Just bought this item at Target

I really like the look of this alarm clock, hopefully it will hold up ok, it seems to be a bit mixed, looking at reviews. Apparently it is a SHARPtech product, not Sharp, made by M.Z. Berger and Company.

I have the warranty on hand - It is warranteed for 2 years after date of purchase against manufacturing defects. If you still have the reciept or photocopy, you can send them with the product to:

M.Z. Berger Service Center
33-00 Northern Boulevard
Long Island City, NY 11101-2224

but they require a check of $5.95 to cover S&H, which is hardly worth it for a $10 product. They note to include your return address. If mine breaks, perhaps I will purchase the award winning plastic one from LL Bean.

The model is SPC303 - or at least mine is.

Piece. Of. Crap.

So, I got this a week ago and somehow -- on using the Snooze function -- I put it into a "Silent Alarm" mode. No lie. I set the alarm on a test and waited. The display blinked. No sound. After spending far too long trying to get it out of silent mode (including removing the battery in order to rest it to factory default), I called Sharp for help. Two phone numbers later, they tell me "It's not a Sharp Product." Even with Sharp's name all over it, it's not a Sharp product therefore they don't support it. The support number they provided wasn't even a toll free support line.

Thanks for nothing, Sharp.

Looks can be deceiving

I bought this alarm clock today (April 7, 2007) at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $10. I wish I had seen the reviews first. I bought it because of the product name, small size and variety of options. Unfortunately, I realized it wasn't a great buy when I brought it home...and spent a few hours trying to keep the battery in a certain position so the clock would stay on. The connections appear to be very sensitive and the battery doesn't stay in place.
The clock light is pointless. It's supposed to help you see the time in the dark, but unless you have the clock at a certain angle everything will appear blurry. Actually, the screen is blurry in most positions even with the light off.
As for the alarm, it's pretty quiet. If you're a sound sleeper or live in a noisy environment, this is not the clock for you. You'll only hear the alarm if you sleep with it under your ear.
A final note on this product: The clock has been on for almost an hour without any problems...but only with the  more

Dim background lighting

I bought this clock to keep up with the time at home when I traveled over the international date line. I also brought a second clock to give me real time at the location I was traveling to.
I liked the clock for it's small size, temperature gauge, 12 or 24 hour clock feature, and the calendar. The only problem I found with it is that the button to light up the clock failed to work after a while. Still I continued to use it and and still would, but I left it at a hotel last weekend. I bought it at Target for around $10.

Get what you pay for

I bought this clock at WalMart at the end of last year (2005). It was the cheapest travel clock with the features that I wanted. It has worked well as a daily alarm clock until about a month ago when the alarm stopped beeping. I have replaced the battery and the alarm still doesn't beep, but the display light flashes as normal. I got about 8 months out of this clock, so I guess that's not bad. But I wouldn't buy it again.

Really love this clock

I bought this clock at Target and I really like it. I use it as my everyday alarm clock so it's gone through more use than a travel alarm would, although I travel with it as well. The clock looks nice, folds very compactly.
Reading the other 2 bad reviews, I had to say how much I love this clock. I especially like the temperature feature. I've used this clock for months and the batteries are still going strong. I really appreciate the alarm time being displayed all the time. I don't have to wonder if I readjusted my wake up time for the next day as everyday I need to wake up at a different time.
I gave this clock 3 stars because the back light blew out this week. I don't see a way to replace it. I've searched for small alarm clocks that I like and haven't found anything better. So I'm going to give this clock another try. The price is low enough to justify giving it another go.

Two words: shiny and shoddy

It's a shame the workmanship is so poor, because the layout of the buttons, sliders and LCD screen are good compared to other clocks. But this clock fell apart in my hands. As soon as I took it out of the packaging a piece of the plastic clamshell hinge snapped clean off. The display half is now dangling from the button half by its wires. It's funny -- most of the clock body is made of brushed metal and is actually quite attractive, but they made the hinge out of obviously cheap, brittle plastic. The attachment of the hinge to the body is also very thin. Also, it's hard to get the battery and battery casing lid to stay put (they don't snap in well).