Haier SBC20 20-Inch 2-Channel Soundbar with iPod/iPhone/iPad dock (,2)

• 2-Channel Soundbar with iPod/iPhone/iPad dock
• 3 x 2-inch Full Range Speakers
• Total System Power: 20W (10W x 2)

I bought this sound bar and subwoofer a couple months ago after watching a very good review from CNET, and I must say I am thoroughly pleased with everything this soundbar and sub woofer have to offer.

At first when I read some earlier reviews, I was a little scared about the audio decoding issue, but the review on CNET made it sound quite unlikely that it would be an issue: CNET wrote: "One technical note: the Haier Evoke Slim doesn't decode Dolby or DTS, so make sure your TV and other sources can send PCM signals (rather than bit stream) to the sound bar. If you don't know what any of that jargon means, don't worry, it likely won't be a problem for your home theater." I also knew Amazon would take it back for a full refund if it was a problem, so it decided it wasn't much of a risk anyway. Therefore, CNET and Amazon's return policy assuaged my fear, and I have had zero problems with audio not coming in as it should from right out of the box.

For a little background into my decision-making process I live in an apartment with a small-medium size living room, so I wasn't looking for a huge 7.1 surround sound system. I have a 60" Panasonic (P60GT30) plasma tv. My goal was to upgrade the plasma's speakers with something that sounded much crisper and lively for watching regular television, but also packed some rich room-filling bass for the action scenes on blu rays or for playing video games like Call of Duty of XBOX 360. I am also hoping it plays music pretty solidly for the Pandora app on my tv. I considered many different sound bars, as well as some 5.1 HTIB's (Home Theater System's in a Box), and also gave the Bose Cinemate II sound system a long look. I'm a fan of a less-cluttered look, so I was looking to avoid a system that needed a bulky receiver. I was willing to spend up to around $650, but would obviously prefer to spend less if I could get a solid sound system.

I seriously considered some of the 5.1 HTIB's (Home Theater System's in a Box), but I already have a blu ray player and access to online apps like Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Pandora, etc. via both my XBOX 360 and my smart tv, so most of the features of the newer HTIB's would have been much use to me. My old roommate bought a $500-$600 Sony HTIB last year. It sounded pretty good, but my big problem with it was that the dialogue would get drowned out or come in much lower than more "explosive" scenes. So it made watching a movie at night (if one of us were trying to sleep) difficult because we'd have to turn volume up high to hear dialogue, then we'd get blown away by the volume of loud scenes. I was looking to avoid drowning out of dialogue, and I was also not very impressed with the HTIB's that I went and listened to at Best Buy. Therefore, I decided to skip the HTIB's.

What I really considered was the Bose Cinemate Series II speakers. I was very impressed with what I heard at BestBuy, and I was drawn in to how small the speakers were, but they still packed some real power with a separate bass unit. However, in the end I ultimately decided against the Bose system because I felt the price being a bit high($600), the fact that I read some complaints about the dialogue getting drowned out, and the CNET's rave review of this Haier sound bar really sold me that it could be just what I was looking for. Long story short, I researched many of the other top selling sound bars, and what I read from CNET and elsewhere made me thing this sound bar offered the best mix of features and ability, so I went with it.

Without further ado, my pros and cons of the Haier SBEV40-Slim Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer:

Pros:

1. Very easy set up. Right out of the box, the feet (included or wall mount brackets) assemble onto the soundbar in seconds. From there, it is just plugging into wall and making a connection or two with your selected device(s). I currently have my cable, blu ray, and Xbox all hooked up to my tv with HDMI, so I just bought a $5 digital audio cableAmazonBasics Digital Optical Audio Toslink Cable, 6 Feet, and hooked up strait from the TV to the sound bar, and that was it. I never have to change inputs on the soundbar. Whatever I have playing through the tv, plays through the soundbar speaker and sub. It's got good connectivity with a variety of inputs too, if you'd rather connect strait to the soundbar then the TV. All I had to do was plug the sub woofer into the wall and it automatically synced up with the speaker.

2. Crisp, clear sound. Dialogue sounds great.

3. Overall slim design is awesome. That is one of the main unique features of this soundbar is that it is so much more stylish and less bulkly than nearly all others that I have seen on the market. Big thumbs up on being able to do this but not have a dropoff in sound quality compared to other soundbars. For anyone who has a wall mounted plasma/LED, this is the perfect sound bar with its 1.1" profile, and included mounting equipment. If they can make tv's as thin as they are nowadays, why should the sound bars be 5-6" thick? Haier is ahead of the game in this matter. The sub woofer is a slim build too, but it packs some very deep and clear bass (plenty for special effects to sound great). I was a little worried that maybe the sub would not be up to what I wanted, given the slim design, but that is not the case.

4. The wireless Sub and the Speaker really work well in unison right out of the box. This was one of CNET's big points about it, and I have to say I agree 100%. Overall, the bass just seems to be in perfect harmony with the sound bar.

5. I really like and appreciate the fact that the sound bar has a light up LED screen that shows when you change setting, go up or down in volume levels, or mute it. Many other sound bars do not have screens, and I really like the fact that it disappears after a few seconds.

6. Price. Around $250, it is very reasonably priced for sound bars, while I personally feel like it is the top class of soundbars and would have expected its price to be in line with the highest premium-priced sound bars. It's a great deal in my opinion.

7. Plenty loud and can fill the room with ease. Like I said, my living room is an apartment that is not too big, but I think it would do fine in a relatively large room too (20 x 15). I love what it does for movies and playing video games. Makes them so much more engrossing. Music from Pandora sounds pretty darn good too. And just for reference, the volume goes up to 25, and I typically watch tv at around level 6.

Cons

1. While I like the simplicity and look of the remote control, I dislike how flimsy it feels (light plastic). I just feel like this soundbar and sub deserve a more substantial, less cheap-feeling remote.

2. You can't tinker with individual settings, such as bass level. As I said above, I really love the synchronization of the bass, so i's really not an issue for me. However, are a few pre-set settings to switch through (Surround, Movie, Music, News), and one of these settings usually fits whatever I am looking to listen to. However, if it is late at night and you are watching a movie, the bass may be a slight bit loud at certain points if others are sleeping in close rooms. However, there is the option on the remote to completely turn off the subwoofer, just not the option to change its volume, which would be nice to have.

3. Soundbar slightly blocks my tv IR reader. This is a problem with many soundbars if you place right in front of tv where the IR reader is. Would be nice if the sound bar shot out the signals it received from remote to the rear for the tv IR, (which I believe I saw on a Yamaha sound bar), but it does not have this functionality. With that said, it's not a problem with me because I can do some minimal remote angling and it will get to the tv with ease.

4. While I really like the sound of this sound bar, it is still a soundbar, and you aren't going to get a great or true Surround Sound experience. This soundbar and some others try to sell that you get the surround sound feeling with just the front speaker(s), but I am just not really buying into it. It fills the room great, but you don't hear the car come from behind like you may with a rear speaker surround system.

All in all, I am very impressed and pleased with the sound, style, and price of this sound bar 5 stars for sure!

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This particular soundbar is nice looking and sounds great. It has ample inputs including 3 HDMI, optical and direct line in. The remote control is nice and easy to use. The sub woofer is wireless and very easy to use as well. So why only 1 stars; well because this soundbar only accepts PCM audio, not stuff like dolby digital. So basically it works great with my ps3 and Wii, however it doesn't work with OTA HDTV. OTA HDTV broadcasts in dolby digital, my TV only has an optical output so I cannot use the soundbar when watching TV, which isn't what I wanted, especially when football starts. So be warned, if you need this soundbar to broadcast dolby digital, buy something else, it will not work on this soundbar. If I would have known this before buying, I would have went with a different soundbar. Otherwise a great product, it is a shame and a huge weakness that this soundbar does not support more audio types. Honestly I pretty much wasted $250.

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Got this from Fry's last week. And wow, what a difference in sound. Didn't expect the sound quality to be so good. I generally am pretty picky about my sound quality and have gotten 3 sound bars to compare: the LG 3510A (low bass, no HDMI), the vizio vht215 (ugly, ARC didn't work correctly) to this.

This is by far the best one out of the bunch. The sound is crystal clear, bass is clear and rich.

Bottom line: Awesome value, and looks great to boot!

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It's not the best soundbar out there, but for the price you get a good bang for your buck. It totally beats trying to listen from my laptop or phone tho.

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Works great and I like the features for Movies, News Etc. I called Haier over a month ago and wanted them to send me the 3 digit code to convert over to one commerical remote. Guess what---They have not sent the code to me. Sales person said they had to contact their engineering dept. This would not rate very high in customer service.

