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Showing posts with label iphone alarm clock. Show all posts

Philips Fidelio DS1110/37 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock

Surprisingly rich sound, Rich omni-directional sound to fill your bedroom.
Elegant and compact design to fit on any bedtable,360-degree design for gorgeous look from any angle
Designed for your bedroom, Auto clock synchronization with iPod/iPhone when docked, Soft glow night light.
iPhone compatibility, Compatible with: iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4
Neodynium is the best material for producing a strong magnetic field for greater sensitivity in a voice coil.
Better bass response and a pure balanced sound quality.
Charge your second mobile device via USB, Dock, Dedicated app available on the App Store for more functions any iPhone/ iPod, even in its case
Designed for your bedroom, Auto clock synchronization with iPod/iPhone when docked, Soft glow night light,
Neodymium speakers for pure balanced sound, Shielding technology to block mobile phone interference
Neodynium is the best material for producing a strong magnetic field for greater sensitivity in a voice coil,
Better bass response and a pure balanced sound quality.
Surprisingly rich sound, Rich omni-directional sound to fill your bedroom,

I definitely enjoy this product. It works well with my iPhone 4S with Apple bumper and speakers are nice and loud enough to fill the room. I saw people complaining about the app, but the one I downloaded just by searching for Philips in the app store is stable for me. I don't use it as it is unneeded in my opinion. There are volume controls and light controls at the top of the docking station where you plug your iphone/ipod in. I personally am considering buying another one for my office.

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I got this product for Christmas, having had it on my Wish List. I thought the unit was cool, and offered some 21st century connectivity. I also thought the ambient light options were cool. Having had it on my night table for about 24 hours, I am underwhelmed at best. The ambient light turns off arbitrarily after a few hours. Further, speaking of the ambient light, when setting the light to its lowest setting, and when an iphone (iPhone 4, in this case, along with a 3rd generation iPod Touch), is set on the unit, there is an audible 60Hz hum from the unit, as if there is a dimmer switch in use for the light (which of course, there is). One does not want a hum from a bedside clock. There is practically zero connectivity or interaction between the iPhone app and the bedside unit as well practically no creativity went in to developing that I could have done the same thing in an afternoon.

In short:

ambient light turns off arbitrarily after a few hours.

60Hz hum comes from the unit when using the ambient light on its lowest setting.

poor interaction between the iPhone app and the bedside unit, leading to an under-functioned product from Philips.

For a $76 unit, this bad boy is on its way back to the cyberspace from whence it came.

Read Best Reviews of Philips Fidelio DS1110/37 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock Here

With only one real drawback, Philips Fidelio docking station and external iPhone/ iPod speaker system delivers a rich, vibrant sound.

There are literally dozens and dozens of iPhone/ iPod docking station-speaker combo you can buy and compared to the one I already own, this one is far better in every way.

One of the first things you'll notice is that it's relatively small. At it's broadest area, it's about 6.5" broad and 2" tall.

I also like the way it's engineered. They placed the speaker cones facing up (as opposed to the side by side). What this means is that if the speakers weren't of the higher quality, the sound would simply dissipate as it moved up and spread out.

But, this wasn't a concern as track after track within the space of a 15' by 15' room, the 4-watt speaker system delivered very, very high fidelity.

(Tracks on my lady-friend's iPod Classic sampled:)

"Dale Caliente" by Daddy Yankee

"Down On Me" by Jeremiah (w/ 50 Cents)

"I Wonder If..." by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and

"Let Me Clear My Throat" by DJ Kool (w/ Biz Markie, Dougie Fresh & Funk Master Flex)

The only real drawback from this system is that there's no remote control. You'll quickly discover that you'll need a remote. Plain and simple. The 4-touch control on the face panel: sound up/ down, light/dim, and clock setting is on a circular touchpad, but depending on the particular iPod (or iPhone) sitting on the dock, you may have trouble accessing the volume control. I had this issue with the iPod Classic that we used. Wherever you set this speaker system, you will have to walk over there for any reason to make a sound adjustment. With a remote, it frees you of this hassle.

Other than that, the price is right. The other docking station that I mentioned earlier for the iPhone retails for $75 more than this Philips. But believe me when I tell you, the sound on the Philips is WAY better. It's smaller and the bright LED display is clearly seen across the room. There's also a USB port for charging through a computer.

With the exception of missing a remote, this is by far one of the better iPod docking station/speaker system combo.

4 stars.

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This is a wonderful small speaker set. It's nicely designed: it's circular, with a glossy piano black finish, and blue digital time display. The top of the unit is the speaker system; in the center of the circular speaker is the iPod dock and assorted controls. It's a slick little speaker system, and accents a room or desk wonderfully: the small size makes it perfect for one's nightstand.

The unit is intuitive to use: one plugs the iPod into the dock, and from there, the unit charges the iPod and streams music. The sound quality is surprisingly excellent for such a small device: it offers rich bass and strong highs and mids. It worked easily right out of the box

My biggest complaint was that there's no incorporated iPod control into the unit itself. The volume can be adjusted from the dock, but songs can't be changed, nor can the iPod contents be navigated. Doing so from the iPod itself is an awkward process, since it remains connected to the dock.

