Philips DC190 iPod Docking Clock Radio
From Philips Consumer Electronics
Philips mirror finish docking clock radio for iPod. Wake to iPod music, FM radio, or buzzer. Features stylish mirror finish with retracting dock base, and dual alarms with weekday and weekend settings.
Amazon Sales Rank: #1165 in Consumer Electronics Brand: Philips Model: DC190/37 Dimensions: 5.70" h x 5.70" w x 2.40" l, .50 pounds
Good, but.. I bought this item because of it style and listed functions. It does look good, but the device is a little difficult to get used to. Just about all the control buttons are flush mounted because of this style, and as a result are sometimes hard to locate, especially when you are in a morning funk when the alarm is going off. The all-important "snooze" button is a classic case of this. It is also recessed, and you can easily miss it, smudging the beatiful smooth surfaces in your attempts to snooze it. All in all, it's OK, it is just that I bought it as a daily use alarm clock, and it is taking me a while to come to grips w/ it. Pretty, decent speakers, lousy alarm I've had my new Philips clock for about 2 months now. It's a lot smaller than my Sony Dream Machine, which I loved for it's speakers/audio as well as the easy-to-use features like snooze, nap and switching from standard to daylight savings time. But enough about that old clock... I purchased this clock for several reasons, but primarily for my iPod (there is a non-iPod version of this clock). For an alarm clock, I'm happy with the audio quality. It's small, it looks sleek and it's relatively easy to set up in terms of selecting the iPod for the alarm. Additionally it includes 2 alarm settings that you can associate with 1 day of the week, every day or Mon-Fri. As an alarm clock, it's not so wonderful for two reasons. The buttons, including power, snooze and volume, feel cheap and are not easy to push/press (in order to push a button, I have to apply equal pressure on the other side of the unit). And as far as I can tell, the snooze only works for up to 30 minutes and then it automatically shuts itself off. I'll keep this clock for awhile since it wasn't cheap and I didn't keep the packaging to return it. Or I'll bring it into work as an iPod player. Then I'll seriously consider buying a Sony for my next alarm clock. Decisions, Decisions There is a great deal of difference between this Phillips Clock iPod and the Philips AJ3231 Mirror Finish Clock Radio. Like the smaller version, there is a nice front surface with a reflective mirror and the time shining through `yellow' with a nice (adjustable) brightness control. Other than that, this is a completely different animal. There are two small speakers on each side of the clock that are typical in sound for a clock/radio, in that they have no bass. The volume control is not a wheel but a (+) button for increase and a (-) button for decrease in sound. The alarms are set using buttons on the top for both alarms A and B. The back has push buttons (+ and -) for tuning to stations. You can preset going forward and backward. There is also a `time set autoscan' button. Below this in the back is where you choose to WAKE to your iPod, FM radio or buzzer (no AM). The `sleep' button is on the right side and very small. I am used to a BIG button on top of my old alarm clock that I can just slam without opening my eyes. No such luck here. The iPod dock folds out from the lower front and its rather cheaply made. It will fit all iPods and if you have something other than an Apple iPod, there is a male/male cord that fits in the back for another MP3 device. The dock itself has a control for play/pause and forward/backward song skip buttons. I was surprised that with all the various buttons and controls there was not a space for a 9-volt battery in case of outage. There is one on the cheaper model of the Philips AJ3231 Mirror Finish Clock Radio. Also, the cord is detachable from the back of the clock. Considering the price difference between the two, it makes sense that you can have your iPod dock for charging and listening to tunes. As in both clocks, the buttons are not intuitive and take some time to set up, meaning you will do it once, but if the power goes out, you'll be pulling out the instruction manual again. I think its a toss-up with the iPod being the deciding factor.