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Sony ICF-C703 Dream Machine Clock Radio

• Digital synthesized AM/FM tuner
• 5 station presets
• Brightness control
• Green backlit LCD display
• Dual alarm

Don't be fooled by the slick looking design like I was. First of all, the outer metal shell is very delicate and prone to denting, thereby putting its "slickness" to a quick end. Secondly, the setting controls are not obvious nor conveniently located, especially if you are fumbling around in a darkened room and half asleep. Thirdly, and most importantly, it is unreliable. A significant amount of the time, the alarm does not come on even though all display indicators suggest that it is set correctly.

For $60, you can find a much better unit than this one.

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I bought this clock because my other sony clock died on me. I always have had luck with Sony clocks, but after this experience Sony clocks are no longer for me. I couldn't program it, so I took it back to the sales person and he couldn't figure it out either. He suggested I get another one which I did. After one month the alarm has broken. No more Sony clocks!

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I've had this clock radio for several years now and overall, I am pretty happy. It looks awesome and the buttons are all easily accessible. Once you've had it for a while your fingers learn which buttons to hit to turn the alarm on and off. The built in battery back-up has saved me many a time. My biggest complaint is I lost the directions about a year ago and I haven't been able to figure out how to set the alarm to wake up to a radio station since them. Somehow my settings got erased and now all I can wake up to is static. I'm sure it can't be that difficult but at present, it alludes me. The sound is fine for light bedside listening and the display has two settings (bright and not so bright) which is also a nice feature. It does have a limited viewing angle as stated in one of the previous review. Overall, however, I am pleased with the clock.

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To me this Sony product is a bit of a relief. I usually demand some level of aesthetic design in anything I buy. I figure if I'm going to spend money on beautiful vases, etc. for my home then why buy an ugly alarm clock to clash with all of that. I can see why some people don't care about this and I would recommend not buying this if you are one of those people. It is just a typical clock radio and has no real special features. But for me I could not stand owning one more ugly clock radio. I didn't care how much money it cost me. This radio doesn't have outstanding design but it is head and shoulders above anything else on the market. Seen the GPX clock radios? I had one of those for a while. Ugly and poorly made cheap plastic and shoddy construction. This product is well made, the interface is easy to understand even though someone pointed out they had problems setting the alarm, and it looks great.

sure, it's overpriced, but it's just so cool looking. hard to find minimalist, modern design in the "more is more" world of consumer electronics.

i find that it tunes in stations very well, and the sound is decent for a unit so small. as for the people who couldn't set the alarm, here's a novel idea: READ THE DIRECTIONS. actually, i didn't, and figured it out after a few minutes.

the buttons are sort of oddly placed, but i wake up the same time every day so i don't have to really worry about hitting anything but the button to turn off the radio. if you have someone else who needs to get up at a different time, it has duel alarms, which is a great feature.

the radio seems sturday enough, not that i put my clock radios through a obstacle course or anything. it's everything that i've come to expect from sony through the years; a fairly well thought-out, solid product.

hey, it's small, looks great on your nightstand, and wakes you up when you set it. what else does a clock radio need to do?

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Alert Works EAR-10 Weather Alert All Hazard Radio (Black)

• Receives All NOAA weather Channels with Alerts
• SAME Technology with 10 Memory Loactions
• User Selectable Alert, Voice, 90db Siren, or Flashing LED
• Alarm Clock with Snooze
• Battery Back up

This radio is cheap. Bad investment on my part. we have four offices and i purchased one for each office. I think maybe one of them is still working. i thought it had some great features when i first ordered them however the buttons stick when pressed. antenna broke off early on three of them (this is an office no children).

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This radio is a wonderful product! I live in the Midwest and we have weather that changes very often. When going to sleep at night the Alert Works Ear 10 makes me feel safe and secure. I also purchased a second weather radio for my daughter. They are very easy to program. I definitely recommend this product to anyone.

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Bought this thing yesterday, have had multiple weather warnings today and this thing has not gone off even once!!! I have everything set correctly, and have weather switch to ON. My $1.99 app on my phone worked great, this costly brick is just a waste of space... SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!

FOLLOW-UP: Returned this unit and bought the Sangean CL-100, which worked PERFECTLY during last weeks severe storms/tornados....

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I'm out in the sticks where there are no warning sirens, and I didn't like the idea of dangerous weather sneaking up on me. Particularly when sleeping at night. So, far it has worked well, the alarm goes off on watches and warnings, and I get the local weather channel. I took it on vacation with me also. I changed the SAME settings to the county I was in, but in that location the weather channel reception was poor. The unit does have a port for an external antenna, which may have helped.

The only negative so far with the radio is the display. You can't read it unless your looking straight at it. Off to the side, high or low and it's not visible.

After an extended power outage that left me with no internet, cable, telephone, limited cell phone service and no data connection, I made it a priority to get a weather alert radio. Despite having generator power, the storm appeared to have compromised the nearby cell tower, so we were virtually blind should additional hazzardous weather approach. Given all of the other outages, I wasn't even sure the tornado sirens would work. Even if they did work, I was concerned that the noise from all of the generators in use might prevent more distant sirens from being heard.

I like to exhaust every possiblitly before returning a product and usually dismiss most one star ratings for not being objective. However, I am compelled to offer only one star and after a week of usage, decided to return the poroduct. I also considered the MIDLAND WR300 Weather Radio but thought this unit had a better display.

I planned to keep this radio by my bedside to provide warnings should a storm approach in the middle of the night but also had aspirations to use this as a clock radio. None of this worked out:

The alarm for this radio is the same used for weather alerts, which I believe could wake the dead. Such an alarm is not appropriate for every day use as my goal is to wake myself up, but not everyone else in the house, who get up two hours later than I. In addition, the alarm setting function is buried within the menu used to program the radio, making the alarm impractical to use on on a daily basis (minus one star).

An annoying tone/beep ensues whenever ANY button is pressed on this radio. Those tones are loud enough to wake up someone in the next room and cannot be turned off. Not sure why every button press warrants such a loud audible tone that cannot be shut off, but this is how this radio works (minus one star).

This radio is relatively bulky for its light weight, which raises questions about its build quality. I would not automatically be concerned about build quality if ever other aspect of the raido was well-designed, but it is not the case here (minus one star).

I had decided to live with these shortcomings, but unfortunately, the most important feature, ALERT did not work when a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for my area. I set the alert feature to work in the event of a severe thunderstorm as these are often precursors to tornados. The particular warning only applied to a quaudrant of my county (the quadrant where I happen to live) and no alarm was sounded. The following day, I reached out to the National Weather Service and they confirmed that they DID issue an alert that should have been picked up on a S.A.M.E. radio. I double checked all of my settings and the radio WAS properly set (minus one star)

I'll give the radio one star for its display. It is clear and legible and the warning lights to indicate the nature of the warning had potential (plus one star).

I returned this raido and decided to kick in an extra $20 for the Sangean CL-100, which has good reviews and should suit my needs better. If you are buying a radio that has to work to protect life and property, this is NOT the answer.

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August MB300 Mini Wooden MP3 Stereo System and FM Clock Radio, with Card Reader, USB Port & AUX Jack

• Top quality mini MP3 Music System with FM clock radio and Wooden Box for the fabulous music quality
• Play high quality MP3 music from SD/MMC memory cards, USB sticks / USB flash disks and external iPod, iPhone, MP3 player & any other audio players with an audio out (earphone) jack
• FM radio and alarm clock with radio, MP3 & buzzer waking-up modes, display date, time in 12/24 hour mode and temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit
• 2 x 3 Watt 60mm powerful Hi-Fi speakers and built-in rechargeable battery for up to 5 hour playing
• Comes with remote control, AC power / USB power adapter and cable, 3.5mm audio cable, 2.5 to 3.5mm mobile phone converters

I bought the August MP3 player from Amazon for less than $18, including shipping.

I like it a lot and I bet that you will too, depending on what you expect at this price.

CONS: Cheap remote control, no ability to navigate within tracks or folders, tiny LCD displays for critical info, side-loaded USB droops a bit, on-board buttons are too hard to operate, less-than-intuitive interface requires that you actually read the manual.

PROS: The sound is surprisingly good. It recognized audio on SD card and USB drive right away. FM reception is very tight, even with the antenna not extended. Set-up was easy after 5 minutes with the manual. Clock is accurate and big, although not back-lighted (except when you're doing something with the buttons or if you press the LT button on the main unit). Solid, but cheap construction. Nice looking, in a cheesy kind of way. Good packaging, complete accessories, nice solid cables, including the AC adapter.

