Journey's Edge 72-TC390 Traveling World Time Clock and Flashlight

• Features include: Circular dial to adjust time to different cities in the world Alarm clock Calendar with year, month, date and day
• LED displayRubber gripsTemperature in Fahrenheit or CelsiusCountdown timer
• 5 different language capabilities: English, Spanish, German, French and Italian3 Super white LED lights for bright illumination
• Dimensions: 5. 125 x 1. 375 x 1. 5 inchesFlashlight requires 2 AAA batteries (not included)
• Clock requires 3 AG13 Button Cell batteries (included) Includes retail packaging

The clock arrived quickly from the seller. It is easy to set the time and finding the time in other time zones is quick and intuitive. I've used it on several trips and find it works well and the alarm is easy to set.

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I got one of these at Eddie Bauer a year (or maybe two) ago, and it's really convenient. The turn dial for alternate time zones is a great feature. I'm about to buy a 2nd one now that it has finally crapped out. Only 2 things to note... be careful where/how you pack it, a light bump can wipe out your settings, and the failure mode i experienced that has sent it to an early grave was a weird one where the alarm kept going off an hour earlier than what i had set.

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The time display characters are not contrasted well enough with the background of the clock to be easily read unless the backlight is turned on. Flashlight and time zone components seem to be OK, but the difficult-to-read display rendered this useless for me. I returned it and won't buy another.

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Visual Land ME-909-SIL Mini MP3 Boombox Speaker for MicroSD/SD/USB Flash/Line In & Out/FM Radio (Sil

• 1.25 Inch 3 Line Backlit Display
• Dual 3-Watts Powered RMS Speakers
• Music Playback, FM Radio, Voice Recorder, Calendar, Clock
• SD Card Slot, MicroSD Card Slot, USB Flash Drive, Auxiliary Line-In, 3.5MM Headphone Jack
• Built-In Battery

If one sets their expectations correctly, this is an excellent little portable music player! Keep in mind that this thing is really tiny. Take two Altoids tins and flip them back to back facing you. This would be about the size of this "boombox." So if you are looking for bass response, this is not your boombox. This aside, this thing is awesome. It plays SD and micro SD cards and has a USB and micro-USB in and a line-in. So you could play music from SD cards, MP3 players, flash drives, phones, whatever. I've got a 4Gig card loaded full of music from my iTunes playlists from time to time that I will freshen up from time to time and call it a day, but you can use all sorts of inputs with this thing. It also has an FM radio and from my limited testing, the tuning is reasonably good.

Then there is the sound. For $35, frankly, this thing sounds significantly better than I expected. It is not going to reach volume levels that you can blast across your property, but I just brought it outside for an hour of gardening and it is 90 here and I live in the city, so there was plenty of loud A/C unit activity in the backyard. Nevertheless, the thing is loud enough without distorting to be pretty much audible from anywhere in my (40 foot long) backyard without distorting. It is so small, you can put it in your pocket and take it with you to wherever you may be. Then you don't have to crank it in the first place. It would be perfect for BBQs, small parties, the backyard, the beach, travel of any kind. It charges from a USB port (or adapter) and is still holding its charge now, 3 hours in.

The display on this thing is small, of course, almost comically small for some of the icons. There's actually too much information on there. I don't need the bit rate and format of the track I am playing displayed at all times given how small other, more essential items are on this teeny-tiny display. This being said, the fact that this thing has any kind of display at all is kind of amazing. The display is obviously a little on the cheeseball appearance side, but again, keep in mind the price point. More importantly, the overall build quality is good, the unit is attractive in many colors and the sound seems pretty solid, so one can overlook the less-than-state-of-the-art display. The alarm clock function looks like it would be kind of a pain to use, but again, it has an alarm clock?

In sum, given that I am about to order 3 more of these to give to friends as presents, I think it is fair to say that I would highly recommend this purchase if you like music everywhere you go and appreciate that this $35 purchase is not going to produce sound to rival your home stereo system. Great value for the money.

