Emerson Dual Alarm Clock Radio Amfm Smartset

This is a fantastic alarm. I love the quiet wake feature which starts at a whisper and increases the decibels until you stop it. My family perhaps loves this feature even more than I do because I tend to snooze for an hour or so if I can get away with it. I like the auto-set feature and wish my other clocks could have that too.

It has two alarms so I can set it different on the weekends. The radio is not very good, but I didn't plan to use it much anyway.

You DO have to be careful if you plan to snooze not to accidentally hit the off button. It's a little too easy to do that!

After reading all the reviews about the display being too bright, I decided to buy one anyway. The model number of the one I received (2/2012) is CKS9031 and there is a suffix of MA. I suspect that Emerson has corrected the "too bright" display. On high it is fine and on low it is barely readable during the day. The clock set to the correct time out of the box.

Buy Emerson Dual Alarm Clock Radio Amfm Smartset Now

Had this in a guest room when staying at a relatives, it lit up the room and worked as a nightlight for my 2 y/o. I liked the large display and was amazed when the darn thing set itself when I moved it to a different outlet.

Astheticly, I liked the size of the unit, it preffer something w/ some weight to it. This radio seems solid and since I bought it for a kids room, it better be. The lines are atractive, sort of rounded edges and a nice sublte modern look.

The display comes in red, green & blue. I have blue for the kiddo's room to light it up (even on dim). I will get red for mine, as I want a dark room.

I do agree that the tuning is sub-par. The dial is just too "fuzzy" for a digital tuner. I knew this going in and was OK w/ it. I get the classical station I want and it basicaly stays on 24/7 in the kids room at a low level.

Read Best Reviews of Emerson Dual Alarm Clock Radio Amfm Smartset Here

Quick setup with the clock time and no issues setting the alarm. Wife likes the soft to loud alarm wake-up feature of the clock. What we both dislike is the amount of blinding light the clock emits on normal or dimmer setting. We have to either cover up the clock before turning in for the night or face it to a wall to cut down on the light. I gave it 2 stars because of the dimmer being so bright.

Want Emerson Dual Alarm Clock Radio Amfm Smartset Discount?

Purchased this clock after reading most of the reviews, even though some said it was too bright. It was very easy to set up. It set itself with the exception of the time zone, which was very easy to do. That night we were surprised to find it was not to bright for us. I did adjust it to dim. It gives off some light which for us is good. If you like a very dark room you may not like it but we love it. Our OLD clock was wrong about a month in the spring and two weeks in the fall. It had an old chip. I am very pleased to get this one now we won't have the wrong time. I love the blue color. I do not like the red and green as much. We are very pleased with this clock. We ordered through Amazon and got it for $24.99 with free shipping because I ordered something else.

Save 16% Off

Read More >>

Nokia N79 Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Silv

I will try to summarize how excellent this phone is.

I'll begin with the cons

*OS Symbian can be slow sometimes but I think It can be fixed with the Software Updater

Pros

*Excellent call quality and Signal reception

*Nice design(for me it's the best for now for a N Series Phone)

*Camera quality is really good: maybe not the best of NSeries but it is really good for quick shots...As I always say; a camera phone is not a replacement for a real camera(see my customer images. Pics from my city)

*Very good sound quality and Mp3 player

*Easy to customize

*Nokia PC Software is very useful

*At first, keyboard is hard to use but later, You will get used to it and you will see how it's easy to use

*Several useful applications

*Nokia Maps works great

*Comes with a 4GB Memory/can be upgrated up to 8GB

*3.5mm jack, so you can use any head/earphones

*Great Web browser

*WI-FI works excellent and It's very easy to use for people who are not used to that

OVERALL, An EXCELLENT Phone... Pros are more than cons...

I really recommend it!

This is my first Nokia, and my first unlocked phone.

I've had the phone for a little over a week and these are my impressions:

It's built really well. It feels solid and the screen seems pretty scratch resistant so far. The buttons are also really nice and the number keys are god for texting. From my research it seems to be a characteristic of N series phones. The design is clean as well. It seems well thought out and there's not much missing (an external play/pause button would be nice, but it comes with an inline remote to plug your earphones into), but nothing extra that I could do with out either.

It looks great. I got a white version (even thought the product description says grey) which I actually prefer. There is also a black version of the N79 that has been released recently as well. The changeable backs are cool (I received the white, red and brown covers), but I don't know how much I will change them personally.

The features as you've read in the product description are incredible. And honestly it does all of them well. The music player is good. The camera is decent (Not the best 5 mp pics I've ever seen, but for a phone the pics are awesome, and it has an automatic flash). I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the video recorder, but the quality really surprised me, in a good way. The gps is awesome. You get a 90 trial of the turn by turn voice navigation, I'm not sure how much the subscription costs, but if it's not outrageous, I would absolutely spend money for it. The FM transmitter is a really cool feature, I travel a lot and am in a lot of rental cars and it works like a charm. At this point in time this phone seems to have about every feature out there. It's pretty amazing considering it's size.

I've never used a symbian phone before and there is a bit of a learning curve. It took me a few days of moderate use to get comfortable with it. The N79 was a bit buggy out of the box. I was also disappointed with the software support for Macs. You have to buy a plug in for iSync to work (not yet supported) and even then it recognizes it as an N95 8GB, but it does work. I hope there will be more Mac support in the near future. Nokia has recently released a firmware update and with the amount of things that were improved, it makes you think that Nokia kinda rushed this phone out the door a little. After I updated my phone the OS is much more solid and a little faster and more responsive. If you purchase this phone, updating the software should be your first order of business.