CONCLUSION: I plan to buy another. It's not beefy enough for loud music but it's ideal for talk radio and sounds GREAT with Old Time Radio MP3s, like Suspense, Lights Out, The Whistler, etc. You can easily fit 100 hours of thrills and spills and program the player to Play randomly. I just leave the SD card plugged in (2 gig is plenty) full-time. I suggest that you program the audio tracks into a single folder. I also suggest that you teach the remote control commands to a learning remote. In my opinion, I'll be using this device a lot and the credit card remote, while strong and powerful, feels like it's not going to hold up with a lot of use. I would like to have a fast-forward/rewind function but it's not a deal-breaker. I like using solid-state storage devices for playback, by the way. They are both very quiet in operation, especially when compared to a CD player. I think they're also less likely to break down. If I'm wrong, I'll write back and update. And, by the way, the audio on the August is much better than the audio on my 17" Acer laptop. Happily, the cable is included with the August so that I can go from my Acer headphone jack to the August aux-in.

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My piece stopped working after 30 days. It says no card to read, can't return it so have to use as clock, what a waste of time and money.

History :

I got my product in 1.5 weeks (super saver shipping) but remote and aux cable was missing, so called amezon , they asked me to return it and order a new one

Initial observation:-

Size Compare to a coffee mug.

Speaker Loud enough to fill 2 rooms, with fair bass.

Buttons Hard to press but works.

MP3 Player No track information, watch and mp3 player are two separate modules. Track navigation can only be one by one (i.e. if there are 10 songs you need to push button 10 times to reach last song, it's a bit unpleasant because a 1 GB memory card may have 1000s of songs.)

Watch Did not find useful, normal digital watch, back light works only for 10 sec, never tried alarm.

Radio Works reception was OK.

Overall I got it in 24$, and think I am overpaying but there are very little option in usb player segment, want to play songs for my baby so do not care much about track and all.

Remote Worked for 5 days total and then stopped responding even after a battery change.

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Does the job on multiple levels, but a little awkward to find tracks ( if this is desired ) as not even track info is displayed on player.

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I read all the reviews for this products and they seemed to split 50/50 crap vs cool. So I took a chance and here is my take on it:

1. Ease of Use. A lot of people said that it wasn't intuitive and the buttons were hard to push. I did not find this to be the case however. The buttons are smallish and stiff so that might be part of the issue people had. I have no problems with this however. There are several buttons, but I had it figured out in a matter of minutes. So on ease of use I give it 4 stars.

2. Quality. It works, which seemed to be a problem with some reviews. Radio and MP3 player both play without any issues. It does have a "cheap" feel to it and the LCD is a bit hard to read unless you look at it straight on (at an angle, everything looks gray), but I keep it next to my bed and can see it fine. Remote is nice, when I want to see what time it is at night I just hit the snooze button on remote and the time is illuminated for about 20 seconds. Would have liked to be able to just turn on the blue light, but not a deal breaker. 3 stars

3. Sound/music player. I keep the volume on 3 which is plenty loud to wake up by or go to sleep to. At higher volumes it can be heard through the entire back of my house. The MP3 player will remember the last track you played and start back at it when you restart the music. The MP3 alarm, however only seems to want to play track 1. When I hear 3 doors down now I want to punch the snooze button ... even in the car radio. 4 stars

4. Value: My wife was shopping for MP3 alarm clocks for my birthday and was pricing them at $100. I told her to forget that and bought this one for $35 with next day shipping. Value 5 stars.

5. Overall: You get what you pay for, but you do get a lot for your money. This unit is portable, has phone hook-ups, and other features that really make it a bargain. Hopefully it won't die in a few months, but that remains to be seen. I rolled the dice and came on the upside of the 50/50 line. Hope you do too! 4 stars

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The design is compact and solid. The sound is so much better than I expected for something this small and inexpensive. Take some time to read the manual, this is not one of those electronic pieces that most people can just pick up and start using; it's functionality is very much it's own and not easy to decipher. Once you get the hang of it though it's easy.

I originally bought this to be able to wake up to a soft mp3 sound file instead of the vulgar and shill alarm I've hated for year. I'm a light sleeper and I really don't need to be forced awake. But instead I found that the alarm sound on this clock was really nice, just 3 short smooth electronic beep-beep-beeps repeated until you hit the center snooze for 5 more minutes or any other button on the unit to turn the alarm off.

Only 2 small complaints; Would prefer for the snooze to be 10 minutes instead of 5, and I would prefer that the very very bright blue background light not turn on when you hit the snooze.

Overall I love this unit, and I'm buying a few more to give as gifts.

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Latte Espresso 16 GB Video MP3 Player with Haptic G-Sensor and Touchscreen (Metal Gun)

• 16 GB capacity for storing about 4,000 songs
• 15 hours of audio or 4 hours of video on a single charge
• 3-inch, 262,000-color TFT LCD touchscreen with 420 x 240 pixel resolution and haptic feedback
• Supports MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, APE, and OGG audio formats; AVI, RM/RMVB, FLV, WMV, 3GP, MPG, DAT, and MP4 video formats; JPG, BMP
• 1-year limited warranty

Have been using Latte Espresso for 2 months now

Here are some of findings which might help other people's buying decision. Anyway, I am satisfied with this purchase and would recommend this to anyone who wants to use MP3 in daily life.

Pros

1. Design: Very simple. No buttons, Good quality case.

2. Touch Screen: Very responsive. Especially, the unit vibrates when I touch the screen, so I know if I touch it correctly or not. Response rate is very good compared to other cheap touch players (I owned cheap touch screen mp4 from other company,,,, it was so hard to touch the item that I wanted)

3. Rotating Screen: The screen rotates as I rotate the unit. I do not have to try to hold it in one direction. Any direction will show correct display. (it actually rotates 360 degree)

4. FM Radio and Transmitter: This is the feature I like the most. Now I can use my player in the car without buying an expensive FM transmitter ($$$$$). Very clear sound throught your car FM radio. You need to plug the ear phone since it will be used as antena

5. Music and Video: supports various formats. Quality is superb. Many of videos need to be resized to be directly played in the player. No problem. There are tons of free conversion software on the net.

6. In-ear metal headphone: WOW... by itselt, it looks so expensive. I found the same one at Fry's at $19.95.. Excellect Noise isolating headphone

7. Drag and Drop: No software needed. Just copy all files from your PC and paste into the player. It will automatically be sorted by the player (Music, Video, pictures, etc)

Cons

1. Even the screen is 3", it is still small for users like me to touch menu correctly with fingers. But Acceptable because it has up and down icons on each menu screen.

2. No accessories other than styus. Could not find protection cover yet.

3. Will update this when I find more bad things about the players

4. No external memory slot.

Try one for yourself. It is a pretty solid player. I am satisfied.

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I bought this player to upgrade from my 4gb iRiver LPlayer, which is also a good player, just wanted more gb.

A previous review mentioned the pros and cons I've also found, so I won't repeat.

There was just one area I had trouble with, and that was reading text. The manual states they have to be txt ANSI format, but the player would only display a few pages and not the entire document. After much trial and error, I found that the text file needs to be in Unicode format instead. To convert, I simply opened the text doc in Notepad and saved as txt Unicode. I found no information anywhere ref others with this same problem. Edit 092409: I found that I must turn off the screen rotation while reading text. When the screen rotated, the document went back to the beginning.

The FM transmitter is as good as stated in a previous review. It works great, definitely a benefit.

The unit vibrates when you touch a button, which is cool, but that function can be turned off. The screen rotation can be turned off also. It also offers different "desktop" backgrounds, but you cannot use your own photo as the background.

I was able to load my .avi movies right onto the player without converting them. You may want to make them a smaller file, if you're concerned about space. (My iRiver came with conversion software that makes the movies 320x240. This size worked pretty well on the Espresso, too.)

I would definitely recommend this product.

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I'm not a gadget guru, just an older guy who likes music. I wanted something to play both through headphones and a few different FM radios and this does exactly that and very well. I don't care about viewing videos, pictures or text but it does those things very well too. It seems to be well made and 99% intuitive, I figured almost everything out without cracking the instruction booklet.

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First disappointment battery life is NOT 15 hours as stated in the specs, according to the MANUAL it is only 8-9 hours for audio and 3-4 hours video. This seems about right based on my day of testing.

Second disappointment There was no USB cigarette lighter plug in the box. Not a big deal for me, but be warned. I bought this player at the time Target was the Amazon vendor, not sure if that made the difference.

Other than that, it is an ok player. Everything else works as the specs state. I was able to play DIVX movies encoded at multiple resolutions. The FM transmitter is OK but not the clearest and you HAVE to have the headphones plugged in to transmit to even the closest radio. Also, FM radio reception is dismal like any other MP3 player I've tried with a built-in radio. Some of the buttons and menu options are fairly small on the 3" touch screen, I wish I had a stylus sometimes. Brightness levels and haptic feedback also good.

