Pros: Good sound quality, ability to hookup an iPod, radio station presets
Cons: Wakeup volume increases, delay in turning on, transformer plug, no AM
The sound quality is good, and I like having three preset buttons to find my favorite stations. I've only used the iPod dock a couple of times, but one appealing design feature (which the store clerk pointed out) is that the iPod is not upright when docked, making it less likely to be knocked off (or worse, bending or breaking the dock). I have an older smaller iPod classic and just a plain cell phone, so I can't comment on how an iPhone or iPod touch fits in the dock or doesn't.<br />At first I didn't like how bright the display was until I found the dimmer button in the back. (I think, however, that the red LEDs on my old clock radio were much less noticeable at night when I was next to it with my eyes closed.)<br />There are some things about this I don't like as well. As some other reviewers have pointed out, the so-called "humane wake-up" is annoying. When the alarm goes off using the radio, the volume is first a little lower than the original volume, and it gradually increases (within a minute or so) to somewhat louder than the normal setting. I usually wake up about the time a newscast is coming on, and I used to listen to my old clock radio either still in bed or as I got up and got dressed. Now I have to turn the alarm off and turn the radio back on to hear it at the constant volume. If there were a way to turn the "humane wake-up" feature off it wouldn't be a complaint.<br />My old clock radio just had a normal power cord. This one has a transformer at the plug, which is a bit of a nuisance at the power plug.<br />There is a delay of two or three seconds between the time you turn the radio on and actually hearing audio--not as long as old vacuum-tube radios, but not instant like every other radio I own.<br />The radio is FM only. I don't listen to AM radio here much anyway, but in other areas I've lived I would have wanted the option of hearing AM on this radio also.<br />I wish this had included HD radio. Perhaps we'll see some in the future.
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