HD Radio

Showing posts with label iphone dock alarm clock radio. Show all posts

Sony ICF-C218 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio (White)

Automatic time set
Automatic Daylight Savings Time
Battery backup ensures correct time
0.9-inch green LED display
Single alarm
Am/Fm Radio Feature
Built-In Calendar
Easy Alarm Setting

What I like about this alarm clock: doesn't take up much room on my nightstand, the time is preset at the factory so all I had to do was set my time zone, the alarm doesn't jolt you awake it starts out slow and quieter gradually getting faster and louder, you can choose how long you want your snooze to be, and it is so easy to figure out I first saw this item at Target and was able to figure it out right there while displayed, quite a few of the others baffled me.

Other info: only one alarm time can be set

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This clock is just perfect in our beach house. Actually, I have now bought 3 of these since they are white with our white furniture. They are small and they aren't so bright at night that it is bothersome. I would recommend these clocks. My daughter even wanted one to take off to college with her because of the size, radio and dim light at night.

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICF-C218 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio (White) Here

Edit May 18th 2012

I've owned this clock since January 4, 2010.

It does not tell the accurate time. There is no way to 'set' the time.

It randomly changes time 1 hour. Just today I woke up (Today is May 18, 2012 ) and the time had "set itself" forward one hour.

The only way to correct this is to change the zone of your time. There is no manually setting the time on this clock.

As of right now this clock is 6 minutes fast. There is no possible way to "set" it back to the correct time.

This is frustrating beyond belief. I will NEVER buy another clock from this company ever again.

When you fling yourself out of bed thinking you are an hour late.. When this clock has randomly set itself forward or backward one hour for no reason at all..

This clock is a useless waste of money.. I'll be buying something accurate in the near future. Lucky for me I have several clocks.. At least I know what time it is, but not from looking at this clock.

Also turning off the alarm is frustrating with it's turn dial instead of button.

Thumbs down for this clock...

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I kept having a problem with my 10 year olds forgetting to set their alarms at night or forgetting to reset the clock after an electrical 'hiccup'. Anyway, I bought them each one of these clocks so they'd never have to fuss with the time again. Let me say that part works GREAT! However, they both like to fall asleep listening to music which they have on a very low volume. The 'sleep' feature allows them to set the timer to 90/60/30/0 minutes till shut-off. Since they fall asleep to a low volume music, they are not able to set the wake-up alarm to 'radio'. They'd never hear it. So we set it to 'buzzer'. The sound is not a buzzer. It's a very pleasant beeping which is not that loud at all. If you wake easily this should not be a problem. My two DON'T wake easily. I still find myself having to wake them up. My next move... a foghorn blown from the sofa where I sit drinking my morning joe and watching the news. :)

After 1.5 years and lots of use, I can say that this radio is a terrific value for the money. It is well designed & attractive with a relatively small footprint. Has a pretty good instruction manual that is easy to follow. Glad I got it. Recommend highly.

I like the idea that you can fall asleep to the radio, have the alarm set on "buzzer", which is actually a gentle beep that gets louder and louder and more insistent till you turn it off. I find I cannot ignore this alarm clock. I couldn't imagine sleeping through it as you can hear it down the hall! (And like many people, who wants to get up from a deep snooze???-no choice with this one.) Never be late or hurried again!

The radio is actually fairly high quality with good sound and quite simple to tune to reception.

I guess an alternative to this effective alarm clock would be a sledge hammer poised to drop on you at the appropriate time. I think I'll take the beeping.................

Tocky Rolling Alarm Clock

Tocky Runaway Alarm Clock with MP3 - White

I was very excited when I received this in the mail a cute alarm clock that would roll away! It sounded awesome. It took a long time to set up (controls are confusing) but I finally got it ready and then found that the Tocky wouldn't roll at all, which is why I got it. I returned it and got another. It rolled (mainly in circles; it never went far) but after just a few weeks the audio stopped working. I put in new batteries and the audio worked again, but it stopped working a few days after that and I couldn't get it to work again. The times it stopped working seemed to be directly after rolling off its shelf and landing on the floor. It wasn't even a foot and a half in the air the instructions say it can withstand up to a three foot fall.

Basically, seems to break very easily. Even when working the rolling feature isn't worth it. Complicated to set up and annoying to replace batteries (you have to pull the skin off to do it and then carefully put it back on).

Do not recommend.

I used a groupon to purchase this product, on the Nanda website and got it for only $40. I overpaid. They have an awesome concept that is ruined by very poor follow through, and bad design. The actual run-away feature is brilliant, and works very well. And the built-in default sound is very adorable, lots of fun chirps and differing sounds that made me smile. But that is where the smiles stopped.

I have had to replace the batteries twice already, in about two months. The batteries are very hard to get to, as you have to remove the skin (which is murder to get back on correctly) and then find a screwdriver, because you'll need one to get the battery cover off.

The music amount that they say you can load onto it is misleading, because you can *load* hours of music but only 9 slots are available on the interface, so you can only play 9 songs the other songs cannot be accessed.

The interface is glitchy & difficult one push button (which can be very difficult to push) that scrolls thru every single option (there are 8 in all, requiring 10 button pushes). Every time I just want to change the song # or change the alarm time, I have to go thru every...single...option. It gets very tedious. The touch wheel will be under-responsive, then it suddenly jumps ahead 10+ numbers with no warning, even after I take my finger off the touch sensor.