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I had the product for a few months. Worked pretty good, although it lacked a bit as far as the touch screen goes. It stopped working completely so I called the manufacturer and I guess by pure luck someone answered the phone (must have been a traniee) and gave me instructions to send it back with a return code. I was also told to ship it insured. I did so and also requested a delivery confirmation from the post office. I got the confirmation that they received my player which was boxed absolutley like it was brand new. Authorization code was placed outside the package as well as inside. It has now been almost 4 months and countless phone calls and emails, yet no one seems to be able to answer the phone or return my email. I can't believe they stole my MP3 player. Don't purchase from this company. They are flat out CROOKS!

UPDATE: 4/10/12 STILL NOTHING. CAN NOT CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER. I WISH AMAZON WOULD STOP CARRYING PRODUCT FROM THIS MANUFACTURER. CROOKS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO PROFIT FROM SUCH A RESOURCEFUL SITE.

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Lanzar SD76MUBT 7-Inch TFT Touch Screen DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/CDR/USB/AM/FM/RDS Receiver with Bluetooth Sys

• If you're looking for both quality and power, this dynamic 2000-watt, 4-channel MOSFET amplifier is it. Versatile and powerful, this high-performance amp provides depth and feeling to your music.
• Motorized Slide Down Detachable Front Panel - 30 Station Memory(18FM/12AM) - On Screen Display Title, Time, Chapter,Subtitle & Angle - Clock Function - Selectable View Angle - Audio/Video Source Through Aux Line Input Jack(MP3/DVD/CD)
• Treble/Bass/Balance/Fader/Encoder Volume - Built In 7 Inch(16:9) TFT Color Monitor - Dolby Digital Coaxial Outputs Anti-Shock Mechanism - Mute Control - A/V Input & A/V Output - Remote Control - USB Connector - Usa/Europe Frequency Switch
• PLL Synthesizer Tuner - Touch Screen Control Operation - ESP Function - RCA Line Out - SD/MMC Card Slot - Rear Camera Output - 11 Kinds Of Background Color - Dimensions: 7.24''W X 2.13''H X 6.69''D
• Auto Store/Preset Scan - Resolution: 1440x234 Pixels - LO/DX & ST/MO Selector - Preset EQ - Bluetooth System - Parking Video Input - 4 x 80 Watts/320 Watts Maximum Power Output

Very easy to install in my 2002 ford ranger(You must have a little knowledge). The picture quality is very clear for a TFT screen. The Bluetooth music feature is my favorite. I would recommend this radio to a friend. TIP: Ground the parking brake wire (orange) on the radio to the vehicle ground wire (black) Video will play without the parking brake on.

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First off great product, value for your $ is excellent. Was so happy with its predecessor that i got this new model. (Old model was destroyed by my 2year old, How? If there's a will a 2year old will find a way). Product does everything it says once properly installed. Only two downsides, the fine print in the manual basically says temperature may affect the unit performance. So if your car is in the sun for a while and then you turn the unit on, its kinda "bugy" for a while before the temperature stabilizes after a few minutes. A little annoying. Also the screen arangement isn't as user friendly as its predecessor, or maybe i just miss the old model and need to get use to this one. In conclusion, would recommend based on value for your $. For the features its a 1/3 of the price of other brands with similar features.

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This is not a $1000 Pioneer or equivalent head unit, so don't purchase it thinking that's what you're getting. If you're realistic, this is a very capable unit that does everything it claims adequately enough.

PRO:

front USB needs to use an included adapter, works well. File system hard to read, and you may have to learn to name your files differently so they show up how you like.

DVD's play fine

remote works

pre-amp out feeds my little amp just fine

The EQ is just bass/treble, no mid, and the preset EQ functions like Rock/jazz/classical are OK.

Aux input works fine with one oddity(below in CONS)

Bluetooth worked on my iPhone4 and my Droid 2 just fine unless you have a loud vehicle(see below)

CONS:

Aux input no issue with function, but the screen goes from the UI to an all blue screen that says AUX on it, which is 10x brighter than the UI screen... If you drive a lot at night, this will annoy the hell out of you due to the brightness in the cabin. I turned down the brightness all the way with little results, so I just keep a rag or paper handy to cover it up on long drives.

Bluetooth connects to your devices easy enough, but if you have a loud interior, people you talk to won't hear you over the noise... there is little or no noise cancellation and I found I was yelling to be heard, which ended up giving me a sore throat... Maybe if you're a naturally loud person it won't be an issue, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Mounting This is a single DIN unit body with a double DIN face plate... I had to significantly modify the bracket to mount this in a single DIN bracket designed for a double DIN space I don't know why it was designed this way costs I guess but it was a pain in the rear getting it so it was secure in the dash AND would close all the way.

USB file system naming convention only displays the first few characters of the file location IE a folder named Pearl Jam, with a sub folder TEN, with a song in it named Black, will show up as "Pearl Jam/T..." or something truncated like that... You may have to rename a number of things to make this work for you, I just switched to using the front AUX input with my phone/MP3 player.

All in all , I really don't think you'll get a better unit with as many functions for the money elsewhere, just be aware that you're buying a cheap head unit and be realistic about it's abilities.

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First of let me say that when I'm buying online I rely heavily on reviews, so I hope this review will help the next shopper.

#1) I had a heck of a time installing this into my 2011 Dodge Ram. I don't know if I had the wrong adapter plate or what (I tried two that fit my model truck) but I could not attach the radio to the dash adapter. I totally had to rig it. But it seems to be solid, so all good.

#2) Bluetooth Music (My main reason for purchase) Awesome sound. Disappointed that the name of the track is not displayed on screen. But like I said awesome sound, so all good.

#3) Bluetooth Phone: A little disappointed with this feature. System does not link with your contacts list, and it has no voice interface. The call quality was good on my end (in the truck) but on the other end I am being told that it sounds like I'm in a cavern. All not so good.

#4) DVD: Works very well, Awesome sound and picture.

#5) USB Port: It's a micro USB Port. My only question to Lanzar is WHY? Totally useless without adapter.

There you have it, that's all I have tested so far.

All in All, Five Stares, Only reason for the four star rating is the lack of Bluetooth call features.

Bottom line its a great product for the money. I would recommend it.

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awsome for its price the only reason im not giving it a 5 * is the cheezy interface it has and ya cant just hit the eject button to get the screen to pop down to load a disk there is a seperate button for that other than that the SQ of the radio is awsome and the other down side is if you run a amp for this and want to use the SW out you would have to buy a 1 to 2 y splitter for your mono amp the picture quality is awsome .. and if you read the install manual it tells you everthing you need to do for the video to work @ all times ..all in all the bluetooth works flawless... paired my phone and my gf's phone .. only one at a time though worked great with both phones .. have tried the usb feature yet to have an opionion on that .. and fyi this radio is in an 02 saturn L200 which crutchfield and amzon said it wouldnt fit but i put this in no trimming neccisary and a single din install kit is needed only thing is the screen over hangs the bottom trim that goes around the radio and climate controlls .. would recommend this radio for a cheap touchscreen for anybody who doesnt want an exspecive one stollen

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Nickelodeon Time Blaster AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio

• Bright Green Digital Time Display.
• Five different wake-up alarms (Bugle call "reveille", Coo Coo, Nickelodeon theme song, Radio AM/FM, Bouncing Spring).
• Takes an optional 9V battery that is backup for the clock in a power outage.
• Full Am/FM radio.
• Lightning Zigzag Shaped Night Light.

I had one of these as a kid, until my roommate stole it when she moved out! I absolutely LOVED it. It was very effective, especially for me as a deep sleeper! I would buy another in a heartbeat, if only i could afford 150$!!

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I LOVED this clock when I was a kid. It was the only one that I always woke up to. My mom tossed it or lost it when we moved and I have been looking around for a new one ever since. Every time I find one they are way more expensive then they should be. I mean $69 is the cheapest I have found so far and that is for a USED one! Its just crazy to me. Would love to get one but Im looking at more around $30 (NEW)

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Jensen JiMS-195 Docking Digital Music System for iPod - Black

• The Jensen(r) JIMS-195-BK docking digital music system is a player and recharger for the iPod with video, iPod nano, iPod with color display, iPod, iPod mini.
• Compatible with Ipod Nano (1st and 2nd generation), Ipod (3rd, 4th and 5th generation), Ipod Mini (1st generation)
• It also has an audio line-in for connecting iPod shuffle, MP3, or other digital audio players.
• The unique design includes a multi-function backlit display, built-in speakers, and an FM PLL stereo receiver.

I bought this to work with my Ipod shuffle and the advertisement said it would work will all kinds on auxilary but that is not true. This will not work with the shuffle.

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Sangean ATS-404 AM/FM Digital Shortwave World Band Receiver

• Full Shortwave 14 Meter Bands
• SW Meter Band Selection
• 45 Memory Preset Stations
• AM/FM and stereo shortwave reception
• 45 memory presets
• Carrying case and stereo earbuds included
• Illuminated 12/24-hour display
• Repeating beep alarm; volume increases every 15 seconds for 1 minute

The Sangean ATS-404 is a budget minded travel portable designed for the business or vacationer on the go who wants to take a small receiver along for the trip.

