Sony ICFC414 Clock Radio
by Sony
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List Price: Our Price: $16.61 You Save: $3.34 (17%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $13.00 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony ICFC414 Clock Radio
Customer Review: Worth it
Summary: 5 Stars
Ideal for use in bedroom with large numbers so easy to see in the dark. Good radio and easy to use alarm.Customer Review: Does the job I expected at a cheap price
Summary: 5 Stars
Big numbers that are easy to read without glasses from a distance. All that I could want for this price.Customer Review: Very good alarm clock
Summary: 5 Stars
It works as advertised, no funny stuff.
The screen is large and easily readable.
Customer Review: good alarm clock, quite large (updated)
Summary: 4 Stars
This would be a perfect standard alarm clock if it were 2/3rds its existing size so that it is more compact, taking up less room atop a dresser, and had a slightly smaller display, perhaps with an ambient light sensor that could automatically adjust the display brightness settings as well. This may only be possible without having a radio though for my needs that would be preferable, with nature sounds for alternative alarm/sleep sounds. Other than that it is a decent clock, fairly easy to use, and of quality construction.
Update: I ended up returning this product for an alarm clock with more advanced functionality. There is nothing particularly wrong with it, though the need to tend to the alarm clock brightness levels upon waking and then again at night add an extra step that would preferably not be needed, and the largeness of the display made me think about 'time' more than necessary, so perhaps for some it would be the perfect clock, though I am someone who does not need the radio, and was just looking for quality and basic functionality. As this is not readily available in a basic 'alarm clock' anymore, the ubiquitous 'clock radio' was the only option. It also seems this category has stopped development given that the 'iPod-dock/speaker/alarm clock' is a product category that many companies are focusing upon -- to the detriment of a basic alarm clock (sans radio) even, that works well and looks nice and is affordable. Not an iPod or music-aficionado, these 'extras' are unnecessary and also added expenses, and offer very little in terms of basic functionality -- heck, even the fancy iPod-dock clocks do not even have a remote control for the alarm clock function, so you can hit snooze from within bed, so perhaps functionality and innovation is not driving this at all.
Given the absence and availability of a quality basic alarm clock, or even a highly-advanced one (with ethernet connection, remote control, multiple alarms, nap timer) -- I went with a new category of wake-up alarm clock via an Amazon.com lightning deal, figuring that the quality reviews probably make it a better investment because it adds to the experience of waking and going to sleep and assists in a healthful and daily routine, versus just being able to tune-in to advertiser-choked airwaves that broadcast more commercials than music these days. Thus, until there is an alarm clock with an integrated internet radio player and other networked functionality, these devices seem to exist in a consumer electronic dead zone until purposefulness is re-engineered into their basic functionality once again.
Customer Review: Great, but annoying "snooze"
Summary: 4 Stars
Everything about this alarm clock radio is better than my old unit, from it's looks, to the radio quality, to the LED color, to the auto time set thing,
but the snooze...
My old unit (Soundesign 3646 BLK) had this touch sensitive bar that you could just graze with any part of your skin. I liked this because I could just haphazardy flail at the top surface and it'd go into snooze. It gave 9 min per snooze and you could snooze for hours. I abused this function - some days I'd snooze for hours.. eventually the alarm ceased for good, hehe.
Now, the snooze on the Sony ICF-C414, if you hit snooze once it'll give you 10 minutes, twice it'll give you 20, and so on up to 60 minutes. You have to be accurate and precise. I still make erroneous presses after a month.. It's difficult to be accurate and precise when your half asleep and you can't even see the button because the room is dark..
Perhaps the most annoying aspect of this new snooze system is that there's no way to decrease the snooze time. Say you want 10 min but you hit snooze 3 times by accident.. Too bad! Once it's set at 60 that's it... it won't flip back down to 10 no matter how many times you press it. I can't believe the developers didn't enable the snooze time to flip! Shame..
The alarm, for me, took some getting used to as well, but now I like it. My old one was one of the ones that start out low and then quickly become loud and obnoxious (BrAa braAA, BrARAA, BRAaAA!!). The alarm on this unit is just a series of high pitched beeps (bee-bee-bee-beep.. bee-bee-bee-beep..). For about a week I didn't know what was going on when the alarm came on! It confused the heck out of me, lol. But now I'm pretty much used to it and I find it nicer to wake up to than the old alarm.