The system gives you one snooze only, and you can choose how many minutes it will snooze, from 1-9 minutes. Why anyone would snooze for 1 minute is beyond me. After that, there is no snooze, only off (which requires that you catch it first, that is the fun part). This is not too bad, but I would prefer to have the option of having two snoozes.

The worst of all is that once the alarm has run away, it times out and turns itself off after about 10 min, which really defeats the purpose of having a clock that runs away. A couple of times I have almost gone back to sleep after it turned off! They don't seem to realize, it takes some people longer to wake up, and those are probably the people would be buying this clock!

They have a great start, but they made some very poor choices in the design and interface. And this is the second generation of this very expensive alarm clock. I expected a much better product.

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I was given a tocky as a gift, and initially was very excited since I had been eyeing it for weeks. However, I was quickly disappointed in the $70 alarm clock.

We programmed the MP3's in and were all set to go when...it just started working only intermittently. The touch screen is incredibly sporadic and difficult to use, and after a day or so, the tocky didn't stand on it's own 3 silicone feet. It just...fell over. So basically, it was an adorable, un-programmable, really expensive white silicone globe. Even when we occasionally get it to work, it is INSANELY hard to turn off, even when the skin is placed correctly (which is rarely, cause, you know, it rolls around...sort of.)

I tried contacting customer service at NANDA home, and since I didn't have a receipt, they would not exchange it. THEY ARE THE ONLY MANUFACTURER. The product could not have originated anywhere else, and they refused to exchange a clearly defective product. I wasn't really that pleased with the patronizing tone taken, either-I know how to work a touch screen, and I know how to read the product description. I don't need tutorials, I need a well-made product.

Save your money. If it worked, it would be adorable.

Read Best Reviews of Tocky Rolling Alarm Clock Here

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very cute, loud enough, works well, only problem is the sinlge button used to control the entire alarm is pushed by a piece of silicon on the cover, and our doesn't' fit right...so we have to use a small object like a bobby pin or pencil tip to turn the alarm on/off

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Sony Xplod Powerful All-In-One Mega Bass Reflex Stereo Sound System with a Digital Tuner AM/FM Radio

This All-In-One Sony Sound System Combines Old & New Technology. Play all CD or MP3 CD discs, listen to programming from your USB device, enjoy your favorite radio stations on the digital AM/FM stereo tuner, revisit sweet memories while listening to your tape cassettes, record music from a CD, radio or cassette to your USB memory flash drive or cassette, enjoy music from your iPod, MP3 or PC by connecting to the built-in Aux cable. Also conveniently works on batteries to take it along anywhere.
Powerful Rich Stereo Sound, with two 4" stereo speakers & 2 tweeters you can fill any room with the most beautiful music. Plus the powerful 12 watt 5.15" woofer delivers rich deep bass and can be adjusted to 2 different levels. The sound power gauge and Light Sync flashes along with your music to liven up any party. Subwoofer & Light Sync can even be turned off for a nice romantic setting.
Sleep Timer puts you to sleep peacefully while playing your favorite tunes. Options are 90, 60, 30, 20 or 10 minutes of listening pleasure to relax you asleep. The light sync will not flash when sleep mode is on, to give you a peaceful dozing off.
Built-In Auxiliary Cable & Audio in Jack lets you connect any iPod or MP3 Digital Music Player to hear through this amazing sound system - Headphone Jack allowes you to listen to your sound system without disturbing anyone around you. Play Any Music that you have stored on your Sony MP3 Player or USB Digital Device with Various Modes of Playback.
Portable - Just the right size for dual use, as a shelf system and a portable, weighs 18.75lbs and measures 21.7" Long x 10.3" High x 15" Deep. With the fold-down handle and Battery power option you get the freedom to use this anywhere, at home or on the go. Take it to the park, on a trip or use it at home and easily carry from room to room (Batteries not included).

Model number CFD-RG880CP. As far as I can tell, this is basically the CFDG700CP, but with USB. The manual is copyright dated 2008.

I got the box so I could play from USB and use audio input from laptop. After a short learning curve, I find this box sounds very nice at lower and mid volume levels and the remote controls most everything, except some setup options. My best trance mp3 at 320vbr cannot be turned above about 82 of 100 on volume because there the bass just doesn't sound right.

Once I rewire the battery input, I can directly connect to a 12-Volt marine battery and play on the beach all day and night ;-)

I did get the demo mode turned off by following the directions and it stays off.

I would like for the bass to bump without the LED lights on, but cannot figure out how to turn them off without turning off the bass.

I had previously tried the BOSE Soundlink and this box reproduces better sound at Soundlink's volume levels for half the price and is much more versatile although kinda large.

Buy Sony Xplod Powerful All-In-One Mega Bass Reflex Stereo Sound System with a Digital Tuner AM/FM Radio Now

Fantastic. Rich deep bass and good stereo sound. I have had other similar systems but none were anywhere near as good as this.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Xplod Powerful All-In-One Mega Bass Reflex Stereo Sound System with a Digital Tuner AM/FM Radio Here

this thing is AWSOME , very DEEP rich Bass sound -volume range is great, from almost silent to room shaking with perfect sound-zero distortion quality construction and the LED lighting really coolthe best part about this is the included remote control unitcontrols everything from across the room, even On/Off I'm Super Happy with this Moster !

