- Compatibility: iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G; iPhone 1G, 3G, 3GS
- 7-inch LCD display with customizable background, video/photo viewing from iPod, internal memory, or removable media
- Dual alarm with 7-5-2 function lets you wake to five different nature sounds, iPod/iPhone, radio, or buzzer
- 1 GB of internal memory and ports for USB, SD card, and memory stick storage devices
- Unique "fun wake-up" feature lets you display an image and play back a voice memo as your alarm
- Vivid 7" diagonal LCD screen for viewing photos and videos
- Compatible with iPod Nano 5th generation
- Large Time Display for easy viewing
Also, forget trying to keep your iphone in its case, the dock unit is not adjustable (online other sony clock radios that offer iphone docking). As the main thrust of this unit is to be a dock for your iphone or ipod, its a shame Sony didn't spend a little more time on making the dock more sturdy and capable of keeping your case on.
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Just got this in some initial comments that I will update later. So far I am really blown away by what Sony has crammed into this thing. It is by far the ultimate ipod desk or bedside accessory. Sony is really pushing the limits of an ipod/iphone accessory here. Looking at my review, you see a lot of cons I think its because this unit pushes the limits so far that people will have thoughts on how it could be improved. Nothing is 'wrong' with this unit really, its just some of my personal preferences I think.
Despite some of the design flaws, overall its a fantastic unit. However, it might get promoted to my desk as opposed to bedside. I don't know that i really need a video screen bedside & a digital picture frame. At my desk tho, that would be much handier.
Pro's:
LCD Screen is extremely bright & crisp you can play video from the ipod or iphone or from internal memory or a memory card or USB stick! I would have no probs watching tv episodes or even a movie off this screen. You can even watch youtube videos on the LCD playing from the iphone. You can choose full screen or fit to screen for video and stills. Video screen integration with the iphone is simply put, exceptional.
The unit has a memory card slot and a usb slot plus 1gb of internal storage. You can play stills, music & video from the internal storage or the memory card or the iphone. Extreme flexibility.
You have decent playback controls on the unit to control playback from the iPhone. Buttons are hard to see when "in bed" as they are flush on the unit's base, you'll have to just learn where they are I guess.
4 brightness settings for the LCD screen including "nightmode". My wife would kill me if this thing lit up the bedroom. Nightmode essentially just puts the time on the screen very very faintly, so faint even in total darkness its faint I like it!
Built in battery for when you lose power nice touch. Supposed to have auto time set but it didn't work for me. I had to set the clock manually.
Slide out tray for your iphone, etc. seems to be able to hold my iphone in its case great news. Tray is not the best design tho.
Track & playback information displays on the display when you play music from the ipod very cool. No album artwork on the unit however.
In settings you can see the "software" version which says 1.0. Maybe this implies we'll get updates for it that you can load via memory card? That would be nice. There are a few features that could act differently. Fixing nightmode and adding album artwork would be great.
Cons:
No remote. Seriously Sony? Not even for basic functions like volume and play / pause? Serious lack of thought for a pricey item. My last Sony ipod clock radio had a great remote & was almost half this price. Sad face. This is a really glaring omission.
Speaker quality is pretty "tinny" I was under impressed with the sound coming from this unit. My last Sony iphone clock radio had great speakers and cost less than $100. So the trade off is I get a video player but my music quality drops a lot. Again, tho, clock radio not meant to be a full sound system.
The iPhone / iPod dock could have been better made. It feels flimsy and I have to use both hands to dock the iphone. One to hold the entire unit steady and one to place the iphone in the cradle. The dock locks when you push it into the body of the unit but when you extend it, it does not lock into place and slides back & forth. I sense a potential point of failure here.
It seems you can't delete the internal "demo" photos or video. Sounds silly but I don't want to see "demo" pics on my slide show. I figured out that if you play the slideshow from a memory card it skips the internal pics. There are about 6 pics of "kids" and landscape that always repeat if you play the slideshow from the internal memory. Very annoying that if you play the slideshow from the internal memory you are stuck with "demo kid" and stock photo shots in your mix.
You have to go into the settings to switch to video playback for the iPhone, it would be nice if you could switch to video easier than that. Also, if you stop playing video or use another function on the clock, you have to go back to video settings and switch to ipod video again. I'd like a button on the unit to do that.
I can't figure out how to turn the clock off when watching a video from the ipod, it displays the time in the lower right corner. Would be nice to be able to clear the screen while watching a video.
It seems you can't enter 'nightmode" when listening to music or using the "sleep timer" function. The screen stays on the lowest regular setting which is quite bright in total darkness. I'll have to play with it more maybe they can patch it. This is a pretty big issue, what's the point of a sleep timer if the thing is lighting up the entire room.
