Gpx Ilive CI109S Am/fm Clock Radio with Ipod Dock

• Dock plays and charges iPod
• AM/FM Radio
• Built in Speakers
• White Backlit Digital Clock Display
• Wake to Radio or Buzzer or iPod

I wanted a cheap clock radio that would work with my iPod Nano G4. The sound quality is not that great and neither is the FM antenna, but I guess you get what you pay for. If I could do it again, I'd probably spend a little more money for a better product.

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The Ipod portion of this product works fine. Yes the quality is not great. I recieved this as a gift from a friend almost a year ago. It has played my ipod loyally and hs been sitting on my dresser. Well I bought batteries for it to use incase of emergency and it dosen't work with them. I plug it in and it works. if I take if off the wall plug then I lose all power and it wont power up with the batteries in it. Guess I will have to get a new radio b/c this isn't going to work. (yest I checked the batteries in another product and they worked.)

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Gave this to my son for Christmas because he was also getting an ipod from Grandparents. Nice size and said it did all that we needed it to do, plays the ipod well but the radio part is a piece of junk. Static drowns out the sound when you have it on low volume and it does not matter if its on AM or FM. No matter what you do to the antenna it does not make a difference. This item is basically just for playing your ipod on, not for listening to the radio with. There is also an AUX connection but I as of yet have not been able to find anything that works in it.

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I understand when something is cheap, you are probably losing quality. But this junk is an embarrassment to have given as a gift to a kid. The static is louder than the music. It shows an ipod shuffle playing on the box but you need to buy an additional cord for that you discover Christmas morning. And the sound, no matter what the source is, stinks. Flat out, this isn't worth getting for free. I could have used the cardboard box to recycle wrapping paper along with the eventual 'Thanks for this piece of crud' letter and it would be worth more than the junk inside. I wish I would have read a review like this before I wasted my money. Next time I will give the kid a check and tell him it is for his Bose savings account.

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I bought this for my teenaged daughter. It is a great value for the price. My kids love their ipods and this is a great way to charge it while listening to it through speakers. I"m thinking of buying another one for myself.

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Nokia 6555 AT&T CINGULAR BLACK CAMERA PHONE Unlocked

While it is true that the Nokia 6555 has very short battery life, it is common to all 3G phones. However, there is a way to increase battery life: change connection type from UMTS to GSM from Auto. This will disable 3G and force the phone into GSM mode, which will greatly increase battery life.

Hope this works.

I bought this phone last week directly from the AT&T store. I renewed my existing contract with AT&T so I already had their service. I am very impressed with the phone overall. It is sleek and stylish with a lot of features which work well.

Pros: Styling and Features

Call quality and signal strength

Micro SD card slot

Dedicated USB cable port

Dedicated headphone jack (albeit a small one so you still need an adapter)

Pin type connector charger (not the clip on connectors)

Cons: Battery Life

Lack of installed ringtones, (correction, see below)

Hard to navigate folders and menus

I mostly use the phone to talk on and not much else. I need to charge the battery pretty much every night. I can go about a day and a half or 2 days if I stretch it. If you talk a lot or intend to use the other features plan on charging it every night. In their defense the battery life is rated at 3 hours of talk time and that is pretty much it. You won't get more than that and like I said you won't get even that much if you do games or other stuff. The other thing that was kind of disappointing was no ringtones installed except the standard ATT ring. (Correction). There are a couple of ringtones installed I just wasn't looking in the right folder which is the biggest problem I have with it now. The music hides in different menu folders and depending which menu you are in you won't see them which is why I didn't think there were any tones at first. You pretty much have to download anything you want to play.

I really like the phone and if the battery would last longer it would be about perfect. Since all I do is use it for talking and not much else it suits me.

I have had this phone for about 5 months now and still really like it. I am not a tech wiz so I have not even used the music player and other features until recently. I downloaded some ringtones from a 3rd party website and it was easy. They play great. Today I used the bluetooth capability to load pictures from my camera to my MacBook and also loaded a few songs onto my phone. It was easy for a novice like myself. No compatibility issues. Call quality and reception have been above average. I fly all over the east coast and it works pretty much everywhere you would expect.

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Just got this phone on Weds, as replacement for my old Nokia I was looking for a phone that is reliable, easy to use, has texting capabilities, sleek, has a streamlined design, a loud alarm (I rely on my phone to wake me up), and takes clear pictures. This phone is compact, and performed well when I saw it at the Cingular store.

BUT today, I experienced the worst battery life that a cell phone could have. After charging this phone to the max, I texted my friends, and talked for about 3 hours when the battery indicator showed that 1/4 of its capacity. Then, my phone died. Usually, I'd have at least 1 hour left to use the phone, with an indication of 1/4 battery. BUT NO! It just died, and luckily, I wasn't in a situation where I needed a phone (I was at home all day today). Everyday since I got this phone, I've had to charge it. Usually every 2 days I'd charge my old Nokia phone.

