Need a Gift for Kids? Get Sansa Shaker, the Perfect MP3 Player for Kids!

My kids, who are almost three and almost five years old, love to listen to music, and rather than burn new CDs every time they have a new favorite song, Santa Claus felt that MP3 players were in order this year for Christmas. An MP3 player that didn’t require headphones would be perfect, so he was kind enough to bring them each a Sansa Shaker 1GB MP3 player!

We decided on the Sansa Shaker over other MP3 players for three reasons. First, it has an external speaker so the earphones or a speaker dock are not required. Second, the “shake” song changing feature of this player suggested that this product would be durable enough for small children. And lastly, we chose the Sansa shaker because they were available for about $25 (give or take a few bucks, plus shipping).

What Is the Sansa Shaker?
The Sansa Shaker is an MP3 player that is specifically designed for kids. It is available with a capacity of 512 MB or 1GB and comes in blue, red, or pink. We purchased a blue and a red Shaker, each with a 1 GB memory card. This should hold approximately 250 songs, which I am certain we will never fill! The player is called a Shaker because it can be shaken to switch songs. This was another reason we purchased this particular player. I figured that if it is meant to be shaken repeatedly, then it would more likely hold up after being handled by not-so-gentle kids.

The Sansa Shaker is recommended for kids eight and older, but I think it really is fine for kids who are much younger. I am only speculating here, but my experience working for a toy company has taught me a bit about how age labeling on products works. Usually, if a product is intended for children and it specifies an age range of under eight years old on the packaging, that particular product must undergo testing for children as young as three years old, and it would be required to be labeled with a government small parts warning (if it indeed has small parts--like perhaps an AAA battery or SD card). I’m guessing that because the Sansa Shaker does not have a battery cover that requires a parent to secure with a screw driver, the company has elected to recommend the product for older children. Just a guess, but that is my theory as to the somewhat high age recommendation, since the controls are very simple and they require no reading. Even my (almost) 3-year-old has no trouble using his Shaker. While I feel that this MP3 player is great for any age kids, I find it appropriate for very young children, as long as they can be trusted not to play with the batteries or memory card (they are quite secure, even with out being screwed in).

This small player is about 3 inches high with a diameter and about 1.25 inches and is shaped similar to an hour glass or a rattle. There is a built-in external speaker on the top so that using earphones are not required. This feature is one of the reasons this player is great for young children. My kids are too small to be using ear buds because not only are they too rough on the wires, but I don’t like the fact that they could potentially damage their ears by listening with the volume too high. I put the earphones aside for now, and will allow them to use them on special occasions only--like maybe on a plane (although my gut tells me that they will just talk loudly over the music if they are using earphones!).

There is a cap on the base of the player (attached by a very short string) that screws off revealing the battery compartment, SD card, and USB port. The player takes one standard AAA battery. The packaging states that one battery will last about 10 hours when using the headphones. We only use the external speaker and I have found that the battery lasts for about 8 or 9 hours of play with frequent song changes. This doesn’t seem long, but it only requires one battery. I may try a rechargeable battery in the future if my kids continue to use their players as frequently as they do now!

What Is Included?
Everything! It even comes preloaded with six songs (songs for tweens that I have never heard). The Sansa Shaker comes complete with headphones, a mini USB cable, an AAA battery, a mini CD with software, SD card (1GB in this case), stickers for decorating the player, and a Carabiner-style clip. I like that there is nothing to charge and nothing to load before using (unless you want to). You can literally take it out of the package, put the battery in, and turn it on!

So Simple, A 3-Year-Old Can Use It!
The controls are very simple to use. There is no screen or menu on the Sansa Shaker to view your songs, and only a few simple controls. The songs play in alphabetical or numerical order, first by folder, then by song. I suggest numbering the songs to put them in a specific order.

There are two rings and one button that are used to control the Sansa Shaker. There is a white ring at the top of the player that twists to control the volume. The white ring at the bottom of the shaker can be turned to move to the next or previous song. The on/off button on the front also serves as a pause button. This button can be pressed while quickly shaking the player to randomly change to another song. When turning the player on, off, or shaking to change songs, the shaker plays a cute sound effect that indicates the operation has been performed successfully.

I handle loading the songs onto the player as well as changing the battery. The other controls are simple and were mastered by my kids within minutes. The only thing I had to watch for at first, was that my 3-year-old would sometimes pause his player rather than shutting it off completely, which would obviously waste the battery. This is no longer a problem, now that he understands that he has to hold the button for a few seconds and wait for the sound effect.

The Sound Is Pretty Good
I was surprised at how good this little player sounds. I really didn’t expect much from the small, external speaker but was pleasantly surprised. The volume cannot be turned up very high, but it is loud enough to be heard easily throughout a large room. I actually like that this can’t be turned up so loud that it sounds distorted or annoying. In addition, while my kids do not use the earphones, I tested them and found them to work pretty good as well.

Not Exactly Macintosh or iTunes M4P Compatible--But There Is A Way!
Included with the Shaker is a mini disc with Windows compatible software. I have not used this software because I have a Mac. I attempted to attach the USB cable just to see if I could simply drag and drop songs onto the SD card. No luck when plugging into a hub or USB port on my keyboard. It works fine if I plug it directly to the computer. Inserting the Shaker's SD card into a card reader also works. I simply drag the desired MP3 files to the SD card icon on my desktop! Therefore, if you have a Mac, you can transfer your MP3 files to your Sansa Shaker with no problem, you just can't use the Windows-based software.

One other obstacle I ran into was due to protected iTunes M4P files. The Sansa Shaker only accepts MP3 and WAV files. Newer CDs and all downloaded iTunes music comes in the form of protected M4P files that only work on iPod products, not other MP3 players (I like Apple, but this is not right in my opinion since I paid for the music, but this is a separate issue). In iTunes, there is a place to convert songs to MP3 files, but it will only work if it is an unprotected song that you have imported from a CD. In order to convert downloaded M4P files to MP3 files I had to first burn them to an audio CD (not as data). I then had to import those same songs back into iTunes (for a second time). They will then be unprotected and can then be converted to MP3s. This sounds like a big hassle, but it really only takes me a few minutes and I don’t have to do this very often. I am more upset by the fact that I paid for these songs specifically to play on these MP3 players, and we have to go through hoops to hear them! Nonetheless this method works. There are software programs available for purchase for those who have a large number of songs to convert.

Recommendation
My kids love their Sansa Shakers! They play their music while playing with their other toys. My kids like that they can clip it to their pocket or set it on a table. They have only had their Shakers for two weeks now, but they have put them to the test. These durable players have been shaken, dropped, rolled across the floor, and sat upon. Of course, I don't condone this, and other than the shaking, most of this mistreatment was accidental. We have added songs, deleted songs, and listened to them over and over again! My only (small) complaint is that we will go through quite a few batteries!

I recommend the Sansa Shaker for kids from 3 or 4 to 10 years old. Older kids may want a more advanced player with a menu, but the Shaker is great for the younger ones!

I purchased our two Sansa Shakers from Buy.com (two different merchants) for about $25 each. I believe the red was less than $25 and the blue was more, but I wanted two different colors so that my kids could tell them apart. I have not seen these players too often in stores, but they seem fairly easy to find online.