The radio is touted as an AM/FM stereo portable primarily, although the unit also is considered an entry level shortwave portable.

The AM sensitivity and selectivity on this receiver is only fair, and if you are close to a transmitter, the receiver can be overloaded and spurious (secondary) signals will appear as you scan the band.

FM is adequate, but the receiver is also prone to overloading in areas near FM transmitters, with stations appearing in places they do not belong.

The shortwave performance on this receiver indicates that band was an afterthought, much like some boom boxes used to include one long shortwave band for novelty value.

Even reception of strong signals available to North American shortwave listeners such as Voice of America, Radio Canada International, BBC World Service, Radio Havana Cuba and Deutsche Welle were not all they could be. The reception of good quality signals on shortwave requires a decent antenna, and the antenna on this receiver won't cut it. Attempting to hook up an external antenna overloads the receiver.

If you are looking for a travel portable with AM & FM reception, this is an adequate choice, but if you want a receiver that can competantly handle shortwave, choose a higher end Sangean model or a unit priced at $99 or above with digital readout. You'll be far happier.

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This radio is very similar to a panasonic I purchased 7 years ago, though that one was $100 and had limited sw bands. For its price, this is an excellent deal.

None of the information I could find prior to purchase explained the sw band range, which is 2.3 to 26.10 MHz, from 11M to 120M. I'm giving this radio a "4" on the basis that some die hard SW enthusiasts would probably prefer something similar to the more expensive models available from Sangean, Grundig, and others. For my purposes though, this radio is more than suitable. Radio Netherlands, Deutche Welle, BBC, Radio China, Russia, etc.. are all easily heard.

Size overall is about 4" high, 6 or 7" wide and 1.5 deep. Light and easily portable for travel.

Other details has an alarm function, 9 am presets, 18 fm presets, and 18 fm presets. Also comes with "ear bud" head-phones and a nice case. A filter switch cuts out high end noise in the am and sw bands. Has a back illuminated light that can be turned on or off 7 seconds at a time. Has a stereo and mono switch for headphone use. An adaptor may be used instead of 4 AA batteries.

Sound projected from a small 3" speaker, but the clarity is very good without distortion. Very good reception.

In all this is a good way to own a quality SW radio.

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The Sangean ATS 404 is a good shortwave radio, especially considering its price. I like to listen to radio when I travel abroad, and over many years have discovered that the radio I use for that purpose works well as a bed-side radio for night-time listening as well: when all the talk shows are full of conservative blather, I can switch to shortwave bands and listen to the BBC or broadcasts from Germany, France, Russia, Australia, all in English. With multiple pre-sets, this Sangean radio makes that a snap, though it was easier to use the smaller number of presets on my previous radio, a Phillips model similar to this. The Sangean looks good, although it is, as other reviews have noted, perhaps a little too complex for easy use of all the devices. It has a light so one can tune in the dark; a dual time function so one can in travelling keep both home time and local time; a very simple tone control (Music-normal-news), which is more than one expects on a radio of this price with so many other features. It has (always useful) alarm and sleep functions for falling asleep and waking up to radio. As another reviewer noted, it comes with good quality bud earphones; as almost every reviewer noted, rightly, it uses batteries like SUVs use gasoline: inefficiently, at greater than expected expense. I use an AC adapter whenever I am not travelling.

So what's not to like, given that no other radio in this price range carries such a diversity of shortwave bands? Well, primarily, I don't find reception wonderful on either AM or SW bands. I'd like to use a simple shortwave antenna (known as a long wire, it costs almost nothing -it is just a long strand of wire) and greatly improves reception. The problem? There is no antenna jack nor connection screw. So using long wires or other antennas, including cheap but useful FM dipoles, are not possible. And the Sangean ATS 404's NOT providing a connection for antenna and ground seems, to me, a great flaw.

Still, it is a fine radio, with lots of potential for avid radio listeners, especially at this price.

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This radio is the best of its type for the money. The Sangean 505 gives you SSB and a nice fine-tuning knob, but it is considerably more expensive, and also quite a big larger. If all you want is a good, small, AM/FM, basic shortwave radio with a speaker and memory, you can't beat this.

I find its reception to be quite good, on all 3 bands.

As far as battery use, it works very smoothly with rechargables. It has a 3-segment battery indicator that displays when you first turn it on. When only 1 segment is lit, it means you are getting toward the end (maybe about 1 hour left). At that point, you can charge a second set of batteries and install them when it finally dies.

You can also just disregard the battery indicator and wait for it to die, and then charge the second set. As soon as the battery power gets too low, the radio shuts off, but still retains the time and memory station settings. It can run in this low-power mode for hours. In my case, I had 4 nicads in it that died, and it took me 6 hours to charge 4 NiMHs that I use as the 2nd set. The radio's time and memory settings were still intact when I finally installed the NiMHs (you have 3 minutes to make the actual switch). Very nice!

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I just got this, and am very pleased. I bought it for the AM/FM reception mainly. I live in an area where reception is poor. As soon as I plugged in the ear plugs, I could hear stations normally not on around here with my walkman. Great buy, ...

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Digital Blue Bakugan Red Alarm Clock Radio by Digital Blue

I got this clock for my son, who just turned 5. It was to encourage him to wake-up on his own better, and learn to tell what time it is more consistantly. He picked it out himself and really enjoys it. It has held-up well and I am generally satisfied with it, but there are a few things I would have done differently if I were designing a clock for kids. There is a big snooze button on top that lights-up...but a young kid usually mistakes this for the "Off" button. My son would often think he'd turned the clock off, but it would go off again later and I'd have to go turn it off myself. The switch to turn it off is a lot smaller, and sometimes I had to turn the switch off and on a few times to get the clock to go off. I can understand that a normal adult clock has a much bigger snooze than off button, I just thought a kid-friendly layout would be a bit different. Generelly a good kids clock, but not as easy for young kids to understand as I had hoped.

I surprised my 10 year old son for his birthday in November. He is obsessed with Bakugan and I thought this was a great way to buy something a little different. Before I ordered it I hadn't seen it in the stores near us yet. He felt like he has something unique to add to his collection. A happy kid is a happy mom

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Works well, looks like what your 9 year old wants it to. Top lights up which is a cool way to provide a night light without stigma.

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I got a round clock so my cat couldn't step on it and change the time or the alarm and this fills that niche. However, with the big dials on the side it is easy to turn the volume up or down or change the station while setting the time or alarm.

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The radio stations do not come in clearly on any of the three bakugan radios that were purchased.

Two stations tend to blend together.

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Hamilton Beach UTC with iPod Dock - Black (HU384SA)

• Speakers: 2
• Speaker Size: 3.0 "
• Electronic Functions: MP3 Charger, AM/FM Radio, Kitchen Unit Converter
• MP3 Compatibility: iPod
• Includes: Remote Control
• Material: Plastic
• Power Source: Electric
• Dimensions: Length: 65.0 "; Width: 350.0 "; Depth: 200.0 "

There are two very good facets to this unit It does charge the iPod while in the cradle. It plays the iPod very well too.

The problem is the sound quality. There is virtually no bass in the radio. It sounds like a transistor radio. The women and children in my family all agree, we have to upgrade for better sound but the problem is that there are very few if any options that offer an UTC iPod cradle. We have no plausible replacement. We may have to go counter-top if we want an iPod kitchen radio.

The lights on the unit are very dim and the radio reception takes in only one or two FM Stations.

I suggest this unit should go back to re-design.

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We bought this a few months ago from Target and at first we were very pleased with it. It's sleek and looks great in our kitchen and I LOVED being able to listen to my iPod as I cooked/cleaned/whatever. Unfortunately it has stopped recognizing my iPod, as well as my husbands. I can dock it and it will charge, even respond to the buttons for skipping to the next song, but shows a "no iPod" error message and won't play anything. I am extremely disappointed in the item, while the other functions still work, we bought it to use with our iPods and it should have lasted more than 2 months for $60.

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After less than 2 months of use, the iPod bracket ripped out when my husband took off our iPod. We cannot fix it and it will no longer recognize any of our iPods. The radio is ok, but doesn't seem to pick up many radio stations clearly. Incredibly disappointed and frustrated that I have to buy a new iPod dock after just getting this one.

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This is the Second one that I have purchased (gift for son). The first one I received December of 09 and loved the Ipod dock, how it tucked away and the charging capability. Currently there are few other options out there if you want to save counter space, listen to and charge your pod. The sound could be a little better but for the money...... I have no problems with radio reception (after I found the position for the antenna), love that it frees up counter space, love that the dock tucks away when not in use, love the dock capabilities. Have had no problems with it and feel that I got what I paid for.

i had this radio for less then a month and the display is so faint you cant even read it. I called hamilton beach and they refered me to a 3rd party who NEVER answers thier calls and NEVER returned a call. Do not buy this pos radio. and avoid all Hamilton beach products. i think even giving them 1 star is way to much..

