Memorex Mi4004BLK iWake Clock Radio for iPod (Black)

• Convenient iPod clock radio with SRS WOW sound enhancement technology
• Universal iPod dock powers and charges all dock-connecting iPods
• Dual alarms wake to iPod, radio, or buzzer; ascending wake-up volume
• Super-sized LCD display; integrated button interface with snooze bar
• Auxiliary input; measures 10 x 2.5 x 5.3 inches (W x H x D); 90-day warranty

This unit was my second try at an ipod clock radio. My first, the iHome, turned out to only have 1 alarm. This one has two, so far so good. And, I think the iWake sounds better, too. So much for the good stuff.

When you read the comment from an earlier reviewer about the volume going up, you have no idea how bad it is. It is NOT gradual awakening over 60 seconds, it is the volume going up a notch every 5 seconds to MAX. So unless you put this right next to you, expect to be scrambling so the entire neighborhood isn't calling the cops. Memorex calls this a feature in their manual ("no need to set the alarm volume"). Haha, very funny.

Next, don't plan on putting the unit above eye level, or you won't be able to see anything but a nice lit rectangle instead of the time. The display is like the old black and grey LCD's that were very directional (although this one is well lit). Trouble is, there's no adjustment for the viewing angle.

My third gripe is the remote. It's much better than the iHome remote (which was WAY too directional), but let's say you want to raise or lower the volume. To do so, you have to press the up or down volume button repeatedly as each press only changes the volume 1 bar (out of 12). In retrospect, a pretty silly thing if you try to use the remote to keep from blasting the neighbors when the alarm goes off, because the volume keeps going up every 5 seconds while you're trying to wake up and repeatedly press the correct button in the dark. Hope nobody got that on tape, I could be a hit on youtube :)

Surely a remote that can smoothly raise/lower the volume like any $5 all-in-one can't be that hard to engineer.

If you are going to have this right close by, you can probably overcome the annoying alarm, assuming you can move it so you can read the time. For me, too many compromises.

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I purchased the iwake for my daughter in November. Although it worked well for the first 3 months after that the buttons just stopped working. For instance you would place the iPod in the docking station and hit the power on button... nothing would happen. All of the buttons would not work. You could not set the time or anything. Please do not buy this piece of junk.

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(1) The face of the clock is very bright, even on the dim setting.

It's like having a nightlight, so may be fine for a child's room.

(2) The alarm is a bit annoying, as it increases in loudness every five seconds. (Mine is across the room, so I have to hurry to turn it off)

(3) The worst complaint is that there is a high-pitch buzzing sound that comes from the unit-mostly the plug! It drives my husband nuts, so if you have sesitive hearing, it's not for you.

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I agree with the other reviewer about the "gradual wake" feature. I too enjoy listening to the radio for a few minutes as I wake up, but such is life. It gets me up faster, anyway.

What drew me to this product is its compatibility with 4th-gen iPods. I got my iPod very shortly before the iPod video came out, and am often dismayed and disappointed at the un-availability of accessories. That said, this product works great with my good-old 4th-gen.

Please note, the speakers and sound quality on here are not the best. DON'T plan on using this to replace your home stereo, or instead of getting a high-quality iPod boombox. But for the purpose of waking up, or just listening to some tunes while doing homework or cleaning my room, it certainly suffices.

The remote feature is nice for using it to listen to music, however, it doesn't have a very good range and you must use it at a fairly precise angle. It is also limited in function (at least in my experience thus far), that is, you can use it to adjust volume or skip forward or backward between tracks, but it doesn't have the full capability of the scroll wheel (moving between artists/albums/playlists etc.) to fully control the iPod.

Bonus feature: this device automatically charges your iPod as it's docked. No more fumbling with the AC adaptor or constantly clogging up a USB/Firewire port. That in itself makes it all the more useful!

Hope this helps. Happy shopping :)

I bought this item sometimes in Fall 06. First of all I prefer this over the iHome because this simply looks better, cheaper, and comes with a remote. With those come the bad:

1. Rather minor, but its true that the display is hard to see. The 'bright' settings is WAY too bright, yet in the midst of the annoying brightness you still have a problem looking at the time from afar.

2. The automatically increasing alarm volume is the most annoying flaw. Trust me, the other reviewers are right.

3. It doesnt have a correct 'mouthpiece' to hold my Ipod nano snugly, but this is not a big deal if you are gentle with it.

4. Then comes the quality control. I certainly hope this problem is not a widespread one because that would be a shame. Starting a month ago or so (after 3 months of use), I'd notice that sometimes when I have a little static ( I have carpet in my bedroom ) and I touch the iWake, the clock would reset itself back to 12AM and all the alarm presets are erased. This was merely annoying until last night when this happened again and this time all the buttons stopped working. Couldnt set the time, couldnt do nothing. Zilch. Nada.

In short I certainly hope that point no. 4 is just an anomaly, but I think its important to be noted. I'm going to see if I can get it exchanged at LNT. Other than that, its just a matter of whether you can stand the ridiculous alarm volume increment.

Update 11/21/07: My SECOND unit just went dead last night with the EXACT same problem as number 4. So 2 units dead due to minor static right now.. I'm not happy.