Timex T740 Redi-Set Dual Alarm Clock Radio with Time Projector, Flashlight, Soothing Sounds, and Bat

• Redi-Set auto time setting system with extreme battery back up, and automatic daylight saving / standard time adjustments
• AM/FM radio with digital radio station frequency display for easy tuning even in total darkness, with built-in removable, rechargeable flashlight
• Extra large 1.2" red LED display with dimmer control and projects the time on you walls or ceiling; wake to radio, soothing sounds, or gentle buzzer; sleep to radio or soothing sounds timer, snooze/repeat alarm
• Dual alarms with weekday, weekend, or everyday options
• MP3 line input jack lets you connect a wide variety of auxiliary audio devices

This is a very well designed alarm clock with some useful features. The radio reception was excellent, as far as where I placed it. It has a wire antenna which you can move it around to find a good reception. The rechargeable flashlight can become handy during power outage. The projection illumination feature can be turned on or off, and when turned on in the dark, you can see the time on the ceiling or on the wall. The alarm buzzer is very very low, compared to my older Timex alarm clock. However, the alarm can be set to use the radio, or the "Soothing Sound" feature (3 sound settings with "Ocean Waves," "Brooks," and "Wind Cime.") which you can control the loudness with the volume knob. If the volume is set on high, it's very loud and annoying. That's the way I like it! Otherwise, it wouldn't be any use as an alarm clock because the buzzer is no use. I'd say the sound level of the buzzer is comparable to a wrist watch. The buzzer sounds so calming, that it puts me back to sleep. ZZZzzzzzzz..... This is where those "Soothing Sound" mode comes in handy. I set the volume on MAX, and I use the "Wind Chime" mode. It's very loud and annoying. LoL. The "Ocean Wave" when set on high, it sounds lika a bad 2-way radio static. The sound of "Brooks" (running water) might cause you to wet your bed..... That horrific thought, made me not to use that setting.

The automatic time adjustment is a plus. It has a built-in replaceable lithium battery for back-up, and as soon as you plug it in, it automatically adjusts for the correct time and date. When you first open the box, the time zone is set to the Eastern Time. So, all you need to do is set it to the correct time zone. It also, has a daylight saving time feature with the current up to date setting, and you can turn this feature on or off. The time and date can be manually adjusted, too. If you're like me, who likes to set the alarm clock about 5-10 minutes ahead, this gives you a peace of mind. Also, what's great about the "back-up" feture is that, in the event of a power outage, the clock display will be turned off, but the alarm will still come on at the set time. When the power is back on, the clock will re-adjust it self back to the correct time. The rechargeable flashlight with its switch to the "automatic" mode, it will also turn on when the power goes out, as well as it turns on when the flashlight is lifted out of the cradle. When the lithium battery is low on power, it will show in the display. It uses a standard calculator battery which can be purchased at a local supermarket or at a pharmacy.

Furthermore, this clock has the basic big "SNOOZE" button which comes on every 5 minutes? (I think?).

It even has a sleep timer which I never use.

Once the alarm comes on, it can be shut off by pressing the "Alarm 1" or "Alarm 2" button which is a small button.

It'll come back on the next day at the same time. There's also, a separate "Alarm 1" and "Alarm 2" switch to permanantly shut it off. This is the switch to choose between "OFF," "Radio/Soothing Sound," and the useless "Buzzer" mode.

The dual alarm setting with "Alarm 1" and "Alarm 2" is just like having two alarm clocks in one.

It can individually be set to turn on only during the weekdays (M,T,W,TH,F) or just during the weekends (SAT&SUN).

Not quite adjustable compared to my cell phone, but, that's another story.

The only drawback is that, since it has so many features to it, you would have to go through the manual to "fine tune" this clock in order for it to work the way you want it to work.

If you're looking for just a single alarm clock with a battery back-up with a good loud buzzer, there's probably a few out there being sold for half as much. But if you're looking for a dual alarm clock with a battery back-up, this would be a good compromise considering the price and its features since the low buzzer problem can be overcome by the use of the radio or the "Soothing Sound" mode blasting the volume level. LoL!

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The projector clock is a brilliant idea. It's really convenient having the time right above you in large, red font. No more straining your neck or straining your eyes to read the time on your tiny bedside display. The projector is the real worthwhile part of this clock. A real smart gadget.

I love the projector, and I recommend a clock with that feature to everyone. Now I'll get to reviewing this specific clock.

You can adjust the projector up and down (but not side-to-side), flip the image, adjust the blur/focus to have it sharp or soft on the eyes, and turn the projector off. Pretty simple.

The other features include two alarms, a sleep option, a flashlight, the radio, soothing sounds, and snooze.