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I purchased this mp3 boombox to place in our bathroom next to our shower. It's cheaper than buying a radio that hangs in the shower itself, and the option of playing your own music from flash drives/cards is hard to pass up. Size of the radio is very small, about the size of 2 or 3 Altoid mint cans stacked together. The player seems to be mostly aluminum, with a small base on the bottom made of clear acrylic. The build quality is excellent. The player looks a lot better than the photos online. The screen display is good enough, and I had little problems learning to navigate through it. The equalizer options are great, I set my player for SRS WOW and all my music sounds nice. The speakers are on opposite sides of the player, and with the volume set to maximum, it's loud enough to fill a room, or use out in the back yard. To make it louder, placing the player inside of a small box does the trick (you have to experiment with this, and can get unexpectedly great results! Unexpected pluses you can insert/remove flash drives and memory cards while playing music, and it automatically plays, no need to press buttons (do this at your own risk you could lose the music on the flash drive/card) and turning the player off and on with the switch on back, the music plays automatically. This is great when people are going to be using the player and aren't knowledgeable about modern music players. I filled a card with my mother's music, and told her to simply plug it in the back of the player, and turn it on. She sometimes plugs in the card then turns the player on, other times she turns the player on first, and then plugs in the card and the music starts playing, either way! Very goof-proof. I gave this player 4 out of 5 stars it's an almost perfect mini mp3 player. One star off because you have to experiment with how you put your songs on the memory sticks/cards. I loaded a 2GB flash drive with one music album to test out and it was excellent. I then loaded the card with about 11 albums, each in their own folder. When set to random, it will only play the songs in one folder. It won't go through all the music. Setting the player to 'normal' play mode and having it play the songs in order is the only way to have it play everything. These things can be fixed through a software update from the manufacturer's website in due time, but it's not a big deal. I'm about to order 2 more of these.

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Although "boom"box might not be particularly accurate, given the lack of bass produced (for obvious size reasons), this unit provides very clear, sharp sound. The controls are very simple to use and the display is easy to read. The only thing stopping me from giving this 5 stars, is the fact that you cannot skip folders in mp3 format. I plugged a 4 Gb flash drive in with about 500 songs, with each album in its own folder. Unfortunately you have to skip through every song in each folder to progress to the next. Probably the best option is to buy many low-memory SD cards to avoid excessive button pushing. In my opinion, a very good buy for the money.

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I bought this unit as well as a SimplyVibe SV-X6U1 radio/MP3 player. I bought this Visual Land mini boom-box for me and the SimplyVibe player for my wife who uses it in her classroom with her students. To be honest, this unit is not nearly as good as the SimplyVibe.

For the small difference in $$, I would recommend the other one over this one. The speakers in this mini boom box are not as clear (clean) sounding. And while neither unit has an EQ or tone setting, the SimplyVibe just sounds better and has a bass booster. It also seems to have more volume (power). And the battery is replaceable, while this mini boom box is inside the unit and inaccessible.

I am using this mini boom-box with an MP3 thumb drive on my patio and it's running through a set of Altec Lansing computer speakers which include a subwoofer. In this way, it does a decent job filling the whole patio area with good sound, And we can enjoy hours of my music poolside. But as I said, if I had to do it over, I'd go with the other player. Hope that helps your decision!

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I really like this mp3 player. For the money it's great. There are some drawbacks so let me outline some strengths and some weaknesses:

Strengths:

* Excellent sound. As a previous reviewer mentioned it won't play over a truck engine, but in an office or any other quiet room this little mp3 player will fill up the space and then some. As with other mp3 players there is an equalizer option so you can vary the tone some.

* There are three ways you can play audio from. The machine can take a micro card; a USB flash drive; and a regular sized memory card. You can only have one card/drive in at once (if it is empty you can have more than one, but if you have two loaded inputs the computer can't figure out how to separate and use all of the information). This means you can put 32gb's of info (I have 8gb's) on one of these. But practically speaking unless you are basically going to shuffle the music the more files is not necessarily better (i.e. it's a hard gadget to navigate). As another reviewer stated, the way to go may be to have several different interchangeable sources.

* You can use the boom box as an external speaker for your other mp3 players.

* Nice size; very portable. I bought the boom box for a very specific purpose outside the home, but have been getting good use for it in my apartment also.

* The player picks up exactly where it left off. Some cheap mp3 players go back to the beginning of a folder each time. IMHO, that's a pain.

Weaknesses:

* Really bad instructions. There is a whole navigation system built into this player and the instruction don't even scratch on this. As a real quick primer, if you press the menu button (far right) when a song is playing you can set the boom box to play one folder continuously, repeat all, go random, etc. One tip: random is random for the folder that is playing so if you want a big shuffle you have to have all of your music in one folder (no subfolders). If you pause the music and pick the menu button and then press into "Card Folder" you can navigate through all the music you have on the player. It's cumbersome, but better than pressing the the forward button 50 or 100 times. A little patience, a little experimentation and you can make the navigation system (not a bad one) work for you.