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I've been using it for a couple of months. Bought one from BB initially and now buying a second one from Amazon. It does what they advertise, and does it very well. This is not a standalone alarm clock, it's a docking station that will play your alarm sound, and in stride! It works with a bunch of different apps with alarm capability, not just the one from philips (which I actually don't like very much). This works for a lot of people since you get to charge the phone. I feel that making it a standalone alarm clock with AM/FM radio might have messed up the simple minimalist design of it which is a key selling point in my opinion. The sound is very impressive for a device of that size and price-range. The support mechanism for the docked device is well thought out you can have any kind of case on your phone and as long as the port is fully exposed, it will work! And it also has a separate USB port for charging other devices, which is great!

An aux input for connecting other audio devices is the only thing missing in this thing. And I'm not a fan of the cloth top, can get dirty real quick. Another complaint I have is that the amber night light seems to turn itself off after some time... some people might want it on all night. A toggle switch would have been a good addition.

Bottom line if you care about looks and sound quality, this fits the bill.

Oregon Scientific Digital Alarm Clock Radio - OR-BARM123

I wanted this product because it has an outlet for ear buds, which I need as my hubby doesn't like that I need the radio to fall asleep, and this is perfect for that!

Sony ICF-CD855VSIL TV/Weather/FM/AM 4 Band CD Clock Radio

Wake to your favorite CD or radio station
Interior decoration conscious stylish design
Sophisticated LCD display
Clear acrylic lid lets you see the disc spinning
Triple display (Present Time, Alarm A / Alarm B)

Bought this for its sleek design, small footprint and CD capability. It was purchased for our babies room so that we could play CDs. We wanted something smaller and better looking than any of the boom boxes and not as expensive as the shelf systems at which we looked.

So your needs may differ if you plan to use this as an alarm clock.

We really like the size and sound quality for something this small. It is very easy to set up without even using the owners manual. The buttons are well placed and have a very solid feel. The unit has a very high quality feel to it as you would expect from Sony and considering the price.

All functions work as described so I won't spend a lot of time on them individually. Reception is excellent in FM mode, AM is a bit weaker. The TV and weather bands are very hit and miss as far as reception and was dissapointed that I could not get better reception from the preselectd weather frequencies as I live in a well populated area that is subject to severe weather.

CD works flawlessly but the size hinders the bass and mid-range a bit. But again, consideing the size of the unit I am more than happy with the sound quality. If sound quality is more important than size you may want to consider the Panasonic RC-CD350.

I have only four complaints about this unit... the wall wart power supply is huge, the LCD backlight is VERY bright, even on its lowest setting of three. This isn't too much of an issue for us as we will use it as a night light in our babies room. More frustrating is the fact that considering how bright the LCD backlight is it is difficult to read the LCD diplay. I couldn't use this if it were for my bedroom alarm clock. And the last is the lack of a battery back up. This is sort of silly in a unit that costs $80.

Bottom line is this is a high quality unit which has a few drawbacks that a unit of this price point shouldn't have.

Pros:

Sleek design (Only Panasonic was close on design)

Relativly small size (considering it plays CDs)

Good sound quality (Panasonic was better but bigger)

Solid feel (What you expect from Sony at this price)

Cons:

Huge wall wart transformer

VERY bright LCD backlight

Poor weather band reception

Difficult to read LCD

No battery back up

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I really like this clock radio but Sony needs to fix a couple of items. The sound is great compaired to most of the clock radios I have owned and I like that you can set the two alarms to different stations and audio levels.

Now to the problems. First is the power cube. You can not disconnect it from the radio. I have a headboard with a 2 inch hole for power cords to go through. There is no way that cube is going through that hole! Currently I have the cord running across the headboard and down the side. I will be cutting the cord shortly and then splicing it back together. If you could unplug the cord from the radio this would not be needed. Second is a big one no battery backup of the clock data. I have had two power outages since getting the clock. Both times I had to reset the radio preselects and the alarms. Here is a hint set the radio channels first, you need them set when you do the alarms. Third issue is the light. This clock could be used as a flashlight! For some reason Sony did not cover the back of the display. There was more light coming out of the back of the display than the front. I have a mirror on the headboard so you could almost read by the light. I place a piece of tape over the back of the display and it cut down most of the light.

Overall I am happy with this clock radio. The sound quality and digital tuner are great. It is just the little things that Sony needs to work on, but I would buy it again.

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICF-CD855VSIL TV/Weather/FM/AM 4 Band CD Clock Radio Here

I suffered with this clock for a year because it was a gift and expensive. Even on the lowest setting the blue glow is so bright my finace says it looks like an alien spaceship is landing in the room. The sound is so-so and it has no battery backup, lose power for a second and you have to reset everthing. It is also very big, taking up 1/2 my nightstand. The final straw was that it has trouble tuning in even the strongest radio stations where I live. This morning I finally gave in, accepted reality and tossed it in the trash. I won't miss it at all.

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I was very happy with this clock radio the sound is great, the options for pre-sets are wonderful. However, if the power goes out, you loose EVERYTHING the time, the radio presets and the alarms you've programmed. This is rather annoying & time consuming (as it's a bit complicated to reset these things) and there is no battery back up.

The CD sound from this compact unit is virtually unmatched. CD's sound magnificant. Unfortunately, the backlit display was bright enough to warn overhead air traffic to stay clear of my bedroom. The display is transparent and, as a reuslt, its light shines through the front and the back of the unit. Even on the lowest setting my bedroom was significantly illuminated. Sony should have included a hood to put over the unit at night, or perhaps a black-out mask for your eyes. If you intend to use this in your bedroom, forget it. Otherwise, it would make a great appliance for another room in your house.