I can't think of anything else I could possibly expect a phone to do that this phone doesn't. I chose this phone over the N82 because of the looks and because it supports US 3G unlike the N82. The N82 supposedly has a better camera, but for me I'd rather have the 3G.

*Update*

This phone is on v20 of it's firmware and MUCH more stable. I've used this phone day in and day out for 6 months, and there still isn't a phone this size that can do everything this phone can.

The only negative thing I'll say is that the battery life is not what I'd hoped. It will only last for one day. Granted I do a lot with it in one day. Music, GPS, Internet, some pics all while it keeps 3 email boxes up to date. I guess you can't have everything.

One big bonus I've recently discovered is that this phone supports a 16 gb micro sdhc card! I recently purchased the 16 gb class 6 card made by Trancend Transcend 16 GB microSDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS16GUSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging] (The is one that comes with an SD adapter, not in the Amazon packaging, that's the one I bought) and it works perfectly.

I'm happy with this phone.

Buy Nokia N79 Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Silv Now

Outstanding functions, takes fantastic pictures with great Macro and high-speed capture.

But the keyboardyikes! No sensory feedback at all; it's actually tiring to use the keyboard. I had this phone for two weeksthe first week I toyed with it until I got an inexpensive case to protect it. The second week it was my full-time carry phone.

I just couldn't live with the keyboard which is a crying shame considering the functionality of the device. I'm not a huge guy, but I just couldn't keep from hitting the wrong keys and it was painful after a while even trying.

Pros-

~ Outstanding photos

~ macro, high-speed modes work great

~ Fast focus, multiple shot modes

~ Typical great Nokia reception, holds 3G really well

~ Big, crisp screen

~ Snappy OS

Cons-

~ Unusable keyboard

~ Navi-wheel is nifty gadget, but is only implemented in a handful of places in the OS and not at all in 3rd party apps. Too sensitive.

Read Best Reviews of Nokia N79 Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Silv Here

I've just bought the phone. I was looking for a phone which I could use for Skype and WLAN. I've upgraded the phone OS as soon as I take it out of box. I've never owned a Nokia before so I hadn't use a Symbian phone. I was using Sony Ericsson phones for ages. But since Nokia is the top seller I was expecting a very good phone.

First of all the screen design is not impressive and very classical. The SE has nice animated themes for like ages. But Nokia does not have any. The only interesting thing here is the Nokia N79 comes with 3 different clip on back covers with a sensor at the back so that the phone can understand what color back cover you are currently using and can adapt screen background color according to cover color.

My first experience with Symbian was not so promising. First of all anything you launch be it Phonebook, SMS box etc are actually small applets and takes up some memory and if you don't quit it explicitly using Exit from the menu it just goes to background when you switch to menu. In time applications take up so much memory and the phone menu handling starts to slow down and even after some point some applications especially GPS tends to lock-up easily when lots of applications are running. In all menu system is complex and an application could be launched from different menus and there's not a single key which could terminate an application when hit (like Sony Ericsson's back key). There's not a built-in facility to display how much memory an application currently occupies or some way to kill an unresponsive applet). In all Symbian is similar to your average windowing OS but not having adequate functionality to support running applications like your OS does.

GPS software have always locked up whe I tried voice navigation and I've tried it like 10 times. The only thing good about it is the cold-boot time for the GPS receiver is extremely short when compared to a pocket GPS device like Garmin etc.

The design is impressive and with the silver bright frame it reminds the older generation iPOD. Screen is just plastic which could easily scratch. My older SE k790i had a mineral screen which is hard to scratch. Keypad is consisted of strips of single plastic stripes containing three numbers in a line which makes tapping extremely hard. It is not easy to switch between typing modes like caps, small, numeric and extremely hard to add a new word to T9 dictionary. With the SE there was a dedicated soft key for adding to the dictionary.

I've really surprised to see that there's no numeric charge level indication that comes with the phone. With the SE phone status info includes the battery charge level as numeric percentage. But I've even could not find an external application which would display charge level in numeric. But the battery life is acceptable and it can survive up to 2-3 days when WLAN is enabled.

The picture quality of the 5.0MP cam is similar to my SE 3.2MP cam and it would be impossible for me to understand which pic was taken with which phone. In fact the problem with built-in cameras in phones is not the the capacity of the sensor but the optic lenses or better the lacking of them due to size limitations. Night shots are very noisy like most phone cameras. I don't think they could replace point and shoots at any time soon. Also I could not find an easy way to turn on cam light to use as a torch in the night. Thanks to incompatibility among different patch levels of the Symbian. The ones I could find did not work on S60 Patch 2.

The screen is full of very small icons and it is not easy to understand the status it indicates easily. The screen is not very bright in the sunlight and it is very hard to read the screen under the sunlight. The back is covered with reflective paper it improves visibility to some degree but my SE was again better in visibility under daylight.

The phone has some burrowed parts from iPod. There's this position sensor and it changes the screen orientation automatically when you hold it in horizontal or vertical. But the sensitivity is not so good. It sometimes switch the screen when tilted slightly or might not turn back to portrait mode again when turned slowly. The same goes with dial wheel. When enabled the wheel does not operate on the initial screen and works only when you launch the menu. then it works erratically when you launch the phonebook in that it sometimes works when you first launch or sometimes it won't work before you tap a key. Then again it is not compatible with every application that comes with the phone or later you download.

Speakers for music playback is loud enough but not very high. The music output is stereo with some useful wide stereo effect. I think the sound quality is acceptable for a phone. The radio applet is well organized and it comes with RDS which is new for Nokia. I'd never understood why Nokia refrained from using RDS for such a long time. The phone has also a phone transmitter with RDS output. It displays "Nokia" on RDS when tuned. But it would be nice if it had broadcast the song id instead. Transmitter eases stereo streaming from your phone wireless without using Bluetooth A2DP which N79 supports but most car stereo equipments are currently lacking.