* While I think the boom box is durable the inside chasie seems to get loose easily. I returned one player because of this (I have purchase two [keeping one and giving one as a gift] and even my replacement *seems* to be loosening a bit. I'm not to worried about this; I don't think it will be a problem, but a drop of crazy glue would have gone a long way here.

* I haven't gotten the machine itself to connect to my computer (as the instructions say it will). I have a card reader, so no big deal and maybe this is an operating system compatibility issue (I use Windows 7, 64 bit and maybe it's the 64 bit that's snagging me here) and I have a card reader which does me just fine.

So in sum, five stars for the price. Consider carefully what you want the boom box for and if after considering the promotional material and the reviews the gadget seems to fit your needs it's worth taking a chance on. I really do like it and am very glad I got one for myself and one as a gift for someone else.

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Duracell MN2400B2 AAA Alkaline Batteries (Pair)

It is an obsolete market gimmick to sell it for 1c (as of Mar 17 2005) while charge shipping PER ITEM. Plus, when you enlarge the product picture, it shows "best install by 2004".

They are batteries. They work. They power things. They are copper colored and black at the bottom. There's my review.

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These batteries are pretty good. I have no complaints with them, though I suspect that these mass produced commercial efforts are not the best on the market. But for value for money I stand by them, and so do many other fluffy pink rabbits in my social group.

Enjoy!

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I've used these batteries my entire life in everything from Smoke Detectors, toys, flashlights...you name it! They are the unsung heros of electronic gadgets the world over.

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Klipsch iGroove SXT 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock

• Compatibility: iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 3G, 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G; iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, iphone 4
• Plays and quickly recharges the iPod, iPod touch or iPhone
• Bi-amplified design and re-tuned bass ports virtually eliminate distortion
• Shielded to prevent unwanted noise from cell phone interference
• Connect iPod shuffle and other devices via auxiliary input. Requires 120 Volt AC (wall outlet) power.

This speaker set really sounds great. I am an audiophile who would usually go the extra $$ for the best sounding unit (i.e. the Bose Sound Docks or something comparable) but you can only spend so much on peripherals. FYI, I checked out the various dock options on Amazon.com. I've heard the JBL On-Stage at a friend's house and liked it, but I was concerned about all the feedback in the reviews about that unit's volume control issues. Speaker sound is all about personal preference and hearing those speakers in the environment where they will be played. I went with the Klipsch for 3 reasons the company is known for making high-end tower speakers, the unit includes an "S" video jack for showing videos and podcasts on my TV and the reviews here and elsewhere were positive. I normally wouldn't buy speakers without hearing them first, but I relied on the reviews and the company's reputation and besides, the pricing was good and I could always return the speakers if they didn't sound great in my house.

I received the unit and unpacked it in my bedroom, where it will ultimately be used. It was super-simple to setup indeed the instruction manual is only 3-4 pages of large type. I put my iPod on the unit and fired it up. The sound that came forth was crisp, clean and impressive. Frankly, not to knock Bose, but the sound was about as good as the sound from my Bose Wave Radio which cost more than 3X what the Klipsch cost. The sound is excellent with lusty base, crisp treble and superb midrange. I have played a variety of music and have been continually impressed with the sound reproduction. Pop, Hip Hop, Classical, Jazz you name it, this Klipsch really delivers. And it fills my moderate-sized bedroom with music without any trace or distortion and it sounds very natural. I haven't used the S-Video hook up to view videos yet, but I'm sure it will work well also. In my opinion, this is the best unit at the $150 price point it will not disappoint!

Here are my overall pros and cons for the Klipsch:

Pros:

-> Attractive form factor and reasonably small foot print

-> Easy to set up

-> Sound quality is excellent at all ends of the musical spectrum

-> Price is very reasonable

-> Fills the room with clear, crisp music at any volume level sounds great on low or played loud

-> Has video connection for movies and podcasts many other speaker sets don't have this feature

Cons:

-> The volume buttons on the unit itself don't have a smooth positive feel they are stiff in their operation

-> A screen like that of the Altec Lansing would be nice so that you could see the volume level and other key operating statistics of the unit

Bottom Line: If you appreciate good sound reproduction, this is the unit for you!!! Take it home and try it you can return it if you don't like the sound. But trust me, you'll love it!!!!

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Here's the quick. The Klipsch is quite good but not quite great. I performed my own side-by-side comparison of the Klipsch iGroove SXT ($149) to the Bose SoundDock Portable ($359).

Bose

* Richer, deeper more robust sound. Truly is impressive.