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I am really enjoying the system so much. It was brand new look and the system was so powerful. Thanks.

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I gave it a five star because it has everything you need from cassette tapes to USB and Ipod connections. I like playing Mp3s CDs so this boom box has that feature. The sound is great very loud.

Pioneer DEH-3300UB CD Receiver with iPod Direct Control and USB Input

Single-DIN AM/FM radio, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3/WMA/WAV, USB, iPod/iPhone receiver
4 x 50W MOSFET amplifier with one RCA preamp output (2V)
Detachable faceplate with 10-character LCD display, red key illumination
Includes front panel auxiliary input, USB port with direct iPod control
Advanced Sound Retriever restores audio from compressed digital recordings

I bought and returned this unit. The main reason is because the screen is too bright, and the brightness cannot be adjusted. That means it cannot be adjusted in the menu and there's no illumination wire on the connector that can be controlled by the headlight setting.

The screen is very bright. Excellent on a sunny day but glaringly bright and distracting at night. The black background of the display is even washed out by the brightness to the point where it's not quite black when the unit is on.

Also this unit is lacking a High Pass Filter. My speakers were getting distorted at moderate to high volume levels. A HPF would solve this. This feature existed on its predecessor, the 3200.

Also lacking is the EQ. The 5-band graphic EQ from previous models has been replaced with a 3-band bass/mid/high.

On the plus side the mechanics on the 3300 are excellent. The buttons have a great tactile feel and there is plenty of grip length on the control knob. I tried out the 3200 in the store and the 3300 by comparison has better buttons.

But the brightness of the screen and lack of HPF were the real deal-breakers for me. I returned it and bought one of last year's models, the DEH-5200HD.

As for the DEH-5200HD it is an excellent unit. It has a HPF, which stops the speaker distortion and helps the overall sound quality. Plus the 5-band EQ allows for better fine tuning, and the brightness is adjustable. Finally, I found I really like the HD radio feature as it opened up additional FM channels that I didn't have access to before.

Overall I'd recommend buying a 2010 Pioneer model instead of their 2011 models. The 4300 also lacks a HPF, but at least the brightness can be tuned to 1 custom setting. It wasn't immediately clear though from my reading if the 4300 allows for a preset low/high setting. That could make switching brightness tedious.

Pioneer should always have a HPF and low/high brightness setting at the very least. In addition they should have an illumination wire on all their radios so brightness is set to low/high automatically when the headlights are turned on/off.

The DEH-5200HD is a better unit in my own experience, and based on looking at the specs their other 2010 models are a better choice than the 2011 models since they have removed the HPF and brightness settings.

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Works great. As i could not find any info anywhere about this being compatible with Android as well it indeed does work fine. Since not everyone in the world likes or has an Apple device as it only says it will play Ipod and Iphones thru the usb port on the front.

Read Best Reviews of Pioneer DEH-3300UB CD Receiver with iPod Direct Control and USB Input Here

Honestly, I don't know why some people have given it such poor reviews. Now, I just received the item and perhaps I should wait a few months to see how this thing will do, but so far, I am nothing but impressed. It took me about 20 minutes to install it, and I'm not extremely knowledgable about such things. All the complaints and gripes that make this sound like it is only decent are such minor things that I can't see why people put up such a fuss. The LCD front display is bright, but it's not blinding and I think it's needed if you want to see it clearly during the day. The controls are not overly confusing as some have said. They take a little getting use to, but like anything worthwhile, it just takes some time and practice.

Honestly, this item is great and I have nothing negative to say about it. My speakers sound as good as they are going to now, and the ipod control is amazing. Scrolling through my playlists or artists is very easy to do and I can find things quickly. A good FM transmitter and charger will cost you half this price, so why not go a little farther and get something you won't regret and makes your ipod music clear, with no static at all? I honestly love this device and for the price you really can't go wrong.

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In general this is a decent entry-level car CD/USB/iPod receiver. One of the most important improvements in this model from the previous year's version was reworking the main function knob to a rotary encoder and push button only, with direction-pad functions moved to separate buttons. On the earlier unit, it would have been a frustrating game attempting to turn up the volume, for instance, without accidentally pushing the "joystick" and changing a track or station.

At this point in my ownership, the biggest drawback is the lack of AAC file support. If you're like me, you might be browsing several models that support MP3 and AAC (not to mention WMA) directly from a USB thumb drive, but fail to spot those that do *not* include AAC. Does this make (the DEH-3300UB) a bad product? No. But it feels a little bit like a fine-print gotcha.

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I bought one of these today for the used Acura I just bought (unexpectedly found it on sale, cheap!). It's not installed yet, but based on a similar Pioneer I put in another vehicle last year, I expect this one to be *very* worth the price. I've been buying Pioneer decks since the early 90's because I use the radio function most of the time, and the Pioneer "SuperTuner" has consistently been the strongest FM receiver I've found,at least in the low-to-mid-level decks I buy.

I wouldn't have written this review, but about the bad reviews based on losing the memory when the ignition is switched off? IT'S NOT THE RADIO'S FAULT. All modern vehicles have a constant 12 volt line to supply voltage to the radio to maintain the memory settings. If your radio is losing memory settings when the key is turned off, then the radio's main power connection is wired to something other than the intended constant 12 volt supply. So, it's like blaming your TV for going dark when a tree falls across the power lines down the road and knocks out the power to your house.