I like that there are two alarms. You can set either alarm to go off on just weekends, just weekdays, or on all days of the week. For example, I set Alarm 1 to just weekdays and Alarm 2 to just weekends. It's easy to set the alarm: you hold down the alarm you want to set, then press Set + or -, and if you hold down the Set button it will go fast. It's a little hard to hold down both the Alarm and Set button without picking up the clock, though.

The Soothing Sounds are a nice feature. I know I'm not alone when I say I get tired of waking up to 'beep beep-beep'. To have the alarm go off as a soothing sound, you set the Alarm to Radio, then set the Radio to Soothing Sounds (I had to look at the manual to figure that out). I first tried the Ocean sound, and let me warn you, it scared my right out of my bed. Make sure you turn the volume down, otherwise it sounds like angry white noise. The Meditation sound is my favorite, it's relatively unintrusive.

The Snooze feature, always useful, is easy to use. Press the button, go back to sleep for 9 minutes. I don't know why 9 minutes, but that is what the manual says.

The flashlight is kind of cool. It charges right from the clock so no need to worry about batteries, and it's a convenient place to just have a flashlight should you need one. I haven't used it yet, though, so I can't say the added space is any bonus.

The 'sleep' feature is similar. If you are interested in setting your clock to play soothing sounds or the radio for an hour at bedtime it has that feature, but I personally don't find it useful.

Now for what I don't care for.

The display on the clock itself is bright. You can make it 'dimmer', but it's not a big difference. In the middle of the night it's just too bright, I don't want to look at it closely. Because there is already a projector clock, it would be nice to have the option to turn the clock display off.

The clock itself is also rather large. Since there is no real need for a large display (in my opinion) I am not sure why. I wouldn't be able to take the clock with me on a trip, for example.

The buttons themselves are not all convenient. To turn off the alarm when you are getting up and want it to stop ringing you need to press the little Alarm button (either 1 or 2 and in the morning I really can't tell which is which). The Alarm buttons are located behind the Snooze button and are right next to the Set buttons -and the Set buttons are the same shape and size as the Alarm buttons. The Snooze button is huge, which is nice because you really aren't awake when you will be hitting it. But I often hit the Sleep button instead because that is right next to the Snooze button, and the same shape. While not as large as the Snooze button, the Sleep button is fairly large, I'm not sure why.

So I know, I'm being picky, but with the huge selection of wake-up devices out there I feel I can be. I am completely attached to the projector clock and cannot now live without one :), and I am liking waking up to the Meditation sounds rather than beeping.

I have had the clock for a few weeks now, and have had no problems. Well, ok, I admit, after a few unsuccessful guesses I had to scour the manual to find out how to get the alarm to turn off in the morning, but other than that it's been great. If you are interested in the multitude of features offered, I definitely recommend trying this clock. However, if you are just looking for a projector clock, there are a few different options out there that may be better, so I recommend looking at all the features and the prices before making your decision.

Update 9-22-11:

So it's been more than a month, and I've had no problems with the alarm clock (other than fumbling with the buttons in the morning).

I found out you can play an mp3 device using the clock. As long as you have your own cord, it works, and as far as I can tell the quality of sound is good. However, if I have my alarm set to play Soothing Sounds (Meditation) but have the iPod plugged in, the alarm will instead play beep-beep to wake me up (ugh).

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I've only had this for a week, and it's a good clock with many positive features outlined in other reviews.

The biggest downside to this is the brightness of the display. The dimmer (and I use the term loosely) is simply a 2-option switch, which barely changes the brightness of the display. I jokingly call the two options "Bright" and "Brighter."

I'm not overly sensitive to light when I sleep, but this clock does put off a lot of light. I have to turn it away from me at night (which partly defeats the purpose of the clock). However, I do use the projection feature to broadcast the time on the ceiling. And it really does broadcast...the image on the wall/ceiling looks like the bat signal, it's huge.

So...if you're light-sensitive, this might not be the clock for you. And if you know of a clock that has a real dimmer switch (you, the wheel type where you can adjust the light all the way down), please post on comments.

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I read the reviews of this clock before I bought it & I thought that a few people received a "lemon", & that it would not happen to me. I bought it anyway. Two days before the 30 day return limit was up, the clock had some uninteligable error message on the screen. Nothing on the clock works now. I tried unplugging it & plugging it back in, but nothing will make it work! I have been cheated out of $39.49 & can't get a refund! Don't buy it!

I've had this alarm clock for a little over a week. It worked great the first week...then the power flickered due to a thunderstorm. Now the clock is just frozen in time. I can't reset anything, the buttons do nothing. I've tried unplugging the clock several times, but nothing works. Crossing timex of the list, what a joke.