I will be calling Cingular to ask for a replacement battery.

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I replaced my Motorola L6 with this Nokia 6555. I liked the L6 except the keys were very small and close together, so I would sometimes hit the wrong key. Also, I had to lock the keys whenever I carried it so a key would not get pressed accidentally. What I needed was a flip phone with slightly larger keys and this Nokia was just the ticket.

This cell phone has so many features that I will only list a few. First off, my friend just got a Samsung Blackjack II and this Nokia does almost all the same things that his does. They both have MP3, 3G, Bluetooth, internet access, camera, Micro SD memory ready, organizer, and more with services through ATT. As far as we can tell thus far is the only thing the Smartphones have the Nokia 6555 does not have is Microsoft Mobile Suite. The Blackjack keys are so tiny that I do not know how anyone can use them. Plus, the Blackjack cost much more. The better choice is by far the Nokia 6555.

The only problem I am having is navigating the menus to find the settings I am looking for. I have to keep referring to the manual. I suppose after a while I will learn where everything is and memorize most of it.

The battery life seems to be about average for a fully loaded cell phone. Maybe some day they will make batteries that last much longer for those power users that complain about short battery talk time. For now we just have to charge the battery more often. Not a big deal for me. If I plan to use the phone a lot, then I simply charge my phone and headset at night to have a full charge on both and I am ready to go the next day. If I do not use it very much, then I only have to charge them about every 3 or 4 days.

Pros:

Slim and stylish.

Good sound quality.

Many features.

Cons:

Menus difficult to navigate.

UPDATE:

Another con is the backlight only stays on for 10 seconds and there is no way to adjust it to stay on longer.

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First, the bad. I purchased the Nokia 6555b from AT&T Jan 8, 2008. Three weeks later the exterior mini-display was cracked and inoperable. I had worn it on my belt while driving and my seat belt buckle put enough pressure on the mini-display to crack it. VERY disappointing. All Nokia had to do was put a thicker, more rigid plastic cover over the display and it would be fine. Instead, I have a busted phone. Except for the broken mini-display and the inability to see the clock or caller ID, the phone still works, but that mini-display is a Bad Design.

A lot of people complain about the battery. At first I experienced very short battery times as well. I even bought a second battery for $15 with some other accessories. I have never needed it. I believe the battery gets better with time. At first it was displaying low battery charge. Now it goes for a couple of days no problem. I charge it each night, though, just to be safe.

I bought the 6555 because it works with the Acura Hands Free Link system via Bluetooth. (Not all Bluetooth phones do.) It also works with the Ford Sync system. Both work very well. It is indeed nice to place or receive calls without having to find the phone. No clumsy earphones. No looking away to dial or press buttons. No wires at all. My wife leaves hers in her purse, I leave my in my pocket (not wearing it on my belt anymore--I might break it again.) With Sync, the Bluetooth even allows the phone to become a media player. Very cool.

Using the free downloadable Nokia software, you can edit the phonebook from your laptop via the special--and hard to find--micro USB cable that costs $15. But if your laptop has Bluetooth like mine--because I bought a Microsoft Bluetooth wireless laser mouse 8000 and its Bluetooth receiver also receives other Bluetooth devices like my phone--you can connect without having to buy the micro USB cable. The cable is handy to carry though, so you can connect the phone to other computers if necessary to download pictures and video if needed. Using this software, you can also make your own ring tones. My custom ringtone is Hillary Clinton cackling/laughing.

The main display has a nice large font that is visible in broad daylight. Color combinations (themes) are adjustable and some are better than others, but it's nice to have options.

The phone has a speaker phone built in if desired.

It's easy to switch from ring to vibrate--just hold the # key for a few seconds.

If you have MS Outlook as your emailer, you can sync your calendar.

The 6555 comes with a host of useful tools including: a Stopwatch with split times; a Countdown Timer to remember to take the roast out on time; a full-function Calculator; an Alarm Clock; Notes; To-Do list; and a Calendar.

It has some dumb games that are mostly demo only.

It has a very mediocre still camera and an even more mediocre video camera.

It can text, but I don't do that.

It can be configured for Push-To-Talk, at extra cost, if you must have walkie talkie capability.

I was worried about the tiny charging plug, but so far it's been durable, even though it did obsolete all my previous Nokia accessories.

It does need a micro-mini plug for the headphones if you want to use it as a personal music player. Mine included a short Micro-to-Standard mini adapter so you can use your regular headphones.

