SanDisk Sansa Shaker 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
by SanDisk
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Our Price: $84.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $69.99 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Sansa Shaker 512 MB MP3 Player (Blue)
Customer Review: My favorite gift--Sandisk scores a success.
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this as a gift for a grandchild but liked it so much I kept it for myself. Of course, I could rationalize my selfish act since the child is barely 3 and Sandisk insists the device should not be used by anyone under the age of 8. The reason for the manufacturer issuing the precaution is no doubt the potential harm to young children abusing ear buds. But forget the ear buds: what distinguishes this device from an iPod (apart from its smaller, salt-shaker size) is the built-in speaker. It puts out adequate sound for a musician who wants the companionship of his favorite tunes without the encumbrance of earphones.
As usual, Sandisk makes no claims for its products with respect to Apple computers or iTunes. It works out of the box for an Apple downloader--no installation of programs needed--but most likely offers less storage space. So if you're an Apple person, you may wish to consider the one-gig model. (I've had no difficulty storing 30-40 minutes worth of mp3 files in the 512MB model.) Frankly, this is a novel product, one that fills yet another niche. I hope it catches on and sees a few improvements.
The pluses: Simple, instant, effective, minuscule--whether you're an adult or little kid. Above all, no earphones required, and the claim of ten hours' worth of music on a single battery seems about right.
The minuses: 1. The "shaker" attraction is misleading. I thought it meant a child could shake the gizmo to make it play (great ploy, since kids won't play the CDs I give them); instead, shaking it merely produces weird sound-effects and causes (somewhat erratically) the song being played to be replaced by another song--providing the play switch is depressed. If it played a song whenever it was shaken, it would be great for a one- or two-year-old (on the other hand, then I would have had to give it to my grandchild.) 2. The bottom cover must be twisted loose to insert one AAA battery as well as the storage card but is somewhat difficult to get reseated tightly, especially since it's part of the fast-forward control assembly. For added "security," the bottom cover is attached by a thin "safety" thread that no doubt will be an early casualty.
Perhaps a better-constructed device would be one with a single ear bud (forget the stereo), which would free up more space for batteries, card, and FF control (which could be eliminated for my money), along with a more traditional screw-in cover for the battery compartment. Still, unless it breaks within a week, this mp3 player that contains a built-in speaker yet is smaller than a whiskey jigger is a winner.
Customer Review: Great MP3 player!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great MP3 player. It was actually very frustrating for my mom and sister to get the songs onto it, but that was because we first had to convert them to MP3 files.
Save frustration and follow these steps:
1. Insert a CD or burn songs onto a CD from Itunes, etc. You must do this with Windows Media Player, so you have to have Windows XP, but my family has a Windows Vista and it works on that too.
2. Once the songs are loaded on, right-click Rip and choose Format. Click on that and then click MP3. Now the songs are going to the Library and being converted into MP3 files.
3. Now, plug in the Sansa Shaker with the cord included. Plug it in in the Shaker first, then your computer. With Windows Media Player, something should come up and say "Drag files here to make a playlist to put on 'Sandisk Shaker'".
4. Go to the library and drag your songs over to that panel. After they're all on, click "Start Sync" which is below the text. It should sync quickly and after it says "You can now disconnect the 'Sandisk Shaker'".
5. Disconnect the Shaker and the songs should be on there!
If this doesn't work, make sure you converted the songs to the library and changed them to MP3 files, shown how to do in Step 2.
So, this is a good shaker. It was an awesome birthday present! (My parents bought it for about 30 bucks at Toys R Us). And, it has a lot of room; there's still about 4/5 room left and I've put on a lot of songs! The out-loud speaker and two headphones were nice. Unfortunately, the headphones that came in the package were too big for my ears, but I had my sister's old iPod earphones and a pair of earphones that were just lying around.
I recommend this for ages 8-11 (I'm ten, but I don't think it's childish), my older sister got her iPod at twelve so I think at that age they should have that.
A great player overall, I strongly recommend it!
Customer Review: GREAT little player for kids
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this little player for my 2 year old daughter for Christmas. It's very easy to use. My 2 year old has figured out how to use the player, turning it on/off, pressing play, and switching between tracks. I LOVE that it has a built in speaker so my daughter can listen to the music without being attached to it. The volume seems to be just right...not too loud to be annoying or harmful to her ears, but not too quiet that she can't hear it in the car either.
Because of the speaker, it goes through batteries quickly, but it's just ONE AAA battery compared to 3 or 4 in other players. It also has a carabiner clip to hook the player to a belt loop or backpack. NICE!!!
The player also features 2 headphones jacks, just in case you have 2 kids who want to share and listen to the same track (which rarely happens...so, at this price, I recommend buying two!) :o) I figured for the price of this one (I paid $20), my daughter could lose or break a few and we'd still come out ahead as compared to buying an ipod shuffle and speaker/dock to accomplish the same features the Shaker provides.
It took some tweaking (it's not like my ipod) to get my music to MP3 format. You can download a Protected Music converter (to convert mp4 to mp3 and put it on this player) for free at [...] but to convert the entire song and make it worth your while you have to register the free version. It's around [...] depending on which license you choose. Once you get your music into MP3 format, it's a piece of cake getting the music on the player!! You can also load songs onto ANY Sandisk SD memory card (not just the one that comes with the player).
Truly, this is a great little MP3 player for a kid. If you're looking for fantastic sound quality, the ability to sync to iTunes or media player file and a display screen, you should pay the [...] and go with an ipod!
Customer Review: Best mp3 Player EVER!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This should not had been marketed to children, it is great for any age.
It is expandable with SD cards. I was able to put the entire Beatles recording collection on a 2GB card with room for most solo hits and a handful of Rolling Stones songs.
It has TWO earphone jacks. No need for adapters.
It uses one AAA battery. No need to be tied to the manyfacture's Li ion battery. Using a rechargeable battery the cost is nearly nothing.
The built in speaker is surprisingly good. Hanging from my neck, it fills my world with music without the disadvantages of earbuds (discomfort of having something in your ear, not being able to hear important outside sounds, the dangers of hearing loss).
It plays the songs in order that they are synced on the computer. You have the ability to skip songs. You must use mp3, but it is easy enough by right clicking on the songs and converting from WMA to mp3.
The only improvements I could suggest would to have a display screen. And I bought a Kingston SD card and the player wouldn't recognize it, guess you have to stick to SanDisk brand.
I have other more expensive mp3 players, but this is my favorite.
Customer Review: Good for the young and young at heart
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this mp3 player for my mom, who is not too tech savvy, so she can listen to podcasts of radio broadcasts that she missed. Although this player is definitely aimed at children, it's also great for anyone in need of a simple player. There are several features that made the Sansa Shaker the ideal purchase for my mom:
1) an external speaker, since she doesn't like using headphones
2) uses a AAA battery, this way mom doesn't have to worry about recharging through a USB port, or buying an extra charger
3) uses an SD card, this is actually good for me since I'm the one filling up the player, using my computer's built in SD-card reader it's extremely easy for me to get the podcasts on the device, and it allows for cheap memory expansion
I have to say that the quality of the external speaker is pretty good given the players small size. The only downside we have discovered is that powering down the Sansa Shaker results in losing your place. Not a problem with music, but more annoying with a long podcast. Although you can fast forward through the podcast, it's a bit cumbersome to do with the "ring" control and no time elapse display. Otherwise, mom and I are both extremely pleased with this product.