* Touch volume buttons easier to push (vs. Klipsch mechanical buttons take a little force).

* Cord transformer part of the plug plus the cord can smartly be partially hidden in the transformer to let out only the amount of cord you want (vs. Klipsch transformer in the middle of the cord that clutters the countertop). Advantage Bose.

* Achieves louder volume (though Klipsch is pretty good too).

* Heavier unit, presumably a reflection of larger speaker magnets. (Both units have essentially the same countertop footprint but the Bose is taller.)

Klipsch

* Very good sound, but just not as impressive as the Bose.

* Exchangable docking port for various MP3 players (though the one-size-fits-all on the Bose works fine for my iPhone).

* Accepts the iPhone without a warning. (Annoyance of the Bose: it displays a warning message that it's not compatible with the iPhone even though it actually is.)

* Price.

Bottom Line:

If you have $149 to spend, buy the Klipsch and you'll be happy. If you have $359 to spend, buy the Bose and you'll be very happy.

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If you know Klipsch like I know Klipsch, then you, of course, should not be surprised at the great sound. The bass is not exactly earth shaking, but with the type of music I'm currently listening to (Jazz, New Age, Alternative), it suits my bedroom just fine. I'm definitely hearing a wider range of sounds than before. The system itself is pretty small (a lot smaller than I expected) but with the nice sound coming out, I'm glad it's a space saver.

My main concern is the docking connector. When you dock the Ipod/Iphone, it is only held up by a small connector; your Ipod/Iphone is not thick enough to lean up against the wall of the slot for support. Therefore, when you use your Ipod/Iphone, it definitely jiggles and will eventually loosen the connector. My easy solution: I folded a piece of tissue for support! :-)

(Also, the volume switches on the speakers are hard to push, but the remote solves this concern.)

Hopefully the next edition of the iGroove will address this problem, but until then, I'm enjoying this Klipsch immensely.

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We shopped for our ipod/iphone speakers very carefully. Tested brands at stores, read reviews on various websites, and a week prior to purchasing, were fortunate enough to have use of the Bose Wave System. I have the Altec Lansing In Motion speaker system from a few years back. Terrible. Really awful connection. I will say the Bose sounded excellent, but the price is prohibitive. Bose does a lot of advertising, has stores, info ads, etc..I know thats part of the cost. Klipsch, on the other hand, makes speakers, thats it. The sound of these speakers is on par with the Bose systems. Its a wonderful speaker system for the price. Works perfectly with all makes and models of ipods and iphone, no feedback at all. When running the iphone, you can use any number of internet and satellite radio apps available in the app store. All in all its an excellent product for the price. I would 100% recommend this to anyone looking for very good sound quality, but not looking to spend $200+ and I would purchase Klipsch products again for sure!

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After upgrading my home stereo to a $7K home theater I began to enjoy my old music library in a new way. I'm no audiophile, but I'm now enjoying music listening a whole lot more. When I want to immerse myself in sound I head down to the basement to rock out.

Despite the big splurge, I'm still cheap. I hate spending more money than I have to. I started looking around for a decent iPhone speaker system for the kitchen where we spend most of our time, but I didn't want 4ft tall tower speakers and a big amp on the counter, I wanted something compact and that doesn't draw a ton of attention to itself. But also after hearing what good music could really sound like, I didn't want something that sounded plastic and hollow.

I was about to default to the Bose sound dockeven though I really hate paying that much just for name brand. I knew there had to be a good middle road. Everything else I could find was in the $50-150 range but sounded terrible. Until I tried this dock. Side by side the Bose has a deeper sound in a big open space, but if you're looking for a more neutral sound (ie you don't want everything to sound hip hop) this will sound better to you. 4 Separate drivers gives cleaner sound to my ear. Certainly, for the $100 I saved by not going with the Bose sounds good too. There is plenty of bass for a counter top unit. It plays plenty loud without distortion. We've had it about 6 months.

Obviously, if you're looking for the "best" sound, go get a real amp, real speakers and probably a sub. If you're looking for a simple compact counter unit that will do your music justice with clear treble and decent bass, but you don't want to spend $100 just on the name badge, this is a great choice.

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iHome iP9 Speaker Dock with Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone (Silver)

• Wake to iPhone/iPod, playlists, AM/FM radio, or buzzer
• Plays and charges iPhone and docking iPod models
• Bass, treble, 3D, and balance controls
• Reson8 ported cabinet stereo speakers
• AutoSet clock adjusts to time zone
• It has Reson8 ported cabinet stereo speakers
• It plays and charges iPhone and docking iPod models
• You can wake to iPhone/iPod, playlists, AM/FM radio, or buzzer
• It has Bass, treble, 3D, and balance controls

I have searched hard to find the "perfect" iPod alarm clock. For me, the iHome iP9 comes closer than anything else I found, but it does have some very annoying flaws.