The Settings menu allows you to reconfigure what many of the buttons will do: if you need to get to some buried menu item like the calculator often, make the Right Selector button do it. One touch and you're in business. This is a very handy feature.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the phone. The audio quality is fine, it rarely drops calls and is small, thin and lightweight. The only real problem is how fragile the outer display is. Nokia should have shipped it with a protector or engineered it better from the get-go.

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Timex T309T Alarm Clock Radio with Nature Sounds (Titanium)

• Nature Sounds clock radio with preset tuning
• 18 station memory
• Wake to Radio/Buzzer/Nature Sounds
• Triple Alarm
• Battery Back Up

This is a nice little item. It has good sound quality and three types of alarm: radio, buzzer, and nature sounds (there are 3 or 4 of these to choose from). You can specify whether an alarm setting works every day, only on weekdays, or only on weekends. Each alarm setting has its own radio station or nature sound (and volume) associated with it. It's got a nice big snooze button on top, which doubles as a display dimmer (my favorite feature).

I've come across just a couple disappointments in the week that I've had it.

I thought I'd be able to create a radio-alarm setting for weekdays and another radio-alarm setting (same time, but different station) for weekends. Can't do it. You get one setting for each type of alarm.

The radio preset buttons are arranged in a line across the front of the unit. The band setting button is in that line too, to its left. So if you want preset #1, you've got to punch the second button. Hitting the first button switches you to AM.

All in all, though, it's worth the [money].

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The digital tuner and stylish look drew me to this clock -I was tired of the drifting AM stations on my old analog-tuned radio. To my disappointment, I still get lots of AM drift on this Timex, but I admit it may just be a weak station that is to blame. Some may appreciate the ability to set different alarm times for weekdays and weekends with this clock -but I think it makes setup complicated, and holidays a frustrating anomaly -so I don't think it's any more convenient than the simple old-fashioned method of setting one alarm time and changing it when necessary. The nature sounds on this unit sound pretty awful -they range from vaguely artificial to unpleasantly harsh, so I don't use them. All in all, this clock has good speakers for its size, a fine digital readout, and features that you should only go for if they're worth the added complexity to you.

(...) After 9 months, I've decided to sell this alarm clock and buy a different model. Why? The main reason is that the snooze bar is located near a smaller button which turns the alarm off completely. During the first week of owning this clock, I somehow trained myself to hit the smaller button and fall right back asleep. Which is my fault more than the clock's, but still -it's a design problem in that these buttons should not be close together! I offered the clock to my wife but she found it too complicated to bother using. Too bad. The sound quality of the radio is very nice, but otherwise, there's no reason to hang onto this.

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I purchased this for my husband who likes to sleep with some sort of noise. I thought this might work. Well, the nature sounds are the WORST I have ever heard. The LCS is not that big or bright and the snooze button is very close to the OFF button which is not good. I guess for someone who really likes gadgets and studies their new electonic toys may like this clock, but personally I found it confusing. This is not a pull out of the box and use clock. I swear you couldn't figure out how to set the alarm without the manual. You have to push 3-4 buttons to accomplish it. What we wanted if for was useless and there was WAY too many stupid extras. We ended up selling ours at a yard sale.

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Most of the poor reviews here refer to the difficulty in setting the time/alarms on this clock. They say you need the instruction manual every time, yada yada yada. Here's the difficult sequence required to set the time: 1)Hold the "Time" button until the time flashes 2) press "Up" and "Down" until you reach the proper time. I did not use the instruction manual at all in my operation of this clock--it was totally self evident. As far as having to press up or down a million times, like one reviewer noted, try HOLDING it, it starts moving very quickly. The alarms are set similarly, and are turned off by touching one button, e.g. to turn off the buzzer alarm, press "buzzer" (reviewer "Jonathon Shakes" said it took several minutes with the instruction manual to figure this out??!!) I mainly wanted to refute these claims as they made me hesitant to buy the clock, and they are totally groundless.

Other than that, I would say it is a very good clock radio. I like the digital tuner, I like the three alarms and the ability to set each independently for 7/5/2 days. It has a good antenna and good speakers for a clock radio. It is small and loud and has a lot of features. The main drawback is that the "nature sounds" mostly sound like static, and repeat themselves like every three seconds. But that's not why I bought the thing, and I just don't use them.

Give this clock radio a try--it's really not as bad as everyone here is saying!

I did a lot of research to find a quality alarm clock for a decent price. I decided against one that played CDs because I already had a CD player and those tend to take up a lot of space (I have a fairly small bedside nightstand). While reading reviews on Amazon for a SONY alarm clock model, one reviewer recommended the Timex T309T instead, so I checked this one out on several websites. Most of the reviewers seemed pleased, so I asked for it on my wishlist and received it as a gift. My impression is definitely positive!