So, next time, consider finding somebody who knows what they're doing to install your car stereo. I'm just sayin'.

Cheers!

Creative Zen Mozaic Mosaic EZ 100 8GB MP3 Player, Voice Recorder, Alarm Clock EZ100, NEW, BULK PACKA

8GB Capacity, Bold unique design. This Model does NOT have FM Radio or a Speaker.
Full color display View photos on the sharp 1.8" TFT display while listening to your favorite music
Record and play Create and record voice memos wherever you are. Play them back at your convenience anytime you want!
Perfect travel companion, Plug and play.
BRAND NEW ITEM, Bulk packaged (Non Retail Package), SAVE MONEY, SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT

This is one of several zen devices that I have purchased. I have to say that this product is far worse than it's previous incarnations. The player takes far longer to open it's music library, and practically hangs when opening a playlist. The on switch / lock has been removed, and replaced by the play button / a lock option in the menu. I dislike not having a dedicated on switch, and it's downright inconvenient to have a digital lock rather than an manual one. I have also had ordering problems with mp3s I've put on the player this is not usually a problem with music, but a big one with audio books.I recommend steering clear of this model and waiting till it's changed, or looking at a different manufacturer.

Buy Creative Zen Mozaic Mosaic EZ 100 8GB MP3 Player, Voice Recorder, Alarm Clock EZ100, NEW, BULK PACKA Now

I replaced this product and it seems like this creative zen doesn't work as well with holding its place with audio books as my previous product. It also has to be refreshed more. However, I do like the longer battery life and more storage.

iLuv Vibe Plus Bed Shaker Dual Alarm Clock Dock for iPhone and iPod, (Black)

Compatibility (plays and charges): iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G,3G, 4G; iPhone 1G, 3G, and 4 (AT&T and Verizon)
Bed shaker vibrates a bed or a pillow to wake up the heaviest sleepers
Time Sync function synchronizes time from your iPhone and iPod
Plays and charges your iPhone or iPod.Treble/Bass control
Digital dual alarm clock with universal iPod dock
Plays and charges your iPhone or iPod
Bed shaker vibrates a bed or a pillow to wake up the heaviest sleepers
Wake to iPhone or iPod, selectable alarm should, FM radio, buzzer, and /or bed shaker
Programmable presets for up to 8 FM radio stations

This is the first time that I have ever written a review for a product. I was hesitant on buying it the first time because there were no reviews. Even after owning it for only one day I felt compelled to write a review as I see it is getting only a two star review and it deserves so much better.

I first saw the Iluv Imm178 in a magazine advertisement and thought it sounded wonderful. My husband has to get out of bed at 3:45 for work in the morning. To avoid waking our children up he has always used his alarm on his phone and put it on vibrate. He then clenches his phone all night long and wakes often to ensure he is still holding it. Obviously, he doesn't get a lot of sleep because of this. So, when I saw the bed shaker I thought it would be wonderful (if it worked) so I got this product although I was hesitant because of the lack of reviews. I did look at the older model and considered it but when I looked at the negatives in the review, it looked like the company fixed all of the complaints and I definitely believe they have.

Well, it came in yesterday and although it has only been a day I am so pleased. Now, if you are expecting a Bose sound system, you aren't going to find it. Don't get me wrong, the sound it great, but let's have practical expectations for a $100 alarm clock. The sound surprisingly can fill a room and the bass and treble are adjustable to what your music preference is. We were very pleased with the sound.

The entire unit is easy to use. I had no problems setting the alarms and all the bells and whistles. It really does have quite a few wonderful features. You can even set the snooze to different time increments. It can return 5,7,9, or 15 minutes later. Finally the bed shaker, the reason why I bought it. We first gave it a test run before bed in which I set it 5 minutes ahead. I actually forgot I had set it and it made me jump so high when it went off! My husband used it to wake him up this morning and he woke up immediately. I am surprised that it would not wake up some people. Anyway, we are happy and no more cell phone alarm clock! Thank you Iluv!

Buy iLuv Vibe Plus Bed Shaker Dual Alarm Clock Dock for iPhone and iPod, (Black) Now

Product is great and I've enjoyed the purchase. Sound is pretty good and alarms are awesome and loud enough to even wake the dead. LOL. My only complaint is that the brightness level/snooze button are the same. I keep changing the brightness by mistake all the time when I hit snooze more than once (and you know it ought to happen when you really want the extra 5 mins). I would have given it a 4 stars but the product is not future proof despite only 3 months on the market. Since I've got iPhone 4 I noticed that time sync does not work and that phone shows message that product is neither optimized or designed for iPhone 4 interchangeably. Quite annoying.

Read Best Reviews of iLuv Vibe Plus Bed Shaker Dual Alarm Clock Dock for iPhone and iPod, (Black) Here

Hello all... Let me prefix this by saying I've only had this alarm clock for two days. My initial impressions are pretty good. The alarm clock is fairly easy to use, and I really like the shaker attachment. The two gripes that I do have are: it did not come with the adapters for the different iPods as described (this was not a huge deal for me, as I'm using my iPhone), and it will not fit an Oterbox Defender series case. I had a sneaking suspicion that this would be the case (as nothing fits the Otterbox), but I decided to give it a try anyways. I purchased an extension cord (female to male 30pin dock), so I SHOULD be able to leave my phone in its case and use it with the clock. We will see when the cord arrives. I wish they had a remote, to control the iPod while playing music, but I can't deduct, because I knew before hand that it did not.