Grace Digital MatchStick (GDI-GFD7200) Charging Speaker Dock for Kindle Fire - Portrait and Landscap

Grace Digital MatchStick Charging Speaker Dock for Kindle Fire - Portrait and Landscape Modes

++++++++++

Update:

I was informed by the Grace Digital MatchStick management that the battery pack that makes this product portable will be available in August of 2012. Its part number is AAC-GFDLI and it will sell for $29.99 on Amazon. This seems like a fair price and provides the added benefit of making your Kindle Fire and Matchstick Dock portable and easier to use. This is good news!

Here is my later video review of the Matchstick Battery pack and you can find it here.

Grace Digital Matchstick for Kindle Fire Rechargeable Battery Pack

I also attached the speaker system to my iPad 3 and iPhone using the included audio cable and the system sound was very good. This is ideal for watching movies or listing to music with your Apple devices to get much better sound quality instead of just using your Apple device for the sound. I have included a photo of my iPad hooked up. Make sure to turn-up the volume level on your iPad and then use your volume control on the MatchStick to set the volume. With the battery option this makes a nice portable sound system for picnicking or camping. Just connect your earphone output plug from your Apple device to the audio input plug on the back of the MatchStick and change the input setting of the MatchStick using the remote control.

++++++++++

This is an innovative docking station as this is the first one I have seen for the Kindle Fire. It is well designed and the audio output is very good. I wish I could have played some audio or a video for you in my video review but with the copyright laws I did not want to push the chance of making someone mad. The audio is just great and it provides a loud volume without distortion or cracking. The balance of bass, midrange and highs is well done and you can adjust the bass and treble to suit your needs.

I am convinced that this product is a winner but I am also convinced that having the battery pack is the way to go for people who are Amazon prime members and stream music or videos using Prime or another video streaming system. You could then watch movies and not be tied to the AC power cord. Please watch my video as there more details in it to help you evaluate the product.

If you have any questions please post your comments and I will try to respond to them.

Grace Digital MatchStick Pros

* Very nice sound with a good mixture of highs, midrange and bass.

* Good for watching videos or listening to music.

* Volume is quite good and the sound was still crisp without distortion.

* Remote control provided with bass and treble control.

* Auxiliary input cable provided.

* Landscape and portrait modes of operation.

* 50 and 38 degree viewing angle while in portrait mode.

* A good instruction manual is included.

* A hefty AC adapter to charge your Kindle Fire and the optional AC battery with the same device.

Grace Digital MatchStick cons

* 4 ½ foot power cord on the AC adapter can't reach to the top of a dresser or to the middle of a desk.

* Rechargeable battery option but no price or availability known at this time. If you are an Amazon Prime member this is a must have option to relax and watch movies without being tied to a power cord.

Overall analysis

* Easy to use and adds value to using a Kindle Fire for an entertainment system.

* Good sound for the money. It isn't a Bose system but it also costs 40% of the price of a Bose iPod AC powered docking station.

* If you are an Amazon Prime Member this is an ideal add on to enhance your audio enjoyment while playing music or watching a movie.

* I wish it included the battery and would only cost say $30 more as a package. It would also have been ideal to use some of my rechargeable Sanyo eneloop or 18650 rechargeable power cells instead of a proprietary battery design.

I was provided a free evaluation sample to test and provide an honest and thorough review.

As a viewing stand, the GRACE DIGITAL MATCHSTICK DOCK is terrific. It holds the Kindle Fire a few inches above your desktop or tabletop at an ideal vertical or horizontal viewing angle. With slight pressure, the holder turns from vertical to horizontal and settles firmly into position, so that the Fire stays put.

As a speaker dock, the MatchStick is pretty good. With the Fire volume set to maximum, the MatchStick delivers sound that is perfectly satisfactory for a non-audiophile like myself. You get sound that is similar to what you get with the AmazonBasics Portable Stereo System, but a little fuller, with more maximum volume.

However, the MatchStick is not perfect.

ON/OFF SWITCH (KINDLE FIRE): When the Fire is in the holder, you turn it on or off with a button located underneath the dock. In one of the two horizontal positions (with the dock to the right), the button on my device doesn't work properly unless the Fire is pushed firmly against the dock again, or unless the button is held down hard (which usually triggers the "do you want to turn your Kindle Fire off?" query that comes up before you do a full reboot).

ON/OFF SWITCH (MATCHSTICK DOCK): To play music, you must turn the Matchstick on with a button located in the top panel above the right speaker. When the Matchstick is turned on, it automatically charges your Kindle Fire. When your Fire is fully charged, there is no way to turn off the charger. If you wish to listen to music, the charger continues to charge continuously while the speakers play. (The MatchStick dock has an upright plug that connects with the charger outlet on the bottom of the Fire.)

TREBLE/BASS BUTTONS (REMOTE): As I said previously, I'm not an audiophile. However, I noticed very little difference when I pressed the + and buttons for the treble and bass adjustments (on the remote), or even when I pressed the Equalizer button to reset the sound.

VOLUME (MATCHSTICK DOCK, REMOTE): To me, the up/down volume buttons on both the MatchStick top panel and the remote seem sluggish. Holding them down will adjust the volume, though. To get the maximum volume from the MatchStick speakers, you must first set the Fire volume to maximum. (The dock has an upright plug that connects with the Fire's earphone jack when you slide the Fire into the holder).

