Do you miss those days when you had to balance your portable CD player like a house of cards or else Sinatra would sound like a remix? In an ironic homage to the portable music players of the 1990s, we now can buy MP3 player that will skip (deliberately). The newest interactive dial on your MP3 player is not a dial at all. The Sansa Shaker is targeted toward the gadget demographic with an interactive navigation tool that changes songs by shaking the device. The affordable $39.99 512MB model is available now from Sandisk.

It is powered by one AAA battery and has a SD expansion slot. There is a built-in speaker and two headphone jacks as well. Judging by the looks of this player, it appears to be intended for a younger crowd (available in a baby blue and hot pink). Certainly, I cannot imaging that this gimmick would be useful for anyone active (imaging the torture of trying to jog or off-road with one of these). The idea is interesting… give your thumb a break and start using your wrist, biceps and triceps. Can you imagine a Blackberry with the same dial mechanism? Maybe not so much.