For now, I give it four stars (it won't let me do 3 1/2 stars). If anything changes, I'll update my review. I hope this was helpful for everyone.

**Update 29 May 12**

I have had the clock for a little while now. Still satisfied. I have not had any of the issues with the clock losing time or anything like that. I have been using the extension cord I described, and that works well (my iPhone just doesn't sit in the dock). Overall, I would recommend this product. If you use an Otterbox Defender series case, just understand, you will need to order a 30 pin dock extension cord as well, as it will not fit in the dock with your case on.

Want iLuv Vibe Plus Bed Shaker Dual Alarm Clock Dock for iPhone and iPod, (Black) Discount?

My wife routinely gets up before me. She used to have an annoying little clock that "blarp blarp blarp" every morning and it drove me nuts, so I bought her this.

It works fine with the iPhone 3G. Charges the phone and allows you to use the phone while it is plugged into the unit. Music is a decent enough quality to enjoy in the bedroom I would not buy this mainly to listen to music in a very large room though.

The bed shaker works great. It wakes her up early. Sometime I feel it but I fall back asleep immediately definitely not as intrusive as a radio or blarp. The unit has a second alarm that I use to get up I have it set to use the speaker on the main unit (though I could use the shaker as well if I wanted).

One feature I really like is the ability to dim the display. It can be quite bright on the highest level, but through 10 levels you can get it down to just a hint of light. And even on the lowest level you can see the time in daylight from across the room.

Overall, a great alarm clock. I am impressed with the design and how well it is thought out.

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In a word: Cheap.

Not the "what a good deal this is" Cheap, but instead it was the "oh this is just craptacular" kind of Cheap that you would expect to find at the local dollar store.

The sound isn't "rich" like the description claims. Very tinny in my opinion. Something you wouldn't mind so much if you had paid half the price for.

The interface (if you could call it that) to control volume, change radio stations, set up alarms, etc. is a pain to deal with. I've written firmware, websites, and interfaces for a living and it doesn't have to be this painful to set up. Now they did do something totally cool by making it super easy to set the time by just docking your iPhone (I own a 3GS). Kudos for that! Now I will admit, after you get through setting the alarms and radio station pre-sets, there is no more of that "pain" I speak of... unless your iLuv radio resets itself randomly every hour or day!

I bought mine and after setting it up I was excited to wake up to a bedshaker that not only shook the crap out of me, but would play music as well. I'm a heavy sleeper, so I was willing to drop eighty on this thing as I figured it would pay itself off in the long run by helping me keep my job. After a few weeks and after the box had been recycled (hence, I could no longer return it) it began resetting itself. I'd sometimes look at the time and either panic or think I had plenty of time, but then I'd realize it started the time over from it's last random reset. Not to mention, the alarms I set up were wiped clean too! Luckily for me, my iPhone has a built in alarm functionality, so I was able to keep my job. Sure, I could dock my phone on it to fix the time, but it would always reset itself randomly throughout the day or just minutes after I set it. I gave it to my nephew who uses it as an expensive charger for his 3rd Gen iTouch. Just walking into his room and noticing the wrong time still throws me off.

I'd use it as an FM radio, but as I said before, the sound is very tinny, and I have Pandora on my computer, which has way better speakers that cost only half of what this thing ran me.

The concept of the iLuv is good if you're a heavy sleeper like me, just keep your box and everything in the attic for at least 60 days, so if you run into problems, you can return it. I believe Amazon has a lengthy return policy. I'm sure mine was the one dud in a 1,000 but that doesn't mean I won't give my dud a 1-star.

Side Note: I also bought my niece the older Pink iLuv alarm clock (with bed shaker) and she likes it mostly because it's Pink! She hasn't had any problems with the time resetting itself and it's been about 5 months.

UPDATE (12/09/2010):

Well, It's been almost 4 months now and it occurred to me that maybe I should put batteries in the darn thing to see if that will keep the time from resetting. At first it looked like it was sorta working; even though it still malfunctions when adjusting the dimmer. I set the alarm for my nephew and the next morning he woke up late. He said the time was off by an hour. I said, "I thought you said to set it for 7am?", he said, "I did, it's just the current time is off by an hour." This was after we had synced the correct time up with his iTouch the night before. Bottom Line: It's still a piece of crap, and Santa's gonna have to shell out a benjamin for a decent alarm that will not only work, but sound good too. I'll update again with a link for the review of the new alarm after Christmas.