It was actually fairly easy to set up and program, nothing too high tech. My only little peeve is with setting the clock: the hour and minutes are not independent of each other, but rather you have to hold down the "forward" button until it passes 60 minutes to advance one hour. It's a minor technicality that is easily overcome, but still...

Other than that, I can't think of much else that I would change (though other reviewers had a couple of good suggestions). The battery back up is certainly a nice feature that's not found on other alarm clocks of comparable price. Another nice little feature is that the radio alarm setting has a sleeper mode that can be adjusted for 90, 60, 30 or 15 minute blocks of time. The nature sounds are not so natural, but the buzzer and radio work just fine.

Overall, a wonderful little alarm clock for a decent price. Definitely recommended!!

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Grundig G8 Traveler II Digital AM/FM/Shortwave Radio with Auto Tuning Storage, Black - (NG8B)

• FM/MW/SW/LW Auto/manual tuning Auto Tuning Storage (ATS) function Digital tuning with digital frequency readout
• Snooze/light Key lock function Input for earphones DC jack - 6V Dimensions: 6.625? x 4.125? x 1.125? and16.8 x 10.5 x 2.8 cm (W x H x D)
• Weight: 12.2 oz. and 346 g Accessories: owner?s manual, warranty card Specifications subject to change.

I wanted a shortwave radio small enough to carry around and not too expensive--somewhere in between the $20 toys and the $100+ serious boys. Well, this is it. It's not perfect, but it's reasonably powerful, has useful features, is fun to use, looks and feels good (with a matte black soft rubber finish), and comes with a handy pouch and earphones. Just what I wanted.

The display is excellent, with an orange backlit screen that's the best I've seen on any radio of this size. One click lights it up for a few seconds and a longer one keeps it on; it switches itself on briefly with a change of frequency. The information in the display is configurable and can include the following: frequency, battery strength, signal strength (in dBmicron and dB S/N), time, alarm, temperature (!), shortwave band, memory locations, and timer.

FM, SW, and AM/LW all sound good to me and are reasonably sensitive. FM pulls in a lot of stations, including the one I wanted most: KING-FM 98.1 in Seattle, which the more expensive Grundig Aviator A6 couldn't get from where I live on Vancouver Island. Ditto KOMO 1000 on AM. SW reception is good, too. Auto search only catches the strongest ones, but manual tuning gets scores more. I've heard Australia, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Zagreb, etc. in the short time I've had it. It all depends on time and the atmosphere. At 6.30 a.m. the 31m band is packed with stations. And there's continuous coverage from 3150-21950 kHz, not just the selections that come on many shortwave radios. If only there was a setting to filter out the religious stations that come in so loud and clear. Scanning is by thumbwheel in 1 or 5 kHz steps, or by band, or by auto scanning in 5 kHz steps. Both the tuning and volume knobs move by detents.

One particularly nice touch is that the radio remembers the last station you were listening to in each waveband when you switch off. Another nice touch is that radio is silent during auto scanning. A lot of thought has gone into the user-friendliness of this little portable. Short and long button presses for different functions can be annoying, but on this radio they are sensible and intuitive.

Hidden under a front panel are buttons for setting memory locations, time, and alarm, with a recessed button for resetting the radio. There is also a large dial to set the radio to any of the world's time zones, which apparently gives the radio its name. This looks impressive, as does the world map inside the panel, but unless you're constantly changing time zones it's really just a marketing frill. I'd have preferred a direct entry keypad here instead.

The only sour note is the feeble manual, which covers the basics but has no technical information about the radio or more advanced help (such as explaining dBmicron and dB S/N). You shouldn't have to Google things like this. Some parts of the manual are poorly explained or just plain wrong, like telling you to have the radio off or on to set up a function when it means the exact opposite. I've noticed the same thing with other Grundig/Eton manuals, even on their "serious" radios like the S350DL. They really should put more effort in here.

Despite the poor manual, this is a very competent portable that is easy to use and sounds good. A larger speaker might help and there is no tone control, though neither of these noticeably compromised sound quality on the stronger stations. With these slight reservations, this radio earns 4.5 stars from me, but since that's not possible, I'm happy to give it 5.

Buy Grundig G8 Traveler II Digital AM/FM/Shortwave Radio with Auto Tuning Storage, Black - (NG8B) Now

I saw the many fine reviews on this new Grundig G8 analog unit (another Tecsun clone) and took the chance to try it out. This is in fact a modern version of the old and very popular Grundig analog Traveller II from a decade or more ago which I also owned as well. The DSP capabilities (a Digital Signal Processing circuit contained on a very small computer chip that was recently introduced by Silicon Labs in Texas) are really fine for both sensitivity and selectivity on fm. In fact they are outstanding, especially given the low price on Amazon ($50 shipped). The sw reception was ok (fair), but without any rf (radio frequency) gain controls or dual bandwidth capabilities, it is not especially good for routine or lengthy sw listening sessions in my opinion. On am it was absolutely dismal (with some small exceptions), especially for a weak government public service station that I regularly receive on all of my other numerous radios (received readily by either quite large or even by very small units like my Tecsun PL-600, the Sangean DT-400W, the Kaito KA1102, the Grundig G6 Aviator, the Tecsun PL-450, the Sony ICF-SW12, etc.).

