaker features many ways to listen to and share songs. It has a built-in speaker to enjoy music without ear buds, to play your favorite music, and listen with your friends and family. Plus it comes with two headphone jacks. You also have the ability to play and share SD cards loaded with your favorite songs. Changing songs on the Sansa Shaker is a snap - or rather, a "shake". You can impress your friends by shaking the device to jump to the next song, or use the colorful controller bands for forward and backward changing as well to manipulate volume.
General
- Product type Digital player
- PC interface(s) supported USB
- Flash memory installed 512 MB SD Memory Card
- Digital storage None
- Color Blue
- Available body colors Blue, Pink
- Included accessories Decorative stickers
- Software type Drivers & Utilities
Digital Player / Recorder
- Supported digital audio standards MP3
- Additional features PC Connection via USB
Audio Features
- Sound output mode Stereo
CD System
- Digital audio standards supported MP3
Speaker System
- Speaker(s) 1 x Speaker
Remote Control
- Remote control None
Headphones
- Headphones type Binaural
- Sound output mode Stereo
- Connectivity technology Wired
Connectivity
- Connector type 2 x Headphones Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1 x USB
- Slot(s) provided 1 x SD Memory Card
Battery / Power
- Battery 1 x AA alkaline AAA type Standard battery
System Requirements
- Peripheral / Interface devices CD-ROM
- Operating system Microsoft Windows XP
Product series
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SanDisk Sansa Shaker (512MB, blue)
Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp.
Specs: Digital player, 512 MB, MP3, 1 x AA alkaline AAA type Standard battery
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SanDisk Sansa Shaker (512MB, pink)
Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp.
Specs: Digital player, 512 MB, MP3, 1 x AA alkaline AAA type Standard battery
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SanDisk Sansa Shaker (1GB, blue)
Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp.
Specs: Digital player, 1 GB, MP3, 1 x AAA type Standard battery
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SanDisk Sansa Shaker (1GB, pink)
Manufacturer: SanDisk Corp.
Specs: Digital player, 1 GB, MP3, 1 x AAA type Standard battery
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- SanDisk Corp.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse SanDisk Corp. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.sandisk.com/consumer-products/
- Address:
601 McCarthy Boulevard, Milpitas, CA 95035 - Phone: 1-866-726-3475
- Email: support@sandisk.com
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