Kid-Friendly Audio Players: SanDisk Sansa Shaker
Pros: Inexpensive, simple to use, built-in speaker, innovative random feature, support for up to 2GB SD Cards
Cons: No screen, no button-lock feature, only supports MP3 files, no music software
Ages: 8+
List Price: $35 for 512MB, $50 for 1MB
The Player
The SanDisk Sansa Shaker breaks away from "traditional" MP3 player design. There's only one button on the hour glass-shaped player. Holding it turns the Shaker on and off while tapping it will play/pause the music. The button also controls the Shaker's unique "shuffle" function: Just hold down the button and shake the player to move to a random song. It sounds strange, but it makes sense when you try it. Like the FP3, the Shaker is available in pink or blue.
Volume and track selection are controlled by twisting the appropriate band located near the top or bottom of the player. The Shaker is also great for sharing music with friends using the two (yes, two) headphone jacks or the built-in speaker that, while not the greatest, is fine for a player this size.
Included with the Shaker are a set of earbuds, a 512MB SD Card pre-loaded with eight songs, stickers, carabineer clip, USB cable, CD with electronic user manual, quick start guide, and an AAA battery. No music software is included. In fact, although the packaging lists Windows Media Player 10 as a requirement, the manual makes no mention of how to convert your CDs to MP3 files. You're on your own.
Testing
Songs are added by copying the files directly from your computer to the Shaker. This can be done using the supplied USB cable or your own SD card reader/writer. I was glad that I didn't have to install any more software on my computer, but other than the directions for connecting the player to your computer, the directions for transferring music consist of "simply drag and drop the music files from your computer to it." Not exactly user-friendly. Given the target audience, a more comprehensive tutorial would be nice.
Once your songs are on the Shaker, they're played alphabetically and there's no way to change the order other than renaming your files before putting them on the Shaker. This isn't a huge issue, but it may be a surprise if you're used to other MP3 players. Like the Fisher-Price FP3, there is no support for playlists.
As I mentioned earlier, the built-in speaker is decent, but it won't blow you away with its performance. Sound quality through the included earbuds was fine and I couldn't tell the difference between the eight pre-installed songs and the ones from our test CD. The Shaker can play quite loudly through earbuds, so as with any audio device, you'll need to be aware of the volume of your children's music. Or, you can just take away the headphones and have them listen to the built-in speaker.
Although the Shaker isn't as rugged as the other two players, it survived our daughter's testing (including a few falls) with little more than some minor scratches. She definitely put the power/play/pause button through its paces, but the volume and track control bands are definitely designed for older children. After a few days of her testing I noticed that the paint on one of the control rings was starting to come off. This isn't a big concern for older kids, but it was enough of a reason for me to take it from her. But that's why its recommended for ages eight and up.
Final Thoughts
The Sansa Shaker takes the features of a typical MP3 player and "shakes" them up (sorry). The built-in speaker and dual headphone jacks are great features. I really liked that the Shaker could be used with any MP3 files and didn't require any additional software to transfer music. This makes it very easy to use with an existing digital music library. Plus the "shake" feature is very innovative and should appeal to the target audience (and most adults!).