The unit is very well made however (but the battery door for the 3 AA batteries needed is NOT attached to the radio) and I like the system that Eton/Grundig has put together for their ATS system (automatic tuning and storage of relatively strong stations on am and fm only). The orange controllable backlighting is nice as is the lock key and the very easy and intuitive time setting and alarm system, etc. The black rubberized surface on the outside of the unit is also very nice too. The easily controllable LCD display indicating the battery strength (when on) and the world or home time (along with time in numerous locations that can be determined with a very hard to turn analog wheel on the front of the unit under a concealed door that is not easily openable and has an included world map with many global locations indicatedphew!), the local air temperature, the relative signal strength expressed and regularly updated every few seconds in two systems of units, etc. is also very high quality as well. The system also tunes very nicely with a thumb wheel just above the analog volume control knob and easily (by either fast (large) or slow (small) frequency increments for full control when neededin 1 or 5 KHz steps om am or sw for example) and is controlable directly from the keyboard just as it is done on the Grundig G6 aviator radio. The volume control level is also indicated in digital increments on the LCD screen as well.

But the main purpose of a radio is for quality radio signal listening! If you are just really into fm, the G8 is fantastic and really indicates what the future radio listening will soon be like for new radios to be released here in N. America very soon (and already available in some places in China) such as the Tecsun PL-310 (the revised DSP version of the infamous Ultralite system, the Eton E100/Grundig G100/Tecsun PL-200), the Tecsun PL-330 (a vertically oriented DSP system for replacing the Grundig YB-550PE which was yet another Tecsun clone) and finally, the Tecsun PL-380 (another horizontally oriented DSP unit that I don't know much about yet). So unless you are an Ultralite affectionado or an fm listener save your money in my opinion in order to be able to get what is soon coming to the world of worldband radio (pun intended) in my opinion!

UPDATE: August 10, 2009-

I have since rechecked the am capabilities of this radio against a known government information broadcasting station (broadcasting 24 hrs/day at low power levels) and found to my surprise that the power levels have been reduced for a while and were not representative of its normal transmission state. Thus, to be completely fair, I have changed my rating for this radio according to its reception of this station (as compared to my other radios as listed above) to FAIR am capabilities. It did receive one other weak am station quite well too, but generally it did not do very well on am at my receiving location compared to what other reviewers have found. For fm station reception, it was just simply outstanding however as already noted above.

UPDATE: November 4, 2009:

I finally feel vindicated about my earlier poor review of the am capabilities of this radio. Tecsun has just released the PL-310 and PL-380 DSP am/fm/lw/sw radios. Having purchased the PL-310 I can readily say now that it is much much better than the Grundig Traveler II in all its aspects including the utilization of the full bandwidth control capabilities of the on-board DSP chip (available at the push of a button on the PL-310/380 for 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 kHz bandwidths). These precise bandwidth controls are available on the PL-310/380 for all am/lw and sw frequencies. I will list more details on this fine new Tecsun radio shortly.

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All reviewers have been unanimous in their praise of this Chinese-made model, but they may be unaware of the primary reason for this radio's breakthrough AM and FM selectivity. The Grundig G8 is a clone of the Tecsun PL-300WT Chinese-market model, and it contains a DSP (digital signal processing) IC chip which controls all of the AM and FM functions. This fact is not mentioned in any of the Grundig advertising, although it is common knowledge among the Ultralight Radio AM-DXing enthusiast group.

The G8's AM selectivity is in a class by itself among pocket radios, as is its FM selectivity. FM sensitivity is also outstanding, providing reception of fringe stations typically only heard on communication receivers. Although my G8 model from Amazon arrived with very good AM sensitivity, there have been variations in the AM sensitivity levels of the identical PL-300WT Chinese-market models, due to the Tecsun company's manufacturing process (specifically, their neglect in matching the inductance of the loopstick coil to the value required by a varactor in the DSP chip). Since Tecsun also manufactures all of the G8's for Grundig, this may also be an issue with these G8 models, although it's too early to tell.

Despite this, the Grundig G8 is a superlative value for both AM and FM DXers, especially with Amazon's free shipping option. This model's DSP-enhanced performance is sure to please those who enjoy fringe-station chasing on either band.

73, Gary DeBock (N7EKX)

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The previous reviewer provided a very comprehensive evaluation, which I completely agree with. This radio exudes quality.