Clarion CX501 Double-DIN CD/Bluetooth/USB Receiver

Double-DIN AM/FM Radio, CD, CD-R/RW, WMA/MP3, USB, iPod, Bluetooth Receiver
50W x 4 MOSFET internal amplifier with three 4V preamp outputs (front, rear, subwoofer)
Built-in Bluetooth for hands-free phone operation and audio streaming
Front-panel USB port with direct iPod control, WMA/MP3 playback; 3.5mm auxiliary input
Display features oversized rotary knob, 728-variable color illumination
OEM Steering Wheel Remote Ready. Wireless Remote Control Included
Built-in Bluetooth Interface (HFP, HSP, OPP, PBAP, A2DP, AVRCP). Front USB Port with iPod Direct Connect Capabilities
HD Radio Ready with Optional THD301.50 Watts x 4 Built-in Amplifier.6-Channel/4 Volt RCA Output. Subwoofer Volume Control
Built-in High and Low-Pass Filters.Magna Bass EX Dynamic Bass Enhancement.Parametric EqualizerBeat EQ for Sound Adjustment.
Built-in Microphone.728 Color Variable Lighting Display and Buttons.3.5mm Audio Auxiliary Input (Front)
Front USB Port with iPod Direct Connect Capabilities. Sirius Direct Connect Ready.

I bought this for a 2005 Chevy Colorado. I used a Metra 95-2009 Double DIN Installation Multi-Kit for Select 1995-2008 GM/Honda/Isuzu/Suzuki Vehicles installation kit and an Axxess GMRC-01 Class II GM Chime Retention Interface to keep my chimes my truck doesn't have On-Star or a separate factory amp. I also got the Scosche Mda-1B 1988 Up Gm Micro/Delco Antenna Adapter because GM uses a small antenna plug. All parts were exactly what I needed. The radio fit perfectly WITHOUT cutting the truck's metal rear support bracket inside the dash. The truck has Boston Acoustic speakers in the front doors and factory speakers in the rear. As a result I keep the fader set to the front speakers only. This truck has no dimmer wire or illumination wire so the dimming feature will not work. I did not need navigation because I use my Droid and I don't need DVD or movies in the truck. I had that feature in my last head unit for three years and never did watch a movie in the truck.

I like that it's compatible with my existing Sirius SCC1 receiver I didn't want to have to buy a proprietary Sirius receiver. That kind of thing just rankles me and it's a BIG reason I chose this unit. I just plugged it in and it simply worked. The unit will hold 18 Sirius presets and I can choose to display Artist and Track at the same time.

Also, the ability to read USB MP3 files is great I like to throw audio books on a USB stick for long drives. The Clarion will remember the track position even after the truck is turned off and the USB stick removed so when I put the USB stick in again the unit will shift to the USB source and start playing where it left off. This is a great feature for audio books. Fastforward/rewind is accomplished by holding the Next Track/Previous Track buttons.

Good bluetooth connection with my Droid X The unit connects automatically with both BT phone and BT audio at the same time. (My wife's much-more-expensive Pioneer AVIC will not connect both phone and audio to her Incredible at the same time; she has to choose one or the other and go through the cumbersome process to do it.) I can play music on my phone and sound comes out of the Clarion instead of the phone and I can pause, skip tracks, control volume, etc with the Clarion. The BT Telephone part also works great and the sound is fine. The microphone is built into the unit. The Clarion easily accepted my Droid X phone book although it wouldn't transfer the contacts in my favorites but I think that is a problem with the phone and not the Clarion I'm still working on it. It is not possible to add single numbers to the phone book. The Clarion phone book stores all the names in Last Name | First Name order which I don't like. Calls are not that easy to start from the Clarion unless it is redialing a recent call. Trying to direct dial from the radio while driving would be crazy because its way too complicated. However, incoming calls work perfectly (and mute the radio during the call) and I can make outgoing calls from the phone while it sits in the dock and then it's hands free speaker-phone over the Clarion. Overall I'm extremely happy with the bluetooth and this is another BIG reason I am happy with this unit.

Aux-In jack on the front haven't used this yet but its good to have.

Double Din Big two-line text thats easy to read while driving. The buttons are not all mashed together and the volume knob is big. It's easy to control the unit quickly and safely. I appreciate this after driving another vehicle with a single-din unit that had dozens of tiny buttons and practically unreadable text and button labels. However, I can't see the clock at the same time as anything else which is a negative in other words I can see Artist and Track, or Station or whatever but if I want to see the clock it will be all I see. They should have left a spot where the clock can always be visible.

The FM sounds pretty good better than the Sirius music stations I think. I can't compare the FM sensitivity to the factory radio because I took out the factory radio long ago...

Music sounds good enough with my BA speakers. Not outstanding, but good enough for me. In my younger days when I was more into music I would have demanded more and probably used an external amp and sub-woofer, etc (and also bought a more expensive brand just because of the name!) but nowadays I mostly listen to talk radio on Sirius. However, like I said, music sounds very acceptable if I don't crank it up way too loud. I actually removed my external Alpine amp at the same time I installed the Clarion. I don't feel like I need it.

The ability to change colors is very cool. Right now I have it on a custom yellow which looks real good.

The remote, which I don't use, has a mute button but the head unit does not. However it's easy to turn down quickly due to the huge volume knob.

I did test the CD part which was fine, but I probably won't be using that either.

There are three ipods in my house so I could test that feature but I just don't care enough to do it. I can use my Droid over bluetooth if I want to play portable music.

Bottom line is that I am very happy with the Clarion considering it's price and would certainly buy again if I needed another head unit.

Buy Clarion CX501 Double-DIN CD/Bluetooth/USB Receiver Now

I picked this up this weekend and replaced an older non-amplified Alpine.