TEMPERATURE (KINDLE FIRE): When I'm using the MatchStick to play music, my Fire runs at a higher temperature than when I play music with the Fire alone or with the Amazon Basics external, battery-powered speakers. (All of my music comes from a wireless connection with the Amazon Cloud--no music is on the Fire itself.) I don't usually play music for extended periods, but for testing purposes, I played music on the MatchStick for several hours. My Fire, which started around 65 percent at 73 degrees, was fully charged after 15 minutes or so, and the temperature was around 92 degrees (as measured by the excellent Badass Battery Monitor (Kindle Fire Edition) (a free Android version of this app also works with the Fire). After about an hour, there was a music skip, then there were occasional, more frequent skips. Replaying indicated that the skips were not in the music recordings. After three hours of mostly playing music with the display off, the Fire temperature was at 94 degrees. When the music developed a bit of static, I decided to end the test. Playing music with the display off on the Fire alone (plugged in to the USB charger with an outlet adaptor--not the Fire charger), or on the Amazon Basics speakers (noncharging) resulted in temperatures in the high 80s or below. (The Matchstick uses an electrical adaptor like the Fire charger--one with a big black box at the outlet end).

FOOTPRINT (MATCHSTICK DOCK): This is strictly personal, but the MatchStick footprint is too large for my available tabletop/desktop space. The MatchStick measures 4" high by 13" wide, so that leaving the unit out with the Fire docked has the effect of converting my mobile device into a permanent, immobile installation. The Fire slides smoothly in and out of the dock, but I don't have space in my small condo to leave the dock out permanently, given that it lacks superb sound quality.

I like the MatchStick dock, but because of its various drawbacks, I won't be using it regularly. For this reason, I rate it at 3 stars ("it's okay" on the official Amazon scale).

This review is based on a product supplied to me by the manufacturer free of charge for review purposes. I have no financial interest, or business relationship with the manufacturer, and this review represents my independent opinion of the product.

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**UPDATE: I've noticed a few reviewers mentioning that it's hard to turn your Fire on and off. My personal experience has been that this is a very easy process. There is a button at the base of the input port, raised and easy to feel if your Fire is vertical. When I push this, my Kindle turns on immediately. You don't have to use the Kindle's power button.**

I am really impressed with the MatchStick. I don't listen to a lot of music on my Kindle Fire but I like to watch videos. But the Kindle Fire sound system was moderate at best. The MatchStick is a great solution to plug in your Fire and either listen to music, watch videos or whenever you want sound.

It plugs in securely to the audio output and the charging port of your Fire which means that it will charge the Fire while docked. The Fire can be displayed in three positions: vertical, horizontal left or horizontal right. So you can flip it either way. And the plug seems to be secure enough in any direction.

The unit has a great benefit beyond using it for your Fire. It has an auxiliary audio input that attaches to any mp3 player including an iPod. So, in one speaker set, I can use my Fire or my iPod. The best of all worlds!

The sound quality is good. It is not perfect, especially as the volume increases but it is comparable to other smaller speaker sets like this. Unlike some other similar speaker sets this has an added benefit of an equalizer including base and treble control (but only through the remote).

A nice unit with a dual purpose.

(This unit was provided to me at no cost for an honest review.)

Read Best Reviews of Grace Digital MatchStick (GDI-GFD7200) Charging Speaker Dock for Kindle Fire - Portrait and Landscap Here

Overall, the Matchstick delivers decent sound from a relatively compact footprint while charging a Kindle Fire.

-PROS

--The Grace Digital Matchstick performs its two basic functions very well: delivering sound from Kindle sources (either locally stored .mp3 files or content streamed from the cloud (such as via Pandora or Amazon's cloud player) and charging the Kindle Fire.

--The Matchstick's cradle holds a headset jack (that provides audio input to its speakers from the Fire) and a USB port (that provides charging for the Fire). The Kindle Fire slides easily into the cradle, and the input jack and USB port are nicely aligned. The cradle itself can me manually rotated for either a portrait or landscape view of the Kindle Fire.

--Sound quality is very good (within the normal constraints of the lossy nature of either .mp3 or streaming sources). I judge speakers mostly by midrange sound and the clarity of guitars and vocals. You won't host a party with these speakers, but in a quiet room, they deliver a very good sound quality.

--The unit ships with an auxiliary cable, and will also accept audio output from non-Kindle devices (I tested with both an HTC Evo phone and iPod Nano 5G)

--Includes a nicely written user guide (useful even if it does contain some typos).

--The Matchstick weighs 4 pounds and overall has a solid, hefty field.

-CONS (all minor)

--You will be tethered to an AC power source. The user guide indicates a proprietary rechargeable battery unit is available (and the rear of the Matchstick contains a compartment for it), but I was unable to find the battery for sale on either Amazon or Grace Digital. Battery availability and increased portability would move this item to 5 stars. Contact with the vendor indicates the battery will become available in August 2012. According the the user guide, when installed the battery will power the speakers, but will not charge the Kindle Fire.

--Some controls (treble/bass/EQ) are available only on the remote. The remote is VERY small and very thin, Misplace it, and you'll lose these control features.

--Non-intuitive status indicators from two LEDs: the user guide contains a 31x5 chart of possible combinations of color and flashing/steady indicators from the Matchstick's two LEDs. Unless something is wrong: too hard (especially since many indicators address the apparently non-available battery!).

--Aux audio input is co-located on the rear/bottom of the unit near the AC adapter input. Placing the aux input on the top would have improved access for connecting a non-Fire device.

--Large "wall-wart" for AC adapter.