In my opinion, the best features are:

* The alarm can be set to wake to a random song on an "iHome" playlist on your iPod. Only Sanyo seems to have a product with a similar feature, but I think theirs looks REALLY ugly.

* The backlight dimmer has 7 levels of brightness and can even be turned off.

* You can adjust the snooze time from 1 to 29 minutes in 1-minute increments.

* The alarm volume (for radio and iPod) gradually increases for "gentle" waking.

* The sound quality is quite good for such a small unit.

The things that annoy me about the unit are:

* The alarm set buttons are located directly behind the snooze bar, and hitting one of these buttons resets the alarm when the alarm is sounding. While the snooze bar is very big and has a bump that you can feel with your fingers, I fear that I will accidentally turn off my alarm one morning when just trying to snooze for a few more minutes.

* There is a beep when setting the alarm. While this offers audio confirmation of your alarm setting actions, it can be annoying if you are trying to set the alarm when your significant other is sleeping.

* The dial controls are cool in theory/aesthetic but are not so great in practice. It can be more time-consuming to use these to set the alarm time and other settings when compared to conventional buttons and a system where one sets the hour and minute independently. Also, the dials are mechanical (unlike an iPod) and lack an indent or other means for providing traction. So, your finger can slip, making them not so easy to turn. For this, I found a simple work-around: I stuck on each dial a small, round, self-adhesive, clear plastic bumper (something you can find in any hardware store). This makes it much easier to turn the dials, but it does not get around the fact that dials are not always the best interface.

* Personally, I find only the dimmest and off settings for the backlight to be of any use. Perhaps, the other backlight settings would be needed if the unit is placed in direct sunlight. However, I find them too bright, and it is very slightly annoying that I need to press the dimmer button to cycle through the 6 other "on" settings each time I turn the backlight off. While definitely better than some competing units whose backlight is always way too bright (e.g. the Sony ICF-CD3iP), even the dimmest setting can be rather bright in a totally dark room.

For me, the positive outweighs the negative when evaluating this unit as an iPod alarm clock. While not my primary usage (and paling in comparison to a dedicated home stereo), I found the sound on this unit to be surprisingly good when using the unit as an iPod speaker system for casual listening in a small room.

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I had been reading about the IP99 for months but was unwilling to pay well over $120 for it. When I happened across the new IP9 for $79.99 in a local warehouse that starts with "Cost" and ends with "co", I thought I would give it a try.

The sound is slightly improved over my older IH5 and IH6 radios -which is to say excellent for the money -and so far I haven't heard the slightest GSM buzz. The iP9's 3D effect is richer than the Sony ICF-C1iPMK2's "Mega Xpand" feature. The overall sound of the iP9 is slightly warmer than that of the Sony but otherwise comparable. The Eq option is a big plus.

The one advantage the Sony has is that it supports an iPhone from the back via and adustable block. That somewhat negates the need for a dock insert. This is a nice convenience for people with an iPhone shell that is small enough to fit in a universal dock as you may not have to remove the shell to dock the iPhone securely. You NEED an insert on the iP9 as you would on any device with a universal dock on top and nothing substantial behind the dock. Fortunately, the iPhone insert iHome includes seems to work as well as an iPhone 3G Universal Dock Insert from Apple... and it's black! The iHome website currently states that the IP9 does not ship with an iPhone 3G insert but perhaps iHome wised-up.

The dual alarms work in a similar manner to the Sony. The 2-5-7 day setting is a plus. I have not used the snooze feature though it is supposed to be configurable. Our dogs do not allow us to snooze, in case you were wondering. At night, one big advantage for the iP9 is that the dimmer allows you to turn off the backlighting entirely. As anyone with a Sony will tell you, their dimmest setting is way too bright. The iHome's numbers are also a little larger.

I have read about some quality problems with the IP99 and am hoping that the IP9 is as solid as the IH5 and IH6 clocks I have had for a few years without any problems. The iP9 seems to be built more solidly than the Sony, particularly with respect the buttons. The dials take a little getting used to, but if you're tying to adjust the volume in a dark room they are much easier to adjust than the tiny Sony volume buttons, which have an annoyingly loud click. I also give the iP9's remote an edge because it includes a few more functions.