The built in browser is good and it supports Adobe Flash which iPhone lacks for copyright considerations. So it is very easy to browse any web site using the phone. Somehow it is not possible to understand at any time whether it is connected through WAP/GPS/3G or WLAN. There's no icon for it on the immediate display. You need to browse to connection settings from the menu to check the current connection. It is true for all the other applications that comes default apart from GPS. It indicates the connection type.

In all, though Nokia tried some new features on it it seems that they are not tightly integrated with the OS. Smybian is not mature enough to be the OS of choice for smart phones. So I want to replace my phone with a SE G705 as soon as possible though it lacks some of the functionality of N79 like dial button, and FM transmitter.

Want Nokia N79 Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Silv Discount?

I got this phone as a present from my brother and I have to say, im pretty impressed with this phone. it has a lot of cool features and has two cameras with 5 mega pixels and autofocus. since when did the iPhone had auto focus on its camera, maybe in 5 years but nokia n79 brings tomorrows technology today. love this phone its the best and nokia is the best.

Read More >>

TrekStor i.Beat Classico FM 2 GB MP3 Player (Black and white)

• Sleek silver digital audio player with 2 GB flash memory and built-in FM tuner
• Supports MP3, WMA, and OGG audio formats; line-in recording to MP3
• Compatible with secure WMA-DRM9 music services; dual headphone jacks for 2 listeners
• 8 preset equalizer settings; 2-color OLED screen; 20 station presets
• Lithium-polymer battery; measures 2.7 x 1.1 x 0.5 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty

What made me buy the i.Beat Classico was its line-in recording capability. One of the headphone jacks doubles as a stereo line-in jack and you can record any audio source to mp3 at 320kbps. I've recorded one of my records to mp3 this way it works wonderfully. However, your audio source better be LOUD because the input for recording on the classico does not seem to be very sensitive...

The FM recording, on the other hand, is pretty awful. I have a hard time getting a good signal to begin with. When I do get a decent signal, if I press record, the static increases. Wierd.

The microphone recording works extremely well. I have randomly had very static recordings that were definitely introduced by the player somehow. But that didn't happen often.

Mp3 playback is decent, but riddled with infrequent problems like random static (solved by skipping away from the song, and then skipping back to it).

There's a loud *thud* when you turn it on, and another when you turn it off. Sometimes I have the player plugged into my car stereo, and the thud is extremely loud!

Lastly, it's very small, and I used my thumb nail to push most of the "buttons" on the player. That was kind of annoying...

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this player to anyone. It was cool when it worked (which was most of the time), but the fact that it wasn't 99% reliable hurt its reputation with me.

Read More >>

Midland ER102 Emergency Radio with NOAA Weather

• Emergency radio with all 10 NOAA weather channels and an alert override function
• Features AM/FM radio reception, a clock with an alarm function, and a 3-LED flashlight
• Rechargeable battery can be powered by dynamo hand crank, or included AC power adapter
• Constructed to be water resistant, and backed by a manufacturer's 1-year warranty

I hope I can give you some useful information about this radio and give you new ideas on simplifying your emergency items. I have been reviewing emergency radios for too many days, I think for most of us we want something portable for emergency AM or FM weather information and NOAA information and alerts during a loss of power that might last for a few hours or several days, I'm not looking for equipment to survive without power for months in the wilderness, just keep in touch and out of the dark during the emergency. I was considering the Eton RH500 (cool factor) but after reading about all the Eton radio models, I could not help but notice one serious concern with all of them, most reviewers said the Eton radio reception was not very good indoors... which is where I'm going to be during bad weather; an emergency radio without excellent radio reception has little value in my opinion. I opted for the Midland ER102 and I am very pleased. I like having the Dynamo feature, but I do not put a lot of value in it as my thinking is that all the emergency products I purchase must use AA batteries; they have a shelf life for 6+ years and they are cheap... aprox. $10 for 24 name brand batteries at W. Mart... The idea; one battery that fits everything! As for this radio; I live outside of the city and the AM and FM reception inside my house is excellent even without extending the antenna it picks up well, I can pick up 3 NOAA weather channels, two of them loud and clear, and one NOAA channel loud and clear without extending the antenna. Some reviewers complain about sensitive tuning; as for the tuning... the tuner is an analog (not digital) tuner with a digital display and it scrolls very smoothly (all the emergency radios that I have found use analog tuners.) To get clear reception it is not necessary to hit your station exactly (but is easy to do), as with analog tuners we have always tuned into the general area of the station then moved the knob back and forth until the station is clear, you never thought about it being sensitive since you just listened for the best spot without observing a digital display. Is the dial sensitive... no more than any other analog tuner, it might seem that way if you are looking at the digit to the right of the decimal point while rapidly scrolling, however a light touch when fine tuning and I find the tuner actually easier and much quicker to tune than if the display was the old analog type display other emergency radios have. The 3 LED flashlight is surprising bright, the backlit LCD display is very bright, AC adapter is included, the alarm is easy to use and it's kind of neat to look at the display and see the current temperature constantly displayed. I will note that I have a newer Nokia cell phone and although the radio comes with several adapters mine was not in the mix. Again this is not important to me as I don't want to crank the Dynamo for 5 minutes to make a very brief call.... Better idea; buy a portable emergency cell phone charger that fits your phone. This $5-$20 device (you guessed it.... works on AA batteries) will allow you to start using your phone within 30 seconds of plugging it into a dead cell phone and talk say 2 hours on one AA. If you want to go all out you can purchase Lithium batteries which last longer than Alkaline and have about a 15 year shelf life. Storms and power outages are stressful enough and lots of work, I say keep it as simple as possible... and a bonus, all my stuff fits easily in a small drawer in the kitchen.