This unit is very light. It fit my WRX well after tucking the cabling behind the center vent ducts; and only needing a small custom made trim ring to fill the gaps. The unit went in easily and cleanly. The sound is VERY clean (no EQ setting used). I'm running all channels though older Blue Thunder amplifiers and the imaging is good, bass is clean punchy and the unit looks clean in the dash. The illumination lets you match the car's color very well.

The USB port is the main reason I got this unit. I have a microSD keychain USB adapter that I can toss 8GB of music on, and it plays with no problem. It seeks and changes track incredibly fast. Faster than an iPod.

The bluetooth paired easily with the MyTouch 1.2. I've tested calls and it worked great. Had to adjust the mic gain up some, but thats all.

BONUS: The deck controlled winamp on my android phone. This was a complete surprise to me and I actually giggled when I discovered it.

Radio reception seems fine, I'm not a huge fan of local radio but what it picks up comes in clear. I haven't spun through the entire 'dial' but my main stations are loud & clear. You haven't heard NPR/PRI until the background sub-bass from on-location interviews shakes your seat. ;)

My only gripe is the display. While installing it I thought I had (inexplicably) gotten the dimmer wire screwed up as I could not see the display *at all* while looking directly at it (leaning over the center console installing it). Looking at it off-axis from either front seat helped but it was still pretty dim. I had to crank up the contrast to full to comfortably read the display and I'll likely have to get my windows tinted to have it be bright enough to be readable at a glance on the road. Granted, this is not helped by the high installation point and slight upward angle of the WRX radio location. I may try a non-glare phone screen protector to see if this helps.

I'm still fidgeting with settings but so far this is a keeper. I was looking at its predecessor deciding on this level of head unit or going with a full-blown Nav system that was literally 10x the price. I'm glad I went this route. It was inexpensive, works great and was super-simple to install. As far as nav, Google maps using the blutetooth audio can tell me where to go.

Bottom line: feature rich great sound looks good HOWEVER, display is NOT daylight friendly. BUT if you have a car with window tint, this is your double DIN head unit.

Read Best Reviews of Clarion CX501 Double-DIN CD/Bluetooth/USB Receiver Here

After a frustrating visit to CarToys (they insisted that I needed to spend $600 to $700 for a new stereo and speakers), I took my stock radio out of my 2004 Ford Explorer to find a jumble of 49 wires and thought, oh no, what have I gotten myself into!

After much research starting here on Amazon (Catamount's advice was invaluable), to Metra (Justin at Metra went above and beyond), and ending on Ford Explorer forum sites (where I located a PDF on removing the door panels to replace the stock speakers), I found my way through the wire jumbles and soldered Metra's wiring harness to the CX501's and then connected it all into the stock Ford harnesses. After which, I was happily astonished at the Bluetooth phone connectivity and great sound (coupled with my iPod) of the CX501. All for about $280 you can install an excellent new stereo along with new speakers. The CX501 paired without any issues to my Droid and controls my iPod just as easily as on the device itself. The sound, coupled with new speakers, blows away the factory radio. It begs the question, why didn't I do it sooner?

If anyone, like me, is new to head unit/speakers replacement, and needs help removing the Ford door panels, let me know and I'll get you the link to the PDF (I've found that Amazon strips URLs out of reviews).

The other pieces include:

Metra Harness (for Ford's with stock Amp and Sub-woofer): Metra 70-5521 Radio Wiring Harness for Ford 03-Up Amp

Nice sounding easy to install Kenwood Speakers: Kenwood KFC-P680C 6-Inch x 8-Inch Easy Fit Ford/Mazda Speaker System

Notes: I had to install a RadioShack 5V voltage regulator between the Amp turn-on in the new radio to the stock Amp turn-on since the new radio is 12V while the stock Ford Amp is 5V. Metra told me if I didn't the sub-woofer would probably "pop" when you turned the radio on. Also, the pin-outs for the Ford harness can be found on the Metra package and also on sites such as InstallDoctor and Cruthfield.

I'm very satisfied; it was well worth the time. Good luck!

Want Clarion CX501 Double-DIN CD/Bluetooth/USB Receiver Discount?

Bought this for my 2001 Pontiac Grand Am GT as a replacement for the factory headunit. My car originally had the premium Monsoon stereo, but I was told while it had an external amplifier, it was held back by the not so great Delco head unit. I popped this radio in via a Scosche GM wiring harness from Walmart for $30 and it worked nearly perfectly. Sound is crisp and clear and a vast improvement over the old headunit.

I chose a double din radio because I want to preserve the "stock" look to act as a deterrent against stereo thieves (my 95 Suburban recently had its single din radio stolen). With this radio it's kind of a "have to look twice" to realize it's not the factory radio. And most radio thieves don't give a rip about factory radios. The only problem is that Clarion is on the front of the radio in large enough print. Perhaps I'll have to get a sticker that says Dual or Jensen.lol

Overall sound quality over all the inputs I've used has been very good. The bass is very good, almost too good in fact as my rear deck speakers are probably being pushed to their limits now. Radio reception is pretty good, not quite as good as factory, but good. And that may be due to the fact that I have to use an antenna wire adapter.

I love the customizable face colors. I have a Pontiac and they have red interior, at night the radio totally looks like it's the factory unit.

I picked this unit over it's older sibling the Clarion CX609 because of the way the Bluetooth is implemented. In the CX609 you have to run a microphone and a wire up your A-pillar or wherever you want it (I don't have the patience to do that) with the CX501 it's integrated into the unit itself and with adjustable gain/sensitivity it works very well. It's so convenient.