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Sony ICFCD810 AM/FM CD Clock Radio

I wanted something economical for mother (94 years) and didn't want to spend a great deal. It was shown to be white on picture but black when arrived. However, it

was so well cared for and packaged I didn't care. Very good condition which gives me confidence in buying something used on Amazon now when desired.

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Sony ICF-C793 AM/FM Clock Radio

• AM/FM digital tuner
• Digital tuning with 5 station presets
• Single function key
• Backlit LCD display
• Self-powered backup system

This unit is outstanding. Here's why:

Size. It has a small footprint.

SEPERATE DISPLAYS FOR THE TWO ALARMS! This is an awesome feature which on its own sold me. I don't have to fumble with buttons to see what the alarm times are. The radio alarm is on the left, the buzzer alarm is on the right. No confusion. When you can see the times, it's set. When the panels are dark, it's off.

Easy to set using tactile feedback alone. Only three buttons: up, down, and set. The buttons are nestled on little shelves below each of the alarm panels.

The alarm is plenty loud enough for me and just at the right pitch to make me get up and turn it off!

The display is clear enough for me and not too bright. I can read it in bed and across the room. I can also tell if the alarms are set even if I can't read the numbers. The alarm panels are orange when lit.

Perfectly capable digital tuner with 5 presets. Who needs more on a clock radio?

Easy to find snooze button

Battery-less power failure back up (it works)

Durable construction. Feels solid. I have had mine for 2 years and it continues to work flawlessly.

Alright, nothing is perfect. The downfalls include a high price and a display that could be improved but as I said, it satisfies me! I wouldn't mind an escalading alarm the kind that start soft and progress to loud.

I only came on Amazon tonight to buy a second one! Just wish that price would come down a bit.

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You don't think that the design of something as simple as an alarm clock make a big difference, until you use a product like this. Sony has what I consider a huge innovation here: each of the two independent alarms has a display that is separate from the main clock. This means that, with one glance, and without having to push any buttons, you can tell: 1) which alarms are on and off, and 2) what times they are set for.

Another valuable feature is that each of the alarms has separate buttons for setting the alarm time. On clocks where the same buttons change both the main time and the alarm setting, and you have to hold down another button or flick a switch while you adjust the time setting buttons to change the alarm, I always have this nagging feeling that I am by mistake changing the actual time instead of the alarm setting. The independent alarm-setting buttons solve this.

Everything else on this clock radio works fine, and in a pretty normal way. But Sony's commitment to thoughtfully designed products shines through in the independent displays and controls for the alarms. It is the recognition that a good clock radio does two separate things--tell you the time and wake you up--that makes this product a real standout in my opinion. In fact, I like it so much I am buying a second one to keep at my girlfriend's apartment.

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As a previous reviewer says, the big feature of this unit is the independent displays of the alarm settings. This is the only clock radio that I've ever seen that has this amazing feature.

BUT... I have a major and minor problem with the display.

The minor problem is that it's too bright, even on the dim setting of the dimmer switch.

The major problem is that the display "disappears" when you look at it from below. Unless you're looking at the unit from above, the time and other display elements fade almost to nothing, leaving just a big, backlit rectangle.

I have tall end tables next to the bed, so the clock is basically useless to me, unless I'm sitting or standing up.

Too bad... because the unit is otherwise excellent.

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I first saw this clock radio at the Hotel Palomar in SF. I liked it so much I bought one for home. Like other reviewers, I think it has awesome functionality (alarms, presets, etc.), however, the display is poor. As others said, it is overly bright and difficult to view from an angle.

I definitely recommend this, but only wish that Sony would have a release 2.0 that addresses display issues.

We have had this clock radio for several years and I cannot say enough about how great it is. It is extremely user-friendly. There is no fumbling with the buttons when you are trying to set the alarm, even in the dark. It has a toggle button to change between standard time and daylight savings. Such a simple idea! Why don't all clocks have that? It keeps time during power outages without any batteries. They seemed to think of everything for this clock. My only complaint is the background light in the display is much brighter than it needs to be. I taped red cellophane over the screen to take care of that problem.

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Grundig M400 Super Compact AM/FM/Shortwave Radio with Digital Display, Red - (NGM400R)

• AM/FM-Stereo and Shortwave bands
• Analog Tuner, with digital display
• Digital display shows frequency, time and alarm activation
• Telescopic antenna for FM and SW reception and an internal ferrite bar antenna for AM reception
• Power source: 2 x AAA batteries (not included) DC input (5V)

I just received my M400 and these are my first impressions. The radio is very slim and just a bit wider than previous Grundig models (100 and 300), which makes it a perfect pocket companion.

Pros:

great SW reception (on par with Grundig G1000, for instance)

good AM reception/selectivity (strong stations don't bleed too much into the adjacent frequencies)

solid feel. non-slippery plastic body

Cons:

some mirror images from powerful FM stations on SW (not a huge problem, though)

FM is quirky without the extended antenna only the most powerful stations are heard, but if you extend antenna for just one inch, they overload the receiver so I couldn't listen to some of the weaker stations in my area (like 90.3 or 91.1).

touching the unit below the LCD panel changes the tuning by a couple of kHz, so I learned to hold it a little lower to prevent a station drift.

Overall, not a bad buy for $30.

UPDATE (after 1 week): I essentially gave up on the FM band in this radio it's practically useless as it fares much worse that any other radio I have. There's no way for me to change the initial 4-star rating but I'd give it 3 stars based on this fact

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ONE STAR RATING!!! I've used this radio for a while now. Please buy something else. It drives me crazy. the drifting is getting worse and I have to retune the radio every 15 minutes or so. Buy the Sangean or a Kaito KA11. I did and now this radio is in a drawer. I will give it away at some point.

I bought this to carry to baseball games and it sure fits in a pocket well. The little speaker does a nice job, talk radio is tolerable and a ball game sounds OK as long as you are in a quiet place while listening. It's not great but for this size radio it's very acceptable. FM reception seems very good, AM is spotty at best, and SW I don't know enough about to inform so I'm not saying a word. A bass boost would have been a great option as well as a lock for the tuning (more on that in a moment).Now that I have said the most positive things I can about this radios lets move on to it's shortcomings.

The volume control is unguarded so when you drop this into your pocket or the supplied carrying case the volume goes to 11 and you either jump like an idiot or your ears are bleeding. Seriously the volume control is very easily rotated so it goes to zero while removing it from the case and all the way up while inserting back into the case.

This radio drifts, and I mean alot. You can tune in a strong AM station and just watch the digital tuning go up or down. Also as another reviewer wrote, if you hold it in the wrong place this will definately move your tuning point.

I wouldn't recommend this radio to a friend. It has a few good points, but the negatives really hold this radio back. I've thought about returning it but by the time I pay to ship it back to Amazon, it just isn't worth it. Sangean makes a good AM/FM pocket radio with a speaker....try that first. It's more expensive but you tend to get what you pay for. Another option is the CCrane SWP. I have one coming in after borrowing a pals. It isn't perfect but it's a much better product.

Read Best Reviews of Grundig M400 Super Compact AM/FM/Shortwave Radio with Digital Display, Red - (NGM400R) Here

UPDATE 9-24-12 -FOUR stars are now in place.

ETON are working on their problem areas. AM reception for the 2012 edition is now "satisfactory"! FM still really good. LCD display is excellent! SW exception is good to excellent, but still difficult to tune. The "tuning drift" problem 'still annoying'.

-----

FM: EXCELLENT, sensitive, stable, good stereo earphones. Note, I live in the boonies, do not have issues with overload.

AM: See above Sept 2012 update.

SW: GOOD sensitivity. DIFFICULT to tune in the higher frequency band (19m and 16m). You will miss (skip) many stations when manually scanning this band.

OTHER: Build-Quality is EXCELLENT. The accessories are nice and good quality. The radio is too wide for my palm. This destroys its "thin-ness" appeal. Speaker output is "high-pitched", this elevates unnecessarily static and noise on both AM and SW.

NOTES, two weeks after the first purchase and a trip to Europe: I love the easy to read (without glasses) ALARM and CLOCK functions! SW is actually "good" (I am comparing to "Grundig Buzz Aldrin G6", and the SANGEAN built "Radio Shack DX-398" Do not forget, this is a $30.pocket radio.)

Two IMPROVEMENTS which I would like to see: 1. Give us a "Snooze" button 2. The "Lock" button does NOT lock the "Alarm" switch the radio can switch itself on while in your luggage.