My 3 watt LED flashlight (about 80 lumens) lasts 2 hours on high, my Sylvania LED Mini Lanterns (L562) last up to 200 hours on 4 AA's and they are as bright as many large lanterns, and this Midland Radio all use the same cheap AA batteries.... $20 buys 48 AA batteries and will last me a long time, how about 72 AA's on hand at a cost of $30.... I can go for weeks.

Buy Midland ER102 Emergency Radio with NOAA Weather Now

Excellent AM/FM and NOAA weather radio reception. Decent sound for a small unit. Easy to use.

Some of the items in the Technical Details section on Amazon are incorrect:

1. There are only 7 NOAA weather channels.

2. The cable for the cell phone charger is not USB, it is a 3.5mm 2-pole connector with standard in-line plug adaptors for some cell phones.

The manual states that to charge the internal battery pack from the AC line or hand crank the "Power Selector" has to be in the "AC/DYNAMO ON". You need to either turn the volume all the way down or put the "Alert Type Selector" in "Alert" in the WX mode. The power has to be in the "OFF" position to charge a cell phone from the AC adaptor or hand crank.

The LCD display "Backlight" switch is in a funky place on top under the carrying strap so you tend to turn it on inadvertently. It shuts off after 3-4 seconds.

Read Best Reviews of Midland ER102 Emergency Radio with NOAA Weather Here

I have done a good bit of searching before getting this emergency radio. There are many choices out there for this type of radio. After reading many reveiws I picked the Midland 102. "Features" prevailed over weight. I will also be using this radio for backpacking/camping trips. The reception is great. Even indoors with the antena down it gets great reception. It's not the smallest radio. It is small enough to fit in my backpacks upper cover pocket. The LCD display is great. Along with the other many features it has. Tells Temp, alarm clock, weather alarm that can be set to silent flash warning. Light is small but ideal for searhing for something in a pinch. Three differnt ways too power the radio is great. I tested the lentgh of life with power on board before having to use the crank. It was atleast two days of near constant use. Or close to eight to ten hours. After cranking for three minutes. The radio played for close to an hour. The sound quality was exceptional for the speakers size. When holding the unit in your hands it won't feel like a cheesey piece of plastic. So far I am quiet pleased with the Midland 102. The only reason for four star rating is I can not attest to it's durabillity since I have only had the radio just over a week. If you get this unit you will have made a decent educated purchase, that was worth the effort in finding an emergency radio for your family. Hope my reveiw helps you out.

Want Midland ER102 Emergency Radio with NOAA Weather Discount?

I have a cabin in the mountains and don't have TV or Internet access. I was up there not too long ago and found about about a snow storm just a few hours before it hit. I happened to be driving and heard the emergency broadcast system alert go off in my car radio. That's when I thought it would be a good idea to have a weather alert radio in the cabin.

I went with this one because I liked the multiple power source options: battery, charged up from the plug, and the crank. I also liked that you can use it to listen to a regular AM or FM station and it will switch over to weather should an alert become active. It can also be off and in a stand-by mode but will activate if there is severe weather.

I recently went to my cabin and had this radio up there for the first time. I was able to find a clear weather channel (several, actually)as well as a favorite FM station even though the cabin is a bit isolated I barely get a cell phone signal.

That evening I was listening to the FM radio when it went into alert mode and started providing weather information. It had been raining and apparently there were now some flash flood warnings, watches, etc. as well as high wind issues in the area. It worked just great.

I didn't bring the charging plug and had not got any batteries for it yet, so I was using it just off the charged up internal battery. I estimate, on the conservative side, that I got about 10 hours of listening time before the battery ran down. I thought that was pretty good.

I also did some work in the crawl space of my cabin while I was up there. Again I was able to bring this radio with me to listed to FM. By the time I had emerged from my work, it had gotten dark. Used the flashlight to get back up into the cabin. Handy.

This radio is small enough to move around easily. I put it in a medium size duffle bag that I pack my clothes in when going away for a couple of days.

The sound quality is not fantastic, but I didn't expect it to be. Remember car radios that had that one speaker up in the dashboard. Gets the job done, but don't look for the bass and treble adjustments!

I think this radio deserves a strong consideration if you want to be sure you are alerted to severe weather at home or a vacation spot. The clock, alarm, temperature display, freeze alert, etc. are all icing on the cake.

Save 29% Off

I bought this radio to have on hand for an emergency if the power fails, disaster etc. It does what it says and I pulled it out of the box to give it a try.

It does have a USB port in the back under the rubber flap that the AC charger plugs into. I did try and use it to charge my iPhone to see how it worked. It will only charge while you are cranking the handle at a fairly vigorous pace, I guess if the power was out and you wanted your cell phone to work you could charge it, I just hope you have a few people with you that can also crank as it gets tiring pretty fast.

The Crank handle seems a like it is a litle on the flimsy side and may not last very long if used a lot.

The radio dial is a bit touchy but stations can be tuned in, you just have to be light on the knob.