A weakness is the interface, it's not the most complicated radio I've used but the ease of use from a factory radio is definitely missed. Sometimes when in iPod mode if I'm in a playlist and want to select another song in the playlist, I have to go back out to the top iPod menu then >music>playlists>playlist I want>song I want. Other time it allows me to browse within the playlist without going through the menus again. And I can't figure out why it does that sometimes.

Also installation was kind of a pain. Both do to engineering choices by Clarion and by GM/Pontiac. The space behind the radio is very tight. I originally learned about this unit at crutchfield.com and they said I might have to modify the space to fit the radio. I didn't have to do that, but it's very close fit, and probably would benefit from cutting the rear support bracket. That said, the clearance issue wasn't due to the radio itself, but the RCA jacks coming out of the rear of the unit. Most radios I've seen have female RCA jack ports in the back for adding on an amplifier. This radio has female RCA jack wires in the back meaning that even if you don't use an amplifier, you still have the RCA jacks coming out of the back of the radio. And they go right up against the rear mounting bracket in my car. Had these just been empty ports, my installation would have been relatively easy. But it does work and it does fit in a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am. It's not the prettiest install, but it is doable.

Also, the illumination/dimming feature doesn't seem to be working on my unit. I have the setting on, but when my headlights come on everything dims to the night setting except the radio. Now this could be a defect in my unit or a defect in my data harness (the one from Walmart). It's not a big issue though, at least not for me. I'm going to give Clarion the benefit of the doubt and say it's a problem with the data harness by Scosche, since I bought it from Walmart.

Overall, I'm loving this radio and am glad I decided to go with it. I recommend it, but if you have a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, I'd keep a radio shop on speed dial, I came really close to giving up and having my local shop install it.lol

Oh, and the price here on Amazon is a really really good price. It's $50 less than Crutchfield and the few radio shops that carry it.

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I own a Verizon iPhone 4 with unlimited internet 3G plan. I wanted to replace my factory original double-DIN CD player radio on a 2006 Ford Escape XLT. The criteria used to select this unit was that it must SIMUTANEOUSLY connect via Bluetooth to my phone to stream Pandora music (much better than subscribing to Sirius radio), listen to audio commands from my GPS Navigator app (Navigon and Waze), and take incoming phone calls. The built in microphone for calls was a big plus. I like the previous reviewer's statement that a double DIN unit looks similar to factory original to fend off car thieves. Although the unit is designed with a USB port to accept a iPhone sync cord and has features to direct iTunes and at the same time charge the unit, this standard USB charger port delivers only 0.5 amps. iPhone requires a 1 AMP charger to charge while streaming. iPhones are notorious for draining the battery if all features are turned on. This would be important when going on long trips.

I had the unit professionally installed. The installer said it was easy with a bracket unit and necessary adapter plugs which were purchased separately. Below is a preliminary review of my experience so far:

1) Bluetooth connectivity is excellent. The initial pairing of the device was abit difficult because the instructional manual was not very clear. With the help of the installer I was able to initially pair the stereo to my iPhone in 2 minutes. After the initial pairing, you just need to go into the iPhone settings and connect to the device each time. Your phone ID will appear on the unit display upon connection.

2) Stereo streaming from Pandora via Bluetooth. Excellent sound! The A2DP Bluetooth audio processing allows full range of sound to come out beautifully from the factory speakers. The 50W amp (per channel) built in amplifier gave my factory original speakers clear crisp sound which were far superior from what the OEM stereo could deliver. I was considering to buy the CX501 singer DIN unit, but read that it only delivers 17 watts RMS per channel versus a full 50W per channel with this double-DIN unit. The display is also easier to read. It also works very well with audio while watching Netflix streaming video and Podcasts on the road. There is 4 preset equalizer settings and a custom setting. I find that the "Excite" setting is best suited for my type of music (old school that is heavy on the bass).

3) GPS navigation audio directions via Bluetooth. Whenever a voice command to turn emits from the GPS app in the iPhone, it automatically lowers the volume to the steaming music. It then returns to the music back to normal volume. This feature is indicative of the phone, but it nice to know that the Bluetooth connectivity remains solid between the iPhone and the stereo. One disadvantage is that I like to crank up the music while on the road, this causes the GPS voice to also come out loud. This is a problem with the software app on the iPhone and not the stereo unit.

4) Phone Calls: pressing the play button allows me to answer calls. When in the phone mode, you can control the volume easily on the stereo. The person on the other line can hear my voice very well. The microphone is located on the left top corner of the unit so you may need to lower the fan speed of the air conditioner if a vent is located next to the unit and it is noisy. After the call has ended, the music and GPS commands return back to normal without loosing Bluetooth connectivity.

5) I like the option of also plugging via USB port a flash drive with MP3 files, or plugging in via 3.5mm jack any other audio device.

6) Display. I like the large 2 line display. However, I was disappointed to see that when playing the radio, I lost the ability to see the name of the radio station I was listening to as well as the song. This feature was included in the factory original display. Also the clock was always displayed on the factory unit (my car does not come with a separate clock on the dash board). This stereo has a clock but it displays on a separate screen. You press the "DISP" button on the unit to cycle through the display features.

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