Overall, I found the Matchstick easy to use and liked the quality of sound from its speakers. This costs enough to not be considered a casual purchase, and at that price I wish the battery capability was available in order to make this unit truly portable.

Note:

This product was provided at no cost to me by the vendor.

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Ordered 2 days ago. Much intervening regret for spending so much. Arrived 5 hrs ago and since then all regrets vanished. The device is very solid. It can orient your kindle in any direction. Mainly the sound is wonderful. I'm slightly hard of hearing but wish to play it low so as to not impose my music on townhouse neighbors. I think I'm playing no louder than formerly yet I can hear so much better. Don't understand this but am willing to accept it. I agree with all who say this transforms the kindle fire. It does!

Only regret: It's heavy so picking it up from table to lay on my generous midsection to read will require gentle care. There's no handle to lift it so there's the temptation to contact the speaker face with the thumb. This would eventually rub a hole in the fabric covering the speaker. A solid plastic carrying handle would be a nice bonus.

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iLuv Vibro II Alarm Clock 30-Pin Speaker Dock with Bed Shaker (White)

An innovative approach to waking up: Digital dual alarm clock with iPhone / iPod dock and 'Shaker'
Unique 'Shaker' vibrates to wake up heavy sleepers
Wake to iPhone / iPod, FM radio, buzzer and / or shaker
Sleep to iPhone / iPod or FM radio
Speakers play your music with depth and clarity

The product is standard iDevice pricing...you end up paying 4X as much for anything made for iPhone but whatev. I bought mine at B Cubed (Bed Bath and Beyond) because I wanted instant gratification, and to my surprise, I got just that. The guy let me demo an actual unit in the store so I could see what I was buying (the floor model only demoed music and the shaker). It was small and compact, so that was a huge selling point for me. I decided to buy it, took it home, and became quite frustrated with it (for a few minutes). You have to download a free app first in order to use your iPhone with it (I'm using the 4S), but the app itself is pretty cool. You can set your own alarms via the app and wake up to your music or set 1 or 2 alarms on the actual device to use the bed shaker attachment. Alright, about the bed shaker, it was SOOOOO frustrating getting that thing to work! The instruction booklet has a whopping 4 pages that aren't very informative at all and the website doesn't provide anything either. So after playing around with it, I finally figure out how to set the alarm to go off with my iPhone music and the bed shaker attachment. Now the bed shaker is nothing spectacular, in fact, it's just as good (slightly better) than the vibrating feature on your iPhone. The only difference between using this and a $5 alarm app is that this charges your phone. But I wasn't too worried about price, I was looking everywhere for a cheap iHome like device and with no luck, decided to get this unit. The display on it is also annoying! It is placed slightly higher than my bed and I cannot see the time for the life of me! Luckily though, the free app has a nice clock display that is dimmable and readable. You wont have this problem if your bed is higher than your nightstand though. (The unit actually faces an upward angle).

If you find it in a store, buy it there. I think I paid $2 more at B Cubed than I would have with my Amazon Prime, but I also have the comfort of returning it right away and not having to ship it back. But if it's a gift, Amazon has amazing gift wrap options. :-D. Tonight is the first night of use, so hopefully it wakes me up in the morning. I'm the kind of guy who hits the snooze button 4-5 times (yes, I do realize that is practically an hour after my initial alarm, don't judge). So to wrap it up, the device is decent. A battery backup doesn't really bother me because my power doesn't go out and when it does, the raging storm that knocks out the power usually wakes me up anyways. If you're really paranoid about not having a battery backup, then avoid this guy, but if you don't care, go for it.

Pros:

Compact design

Time Sync saves a lot of time for someone lazy like me who doesn't want to hit the + or button to manually set the clock

Bed Shaker (and really long cable)

Free App

Bed Shaker

FM radio

Cons:

Battery backup (if you're on of "those people")

Display is hard to see sometimes

Really confusing at first to set-up the bed shaking feature

Haven't quite figured out how to chose what music I wake up to

Short power cable

The name makes it sound like a sex toy

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Nice sound, great iPod/iPhone compatability, love the 3.5mm AUX input... doublechecked everything on the manufacture's website and I decided to order it to replace my old alarm clock. As soon as I took it out of the box I knew it was going back NO BATTERY BACKUP. That doesn't hurt if you're just using for music, but if the power goes off and this is your only alarm clock not good. So I ordered the iMM178 which should have everything I need (minus one thing I wanted no 3.5mm input).

Read Best Reviews of iLuv Vibro II Alarm Clock 30-Pin Speaker Dock with Bed Shaker (White) Here

This iLuv was attractive to me for the shaker feature alone. The missus and I sometimes set our iHome iA9BZC App-Enhanced 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Alarm Clock Speaker Dock (Black) alarm to the "wrong" kind of music: delicate Debussey, or lengthy pieces with quiet violin solos, and when it comes on at the appointed time, although I generally wake right away, the missus has been known to snooze through entire movements. I figured the shaker on the iLuv would solve that problem. And it does, provided you set the clock correctly. Shaker mode and regular mode are two different things, and while many will consider the small size of the iLuv an advantage on an overcrowded nightstand, I consider it a disadvantage because the display is very small and difficult to see. Setting the time is easy enough. You just put your phone on the iLuv and press "sync", and you're done. Setting the alarm is not very intuitive, and the buttons are tricky to get the hang of. (They are four way circular jobbies, and they are unforgiving.) Once everything is set, operation is one button on, one button off, as long as you don't use the multi-alarm setting. The shaker is quite robust and even through a thick king-sized mattress, it makes its presence, and the time, known. I like not needing a separate charger for my phone (since the missus uses the iHome herself). All in all, this is a good tool and an adequately designed device that does what it advertises, easily worthy of four stars.