Read More >>

Altec Lansing M202 Dual-Charging iPod Dock

• Dual docking/charging speaker system
• Fits neatly in tight spaces like corners and kitchen counters
• Full-feature remote
• Built-in USB port lets you charge a third device
• Listen without interference, shielded for mobile phones

The Altec Lansing M202 is a neat, convenient little speaker dock, with surprisingly okay sound for a very small unit. Its strong points are its size -much tinier than you'd think from the photos, easy to tuck into a corner of a bedside table or a shelf -and the dual docks, allowing it to be home base for a couple's iPhones or one person's phone and iPod. The unit is straightforward and simple to operate, even without the free custom app (which is a nice touch). But the quality of its construction is surprisingly cheap considering the price; it's a flimsy, lightweight plastic speaker enclosure, with unattractive, cheap cloth permanently fixed over the speakers, and there are some obvious assembly problems like misaligned seams. (Also note that, though the unit does work with the iPhone 4, it only includes plastic dock shims for the 3G/3Gs and the iPod Touch; other iPod and iPhone models can only be docked loosely. It's a weird oversight considering the near-zero cost of these plastics.)

The sound quality is fine, even good for such a small unit, but not miraculous. Given that the unit is built around two very, very small (approx. 2.5") drivers stuck in a lightweight ported plastic enclosure, the sound it puts out is, unsurprisingly, very light on bass and tends to be almost painfully bright on some music. I found this a particular problem listening to jazz -Miles Davis's trumpet was so bright, almost tinny, that it completely overpowered the rest of his band -while guitar-based rock came out much better, sounding almost as well-rounded as it would on a larger stereo system. Podcasts and vocals are a good fit for this unit, but I wouldn't even want to try listening to hip-hop on something this bass-deficient.

So, this is a nice enough product just on its merits, but its price is a problem. The M202 is stuck in no-man's-land at this price point. Despite the convenience of its dual docks, this speaker dock is caught between, on the one hand, much cheaper units that are about as good as it, and on the other, only slightly more expensive ones that are much, much better. If you want a speaker dock primarily in order to listen to music, there are many others to consider first: units such as the SpeckTone Retro or the Yamaha PDX-30 are competitively priced, better-constructed, and produce far better sound. For light vocal listening and bedside convenience, you can get any of a hundred products of similar flimsy-plastic construction quality, for much less than the price of this unit, that still won't sound too much worse. Unless you have a specific need for the dual iPhone/iPod docks, the M202 is probably not the best value for your money, even though it's a perfectly nice, compact, convenient unit.

[Update: I'm revising my rating down to 2 stars after living with the unit for several more months. Despite the manufacturer's claim that the unit is shielded, loud, pulsing cellular interference has been a recurrent problem with an iPhone docked in the M202. And the endless reminders to install the dock-specific app every time the phone is re-docked are a real annoyance.]

Buy Altec Lansing M202 Dual-Charging iPod Dock Now

The Altec Lansing "M202 Dual Charging iPod Dock" is a clever idea but it's not really for audiophiles. I had high hopes for this since we have several versions of the Touch and a Nano in the house at any given time.

This dock does allow two iPods to be connected and it is indeed convenient to have a charger that it can handle all of them, as well as play from any of the connected devices, but the sound quality isn't really all that good and the required app for the iTouch\iPhone to mix the played music is of limited value for us since I don't really want any of my kid's playlist on at the same time as mine (significant difference in music tastes).

Setup of the unit was fairly straight forward and required the use of the standard iPod seating adapters (we used the Nano and Touch bases). The remote is very basic and worked well.

What I really didn't like was the quality of the music for my classical and jazz music since it comes out somewhat "tinny", but classic rock is fairly good.

After several months of use, we have relegated this for use as a charging station.

CFH

Read Best Reviews of Altec Lansing M202 Dual-Charging iPod Dock Here

I am very impressed with this product. For something so relatively inexpensive the depth and range of the sound coming out of it rivals more expensive systems from Bose and other top end manufacturers. The speaker system works with just about any iPod, iPod Touch, and iPhone made over the last nine years. And as most of us now have more than one of these i devices, it supports charging (and playback) of two devices simultaneously.

Altec Lansing also has two apps in the iTunes store that are compatible with the system. The first is an alarm clock app that will trigger playback through the speaker system at a specified time. It's a nice looking app, but as with all third party applications if the app isn't running in the foreground the alarm won't go off. Definitely not for mission critical wake-up calls!

The second app, called "music mix," streams music from both players that are plugged into the speaker system. A simple interface allows for distributing playback from one device over the other i.e. it can be set to play music 70% of the time from one iPod, 30% from the other. It also provides feedback as to the charging status of both. My only gripe is that if the mix app is not installed, your iPhone or iPod Touch will continually demand that it be installed for proper operation. Given that that the speaker system works just fine without the app, I don't see why they are so insistent on it being installed.

That gripe aside, this is an impressive low cost speaker system that delivers great sound. A great gift idea!

Want Altec Lansing M202 Dual-Charging iPod Dock Discount?

I bought this a couple of days ago to use with the Ipod touch 4G. I was concerned that this dock/speaker wouldn't work with the 4th gen Itouch since the 4th gen is not listed as compatible on the speaker box. But it seems to work fine. I like the small footprint and the fact that it can charge two Ipods simultaneously. The remote fits nicely at the back of the dock and is easily accessible when needed.

It can fill a medium sized room with sound quite easily. The only "negative" from my perspective is the inability to control bass/treble independently on the speakers.

Save 65% Off

I own three iPods but had no speakers for them until I ordered this product. I didn't necessarily think I needed something to charge two of them at once (and three using the USB port), but I did want the speakers since there are places in the house with only minimal setups for music.

Because I listen to music on my computer while I'm in my office and have a full-fledged stereo in the living room, I placed the dock in my bedroom, where I had had no way of listening to the iPods other than through headphones. That placement gave me a good opportunity to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the unit.