The unit has no audio in (fail) and no headphone jack. It could really use both of these but you can plug in your iphone headphone while watching video on the screen.I really was pleasantly surprised by everything this small unit can do. My only complaint so far, is that the buttons are a bit complicated when you first see and use them, but it all makes since once you get the hang of it and realize what it can do.
I have tested playing both an Ipod classic and an Ipod Touch and the dock works fine with both. I have also tested playing back the IPod for both music and movies. It works great.
I haven't tested loading any images, movies, or MP3's to the on board memory (1GB) but I was able to plug in an 8GB SD card. It played the MP3's on it with no problems. I have not tested the USB port yet.
Some other things I like about this unit:
The screen can be dimmed or turned off almost entirely for sleep.
It has two alarms that are easily adjusted, turned on/off when needed.
You can set your own background wallpaper.
The sound quality isn't too bad considering the size of this unit.
The time readout is easy to see and it is easy to see if the alarms are set as well.
Overall, this is a smart looking and a versatile addition to my night stand.Like most users here, I was really disappointed when I first started using this device. The fact that you could not omit or delete the sample pictures from scrolling was unbelievable. Then, the unit would freeze up every few weeks so I was never too confident in it as an alarm clock. To top it off, I could change the display mode, but it would change back to the default mode whenever the alarm went off. It seems like Sony simply did not spend any time testing this unit and just rushed it out with the understanding that a firmware update would resolve the issues.
Well, actually, that is what happened. I was ready to throw this thing out the window (I already threw the box out or I would have returned it). But then I downloaded firmware 1.05 from the sonystyle support site. Now it seems all the issues have been addressed. You still can't delete the sample pictures but there is an option to omit them from the cue. It remembers your display mode, and it hasn't frozen up yet....
Thank goodness, this was how it should have been when it was first launched. For everyone who regrets buying this clock radio because of these bugs, but would love it if they were addressed, download the latest firmware update and you will finally have what you want!Pros:
1) Play iPod video.
2) Play iPhone/iPod Touch youtube video.
3) iPhone full compatibility.
4) USB and memory card expansion.
5) Play xvid avi video on USB (and I assume memory card as well).
6) High resolution LCD screen.
7) Vibrant image display on LCD screen.
8) International voltage and AM step setting.
Cons:
1) Unnatural and inaccurate contrast and color reproduction when playing video. A similarly priced portable dvd player will beat it hands down, as well as the screen on an iPhone or iPod Touch.
2) No adjustment for contrast and color.
3) No remote.
4) No way to hide current time display when playing video.
5) Too much plastic for the price.
6) Cannot delete sample pictures. They will show in your photo slide show.
7) MSRP is high in some countries, e.g. CAD 199 (~USD 190). GBP 150 (~USD 250). AUD 299 (~USD 280)
Remarks:
A unique product that hopefully will get better in its 2nd iteration. One of the few portables that can play iPod videos. Philips has portable dvd players in its range that accept iPod but they are all low resolution screens. iLuv has another portable dvd player coming out but requires awkward placement of iPod inside the case. This Sony is the only model that is iPhone compatible.
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First, I don't know why a previous reviewer gave it one star without even having one to review. If you have a problem with a seller, give the seller one star, not the product.I'd been waiting for this little clock-radio to finally hit the market. Ordered it on Sony's website (Amazon didn't have it till just now), then ended up buying at another retailer because Sony was backordered. Sony's list is $149.95, so anyone selling for more than that is trying to make a buck on the popularity and scarcity.
I've only had it two days, but here's what I know so far.
Pros:
* it DOES get dim enough to sleep I was worried as other preview reviewers commented on the brightness
* it has nature sounds (which was a criteria for me)
* it is a photo frame viewer, which shows slide shows of your photos
* it wakes you to radio, ipod/iphone, nature sounds, a 10-second recording (funWakeup), music stored on it, or buzzer
* sound is much better than other clock radios I've used
* button interface is good, unlike other clock/radios I've used
* connects easily with my iphone
* has atomic time, so don't have to set the time
* has digital radio stores preset stations
Cons:
* it's a little hard to get a bunch of photos off a USB stick to internal storage you have to select each photo individually
* it's a little hard to make all those photos I just copied display as the wallpaper/slide show you have to select each photo individually
* hitting the snooze button in the morning brings the brightness back to full brightness I want to sleep more! (I'll have to get used to this)
I'm still learning how to use it, not that it's hard, I just haven't had much time to mess around with it yet. But so far it's been everything I was expecting. Great little photo frame/clock/radio.
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