In summary, the iHome iP9 is a solid performer with an excellent attention to detail that puts it ahead of the Sony ICF-C1iPMK2, despite its more iPhone shell-friendly design.

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First of all, THIS IS THE ONE TO BUY IF YOU HAVE AN iPHONE, because the other model just doesn't have sufficient shielding to work with the iPhone. You will have constant buzzing and interference due to the iPhone constantly polling.

Now to the review. The product comes nicely packaged and protected, and with good instructions. Set up is simple, even setting the time, which is just a selection of a time zone if needed. Mine came perfectly timed (it has a battery backup for it's internal clock) and so I just selected my time zone and I was done. Most of the setting are intuitive, except perhaps turning off the alarms if you don't want them to ring the next day... But, read the instructions (I had to finally turn to them as I couldn't work it out... and you know, turning to instructions is the last thing any man wants to do!:-)))))

In function the unit deliver acceptable sound for what is basically a clock radio. And being able to access all your favorite music on the iPod or iPhone, with a remote control no less, is great. Even the alarm works well, with a gradually increasing volume (and irritation... exactly what is required to pierce my slumbering brain...). And being able to wake to radio, MP3, or buzzer is great. The dual alarms can be set for 5 or 7 day setting, so that if you don't have to get up quite so early on the weekend, you can...

FM & AM reception are acceptable, and the tuner has pretty good lock and definition (stays on station, and doesn't pick up much "bleed through" of stations that are close to each other on the dial...). Finding a place to hang/hide the antenna cables can be challenging...

Answering the phone while in the cradle works fine, but isn't the greatest sound.

So, great sound, great time keeping, great access to favorite tunes, great that it charges the phone whilst in the cradle, and it looks good too. So why do I say "almost" does everything? Well, the one think I would change would be to fit a small light sensor, and have it maintain one illumination setting for day and one for night (illumination level of my choice of course). It does have plenty of graduations of light intensity, but it seems I am forever adjusting the illumination, from the bright setting for day, and one of the night... Setting them once as a preference and having it automatically set to that selection as needed would be wonderful...

Anyway, it's a nice solution to keeping your iPhone by the bed, and charging it without cables everywhere. And it does it all whilst looking good, and performing other tasks... Pretty good value if you ask me...

BrianB.

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For some reason finding a well designed clock radio is quite difficult. Poorly laid out, confusing and/or hard to use controls are the biggest problem. Finding all the features and functionality you want is also a challenge, even more so when you add iPod integration to the mix.

After trying units from two other manufacturers, the iHome iP9BR was the charm. Here's why:

1. Well organized and easy to use controls.

2. Easy to read display with brightness control (can be turned off completely).

3. AM and FM radio with good reception.

4. Sleep / wake to iPod.

5. iPod Touch navigation from remote.

6. Decent sound (for clock radio).

7. Compact and attractive.

8. Reasonably priced.

Overall, I am very pleased. The only pain is that the AM radio requires an external antenna that is hard to find a good place for on my nightstand.

Well I have to say I was hesitant to buy this based on the wide range of reviews here...but I have to say that it has exceeded my expectations after two months of ownership.

PROS

-sound is great, fills bedroom nicely

-radio is crystal clear works as advertised

-alarm function has been working flawlessly for 2 months

-plays and controls my iTouch 2nd generation great( charges it too)

-comes with cradle for a nano and iphone as well as itouch

CONS

the remote is poorly laid out and leaves a lot to be desired

selecting a radio preset from the remote is a chore having to go through them all each time, can't select one (not a big deal)

cradles are hard to remove once in place( seem to be fragile too)

Overall, all the functionalities work as advertised and this is well worth the money in my opinion.

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Philips MC235B Micro Hi-Fi Shelf System (Black)

• Compact, sleekly stylish stereo system for the home or office; provides 10 watts of total power
• Elegant design with motorized sliding front door
• Digital Sound Control for optimized music style settings; Dynamic Bass Boost for deep and dramatic sound
• Plays CD, CD-R and CD-RW discs; input jack for MP3 player
• Digital radio tuning with 40 preset stations