First the pluses. I don't pretend to be an audiophile, but I do like good speakers for my computer, so any old cheapies won't do, and the speakers in this unit seem pretty good--certainly far better than the ones in my older Sony clock radio with CD player, though nowhere near as good as my Klipsch computer speakers or my old stereo speakers. But for music in the bedroom at fairly low volume, they're fine. The footprint is also reasonable, though with space at a premium on my cluttered nightstand, an even smaller footprint would have worked better for me. I found the remote handier than I originally thought I would because it not only operates the unit but operates the iPods, and with the dock more than an arm's length from the bed (the only place I had room for it), it allows me to navigate the menus and playlists without having to disturb the cats. :) It is very small and light, however, and I fear it may be easy to lose or become a cat toy. Apparently, the designers thought of that too because it has a magnetic storage compartment at the back of the unit.

That said, because I have it next to the bed, I'd have much preferred a unit that included a radio. I have a 6th generation Nano, which comes with FM radio capabilities, but that feature only works when the headphones are plugged in and is useless when the Nano is in the dock. Also, I'd have preferred to have an integrated clock, which would have allowed me to retire my clock radio. The clocks in the iPods are too small, and while I haven't actually tried using the iPod clocks as alarm clocks, but the whole thing struck me as more cumbersome than simply having a clock with continuous readout, which is what I want when I wake up in the middle of the night. I realize that the clock and alarm features probably would be far better in an iPhone or Touch, but since I don't have either one, I have to work with what I have, and in the iPods, they're too small to see halfway across the nightstand at night, so it's a lack that I notice. In addition, the unit doesn't come with a real manual, only basic pictorial instructions printed on the flaps of the box. I commend Altec Lansing for not wanting to contribute any more to landfills than necessary, but it took me a couple of weeks to discover that there was a second remote stashed in the compartment at the back.

Basically this is a nice enough unit for what it is and I've been using it several times a week--I like being able to launch a playlist before I fall asleep. It will probably solve some problems for many users, but I've deducted one star for its lack of radio and clock, which may be more of an issue for me than for others.

Read More >>

Sony ICF-C318 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (White)

• Green LED display alarm clock with dual alarms
• 0.9" number display
• Extendable snooze bar
• Built-in calendar
• Full power memory backup

I bought two of these, (one for my husband and one for my teenage son), since they would automatically reset themselves after a power outage. They both immediately complained that the alarms were not loud enough, (both are VERY heavy sleepers). It does have a very light and polite beep with no volume control. However, the beeps gradually increase in frequency and after week of use, both of them are waking up easily to the sound and without the jarring blasts from our old alarms.

So, it may require getting accustomed to for heavy sleepers, but it's great for those of us who don't like to be blasted awake every day.

Buy Sony ICF-C318 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (White) Now

When our old alarm went out I had to find a new alarm quickly. When I found the Sony ICF-C318, I was just happy to discover it had no external antennae to deal with. What a bonus to find that not only was it small and inexpensive, but had no funky extra wires. It has two alarms & the time and date are automatically set! All I did is plug it in. The date was automatically correct. And if there's a power surge or power outage, it has a battery back-up (battery is included and already installed) and it loses no time. We didn't believe that, of course, and had to play with it by unplugging it a few times to test it, but it worked great! We didn't even have to re-set the time zone. Also, I usually had to re-set the alarm for my husband, but no longer. I set the A alarm for me and the B alarm for him and we are done. What I also found wonderful about this alarm was that when you set the alarm time, you can go backward or forward. Our old alarm could only go forward and it took forever; setting this alarm is a breeze. Amazing, truly.

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICF-C318 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (White) Here

Two alarm feature very easy to program. All functions work great. Battery backup and automatic time updates. I bought a more expensive Sony multi-alarm clock a few months ago and it works OK, but this clock is by far a better and less complicated unit.

Want Sony ICF-C318 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (White) Discount?

I recently bought this to replace one that always lost the time if there was a power outage. Even new backup batteries did not help.

Pros: Small, nice radio reception, time is already set, keeps time in case of power outage

Cons: You have to re-activate the alarm daily after turning it off in the morning. Not a good thing!

Setting the alarm with the button on the side requires two hands.

Overall not a bad alarm clock though (if you remember to activate the alarm again :) ).

Save 15% Off

This is a good clock radio for its size, and all the features are easy to use. If you are looking for quality sound, this is not the clock radio for you. The only problem we have with it is that the buttons to turn the alarms on are on the top of the radio and easily moved so easy that our cats often turn on the alarms by walking across the top of the radio!

Read More >>

Nokia C5-03 Unlocked GSM Phone with 5 MP Camera and Ovi Maps Navigation Optimized for AT&T--U.S. Ver

Thru the years I found Nokia to make some of the best phones and this one is not an exception. I bought it because it is a 4 band (world) unlocked GSM, very light and small indeed, full touchscreen, responsive, quick and accurate typing, overall the phone works fast, has a bit slow GPS (when not assisted) with free maps and nice voice navigation, good WiFi, working radio, good loud speaker and call quality, decent email (old style) and normal camera, also the battery supposed to last longer. Overall, it does well what it supposed to do for the price of $180. There is one important thing, the US model has UMTS (3G bands) 900/1900/2100, so the 1900 works with AT&T, but no 850 AT&T or 1700 T-mobile. Strange, but the box label and some of the Amazon description are both wrong as they show 1700. I confirmed that with Nokia as well and the phone is working fast on AT&T 3G on 1900. The phone is made in Mexico, that's fine. It has the plastic look, but it is the simple clean design and the cute shape that makes it look neat too. I am not sure why there is no variety of colors on the US market like elsewhere, that is rather frustrating. The operating system is the typical Nokia, no news there.

