Sony ICF-C318 Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (Black)
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony ICF-C318 Clock Radio with Dual Alarm (Black)
Customer Review: Tremendous Alarm Clock
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this ICF-C318 Automatic Time Set Clock Radio with Dual Alarm back in May after reading many of the reviews that gave this clock good marks. I won't go into the technical details of this magnificent clock so much since that has already been covered more than enough by some of the great reviews already posted. However, I will tell you exactly what I like about this clock in particular...
A)It is a nice medium-sized and compact clock. There is only so much space on my dresser and I don't want my alarm clock to monopolize the space that I could be filling with something important, like the most recent edition of People Magazine or US Weekly.
B)The dual setting alarm. This clock has options of "Music" and "Buzzer Tone" which makes it fairly nice depending on your preferred style. The music tone plays the radio at the volume you pre-select which is nice. Personally, I use the buzzer tone because I can only wake up to Lady Gaga so many days in a row before I lose my marbles and unceremoniously chuck my alarm clock at the nearest wall. The buzzer is not tremendously loud, but I like it for this very reason. I was looking for an alarm clock that would wake me up, not one that would cause my heart to stop from sheer terror after being awoken from my deep slumber by an outrageously loud alarm.
This clock also has dual alarms, which are both very easy to use and set.
I also enjoy the DST feature, even though I don't quite understand why we have DST in 2010. I'm fairly certain it is an unethical plot set forth by the Big Clock Industry with the hopes of adding DST features to make us pay slightly more for our treasured timepieces, but nonetheless I digress.
To summarize, if you want an alarm clock with these great features and one that will more or less make you have an awesome awakening each morning, I would go ahead and make the purchase.
Customer Review: As advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
This clock radio from Sony is exactly as advertised. Don't expect to get a deep base stereo sound from this small little speaker. It was designed as a clock radio to tell time, wake you up and allow you the ability to listen to talk radio/music when you are unable to sleep in the middle of the night.
Key points are:
1. The display is not very bright but bright enough to see the time (what else do you want?)
2. DST (Daylight Savings Time) automatically changes to the correct time.
3.The radio plays well with not much interference when tuning in the local stations (AM & FM)
4.The alarm is definitely low key and if you are a real heavy sleeper, look elsewhere or set the alarm for the radio and turn it up to the point where it WILL wake you up.
5.The alarm will start off with 2 - 3 second intervals. If you do not shut it off immediately, the alarm will eventually change into a constant electronic beeping.
6.The alarm system allows 2 different setting. One for the buzzard and one for radio OR both for buzzard or both for the radio.
7.The automatic time set DOES work, unlike what you may have read from other reviewers. The first time you plug the unit into the power, you may have to adjust the time by a few minutes, but after that it seems to automatically adjust to the correct time when unplugged or power is lost. I've experimented with this and thus far...it works as advertised.
Bottom line: Nice little radio for someone who has limited space on their nightstand and does not want to worry about a power outage allowing them to oversleep by a blinking clock, unless the power stays off, then this little guy can't help you either. It will only adjust the time once the power is restored.
Customer Review: Excellent Alarm Clock
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this alarm clock soon after switching to a new cell phone. My old one used to have a really loud alarm that was reliable, but the new phone didn't always go off so I had to find something else to wake me up in the mornings. I'm not a light sleeper so I was looking for a relatively loud alarm, but not so loud that it startles me (then I get grumpy). This clock was perfect for the job.
===Pros===
+Good construction, haven't had any problems with the knobs that others have reported.
+Love the 2 alarm feature - one for weekdays, one for weekends! That way I never end up forgetting to reset the alarm.
+Large display so I can see it from my bed without putting on my glasses.
+Brightness settings. The medium setting is perfect for me so that it isn't blinding at night but I can still see it clearly.
+Alarm sound starts quietly and increases in volume and frequency. I love this feature because it allows me to ease into waking up, but it still eventually becomes loud and frequent enough to make me actually get up.
===Cons===
-Knobs to adjust alarm time are a little hard to use when adjusting +/- 15 minutes or so...if you hold it too long it will skip a lot, but you don't want to turn it one digit at a time either.
At first, looking at the reviews, I was a little hesitant because they mentioned that the alarm was on the quiet side. However, that is not true - it does get quite loud and I am not the lightest of sleepers (have never been able to sleep through one of these alarms). I would definitely recommend this alarm clock. I can't comment on the radio functions because I bought this specifically for the alarm clock function.
Customer Review: The Perfect Alarm Clock
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros:
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This alarm clock is extremely easy to use. To adjust the #1 alarm time, just turn the left side knob one way or the other to make the alarm time go up or down. There is another alarm knob on the right for the #2 alarm. It's that easy.
All of the buttons make perfect sense and I never had to look at the instructions to figure out anything.
The light level of the clock can be adjusted from very low to bright. I can't sleep with light in the room and the low-light setting is perfect. During the daytime I can change it to bright so it is clearly visible in full light.
The display is large and easy to read.
The clock arrived with the correct date and time set. I only needed to adjust for my time zone. (very easy to adjust)
The radio has excellent reception and the antenna is embedded in the power cord, which means no extra antenna wire to fiddle with.
Cons:
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Only one thing I wish Sony would change: Use AA batteries instead of the Li-Ion wafer battery.
The clock arrived with the backup battery almost dead. It had just enough power to keep the time during shipping, but now the "replace battery" indicator is showing, so I'll have to go buy another battery.
Bottom Line:
If you want an excellent, easy to use alarm clock, buy this one. You will be happy with it.
Customer Review: Nice alarm clock radio; buzzer alarm could be louder
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought one of these in black. It's nice looking and it works just fine. The buzzer alarm could be louder, and so when I want a louder alarm I set it to turn on the radio and I pre-set the volume to a level that I know will wake me. I keep the numbers lit on the lower brightness setting and I have had no problem at all reading the time from different angles. I think this is the easiest to set of any alarm clocks I've ever owned.
So that the reader who is considering purchasing one of these sight unseen, other than for photos, can visualize the footprint of this alarm clock radio, I took a plastic gallon milk container (same size and shape as plastic gallon water bottles) out of the fridge and held the bottom of it over the Sony. The container bottom covers it, which is to say that the Sony's footprint is a little bit smaller than that of a standard plastic gallon container. That's about how much area it takes up on a nightstand. The unit angles back from the clock face to the rear, and at the highest point it's a bit under 3 1/2 inches high. That's a good size for me, because with smaller clock radios and my reading glasses off, I have to put my face close to them to read them.
The radio sound quality is not high fidelity, of course, but it's not bad for a clock radio in this price range. It's fine for listening to talk - news, etc. - and is adequate for listening to music set to a sleep timer when drifting off to sleep.