FM band performance is amazing you can hear less powerful stations loud and clear with no interference from strong stations. AM/SW sensitivity and selectivity are very good, no interference from strong stations on AM.

I didn't have to consult the manual to set up the clock and to figure out the main functionality. Interestingly, this radio also displays room temperature in one of the display modes.

UPDATE (after 2 weeks): Still love this radio, even more so. I live in the clear view of FM transmitter tower, which results in powerful stations jamming the whole band. Previously, I had a good experience with Sangean DT-400W in getting some of the weaker stations but Grundig G8 pulls the FM stations from as far as KKIQ in Pleasanton (40 miles away) and KWMR in Point Reyes (also 40 miles) with no interference whatsoever.

Now, to the AM. I considered my Sangean DT-200 the best among my radios as does have impressive AM capabilities but Grundig G8 is no slacker either I get exactly the same performance on AM.

I didn't spend much time listening to SW yet but my spot check indicates a very solid performance.

I find myself choosing this radio more often, although, it's not the smallest among the bunch of others. The user-friendliness of its controls, quality and performance make it almost a "grail" radio. I said "almost" as my grail radio would be G8 in the form factor of Sangean DT-400W . :)

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After a few reviews I got temptation to buy Grundig 8.Finally, on my table three radio receiver: Sony ICF-EX5(my favorite)price about $230 and up, Sony ICF-SW7600GR $130-150 and Grundig G8 $67CA.

After first minute I took away EX5.It is hard to beat this Radio Monster. Between two radios GrundicG8 and SonyICF-SW7600GP was god battle. Both radios are absolutely different in their construction and have different result with AM Dxing. 610 from Seattle on Sony had more noise than G8. The G8 had been trying to illuminate noise. As result that some station like 620 KG** from Tacoma got really weak almost unreadable signal.

The Sony received still readable and loud broadcast. Some strong signal station had clear signal with little noise. Sony had plenty noise on this frequency. Like DXing machine Sony got better result than G8 in my area, but quality of reception was better on G8.

SW Band very similar on both radios. Sony has better sound quality than G8.SW on G8 is easy to operate to stitch meters.G8 and Sony have same steps that made both radios in some way very adequate each to other. FM reception on G8 is very surprising. With small whip antenna it receives good quality signal on weak stations. For example, some stations in my area are unreadable on my Super Radio. Only Sony can get this station clear and strong. G8 is good FM competition for Sony. By small tuning steps, I was able to receive weak signal from Nanaimo. My conclusion is G8 is very interesting radio receiver. It is not HI-END dxing machine but considering price, size, and quality it is good competitor for same and higher price receivers. It is interesting toy to play and discover .I would recommend this radio for people, who like comfort of tuning and quality. Without big expectations, it is great radio with reasonable result.

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BRAND NEW Sony DSXS200X / DSX-S200X Digital Media Receiver with iPod Direct Control via USB

• AM/FM radio, MP3/WMA/AAC, USB, iPod receiver with Tune Tray for concealing media players
• 4 x 52 watts maximum power with 4V front, rear, and subwoofer preamp outputs
• Four-line white OEL DOT matrix display shows source, artist, track, playback time, menu, and clock
• Includes front-panel USB port, iPod control; SAT-/HD-radio-ready
• Selectable blue or red key illumination; one-year limited warranty

Works as expected.pretty intuitive controls, excellent sound, fast ipod response, good screen. This is a excellent product for the price. dont know why it comes with the free audio cable, but tnks anyway.

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Samsung YP-K3JQB 2GB Ultra Slim MP3 Player - Black

• Stores up to 2GB.* Plays MP3, WMA,DRM-Janus and JPEG. * Flash Storage Device * 1.8 full color OLED * FM Tuner with autoscan and presets * Light emitting touch pad * Li-Poly rechargeable battery * Screensavers-analog clock * Sleep timer and auto-off * Supports USB 1.1, 2.0 * JPEG slide shows * 20hr bat life
• 1.8 full color LED display. The K3 has a full color OLED Display. With its 1.8-inch display you can view JPEG slideshows.
• With DNSe, Samsung’s proprietary Digital Natural Sound engine technology, the K5 offers virtual surround sound. This guarantees great volume, no distortion, and a more natural and accurate higher quality sound, even with just two small speakers.
• In addition, 5 modes of Preset EQ allow you to customize the sound experience to suit the style of music. These advanced music functions allow you to enjoy the same acoustic wow that you would hear from your home stereo.

You can stop looking because you have just found the best MP3 player on the market today. Yes, this is the fabled "ipod killer" that beats the ipod Nano in almost every conceivable category. It probably won't actually outsell the ipod, because lets face it: if features were what sold ipods, Apple would be out of business. But I digress.

