Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsTotally worth it.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2015
I got this for my wife a few weeks ago after getting fed up with our current digital alarm clock (a.k.a. The Defibrillator - because I felt like I'd been electrocuted every time it blasted me awake in the morning). It was especially bad during the winter, when I'd wake up in pitch black to some horrible local radio ad. I've despised that damned thing for years. I needed an alternative that would help my wife wake up, but not make us both grumpy from shock, so I did some research and settled on this model philips clock.
THE GOOD:
The clock is fairly customizable in that you can control how bright it gets and how loud it goes. We've opted for one of the two different bird wake up sounds. What happens is the light starts very dim and over the course of around a half hour it slowly gets brighter. We have it set to go on to full intensity light, which is like having a lamp on by your bed- but plenty bright after a night in the dark. If we went to bed at a reasonable hour, we find that we just quietly wake up. Sometimes I'll wake up while the light is still very dim, which is nice because I can nod off for a few more minutes. Either way, the nice thing about the light is when you wake up you're eyes are pretty much acclimated to the brightness in the room so you're not squinting in pain.
When you hit your wake up time, the birds fade in and quickly go to full volume (which is also customizable). You can also set the unit to a radio station, which was the one thing that made my mind up about this model - I knew if the light and birds didn't work, we could set it to a loud radio station and still get blasted out of bed - with the added benefit of having the light on.
THE BAD (or mildly annoying):
Very minor, but in the interest of fair disclosure - I would have knocked off .25 stars combined if I could.
* The instructions follow the Ikea model in their simplicty. If that works for you, great.
* The writing on the clock face for AM and PM is --very-- small, and not easy to read through smoked plastic if room lights are on. Philips should double the size of those letters, or at least check ADA recommendations on readability. These are much easier to see when the unit's light is on (image attached). Once you've set the clock this ceases to be an issue.
* The buttons have symbols, but they are just embossed onto the white plastic and are tiny, so aren't readable when you first start trying to work the thing. I understand philips not wanting to put text on the face of the clock because it would ruin the little "sun" they've created, but maybe recess the design and make the icons dark so they're intelligable.
On the plus side, once you memorize where the buttons are (particularly the important ones! Snooze on the top, alarm on/off on the left), the clock is super easy to operate, and the menu system is really easy too after you've done it a couple of times.
ON THE WHOLE My wife and I love this clock - and I have never regretted getting it for a second. It's made waking up -so- much more relaxing.
This thing is totally worth the money. It's nice waking up to the birds, though we typically find ourselves quietly waking up just a few minutes before the birds start up (which is perfect). Get it - set the clock and familiarize yourself with where the important buttons are.
I have noticed the price seems to change here on Amazon. I got mine for $127, but am seeing it for over $200 this morning. Pricing seems to depend on when you get it.
Attached images are sample instruction pages, readability of AM/PM sign with light on and off, Sample light settings and example of buttons.
