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 Good sound quality Jul 23, 2010
Summary:
A comprehensive iPod and GoGear dock and alarm clock that has good quality sound for both radio and iPod but an interface and buttons that let down the excellent functions.
iPod Function:
It's an iPod dock (or Philips GoGear for which there is special dock attachment that needs to be swapped with the iPod one that is already inserted) which comes with a multitudes of different dock adapters (all of which are marked underneath so you know which one to choose). It's not designed to be used with the iPhone but it does work fine with my iPhone (I have a 3G which sits fine in the dock marked "Classic 60GB"). When docking the iPhone the phone does warn you that the accessory is not optimised for the device and there may be cellular interference. I use mine to charge the phone overnight and so I turn the phone onto Airplane mode. Airplane mode turns off the cellular and wi-fi functions so you don't have to sleep with your head next to a strong mobile signal and so you don't get disturbed by e-mails, texts or calls as you sleep!
Alarm Options:
There are two alarms that can be set and you can choose to have them both set to on. It's easy to set the alarms using the buttons. After reading other reviews I was expecting a loud alarm but but it is not particularly loud unless you let the alarm (radio alarm or iPod alarm) run and run. The radio and iPod alarm options start quietly and get progressively louder. When the dock is selected as the alarm option the iPod will start playing where it left off last time. The `buzzer' option is more of a beep than a buzz and if the dock is placed at a bedside then volume is perfectly adequate to wake. However, it is not particularly loud and the volume does not change, it stays the same for as long as the alarm is on.
Interface:
While the speakers are excellent, especially for such a small device, the interface (the screen and buttons used to change options) is much less impressive. The buttons are all hard plastic which feel cheap when clicking them to change options. The buttons around the iPod dock area are small and difficult to distinguish between unless you are looking at them but they don't control the functions that you'll need for switching the alarm off or snoozing the alarm. The screen is OK, but as many other reviewers have said, the brightness options are too limited and most people will need to turn the screen off for sleeping. It's not difficult to do, there's a single button to press and you can scroll through the full brightness, half brightness and no backlight options with each press of the button. The time and date show as blocky LCD read-outs but the other options have smoother graphics for display. The remote control is effective and is handy to have if you plan to use it for regular music playing - great for a teenager's bedroom I would imagine!
 Unreliable - alarm just won't go off when set Dec 02, 2009
I normally think highly of Philips' products but not this one. This device quickly proved unreliable. My daughter can no longer use it as an alarm clock because more often than not, it malfunctions. When I test it by setting it for 5 mins from now, it always works fine. Then I set it for morning and suddenly she's missing the school bus cuz the darn thing won't go off, despite being set correctly. It even still shows as being set, yet just won't play. She can only use it as a speaker system for her iPod.
Also, this unit destroyed an iPod Nano Gen 3. It cannot be used for anything newer than a Nano Gen 2. The Gen 3 had to be replaced by Apple and they pin-pointed this Philips device as the culprit. Add to that the fact that the power cord needs to be taped to the wall otherwise the thing loses power. So I am now in the market for a new iPod alarm clock for my daughter.
In fairness, I don't believe we bought this from Amazon so no fault of Amazon's. Just letting you know about this device.
It will work with an I pod Touch! contrary to what Phillips says in its support forum Aug 17, 2009
Even though Phillips says it does not work with the i touch ipod "because apple changed its hardware" If you 1. turn on the ipod 2. set the ipod on the music you want to wake up to 3. press the Ipod button on the Phillips player and 4. "dock" the ipod, you will not have any trouble using all features the Phillip player has to offer!!
 Rock Out! Crazy Loud Alarm - Awesome! May 28, 2009
The alarm clock on this thing rocks! There is nothing like setting your iPod playlist to 80's heavy metal and then waiting for sunrise.
I personally like Dokken or Motely Crue as they have the best "morning wake-up" songs. It's like you woke up in the front row of the concert!
Once I went on a two week vacation and accidentally left the alarm turned on. My neighbors thought I had passed away or something and had the cops break in to shut of the alarm clock.
It's really that loud! Excellent!!!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
best compact ipod dock/alarm Apr 16, 2009
I needed an alarm with an ipod dock for my bedside table. As such, I wanted something that would produce a nice sound and have a small footprint, alarm clock and radio and be inexpensive. I did a ton of research both online and offline. After testing a number of IPod alarm clocks for mediocre brands like IHome and Iluv, etc. I was unimpressed by their brassy flat sound and incredibly flimsy design. I own a JBL Radial speaker (great sound, compact elegant design, bought on sale for under $60) for use in the office and wanted something similar in terms of performance. I really wanted JBL on Time 200ID for my nightstand, but couldn't justify dishing out $150.
Now back to the Philips AJ300D. It appears to be a discontinued product, although www.philips.com does not state so. Online reviews (not Amazon) were quite positive and I decided to give it a try. I ordered it through Ebay and received it last week. Overall, it is a rather attractive unit, great sound, nice features (dual alarm, can wake up to either radio/buzzer/or Ipod, station presets, remote control, small footprint). It doesn't take a lot of space on my nightstand and has all the features I wanted. It does have a few negatives though (hence the 4-star review):
1. The display is rather bright even on Low. I find myself using the Off function a lot, which turns off the backlight. The result is I can sleep without being disturbed by the backlight, however, if I want to check the time, I need to turn the backlight on - minor inconvenience. I have to say that I am surprised at the brightness, as I have replaced another Philips CD/radio/alarm unit with this and it had a third dimming option which would have been great on the AJ300D.
2. There are a ton of buttons on the unit itself, and it takes some time trying to set the alarm and the mode.
3. The remote is nice, although it does not have a menu option which would have allowed to navigate the Ipod menu and select a different album to listen while docked. As such, I have to use the Ipod scroll pad to do so.
4. It does not seem to charge my Ipod classic 5g. I don't mind that because I don't use the AJ300D that much and the JBL Radial speaker I have at work charges my Ipod during the day. It may be a con for some users.
Given the above cons, I would still recommend this radio for anyone looking for a nice sounding compact nightstand radio alarm with an Ipod dock.
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