Unlike other players on the market, the Samsung K3 focuses itself on being an audio player first, and ignores some of the more gimmicky features found on other players such as video support. Personally, I would rather drive nails into my eyes then watch a movie on a 1-inch screen, but maybe that's just me. The other notable feature missing on the K3 is album art support, although I have my fingers crossed that a future firmware upgrade will correct this. Samsung more than makes up for the missing features by offering what is (in my opinion) the best sounding player on the market. The sound quality and number of customizable sound options such EQ settings, 3D sound, bass boost, etc are outstanding, particularly in the latest firmware versions. Personally, I listen to my K3 in normal mode with high quality Sennheiser buds (CX300) and I have zero complaints about the sound quality. This is a music player, not a media player. Some other cool features of the K3 are a great sounding FM radio, photo viewing, and text / lyrics viewing.

The K3 also wins out in the looks department, being the slimmest, most stylish player you can buy. I have the red version of this player and I actually get complements on my MP3 player! Everyone who picks it up tells me how cool it looks. The K3 also has nice a solid feel to it in your hand it just FEELS like a quality product. This is an important consideration, because some other players on the market, such as the creative Zen-V, feel like a children's toy that just fell out of a box of Frosted Flakes (seriously, go hold one!). But where the K3 really shines is in the looks department. No other player on the market comes close in terms of style. Not only is the player razor thin, but it has a nice clean design. The great menu designs and graphics on the player all combine to offer up a sense of style that is rarely found in electronics. And then there are the ultra-cool touch buttons. They take a little bit of getting used to, but once you have them down, you will never want to go back. The touch buttons are a great rival to the ipod click wheel.

So the player itself is great, but where most MP3 players fall short is in the software / media management side of things. A short explanation of the two main types of MP3 players is necessary here: MTP vs UMS. MTP stands for 'media transfer protocol' and refers to the scenario where software running on your computer manages the transfer of media to your portable device. This is the ipod / itunes model, where only itunes can get music onto your ipod. The alternative is UMS, which stands for 'universal mass storage' meaning that the portable device acts like a mini hard drive and can be connected to any computer. There are pros and cons to each method, with the primary advantage of the MTP model being ease of use and transparency, while the UMS devices offer simplicity and portability at the expense of placing the responsibility (and control) for managing the player onto the user.

What makes the Samsung K3 so great is that they cater to BOTH of these markets by making the K3 firmware upgradeable and offering both an MTP steam of firmware AND a UMS stream of firmware. This does not seem to be a well advertised fact, and I will warn you that it is not exactly easy to do the upgrade, but the point is that it CAN be done. Any experienced computer user should be able to manage it.

Myself, I cannot stand MTP devices or itunes-like software, which is what makes the K3 so attractive to me. Unfortunately, the K3 comes out of the box as an MTP device, meaning that you have to install the bundled Samsung software at least once to get things running. The Samsung software is about as good as any MTP software (i.e. complete crap), but it does what it is supposed to. The nasty little surprise that Samsung bundles with their software I could live without though. Samsung has silently bundled some DRM software / spyware called "Markany" with their program. After installing the software, you will notice two new programs that will run at all times in the background on your computer. One is the Samsung software, the other is the Markany program. Some people won't care about things like this, but it drives me completely bonkers!

The good news is that by upgrading the firmware to UMS, you can successfully ditch both the Samsung software and Markany, and enjoy all the great features of the K3, without having to bother with any software at all. Just plug in the player and copy your music over like it was a flash drive. Simple, easy, clean. Once this minor headache is over, you are left with one of the most powerful, best sounding, and definitely most stylin' music players you can buy.

Buy Samsung YP-K3JQB 2GB Ultra Slim MP3 Player - Black Now

Been looking around for a good mp3 player for about 6 months now, ever since I realized my iPod sucked (between the lack of real battery life and the complicated software intrface, I had had enough with Apple).

Believe me I looked into everything from Microsoft Zune to Creative Zen to the 30gb iPod, and a few lesser known players. THIS PRODUCT IS THE BEST ALL AROUND MEDIA PLAYER OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, and here's why:

1) Unprecedented battery life! It's been 4 days of on-and-off play for me since I first charged it out of the box, and I STILL HAVE 2 BARS LEFT.

2) Easy software interface: uploading songs and pics through the samsung program can get tedious if you want to make playlists, but other than that, I simply use the plug-n-play option (simply dragging media files into the removable disk folder).

3) Awesome sound quality! I was truly amazed with the cd-quality sound of the FM radio feature.

4) Plays WMA along with MP3: you will find that this NECESSARY feature is lacking in many of the other big wig players out there right now (ie Creative Zen)

5) Beautiful seamless controls (no "buttons")

6)YOU CANNOT BEAT THE PRICE!

