Philips AJ3230 > Reviews (1)

--- OVERVIEW ---

How many times have you woken up late and missed important meetings and deadlines? What's that I hear you say? Not that much?
Okay must of us have alarms on our watches or mobile phones (let alone all the other household gadgets that have an alarm - TV, Fridge, Hi-Fi etc). Having a device dedicated to that purpose is a comforting feeling and alarms now have a whole multitude of extra features and come in stylish forms.

--- SOUND QUALITY ---

The sound quality is of a high standard, clear and crisp (even at full volume). Its maximum volume is enough for most to be woken, after all its job is an alarm not a personal Hi-Fi. I had no problem whatsoever picking up radio reception and the quality again was crisp on all the major radio stations. A few of the obscurer ones were a bit hissy.

--- FEATURES/LOOKS ---

The clock radio itself is thin, slim and minimalist (no fancy patterns or curves). It takes up little room compared to some of the more boxy clock radios you can get.
The design of the radio is to look like a
tableside picture frame I think. It has a very large display screen with the time in big bold numbers (it has an orange LCD screen by the way), which can be too bright sometimes if you’ve just woken up.
One neat feature for a possible model in the future is to incorporate a personal photo on the screen with the time over the top or something. Downloading your own photos to the clock radio screen would be pretty cool.

One good feature is a clear straightforward two alarm system. This reduces the confusion considerably by not mixing up the separate alarms. It has a FM/MW tuner meaning most well known stations can be picked up. A backup battery is included meaning any power cuts won't stop you waking up. Other features include the usual sleep timer and snooze button which are standard on most clock radios these days.

--- CONCLUSION ---

There are probably hundreds of clock radios to choose from. So what makes this particular one stick out from the crowd? It is stylish, reliable (mine hasn't failed yet in its 2yr history), easy to set up (I haven't used the instruction manual yet to programme it) and its all round quality is high.
The only thing going against it is the price, at £29.99 there are plenty of cheaper alternatives, but if mine lasts long enough the value added should rise. Overall I would suggest shopping around and look for a clock radio for your price, need or style as most I think are pretty reliable and good. This one hasn't anything remarkable to put it above the rest, unless you simply happen to like it.

--- SPECIFICATIONS ---

-Dual alarm
-Large orange LED display
-Wake up to radio or buzzer
-24 Hour alarm reset
-Easy alarm/time set

-FM/MW tuner
-Sleep timer
-Battery back-up
-Repeat alarm
-Snooze button