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Love the clock. Love the gradual vibrating alarm. A little difficult to program and hard to read from different angles. But still a great item.

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Ok, I HATE pieces of equipment that are smarter than I am. In fact, my solution for daylight savings time in my car is to realize my clock is off an hour and just keep it set the same year round. Drives my passengers crazy, but it works for me.

So, I have to admit, this particular alarm clock nearly bested me. It was only the fact that I really wanted a back up clock by my bed that kept me focused until I learned how to do everything.

First of all, if you don't have your iPhone or iPod around, you can use the regular or radio alarm (or just the vibration alarm) to wake up. The sound is nice, although not audiophile perfect. And I love the little vibration addition to the alarm. I placed it under my pillow, and was pleased with the results. You should know that I am not a heavy sleeper, and I'm not sure if it was the vibration or sound that did the trick, but it started going off before the other half of the alarm (music from my iPad) slowly grew.

Because this is designed for the bedroom, it is very nice that the clock can be dimmed out, so you don't feel like you are living in a blue wonderland all night.

I have mine sitting right next to the bed, so I have no trouble seeing the numbers, but I have noticed that looking at it from above, they are not visible.

Now for the reason why I was confused at first each side has a large button, and a small ring on the outside. I didn't even realize the small ring was a button in itself at first ... The pictures in the manual aren't clear. But once you realize it is a dual button, the instructions are easier to follow. Each ring has four spots to push (which are marked) and which allows you to set the time, alarms, and even radio stations.

The settings cycle, so the first time you push the ring on the settings, the time flashes, the second time the Alarm 1 can be set, and the third time Alarm 2 will be set. By looking at the screen this is obvious. The second level involves how you want to wake up, and again it goes in a cycle. But it cycles first without the vibrator, then with it. However, once the alarm is set, even though the vibrator is set, it does not show.

Probably the only thing I would suggest is much better instructions. I realize the trend today is towards pictures instead of words, but in this case, a word or two is worth a thousand pictures. I have deducted a star because of the poor documentation.

This is pretty pricy, so I suggest unless you want the radio and vibrator you consider a dock with speakers and use an alarm app on your iPhone.

NOTE this uses the older connection, and would need an adapter if it is to be used for iPhone 5.

Clarity 600 Wake Assure Alarm Clock With Bed Shaker

Super Bright 1.8-Inch Lcd Display
Super Loud 85+ Db Alarm
Bedshaker and Lamp Flasher Will Wake Even
Deep Sleepers
Snooze Button

I love this clock because it wakes me up every time. I am deaf in one ear and am a deep sleeper. Until now, I haven't been able to find a clock that would awaken me reliably. I have to take medicine during the night, so I need a clock that will wake me up consistently. I use all three modalities together--alarm, light flasher, and bed shaker. I think the shaker has the most effect on me. It's not unpleasant, but it does get my attention. If I were to change anything about the clock, I would add the ability to set two separate alarms because sometimes I need to get up more than once before night's end. It would also be nice if one could make the numbers go in reverse when selecting an earlier hour for the alarm. However the clock and alarm are not difficult to set.

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If i could give this alarm 0 stars I would. It is terrible. The lamp, snooze, and reset functions are all in the same button. The lamp is one thing but the snooze and the reset are the exact opposite things!! If you accidentally hit the snooze button twice, the thing shuts off. Countless mornings I'd wake up and not hear my alarm sounding wondering how it turned off. I originally bought this because after 2 1/2 years my sonic boom vibrator failed me and I received no support cause I was out of warranty. I was upset with the company. Today I just ordered a new sonic boom. I would pay the same for 2 1/2 good yrs out of sonic boom than for a lifetime with the wake assure. Terrible product design.

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My wife will tell you that I could sleep through anything. My previous alarm clock was one of those that starts soft and gets louder. Unfortunately, I would subconsciously hit the snooze button on several instances before it got loud. As a result, I consistently got into work later than I'd like.

This clock is different. It has an alarm that starts loud and stays loud. The tone of the alarm and the loudness can be set. The flashing lamp is a nice feature too, although I would have been perfectly happy if the lamp just turned on instead of flashing; my previous one had a lamp control but it wasn't tied into the alarm, which made that feature mostly useless to me. I don't use the bed shaker, so I can't comment on it.

Let me clarify one thing that was not obvious and that I consider important: the snooze button acts as an on/off lamp control, whether the alarm is active or not. If the alarm is set to flash the lamp and you press the snooze once when the alarm first sounds, the lamp goes off; if you press it twice, the lamp stays on. If you have the clock set in Auto Snooze mode and you've turned on the lamp since the alarm first sounded, the lamp will flash when the alarm sounds again but will stay on when you press the snooze button once. This is well thought-out in my opinion.

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This is a 30 day review.

I am a sound sleeper and also hard of hearing, so a normal "loud" alarm won't cut it for me. My Sonic Boom clock is at least 2x louder than this one, but after 14 months the bed shaker quit working. I was never really happy with the bed shaker on the Sonic Boom because the on-off cycle was too fast. I thought Id try this clock.

PROS: The bed shaker is alot better than the Sonic Boom at waking me up. The on-off cycle is about 3 seconds compared to shy of one second on the Sonic Boom. I rate the bed shaker 5-stars.