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I have owned several Grundig radios in the past and have always been satisfied. Unfortunately, I find that this model does not live up to the previously highly regarded name of Grundig.

The general quality of the radio's presentation is excellent, as is the design of its exterior. It is my opinion, however, that the quality of the electronics is terrible. I believe that Eton have (re-)designed the radio's electronics; my guess (as a layman) is that the design may be ok, but that the quality of the electronic components is sub-standard. Truthfully, I cannot even receive one of the strongest local fm radio stations. The shortwave reception is practically useless.

I regret that I have bought two of these radios as presents and I am embarrassed before my friend to whom I have given one of them. The other radio I haven't even unpacked. I realize that the radios are low cost, but counting on the name of Grundig, I did expect them to work properly.

I cannot recommend this model to anyone.

This is a nice looking unit. However, I was unable to turn the radio "on" after just 3 weeks of very light use. I tried replacing batteries with several different brands but no luck.

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TEAC MC-DX50i 2.1 Ch. Hi-Fi System & iPod Dock

• System remote control also controls basic iPod functions.
• NXT flat-panel speakers. Bass and treble controls. Slot-in CD player plays CD/CD-R/CD-RW discs.
• Clock and timer functions. Digital tuner with 20 station presets (10AM and 10FM)
• Docking Station for iPod.
• Powered subwoofer

I bought this for my wife for Christmas because she wanted a radio in the house and we haven't had one for years. I decided on this model because I was also getting her an iPhone. I thought it would be a great way for her to have the radio and all of her music available in the same source, as well as a convenient way to ensure her iPhone stayed charged.

I was disappointed when we put the iPhone in the docking station and the screen indicated that this device was not compatible with the iPhone (apparently the iPhone has something different on its docking port than the other four iPods that I own and I get this message on all but one of my third-party chargers). However, I was relieved to see that after that message all the functions on the iPhone proceeded without any problem. The iPhone played through the system just as the other iPods and all were controllable from the controls on the TEAC remote or head unit. So, all worked fine except the TEAC does not charge the iPhone and that is the only difference from the iPods.

The TEAC works wonderfully and sounds great. I was impressed right away as I unpacked the item. If you have ever bought a product from Apple Computer, you are aware of the exemplary job they do in their packing. It puts other products to shame, but here it seems that TEAC must be using the same folks to design their packaging. The TEAC unit was packed neatly and efficiently. The inside lid had a large, clear diagram of how all the parts were packed. The parts were packed in a way that made doing inventory and set up as easy as could be.

The manual could have been a little easier to read. i found it a bit redundant, but i'm sure that some would appreciate that if they were only going to read specific sections and perhaps out of sequence. The sleek and well designed remote control fit comfortably in the hand and was impressively solid, made almost entirely of metal except for the touch sensitive surface.

I also had a little trouble picking up a couple of my favorite stations that I listen to in the car when I used the auto-scanning feature, but was able to pick them up tuning manually. At first I thought that the TEAC antenna was just weak since I didn't connect it to an FM antenna (a coax input is provided), but then I realized that the auto-scan actually picked up about 10 local stations that my car always missed no matter which part of town I was in. So, I guess the TEAC has very good sensitivity after all.

Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. This was my first TEAC product. My dad had a TEAC reel-to-reel back in the 70's, but that was my only exposure to the brand. I will definitely consider this brand in future electronics purchases.

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Have only had this for a few days, here's what I think so far:

Pros:

1. Only one power cord for the entire unit, from wall to the powered sub-woofer. The main unit is powered by the thick cord from the sub-woofer.

2. Cord from sub-woofer to main unit is substantial and about 6 feet long

3. Easy to setup, did not need the manual

4. Sub-woofer helps the sound

5. Modern looking with thin smaller speakers

6. Can get pretty loud, for a somewhat inexpensive room unit

Cons:

1. speaker cords could be a bit longer

2. Plays purchased CDs and CD-R's but not in MP3 format

3. CD loader is on top hope it is not affected by dust getting in

4. Think it's a little overpriced

5. My daughter thinks the clock light is too bright at nighttime in her room, but have been told that the light can in fact be dimmed (see comment, Thanks!) I've been told it can be dimmed, need to check that out.

6. Another person noted it does not have battery backup. Not sure why Teac did not include that.

Read Best Reviews of TEAC MC-DX50i 2.1 Ch. Hi-Fi System & iPod Dock Here

I purchased this primarily as a way to get local radio as well as have something to play my ipod on at work. This has nice, robust sound for an office setting, and I was really surprised at the quality for the price. The sub-woofer really does make a difference, even if I felt a little ridiculous busting it out for the office. This isn't a home theater system, so you need to adjust your expectations accordingly. But for the price you will be very pleased.

Not only is this AM/FM/CD/iPOD ready, but you can also use it as your computer speakers through the AUX IN port on the front of the unit. Since you can move the separate components around to your liking, that worked out very well for me on my desk, and I was able to lose my old speakers. What a deal!

Since I don't have this at home, I can't really test it, but there is an S-video hookup as well, so that you can hook it up to your TV. I would consider this for our den, which has a small flat screen so my husband can work and watch sports.

The only thing they could do any better would be to to include a FM antenna (AM is included, but not FM). A very small complaint, as I would likely buy a more robust one anyway (I already had a TERK antennae that I brought with me).

All in all, a great little setup!

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I purchased the TEAC MC-DX50i at my local Costco. I have an iPod Touch and have been looking for a sound system that I could plug the iPod into. I also wanted something that could play CDs, had a radio tuner and would be "low profile" on my bookcase. The sound quality suits me. My only concern is I'm not getting a clear signal on one or two of my favorite FM stations (one is Sports Talk) but I can live with this!

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The system sound good, however the picture doesn't show the "booster" speaker that is bigger than the actual system. The booster is so huge and heavy you can't fit or hide it in a "shelf."

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Tivoli Audio Model Subwoofer for Model Two, Black/Silver

• 5-1/4 bass driver with built-in crossover network
• Volume level permits precise blending with your Model Two system based on preference and room acoustics
• Furniture grade Black finished ash wood cabinet with silver accents to coordinate with the Tivoli Model 2 Black Radio
• 20 watt internal amplifer
• May be powered using included 9-foot power cord, or like Model Two, via an optional 12V DC power supply

I bought my Tivoli subwoofer about year 2002 and I forgot from which vendor. It was only $80 at the time. Apparently this product now has street price of $160! I did more critical tests with results to question some bad points I read in other Amazon reports of this. As real unbiased reviews are hard to come by outside Amazon, and no lab tests found, I did some tests that may be enlightening. You can repeat the same tests I performed. I generated a whole range of 5 second MP3 sine tone MP3 files. The specifics of the MP3s are: 256 kbps, 44.1 khz, stereo, 16-bit for high quality. These tones can be used to test any other speaker system. This is enough for an audible test in your own home.

The Model 2 without the subwoofer already has half volume bass sound level at 70 Hz tone. The last full volume tone was the 80 Hz tone and Model 2 is of course fine above 80 Hz. At 60 Hz, the unassisted Model 2 has no ouput! The Model 2 frequency response curve knee must be somewhere between 70 Hz and 80 Hz given how fast the bass output declined below 80 Hz. Again, half perceived volume of 70 Hz bass and no output at 60 Hz and below.

With the woofer enabled, the 70 Hz tone becomes same volume as 80 Hz, and same level at 60 Hz! The output is noticeably lower at 50 Hz. At 40 Hz, the tone is less than half of what it is at 50 Hz. At 30 Hz, the bass is still there (!), but only at a trace.

For midrange performance compaints, specifically, the adding of midrange and muddying Model 2's great sound, tests do not support this. I tested by putting subwoofer near the plain Model 2 speaker. Then unplug the Model 2's speaker where the woofer is. With Model 2 speaker silenced, now inject the higher frequency MP3 test tones for how the woofer plays out the tones. Just about everything above 100 Hz is filtered out by the woofer internal crossover. The midrange frequences are filtered out.

Bottom line: the woofer is tailored to put out where Model 2's output wanes, and does add that extra half octave as Tivoli says. See report on my treble high frequency audible test results for Model 2 to make the most of my testing.

You only need to play some pipe organ music to immediate hear the loss without the subwoofer. Muddying effect here comes mainly in the bad spots in the room where the bass constructively combined with room reflections causing boom spots, but such spots are few in my 29 foot long room.

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Adds nice, SUBTLE, bass amplification. Unless you really listen for it, you won't notice. This is not a unit for thumping bass it just drops the frequency range a tad.

Styling and quality is nice.

Don't hide it away or under furniture because, unless you switch it off first (don't rely on its own Automatic setting), it will put out a really loud thumping sound if the source powers off first. We have it in our bedroom connected to a Model Two radio and I have to remember to reach under the bed and turn the subwoofer off first.

