I bought this to play with a Bossa Nova trio* and it is just ideal. It has a very nice full but soft and relaxed sound, and you can get a percussive sound to add variety very easily. It's much better than the egg shaker I bought, which is quite harsh in comparison. It is quite loud enough for a live performance (with upright bass, guitar and alto sax). It appears to be well made and doesn't rely on rubber bands to hold the two halves together. It's remarkably inexpensive and it is exactly what I need.
Highly recommended.
* In case you are wondering how a trio can play a shaker as well, the idea is to record backing tracks in a looper.