CONS: 1) Others have commented on the snooze/reset button, and I agree that it is a poor design. 2) I can't get the alarm to be loud enough and the tone is too easy to change. I keep on having to adjust the tone to my liking. 3) The light on the alarm is a wimp compared to the Sonic Boom. I have not tried to plug in a lamp yet, but may try that later.

Right now I am using both alarm clocks; the Sonic Boom for the super-loud alarm and bright LED light built into the clock and the Wake Assure for the bed shaker. Most of the time the bed shaker will wake me up enough to hear the Sonic Boom that comes on 2 minutes later.

I only wish there was one alarm clock that would contain the PROS of both the Sonic Boom and the Wake Assure.

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I bought this as a final attempt to waking up on time. I have purchased a dozen clocks that say super loud and they are not. So i thought maybe i could build one using car horns. So i started this quest and with many failures i decided to buy the Clarity 600.

It is perfect you can change the sould level and tone or pitch of the sound, you can hook up a hologen light up to it to flash and also act as a security light or just tap the snooze button and it will turn on. The vibrating disc that goes under the bed in nice comfy almost like a massage, but it does wake you up.

All in all i am 100% satisfies with this purchase

XtremeMac Luna SST Dual Alarm Clock with Detachable Speaker for iPod and iPhone (Black)

Total power: 15W RMS
Signal to noise ratio: >75dB
Dual 2.0" ported drivers
Includes 4" & 120" speaker connection cords
Includes AC adapter and wireless remote. Battery backup for clock.
Alarm Clock Features Dual Independent Alarms With A Detachable Speaker
Perfect Bedside Dock
Detachable Speaker

After reading many reviews and listening to the sound of competing and more expensive models at different retailers, the price for this made it worth a try. I am very pleasantly surprised in a number of ways. First, in terms of sound, it is pretty impressive for such a small device. It definitely is not a unit to crank, but that's not the point. On the other hand, it fills our bedroom with reasonable quality sound when played at low to mid volumes. The lows are a little thin, but vocals come though very crisply and the mid-range is totally acceptable. Simply put, it sounds bigger than it is, but it is not a sound system.

Second, the form factor is very appealing. It is a smaller unit than the pictures make it appear which is a plus for the nightstand in my opinion. The clock is dimmable and it is a very mellow orange tone. Consequently, it is totally visible, but does not light the room at night. It is slimmer and very understated in its appearance. My wife commented positively on its appearance, which is a rarity for most electronics.

I have read comments that are negative about the controls, but I see no problems. I actually like the dial control on top. I have some concern about the app for iPhone, but I will defer comment and judgment until I have used it for a while. As with most devices these days, the instructions are weak, so i will play with it on weekends until confident it will work reliably.

The dock options are good, but I have an iPhone case with a dock protector. So, I purchased the blue cel dock extender for $7 (high quality product as well!) rather than take the phone out of its case each night and synch is perfectly fine even with the extender.

The remote is a nice addition, but really it is best for adjusting volume and skipping song to song. Jumping between albums, playlists, etc, needs to be done from the the phone/ipod.

At the $45 +/price point, it is an outstanding value. Sound quality and appearance are very slick for the money. Initial impressions are very good. Solid option for an iPhone alarm clock!

Update: If you do not synch regularly, this clock is not a great time keeper. It adds 2-3 minutes per week if not synched with my phone. Not a big deal, but a little silly in this day and age.

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Out of the box, it works great, sounds great, even looks pretty good. However, I started noticing over the course of a couple weeks it runs fast. How does a digital clock run fast? Well, that's a mighty fine question, I wish I knew. But about ever month or so I have to reset the time because it drifts ahead about 5-10 minutes. I can live with that. But now, as a previous review noted, it's started to ignore the alarm times and go off whenever it feels like. This is obviously not acceptable for an alarm clock and is worrying to say the least. Stay away from this model.

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OMG, this would have been the best alarm clock if it worked consistently. Unfortunately, the ipod/iphone option suddenly stopped working after about the second week (for apparently no reason). This wasn't a make-it-or-break-it feature, so we just switched to the radio option. This seemed to work well for the next few months, with the exception of one morning when the alarm just didn't go off for seemingly no reason. Wrote that off to human error and kept using for a few more weeks without that happening again. Noticed that the clock kept reading a few minutes ahead of the time on my iphone (wasn't using clock to charge iphone since option to wake up to iphone tracks stopped working), so plugged in iphone and time immediately updatednot a huge deal. Then, this morning alarm failed to turn on for both mine and husband's settings even though everything was set-up correctly (ie: both alarm & time set to am, volume set to medium, no snooze). That was the last straw as I am a very light sleeper and there is no way I missed 2 separate alarms. Only had clock for about 5 months and never abused it, but no longer works. What a waste of money! I should have listened to the negative reviews that were posted before buying. All the features (iphone, dimmer, separate speaker for separate alarms, etc.) along with the reasonable price made this clock seem irresistible, but it's a piece of junk! Too bad the company who makes it didn't do a better job because I think this could've been a best seller if it actually worked:(

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I got this item as a Christmas present for my wife. She wanted an alarm clock that would allow her to dim the display. The unit looks great and appears to be well built. The only part she has had some issues with is the ease of use, especially of the downloadable app. She had some problems figuring out how to set it correctly (in the interim, she had a couple mornings in which her alarm didn't go off as expected), and the iPod time seemed to unexplicably go out of synch with the clock time. After a bumpy start, I think she has the hang of it now... at least she's getting awakened every morning at the right time!