I just picked this up and it's a very nice shelf system. It's not going to shake the walls at high volume, but if you were looking for that much power, you wouldn't be looking at a shelf system to begin with. The true test of quality sound comes at the lower end of the volume knob. Here is where this unit excels. No hissing or crackling noise and the bass is rich and pure and sounds dynamite. I played a burn job from mp3 files and I was stunned at just how good this unit really does sound! Mind you, this system does have a wee bit more power than comparable units, so you can crank the volume up loud enough for most people's tastes and there is no sound distortion at the high end, either. It's also pretty easy to mount on the wall, if so desired. It does come with a stand, which suffices well enough, if you don't feel like drilling into your walls. I only have one complaint and it's a minor one. While the speakers attach to the unit as seen in the pic, Philips should have also enabled you to be able to mount the speakers onto a wall, apart from the unit, to achieve a much better stereo sound. I have a speaker on the nightstand on each side of the bed and when I lie down to relax with some good tunes, it sounds simply fantastic. So, sound like a good deal? It is, and for a great price, too! Just make sure you have some extra speaker wire handy, as there's not that much attached to each speaker to begin with. Trust me on this. For the price being asked, in my opinion, sound byte for sound byte, this is one of the best shelf units out there. I listened to a lot of small systems in the up to and a little above the one hundred and fifty level and this system won hands down every time. A nice added bonus feature is that it was also the most eye appealing, too!

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I bought this after reading 2 reviews on Amazon which were favorable. It skipped CDs after 4 months in my office. Sounds great, looks great... but rate it zero for durability. The repair or shipping for repairs will probably cost at least half the buying price. Disappointed.

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You read these reviews about the cd not functioning after a few months of use; try FROM DAY ONE. There is a workaround with the aux inputs and another player, and I like the sound I'm hearing, but its not a keeper. I tried the radio, and I'm not tuning into my favourite am stations either. If Phillips would figure out and solve these bugs this would be a great little system, but alas it's not. I have much better luck with sony products; phillips/magnavox always have ghosts in their machines. Be warned!

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I received my stereo only 2 days after I purchased it, and it works great. Sound is awsome and the electronic door is amazing. Wont blow you away with the top volume, but it is very clear and no sounds other than the music. absolutly worth the money. Recomend for anyone who wants to put stereo in bedroom or office.

I recently purchased this system for my bedroom. I wanted a CD player and FM radio. This unit does an excellent job in both areas. FM reception is excellent. I can receive all the stations on this system that are available to be received in this area on any other radio. CD playback is excellent with no playback problems of any kind.

The sound quality is excellent for a system in this price range and size better than most others I tried. Sound is clean and clear with no distortion. There are sufficient equalization and tone controls to adjust the sound as desired. Volume is excellent, with plenty of sound for reasonable small room listening at normal levels.

The remote control is well made and well designed, and easy to use.

So far, I am very pleased with this product. It serves my purposes perfectly.

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iHome iP38 Portable Stereo Alarm Clock for iPod and iPhone (Black)

• Compatibility: iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G; and iPhone 1G, 3G, 3GS, 4
• Play and charge your iPod
• Alarm clock lets you wake and sleep to your iPod
• Housed in protective travel case
• Auxiliary input for use with external devices

This portable stereo/clock provides great sound from my iPod. It is superior to the sound that I get from the iPod speaker system that I bought for my home last year. I spent approximately the same amount for my other system (a simple speaker and recharging dock with similar sized speakers). Of course, I should include the disclaimer that I'm no audiophile and simply enjoy listening to my iPod in the kitchen on occasion.

The set up was incredibly simple and there were various docking inserts included for whatever device you will use for music. The clock is somewhat small (approximately 1x4 inches) but nice and bright and easy to read.

The clock has an available beeping alarm or it can be set to wake with music.

There is the drawback to needing to add AA batteries in order for it to be truly portable (my husband and I both wondered why it was not rechargable in some manner) and I have not checked to see how long the batteries will power the device on their own. There is a button battery backup for the alarm (included) but if you were camping, or using this for any other means where you don't have a power source, this could be an issue. I personally would plan to use the AV adapter, but that does require that you carry it along wherever you go or just enjoy it only at home.

The size is not that of a mini "travel" clock (it's about 14x6x3 inches), and because you need to bring the chunky power cord along for long term use I don't know that it is ideal for frequent travelers unless they really want to enjoy their music from their iPod or iPhone while away and have lots of room in their suitcase. With batteries installed it won't be lightweight, either. It does fold flat and zip shut, but will not hold anything inside and has no "pocket" or storage area on the outside. If it had a way to stash the iPod and adapter, it would be clunkier but more efficient, in my opinion.

That said, I am going to thoroughly enjoy it plugged in wherever I'd like to listen to my iPod. It may even replace my aging alarm clock in my bedroom. When my husband and kids saw this arrive they were mildly interested in it, but once I plugged it in they began to fight over it. So, there may actually be a battle over who gets to use it the most often unless we get one for each of us.