Read Best Reviews of Samsung YP-K3JQB 2GB Ultra Slim MP3 Player - Black Here

This device has lots of good points and only a few bad points and bugs.

First, the good.

1. The sound quality is fantastic, much better than my first generation iPod. I am using my own headphones, the provided ones have not been opened.

2. Transfering files is fast and simple, no software is needed although a CD is provided.

3. The response is super fast. This is also bad, see below.

4. There have no glitches, no freeze-ups, no occational skipping. That last one is important as my old iPod got jittery all too often.

5. Although it is not the cheapest, it is substantially less that the iPod Nano.

6. The screen is bright, colorful, and clear, at least indoors.

7. The battery charges quickly and lasts forever.

8. I don't use pictures much on these tiny devices but the images I tested by loading them through the Samsung software were excellent, considering the tiny screen.

9. It looks nice!

Now, the bad.

1. The controls are so fast I still haven't figured out how to avoid holding them down too long. The screen sometimes goes wild jumping from menu-to-menu as I clumsily try to stop pressing buttons!

2. The provided software is mediocre at best and doesn't run very well under Vista. Everytime it starts up, it goes into convulsions before settling down. After that, is is fine. Works properly on my XP desktop.

3. I have yet to figure out how to get playlists over to the device. Every playlist, rather than being a reference, starts copying duplicates of the files already there. I don't have the space for that.

4. It is easily scratched even just sitting there. Get screen protectors for it before you even take it out of the box.

Finally, the ugly.

1. My 1 Gig iPod was never filled so I got the 2 Gig Samsung. Wow, it holds less that the smaller iPod. However, I think the sizes are larger which may be why the sound quality is so much better. Get the 4 Gig model.

2. The device is really geared for Europe. None of the free-for-30-days music stores with free downlaods are available to those of us in North America.

3. The on-line registration is crazed, I filled out the form at least 5 times and each time some silly tiny "mistake" was made. It didn't even like my address! I gave up.

Over all, this is a great compromise between the expensive iPods and the error-prone cheaper models of mp3 players.

Want Samsung YP-K3JQB 2GB Ultra Slim MP3 Player - Black Discount?

This thing really looks much better in person than the pictures would have you believe! I was in a retailer to pick up a different model, but when I saw this one.. the search was over. The menus are animated in a very cool way, and the sound quality is EXCELLENT. Even the supplied headphones are not that bad. It took just a few seconds to get used to not having an actual button to hit, but it really is a sleek little player. 5+ stars!

Let me preface this by saying that I have been looking at MP3 players for almost 9 months and couldn't find one that had the right features for a price that I was willing to pay. Samsung has always been able to hit my "sweet spot" when it came to technology and the K3 is no exception.

Pros

1) FM Receiver This was a big one for me. When I started my search, only the lower end units even thought to add this on.

2) Incredibly slim and sexy design This says it all. The K3 is perhaps the skiniest electronic device I have ever seen.

3) Durability I have already dropped it, banged it, and kicked it... It still holds up.

4) Seamless controls This adds to the sleek image and the controls are incredibly responsive

5) Ease to upload The firmware interface is extremely easy to use.

6) Hold button The hold button (which you need due to the incredibly responsive controls see above and below) is perfectly located.

Cons

1) Incredibly responsive controls It took a little getting used to quick taps. If your finger hangs out to long, you zoom right by the menu that you were looking for.

2) Owners manual The menus are not exactly straight forward for a first time user. So you will need to skim the owners manual (which is only provided on CD).

3) Location of earphone jack The earphone jack is located at the bottom of the unit, which while it keeps it out of the way of the controls, isn't the most convenient for everyday use.

All in all, the Pros WAY outweigh the Cons on this device. If I were starting from scratch or buying a MP3 player as a gift, the K3 is the way that I would go... hands down.

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iHome iP43 Clock Radio for iPod/iPhone w/ Pillow Shaker, Pink

• Model_Number - IP43PV
• Depth - 12.70
• Height - 4.10
• Width - 9.30
• Weight - 3.8000

This is a good iHome stereo system. Be careful however about how your iphone sits in the docking station if you have a case on it. Sound is decent, not very loud however. The pillow vibrating wake up with the snooze button on the cord is a very big plus.

Buy iHome iP43 Clock Radio for iPod/iPhone w/ Pillow Shaker, Pink Now

I purchased and iH55 dock/alarm clock for my daughter last year fro Christmas and it has NEVER worked. It began loosing time right away. The manufacturer charges for repairs and doesn't cover shipping costs. And worse yest, it was returned to me still not working. It is currently running 18 minutes behind and the company still wants to charge me to fix it and ship it. I don't think so. I'll be taking my money elsewhere.

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