I bought this phone despite of certain reviews that claimed the product was defective or hard to operate and had a very hard to control touch screen. I received the phone this weekend exactly on time for Christmas. It is unlocked and works internationally (currently it is working in Costa Rica the country where I live in). Touch screen is harder to control than others but nothing out of this world way better than an LG touchscreen if you ask me. As far as the model is concerned (since I read a few reviews saying this one was the Nokia C5-04) the model IS the Nokia C5-03 and there IS no such thing as the C5-04. The model does work with wi-fi I tried it out already and apps work beautifully (so far I have tried facebook mobile, facebook chat, skype and whatsapp). As far as the product box is concerned (one review from Costa Rica claimed the box arrived open) it was fine, the box is opened to inspect the contents of it but the phone arrived in perfect conditions and worked perfectly. I rate this phone (even though its from 2010 a 4.5 star rating, shame Amazon will only let me rate it 4 or 5) but it is a great phone with a perfect operational system and specs for the price it has. A must buy if you want a really great phone at a great price!

If you have any questions message me :)

Buy Nokia C5-03 Unlocked GSM Phone with 5 MP Camera and Ovi Maps Navigation Optimized for AT&T--U.S. Ver Now

It is a telephone, compact but heavy, that gives a strength sensation him. All the applications that unload of OVI, in their majority are gratuitous and allows to improve the applications of the telephone.

I have compared it with the N8 and the only difference this in the pixels of the camera that in the N8 is of 12 and in the C6-01 is of 8.

I recommend it to the 100%.

Read Best Reviews of Nokia C5-03 Unlocked GSM Phone with 5 MP Camera and Ovi Maps Navigation Optimized for AT&T--U.S. Ver Here

I own this phone for over 11 months.

The good:

Cute phone

Nice call quality

Great Wifi reception

Pre-installed Nokia Maps

Good speakers (sound is loud and clear than other high end smart phones)

Camera 5MP (I made lot of videos with this and they came out to be of good quality)

Microsoft Exchange

Chat client (Yahoo/google/hotmail)

Not good:

The screen size of 3.2 inch (should have been 3.5 inch). This makes browsing hard.

Internal memory is very less (my phone always runs under 15MB) and hence cannot use microsoft exchange for office mails (If I use Exchange email, phone complains of low memory and close few open applications)

Touch screen is sometimes hard to operate

With all the above pros and cons.. I could use this phone for

Voice and text

Basic internet browsing over wifi

Take photos and videos

If that is all what you plan to do with this phone.. go for it..

Want Nokia C5-03 Unlocked GSM Phone with 5 MP Camera and Ovi Maps Navigation Optimized for AT&T--U.S. Ver Discount?

I am using it in VENEZUELA .. Movilnet and Movistar. Excellent phone, good sound, nice touchscreen. Nice connectión to internet, nice wifi, nice sound. Speaker sond is very good. I did not give 5 stars because the phone has low internal memory and the screen is a little bit small even if work great.

Save 38% Off

Read More >>

Eveready Gold Alkaline Batteries AA, 4-Count

Alkaline batteries have been the way to go for some time now, and Eveready has been doing it longer than anyone. Amazon makes a great product a great deal.

Save 53% Off

Read More >>

Dell Streak 7 4G Android Tablet (T-Mobile)

I have been waiting for a good 7 inch Android tablet for months. I own a Samsung Vibrant so I'm no stranger to dealing with Samsung's poor support. Galaxy s tablet was a no go for me. I used the Dell streak battery 7 twice in a t-mobile store and compare it to the Xoom at a Verizon that was just across the street. What I found was...

Pros: Dell Streak 7 (DS7) has a Tegra2 processor in it which future proofs it a bit

Supports 4g if its available

Runs very snappy once the launcher is changed. I recommend ADW or Launcher Pro

Solid build and its "portable" where the Xoom and iPad really aren't.

Supports full sized ad cards

16gbs of internal storage. 1.8gbs for apps, 11.4gbs for general storage

Cons: the DS7 has a poor battery. It can be managed to get 7 or 8 hours with light use, but anything beyond light use and I literally watched the battery drain away over a few hours after a full charge.

Proprietary usb/charging cable is a poor choice. Its far too short and it doesn't allow for charging through usb from a computer. If I'm incorrect about charging from a computer then please tell me how. I never got it to work.

The battery can't be replaced

The screen could be better. Most Android phones are at a 800x480 resolution but at a 7inch form factor the image quality isn't always as good as it should be.The viewing angles aren't the best either but weren't as bad as some reviewers at other websites made it out to be. For instance, my dvd rips still looked pretty good overall but on the other hand, the NookColor has a better screen than the DS7 and its $200 less.

With all of this in mind I'm a bit torn over whether I should keep the DS7 or

return it. I customized it and it runs really well playing back dvd rips and it handled my music well after I installed a superior 3rd party app. Connection speeds were good over 4g when it was available and the price isn't too bad. I guess, I would feel more confident if Dell would confirm a date for a Android 3.0 upgrade or even if the DS7 will receive the upgrade. My unit has even been stable after bombarding it with apps, content and data, really running it down going through apps.

With all things considered the DS7 is good for anyone that is looking for a 7inch tablet that runs good but doesnt have to be the cutting edge. Its a tough sell though, now that the iPad is $399 making the bigger screen seem not so bad. If Dell could have just improved the battery I could more easily forgive the screen. I could tailor the DS7 to suit my needs but I may return it and wait for the G Slate instead.