We like it but, compared to the numerous other Tivoli products we own, it's the only piece of Tivoli gear that I can't whole heartedly recommend.

Read Best Reviews of Tivoli Audio Model Subwoofer for Model Two, Black/Silver Here

Let me say first that I absolutely love the Tivoli Model Two radio. It is one of the best purchases I have ever made. The selectivity of the tuner is phenomenal and the sound from the speakers is wonderful for listening.

The optional subwoofer, on the other hand, is such a mess that it nearly seems like a work of sabotage.

Another reviewer remarked that the subwoofer extends unnecessarily upward into the mid-range frequencies this is absolutely true, a fact which completely annihilates mid and upper range tone and renders music totally unlistenable. It's like trying to have a conversation with someone who keeps interrupting you, or to use a culinary image putting ketchup in your coffee. Spoils everything. The tone of the bass from this subwoofer is so bossy and undefined that I actually became angry while listening to it, and I'm not an angry guy. I tried adjusting the volume level of the output, and I even put the subwoofer in several different positions on the floor, on a shelf, under a chair, even next to the main component to no avail. Like a mosquito buzzing in your ear that terrible, obtrusive tone just wouldn't go away.

Thank goodness the Tivoli Model Two radio has sufficient bass on its own through the stereophonic speakers to reproduce naturalistic low tones for the type of music I listen to mostly Jazz.

I really can't understand how Tivoli thought this product was a good idea. It's a sonic catastrophe.

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Recently, I bought B&O computer speaker, and realized need to buy a subwoofer. I wanted to buy not too big and not too expensive, but beatiful. Tivoli subwoofer seemed to satisfy all my options. However, in performance, little disappointed. The woofer makes some tearing sound if you listen music louder (not crazy louder just plentful to your room).

Also, it automatically shut down, when the signal is missing, which means most of classic music is not supported (only pop music, but tearing sound).

If you want to buy this only for the design, just go for it.

Unless, buy different one.

I bought this Tivoli sub woofer for my pc. It is great for listening to I Tunes from my computer desk top. I highly recommend this product!

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CC CWF WiFi Internet Radio

• Search by location and genre at the same time
• Ethernet input jack for direct connection to a router or line out jack
• 99 presets, clock with 5 alarm settings
• Sleep timer, remote control
• Wirelessly streams music or audio from your pc or mac.

I bought this radio despite reviews complaining of its reliability. It worked right out of the box and offers, for the price, far more presettable stations than its nearest competitor, a remote and an ethernet connection in addition to its wireless feature. It is also one of the smallest of the table top sets and will sit neatly in a little corner without drawing attention to itself an appealing feature to those listeners for whom appearance places a far second to content. I found its setup well thought out and mostly intuitive. The front panel offers only three pre-sets so do not lose the remote which replicates all radio controls and has a 100 pre-set capacity. The loudspeaker offers better than average fidelity of table top models.

This radio operates using the reciva internet radio website, which the Grace radio also uses. Registering the radio with that site allows the listener to select using reciva those stations of particular and recurrent interest and save their locations in the actual radio. These stations can then be accessed from a menu labelled MY STATIONS on the radio a very nice convenience. Of course wifi radio is only as good as your wireless connection and the streaming rate of the actual service providing the signal. In addition, if your wireless network is in use by several computers or other devices while you are using this radio you may experience bits of silence at times especially noted with broadcasts from foreign stations that are otherwise flawless. Most, but not all, American radio stations use servers providing reliable output to the internet, as do the government supported stations of Europe, Russia, China and Japan. However, if your cup of tea is Upper Volta or the Falkland Islands for example, well, the sometimes large gaps in the sound are not the fault of this radio. Having more than a casual interest in world news and having listened to shortwave broadcasts for many years, I have found that wifi radio offers far, far more foreign stations than shortwave these days without requiring a subscription fee (except, of course, the cost of your internet connection) and seems to be largely replacing shortwave broadcasts to the very well developed world. I found this radio an affordable and, so far, easy to use, trouble-free way of listening to what inhabitants of other parts of earth have to say about themselves and us, without a fade any time of day.

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I had this up and running in about 5 minutes, very nice to set up, the sound quality through external speakers is very good, the built in speaker is just OK. Having access to all the stations is great and physically, it is very small which is good for a night stand.

However, it seems to have some firmware issues with staying connected. About every 2 days it looses all its connections and cannot reconnect without being unplugged and plugged back in. Apparently, it's not able to reset itself once the connection is lost. I'm not sure if it's the WiFi or Receiva site that's the issue, it always looses all the connections at once and new ones cannot be made. Power cycling always resets it immediately though.

The display is not very useful as a nighttime clock unfortunately. It always shows 2 lines, so the clock display is quite small, and once you set the backlight down to sleeping levels, it is very hard to read. They should have a single line all clock display with reversed lighted numbers on dark background, but don't.

The C Crane tech support is pretty much worthless as well.

=================================================================================================

Update a year later Only deserves 2 stars after firmware update:

The latest firmware update has made it a very unreliable alarm clock.

Same issues with connectivity dropping out, but now with the latest firmware update by going to the Network menu and telling it to rescan, it reconnects without power cycling. It still can't do this operation itself, you have to do it manually each time.

The real killer though is that whereas before, if it couldn't get a WiFi connection for the alarm function it would go to the beep alarm, now it just does nothing, so the alarm doesn't work. This is VERY BAD.

Bottom line is that it's not a bad WiFi radio, but because of the useless clock display and unreliable alarm functions it's not usable as an alarm clock.

Read Best Reviews of CC CWF WiFi Internet Radio Here

It looks like we are supposed to believe that C.Crane has designed this for the American Market.

On their website it states:

"Well, we couldn't let the Europeans and Brits have all the glory, so we've built a WiFi radio of our own."

The problem is, it doesn't look like they designed this radio or built it. It seems they are taking a radio they are buying from someone else and sticking their name (and a $100 premium) on it.

If you go to Amazon's German site and search for IPdio mini Internetradio, you will find the exact same radio for 85 euros (about $100).

So what are American's paying twice as much for, the brand name C.Crane stuck on the radio?

BTW, in Germany the same company sells the C.Crane radio and the Grace radio. They sell the Grace radio for more money and position the C.Crane one as their cheaper "Mini" radio.

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I have had a trio of wi-fi radios, and this is by far, the flimsiest device of the three. I don't mind plastic radios, but I never knew that plastic could be produced this thin. To say that the tuning knob has the feel of a Fisher-Price toy radio, is to besmirch a perfectly good toy maker. The sound from the speaker is equally thin, and the software doesn't allow for use with Pandora nor with MP3 tunes music locker. For the same price, the Grace wifi radio blows this away in both build quality and sound reproduction. On the plus side, I DO like the look of the radio, and set-up and implementation couldn't have been easier. I have used many a fine CCrane product over the years, really like the and support the company, and was hoping to be able to recommend this device, but unfortunately, cannot.

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I've had the CC Wifi Internet Radio for two weeks now. I had no problems setting it up with my Wireless network and it works quite well although it lacks an external Wifi antenna.

It uses the Reciva database of radio stations (over 14,000 radio stations claimed)(). Although using the single knob to scroll through lots of radio stations. They are organized by location or genre and its fun to search the world for interesting stations.

Using your reciva.com account you can set up your favorite stations which show up on your radio (after you have registered it) under "My Stations". You can also add other streams under "My Streams".

This radio is nice and compact and light (constructed of plastic). The display is only two lines which means you have to do a lot of scrolling through menus sometimes.

It comes with a remote which is handy if you want to access more than 3 stations (up to 99 with the remote) you can store on 3 buttons on the front. These stations are stored locally rather than under your reciva account under "My Stations".

It also will stream audio in various formats (MP3, Windows Media, Real, iTunes (non-protected), Ogg Vorbis and also with the new firmware FLAC files) from your PC or PnP device such as many Networked Attached Storage devices. In fact it works great with my Netgear ReadyNAS where I have all my music stored.

I looked at the number of Internet/Wifi Radios and chose this one over the others because of two things: its small size and fact that it also has a wired Ethernet port as well as Wifi connectivity.

Only issues are that it sometimes loses the Wifi connection (not an issue with a wired Ethernet connection) and some stations take more than a few seconds to buffer before you can listen to them.

UPDATE June 5, 2012

I had to have this radio repaired by CCrane last year because the network connection died. They replaced the networking board cost $59 + shipping. I was hesitant but decided to do it. It seemed pretty expensive given the original price. Fast forward to June 2012 and the radio dies again. Of course it is "out of warranty" and so it's either pay to have it repaired or they would be willing to give be $40 credit toward a replacement. I have to say that I am disappointed in the quality of this device. It should have lasted way longer. I have plenty of other electronics that are more reliable. So buyer beware! This is not a high quality piece of equipment. I'm going to replace with another brand.

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