Bottom line: It's good-looking, easy to use, sounds great and isn't a bad price for the obvious quality.

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Out of the box this looks like a great unit. It's feels heavy and packs nicely. The clock is clear and big enough to be easy to read. Everything is well packaged and the only thing you might want is batteries.

My first annoyance is that you get a collection of plastic adaptors so you can choose which iPod base you want to support and you clip that in and you are good to go. For that iPod. If like in my house you have a few iPods and none of them are the same model you'd need to switch out the base support or the connector doesn't engage and the unit doesn't function. These aren't easy to swap out, and even less easy to keep track of once you've taken it out of the unit. Just something to know.

The sound quality isn't amazing but for a travel stereo it beats the internal speaker and having a clock right here is really nice. The sync function is also pretty cool. I do think the case design could be more stable for desktop/nighstand use as it's easy to knock backwards or have the lid snap shut when you undock (or try to dock). Overall I've seen nicer units if you are planning to leave something in place for a long period of time but for travel or hot-desk type applications this is a nice unit.

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Holds it's own when compared to the high-rated Logitech S715i Rechargeable Speakers.

My husband loves the Logitech speaker but finds it too large for the extensive travel he does. The iHome iP38, however, is perfect for travel, has great sound, and gives him the lighted clock to boot.

Took about a minute to put in the five batteries, set the clock, stick in the ipod, and push play. Really appreciate that it has a power adapter so that the batteries are only necessary for remote circumstances.

Maybe the next generation will be a little more compact but this works for him.

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My main criteria when selecting a docking station is sound quality. Second is design quality, and third, form factor. This dock is good to excellent in all three, and while not perfect, is a solid choice in a travel dock.

SOUND QUALITY: 3/5 Stars

This dock has decent sound quality, but with insubstantial bass response. Music is crisp, if a bit on the warm side, and only gets tinny when at higher volumes. I don't expect the listening experience to rival much more expensive models--in my estimation you are getting about what you pay for here. It's listenable, and it a travel dock with other excellent features, that's all I really expected. I should mention that I tested it with my iPod classic, using a variety of media files from lossy Mp3s to Apple's Lossless format. Higher quality source material get's marginally better results, but ultimately the speakers are the bottleneck for the iP38.

AESTHETICS / FORM FACTOR: 5/5 Stars

Where this dock really excels is in it's design. Using a clam-shell hard case (like an over sized glasses case) to secure and protect the dock, the iP38 really is a travel dock. No worries about it kicking around in a suitcase on a long trip. It closes tightly and stays closed. It's also pretty nice to look at, with the sort of minimalism that is cohesive with a similarly minimalist iPod or iPhone. The dock is very nicely designed across the board.

INTERFACE / FEATURES: 4/5 Stars

Everything is laid out as it should be, and works intuitively as well. Setting the alarm is easy, as is accessing the 'sleep' function when you're still groggy. You can set the alarm to play anything you like, including all the music files on your device. I was disappointed that I could not get it to play Pandora (streaming from an iPhone) as a wake-up option however.

The LCD is bright, easy to read, and adjustable, allowing you to dim it if that suites you.

The dock can be powered by both AC or batteries, making the iP38 a great option for camping, trips to the beach, or anywhere else you want a music dock or alarm clock but don't have access to an outlet.

OVERALL: 4/5 Stars

Compact, well designed, and with reasonable sound quality, the iP38 travel dock and alarm clock is a reasonably priced option for iPod or iPhone owners. The sound quality will not blow you away, but for a travel dock it's acceptable. The quality of the case design and features make this a great choice if you do a lot of traveling and want a hassle free dock.

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I ordered this ihome product for my son's 3rd generation iPod. He is a resident in a long term care facility and really loves his music. The portable stereo works great. Because of both AC and DC use, it can be relocated to any area of his room.

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Sony ICF-C318 Dream MachineTM AM/FM Clock Radio in White

Do you fear that your alarm clock will not work if the power goes off sometimes at night? This Dream Machine has a battery back up so you never have to worry about the alarm not going off at the right time. Well you may have to replace the battery at some point but otherwise it seems very reliable. The instructions for setting up this clock radio are simple and easy to understand. There are two alarms and of course a nice snooze button. I feel it is nicer to wake up with the radio playing than a buzzer but this alarm clock has that option too. The speaker is not very high quality so don't expect stereo sound. For the price I feel that I got lots of good features. I'm happy with my purchase.

~The Rebecca Review

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