Sent from the DS7

I bought this tablet after playing with it in a T-mobile store..i also tried the Samsung Galaxy Tab too while i was there.This thing blows the Tab out the water as far as performance goes..but the Tab has better graphics due to it's 1024 by 600 display.But for me it was no brainer to get the Streak.I was going to get the Motorola Xoom but it's priced way too high & seeing as my Streak 7 pretty much has nearly the same specs as the Xoom i just can't see wasting nearly $900 for the Xoom.

The battery life on the Streak 7 is pretty much my only complaint.But i bought a car charger for it however.Other than that this thing is perfect.The screen responds incredibly well.Games like Asphalt 5 look amazing on it!!! The 4g speeds are incredible.I love being able to go anywhere & use this thing.I even got rid of my Archos 70 internet tablet after buying this item.Plus my brand new Ipod touch(4th gen) pretty much collects dust now lol.Apple won't let you view flash based websites..The Streak 7 has no problem loading the full desktop version of Cnn & Espn websites.Plus this tablet will get Honeycomb 3.0 when it comes out thanks to the Tegra 2 dual core processor..There is no tablet that can compete with this one at the moment. :)

Buy Dell Streak 7 4G Android Tablet (T-Mobile) Now

Bought this Tablet a week ago and I absolutely love it. The 4G is wicked fast and I love the portability of it.

Pros:

4G (technically, not 4G, but just as fast)

7-inch screen is actually all you really need. The larger 10-inch tablets aren't exactly portable. If I wanted that, I'd carry my laptop.

Processing speed is fantastic.

Battery Life is great. I use this all day at work, checking email, taking notes and it lasts until I get home. That's better than most phones if you overuse them.

FULL SIZE SD CARD!!!! Wonderful!!! Can view photos quickly directly from my SLR (jpg, not Raw yet that I know of)!!!

Cons:

Not a big fan of the Dell Interface. However, you can replace that in the market for free. Download the ADW launcher to customize it or any other home screen.

Not set up to tether (make as a hot spot for others) yet. This can probably be done using a market app, but you may have to be rooted to do so.

No HDMI out. Not that I'd use it, but it is on others

No USB connectors. Would be kind of nice to simply attach a keyboard if I have a ton of notes to take. Bluetooth works fine though and the keyboard is pretty nice that comes stock on the Streak.

Can't remove the battery (at least that I know of).

All in all, I'm extremely happy with my purchase. The Cons are just nit picked items to make it perfect. I have owned several Android phones so if you are new to Android, this may take you some time to get used to and find all the great apps. Android isn't as intuitive as the iPad, but it is more customizable.

Read Best Reviews of Dell Streak 7 4G Android Tablet (T-Mobile) Here

When it works, it is great, but...

I am totally frustrated with Dell and this product at this point. The product would not accept a charge. After three weeks of bumbling and fumbling and hours on the phone with India, they finally agreed to take it in for repair. Problem is, the repair facility is in Mexico in a facility run by another company, Flextronics.. Bottom line is that the best estimate I have is a total of 5-6 weeks for the tablet being out of commission before possibly being returned from the repair facility. Thus far, they have been unresponsive on my request for a new unit. It has been a real horror story of customer service. They wanted me to arrange conference calls between myself, Fedex, and India because they did not prepare the proper paperwork for shipment overseas. They even wanted me to prepare the commercial invoice to send it to Mexico. They were also too cheap to pay the extra $15 to pick up the product on a Saturday.

The instructions said to wipe the unit clean of any "sensitive" data, but this is impossible because the unit will not take a charge. As instructed, I have removed the SD card and the SIM card before returning the product, but I am still concerned about the fact that there could be sensitive data on this unit, a unit destined for Mexico.

Meanwhile, the monthly data contract for T-Mobile continues, me paying their bills without me having a product for at least a month.

If you do buy this product, I would consider an extended warranty (3rd party as I don't recommend Dell at this point). If you are beyond the warranty and still have a monthly obligation with T-Mobile, you could still be paying their bills monthly without a working product. If you do have a problem with this product, it will be a nightmare.

If Dell thinks this is a better way to do business, I suggest they think again.

Want Dell Streak 7 4G Android Tablet (T-Mobile) Discount?

Hunted this down for a month, then bought it on Feb 2nd, 2011 when it was released...

This tablet is very snappy. On STOCK OS with no mods, it benchmarked at 1950++. My EVO, also @ 1 GHz benchmarked at 1250 and later 1550 once rooted and overclocked on a custom ROM. Quadrant Benchmark test is not made for Dual Core processors. Android 2.2 is not made for Dual Core processors or tablets. I doubt either of the previously mentioned are made for an ASYNCHRONOUS CPU!

Speed is excellent. Battery life is not the greatest, but once a custom ROM is put on it with 2.3 or higher, it will be much better. It takes a FULL SD card. I don't know why "micro sd" was noted above, but technically it can take those as well. (Who would want to use slower micro when you have full)

Video recording is awesome as well. Great sound and quality. Video chat on the 3G network was NOWHERE NEAR as choppy as my test June 2010 on Sprint with my friend's HTC EVO and mine.

Already looked up and compared the upcoming HTC Flyer and was not happy with the fact it didn't seem to have flash on the camera and Gorilla glass wasn't mentioned2 HUGE selling points for me. VERY STURDY as DELL products arecompared to the flimsy quality of SAMSUNG.

Dell stage is nice, but I'm not one for software already "customized," and every widget does take from battery life. WIFI Tethering is built in, so rooting it currently has few advantages. I'm not sure if ADW launcher or the rooting procedure did, but it would no longer save any data or even do a master clear.

10" tablets are ludicrous and you can't type on them. I can lie down and hold this with one hand without it falling on me.

Save 18% Off

Read More >>