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I was looking for an alarm clock that would charge my phone without removing my otterbox case. Check. Nice, dark display. Check. Controls...the "scrolly circle" is a little odd, but works okay.

However, I wish the alarm was easier to set, and included "day of the week" choices so i don't have to manually disable each weekend.

Emerson CK5051 Dual-Alarm Clock Radio

My husband and I really enjoyed this clock. Why we don't have it anymore has nothing to do with how it performed. It was a great clock. We liked how the numbers were large. That LED light makes it soothing to look at as well. No bright red, yellow or green lights. Just a nice blue(and there is a dimmer switch on it if it is too bright for you). It's taller than it is long which makes it a nice space saver. We also had quite a few storms last year, and if your power goes out and comes back on later (even after 2 days like what happened to us, the right time WILL show up again) And as an added bonus, the alarm still goes off on time if it is plugged in and the power is out (so long as you put a battery in it of course :D ). About that snooze button. We had no problems with that either. If you set the clock away from where you sleep, so you have to get up to turn it off, then you will actually look to see where the snooze/radio buttons are. Of course you're going to hit another button if you just reach over the bed, eyes half shut, and slap the thing. We had no problem finding the buttons with our eyes wide open. One more compliment has to be that we didn't find the buzzer annoying either. It was actually pleasant compared to every other one we tried out in the store. Go ahead, try them out. You'll see what we mean. It's more of a beep than a BUZZ! Which was really nice. Me personally I have to have the buzzer on. Otherwise I will fall back asleep to the music, and the one thing I can't stand to hear when I first wake up in the morning, is a loud BUZZ sound. Praise God, they made one that BEEPS for a change. Well, take care and God bless you all, and enjoy your alarm clock. (whichever one you choose to buy)

works well as a clock, but depend on the dual alarm feature to help you get up in the morning? HAH!

i have returned my clock to target 3 times to get it replaced. don't depend on your snooze button to work, because it simply turns the alarm off. this was a defect i found after about a month of using the clock. it used to let you snooze for about 7 minutes, but after a while, the snooze feature simply stopped working. i thought it was because i set the second alarm within 1 hour of the first. not true.

and i called emerson customer service to inquire about it. their service was awful and they wanted me to pay shipping to send it back to them for replacement! not likely to find anyone paying $9 shipping on a $13 clock.

i'm returning mine to target and replacing it with a $17 brand from sony.

i can't afford to depend on this emerson clock to let me snooze any more! i would have been better off to set 2 separate clocks at my bedside!

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This clock is a piece of junk. The battery backup is USELESS. I was late to work twice this year because of it. It just drains the battery, then it doesn't work. Setting the clock and the alarms is a huge pain. Emerson is difficult to contact. Buy another brand!

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I hate this alarm clock. I would like to know what is wrong with it, the snooze button only works when it wants to. I got one as a wedding present and the snooze only worked when it wanted so i took it back and got a new one and the new one does the same thing. I have tried useing only Alarm 1 or only Alarm 2 and using both, also tried hitting the snooze button in different places and sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. This morning my husband used Alarm 2 and got up at 4:30 and i hit the snooze to test it and it worked, (hasn't worked in about 5 days) and my alarm 1 went off at 7am and I hat the snooze and it didn't work so I didn't wake up till 8:00, Hello suppose to be at work already! It is very fustrating, and I can't figure out when it likes to work and when it doesn't. So I would like to chuck it across the room. I will be buying another alarm clock and throwing this one away! My husbands $.25 clock that he got at a rummage sale works better!! If you see this alarm clock run!

UNLOCKED QWERTY DUAL SIM TV FM GSM CELL PHONE i7 PRO WHITE

I guess I can say that this is okay for the price. Ordered two and one arrived both locked and defective. I wanted to return both phones at the sellers expense but my cousin fell in love with this one but beware of the black one.

Nice cell phone... Not so hard to use as most chinese phones are... The only problem I have is that using two sim cards in the phone decreases the battery life significantly.

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Black Wireless FM Stereo FM Transmitter with Car Charger for Apple iPhone 4S /VCD

Universal Audio Jack FM Transmitter
Enhance your iPhone MP3 experience through you home or car stereo
Wireless FM transmitter wirelessly connects portable music players to your car or home stereo quickly and easily
Simply plug the FM Transmitter into the headphone jack of your MP3 or any audio source including your PDA, CD Player, Cassette player or connect it to your PC or laptop computer
Tune your card stereo or receiver to the clearest FM frequency

This is a very good product for the price, I like how it keeps the station you were on and also keeps time, static is not noticeable until volume is at a very high level, but overall a very good product for the price.

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I bought this product about a week ago from a store called 5 below for $5. Most phone products from this store doesnt work for me, but I tried my luck with this transmitter and surprisingly it worked better than I thought. I only have two issues with it; one it takes awhile (about a minute) for it to cut on and start working and second the car charger part for it either has a shortage or it is easily bumped out. I haven't tried it yet with the batteries put in but most likely soon will since overall it does do its main job for the price of it. Either way when it is on and working properly is has great reception! No static or anything.

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Paid a little and got a lot. I love this little guy! It's not perfect, but it works for what I need. Totally support anyone wanting to purchase.

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It sometimes works good, but you have to be able to put up with some background static. Good buy for the price, but probably not top quality.

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