Philips AJ3120

As you may, or may not, know both my family and I are great fans of anything made by Philips. We appreciate the quality and durability of all of the products they provide. I particularly like the styling and design of their product range. They are well planned and then well put together using top quality machines and materials. I feel that you can always rely on Philips to provide you with all that you need in a product.

The radio isn't fantastic, but it certainly does the job. It is dualband, so it recieves the FM/AM frequencies. It is not really suited for music, but if you like to wake up, or go to sleep, to a talk show then this radio is good enough for that. The speaker isn't the greatest of sizes, so you have to place it correctly so that you can the best use out of it. I would say that you should use a stereo or hi-fi system if you enjoy your music in the mornings.

The sound that you get from both the alarm and the radio facilities is very good. It is very clear and crackle free. The alarm is very loud, so it is sure to wake me up. I have never not been woken by it in the times that I have used it. The radio however, can't be put on a particularly high volume so you have to be fairly close to hear it. There isn't a great range in the volumes you can have. Each time you up the volume there isn't a huge change in the output volume.

This Philips radio/alarm clock, is styled in what I would call the 'classic' form of bedside alarm clocks. It lays flat on the surface, rather than being upright. It looks quite good but there is nothing about the design which stands out or is particularly exciting. It comes in a jet black colour, there aren't any alternative colours available. It isn't very big, so it should fit on a bedside table or unit, even if you have extra clutter of things like books on it. The buttons and functions are well placed and organised so that it's easy to use and looks good.

As radio/alarm clocks go, I would describe this one as having a very limited range of features. It is a bog standard, bottom of the range product. There aren't any additional extras that you won't find on another radio/alarm clock. This one does have everything to wake you up in the morning, but certainly nothing more.

As with all Philips products, this radio/alarm clock looks and feels very durable. It is well put together using very strong plastic. It sounds very solid if you give it a tap on the side. If you manage to knock this onto the floor in a struggle to turn it off, I think it would be more capable of surviving the drop. It would certainly live to wake you up again. The surface is difficult to mark and scratch so it will look as new for a long time. I also feel that techincally, there won't be any problems. I haven't known any Philips products to go wrong due to a mechanical fault.

Personally, I wouldn't go for this. I have replaced it with a Sony clock/radio (I have done a review of this, check it out) which is a lot better in many respects. The main thing is that it just looks better, it has a modern and unique feel to it. The Sony clock/radio was only a little bit more than the £19.99 price tag on this one. I would recommend that you buy that if you are looking for a modern product with style and extra features. If you are content with something a little more basic, then this may be the one for you. There isn't anything sub-standard about this product form Philips, but you can do a lot better by looking at other clock/radios on the market