Philips DC190 iPod Docking Clock Radio

Comment: This was my first ipod docking station/alarm clock/radio all in one and I must say it was great and simple for me. Most people want "all out" features but if you want the simplest and easiest you should go with this Phillips clock. Its physical appearance is modern looking and very nice. The sound quality is ok but it isn't horrible. Overall for the price you pay its very reliable and since its a name brand more than likely there wont be problems with it for a while.

Comment: I've been the owner of almost 15 different iPod alarm clocks. So I guess you could say I'm rather picky about them. The Philips DC190 is one of them that actually stands out in the crowd. For starters, it has a feature I require on any alarm clock I buy - weekend/weekday alarm clock. Seriously, it is awesome to be able to forget turning the alarm off for the weekend.

The design of the DC190 is odd - the mirror finish and pop out dock just seem so weird. They serve no real purpose, and Philips would have been better off leaving them out of the product.

Controlling the DC190 is not too complicated, but they did make things harder by placing the buttons on the front, side and rear of the unit. There is no remote control, but with a unit this small, it doesn't really need it, plus it helps keep the price down.

The radio pulls in a decent signal, but only in FM - once again, not a real issue since AM isn't that important nowadays, especially in an iPod alarm clock.

The only downside of this thing is its audio - it produces sound out a fairly small speaker, and you can hear it.

All in all, not too shabby for under $50, which is about $20 less than a comparable iHome product.

Comment: Overall 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. This is a slightly-better-than-average clock radio. It looks nice, and offers the basic features, two alarms, gentle wake-up, and choice of alarm (iPod, buzzer, or radio). It also plays music from your iPod and charges the iPod when the player is not in use. You can set several radio presets, and also listen to other audio devices using the stereo link cable that is included (12 inches in length). Only FM Band is offered on this radio device.

The Gentle Wake-Up feature is a really nice feature. When you set the alarm, you specify the sound level you want. When the alarm goes off, it starts off really low, but slowly increases over 30 to 60 seconds. The gradual increase works really well when using the radio or iPod as your wake-up source. The Buzzer option is also nice because it is 4 beeps in a row. Gentle Wake-up also works for the buzzer.

You can set two different alarms, choose which days the alarm should go off (All 7 Days, Weekdays only, or Weekend only), and the sound levels of the alarms. You can easily turn the alarms ON or OFF. There is a REPEAT ALARM button which is the SNOOZE button, but it could have been bigger and more noticable.

This alarm clock has a very sleek and futuristic look. Because the text color on the display is a BRIGHT ORANGE, it's a little hard to read the digital readout of the clock sometimes because of what's being reflected by its mirror (like white sheets on a bed). Sometimes it's hard to read during the daytime because of the increased light and sun in the room. Most of the time you will be able to read it easily, and it is very easy to read in the dark. The numbers in the display are about an inch tall, and the clock is near the bottom left of the clock, but it only takes up about 1/4 of the entire mirror. The other 3/4 of the front is just the mirror. See dimensions below.

The dock folds out from the bottom of the unit. The whole device is a 5 1/2" Width x 5 1/2" Height square size. The top part is the reflective mirror surface which measures 5 1/2" Width x 4" Height. The bottom 1 inch is the fold-out dock for the iPod. Push on the dock, and it folds out, sometimes. That's the problem. Sometimes it folds out easy, and sometimes it takes a few presses to have it fold out. Same thing with folding it back in place. It doesn't always lock on the first try.

The sound quality is quite good and sounds clear, but it could have been better. The speakers are on the side of the device, none on the front. The sound could have been better by having a third front speaker. Don't expect heavy bass or advanced sound to come out of this thing, but it does sounds quite good.

The Buttons look sleek since they are flat with the device, but that's also a problem. I found myself constantly having to turn the device to find the buttons and read the buttons since they are flat against the device and do not stick out. The buttons felt like a somewhat cheap, slightly hard plastic.

Regarding the build of the device, the plastic used in this clock radio isn't the sturdiest, but it is decent. That can be attributed to the price tag.

This Clock Radio offers some nice innovations, and accomplishes everything you need as a basic alarm clock and radio, and iPod player.

Overall 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Comment: The Philips DC190 is a decent alarm clock and docking station. Setting up the alarm clock was simple, although I did have to consult the "Quick start guide" to learn how to set the time and the alarms. I used an old ipod photo for testing and it fit perfectly into the cradle.

With the DC190 you can set separate alarms for both the weekday and the weekend. I like to sleep later on the weekend, so it's nice not to have to remember to change the alarm on the weekends. On the other hand, the DC190 does not give the user a lot of flexibility outside of the weekday/weekend options. People who have to wake up at different times on different days, may not find this alarm clock useful. While it's easy to learn the stops involved in setting up the alarm, it would be a pain to have to change the alarm time every day. With my cheap Walgreens alarm clock, I'm able to change the alarm in a snap whereas the DC190 requires fiddling with several buttons in order to change the alarm.

The quality of the speaker is about what a person would expect at this price point. It's neither exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. The alarm increases in volume over the course of about 30 seconds before reaching its maximum volume. You can also set the volume to be either loud or soft. I found it comforting to be woken up by music as opposed to a loud beeping sound.

I recommend this system to anyone who wakes up at about the same time each day. It's easy to use and it does what it claims to do.

Comment: When I first pulled this unit out of the box I thought, "Oh gee, it's so small, how good is the sound quality going to be on such a small unit?" But I was pleasantly surprised. It's really quite decent and certainly good enough to fill a regular sized room with nice sound. When purchasing a docking unit, I think what you have to decide is what, exactly, are your requirements. This is an iPod Docking Clock Radio. If you're needing to fill a concert hall with sound, then don't buy a clock radio. I feel that a lot of reviewers fail to understand this and underrated this product. It is compact, nice looking, tells time, wakes you to music from your iPod, and has nice sound. In other words, it does exactly what it purports to do, and does it well.