iHome iH8 Clock Radio for iPod (Black)
by iHome
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List Price: Our Price: $40.00 You Save: $59.99 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player 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 iHome iH8 Clock Radio for iPod (Black)
Customer Review: Can't go wrong with this unit- excellent.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the IH8BR so that we could have a good sounding small radio in the bedroom with a sleep function. I have occasional insomnia, and have found that some music at night helps me get to sleep. We've been very pleasantly surprised by just how good this unit is. Some salient points:
-The bass is surprisingly strong, especially considering how small the radio is
-Function is extremely intuitive. They clearly went to great efforts to make this unit as easy to operate as an iPod itself.
-Radio reception is outstanding. We live in a very hilly area, and have no problem with reception, which is surprising. All other radios have issues here.
-Comes with a remote that is small, simple to use, and well thought-out
-Display is dimmable, well laid out, and displays the date when the alarm's going. If you're alert enough in the morning to actually look at it, you can know what date you're on
-Sound quality is flexible through the EQ funtion- very nice
-The two big control wheels on the top make changing volume, radio station, and other items very intuitive
-The alarm comes on very gradually in the morning, eliminating the jarring feeling of other alarm clocks
-You can never accidentally turn the sound down so that the volume is too low to wake you in the morning. The preset volume is just right for getting one out of bed.
We had a sony receiver and bookshelf speakers in the bedroom before this. I thought there'd be no way a small "clock radio" would ever produce sound as good. But after a couple days, we realized the stereo didn't need to be taking up space in the room any longer and it got the boot. The iHome unit produces great sound, and we don't miss the receiver set up at all. Overall, this item is well worth the price due to its well thought-out design, simplicity, rich sound, and good looks. Highly recommended.
Customer Review: Pros: Many light settings, great sound, excellent options. Cons: None
Summary: 5 Stars
Initially, my husband bought me another brand. The light was so bright, I had to cover it to sleep. After much research, I saw this was a problem with most of the clock radios. The iHome is the only one that seemed to have more options, and I knew at worst case, I could turn the light off, so I took a chance. To my delight, there were many, many light settings, the dimmest of which was perfect for sleeping without adding light to the room. Please note that this is the iHome iH8BR. There are other models which may not have these options. I saw many excellent reviews on the older models, so I felt comfortable with trying this one. I was also able to see the instruction manual at the iHome website, which helped me understand the difference in the various models. Another nice feature is that all the buttons have the descriptions lit on the buttons so that you are able to read which button to select in the dark rather than the braille method when you need to adjust a setting. The light from the lettering does not add significant light to the room. This model has equalizer options, which are nice. The clock sets itself based on the time zone selected, and it also has a daylight savings setting. I can't think of anything negative to write on this item. Normally I don't write reviews, but since I had difficulty finding information about models that are dim enough to sleep, I wanted to provide this information for others. iHome must read the reviews, as this model has enough settings to make anyone happy. I'm quite sensitive to sleeping with light. I will add that the clock radio my husband first purchased was the Memorex, and that model was similarly priced, yet didn't come close to the quality and options with the iHome. Highly recommend this item.Customer Review: Good purchase with a couple of shortcomings
Summary: 4 Stars
Generally, this is a great item. I bought this one after staying in a hotel that had one in the room. I was very impressed with the sound quality and the ability of that unit to charge and operate the iPod. I purchased this when I got home from that trip.
PROS: Charges iPod well; operates iPod perfectly; remote works well and has a great range; good looking design; easy to see and understand the display and buttons; easy to operate; sounds extremely good for such a small unit.
CONS: I have two major gripes about this unit:
First, the unit I used previously in the hotel I stayed at (same brand, but apparently a slightly different model) had a much better cradle for the iPod. The unit in the hotel had a screw-type locking mechanism to keep the iPod snug in the cradle, whereas the iPod just sits in this unit held only by the charging/data connection plug. It stands up fine in the cradle and works fine, but if you hit the unit, the iPod can fall out of its cradle. This has already happened once or twice to me.
Second, the reviewers are correct that the radio is pretty much useless. I can pull in some of the stronger AM stations with the AM antenna, but the FM antenna doesn't pull in anything clearly at all. My old alarm radio in the exact same location as this one pulled in stations perfectly that this one will not pull in at all. Of course, as one reviewer said, you aren't likely buying this for the radio. I always have the iPod playing in it now.
Overall, I still like it. I am glad I purchased it. I would give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5. As Amazon only grades in "full stars", I will round up to 4.
Customer Review: One of the best investments I've made yet
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, the price. The IH8BR retails for $99.99 at electronics stores. I purchased it for $68 on Amazon. This radio is truly amazing. It doesn't take up much room (it's actually quite a compact item), and it definitely surpassed my expectations of a clock radio. The sound quality is super-crisp, and the radio itself is so easy to use. The only complaint that I have about it is that is really is a dust magnet, so be prepared to wipe it down every couple of days or so depending on how dusty your room is. The lighting is great especially when the lights are off. The orange-amber backlighting of the buttons looks really nice, and the LCD display light can be dimmed/raised to your liking. The standard setting Is a tad bright (I found myself waking up if I was facing it in the middle of the night), but that's nothing a press of the dimmer/snooze button can't fix. The remote is a great plus especially since I'm at my desk a lot, and the radio is on my nightstand. Overall, I love this radio. When you connect your iPod, and raise the volume, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the superb quality of the speakers. Though the sound quality isn't as high and loud as the pricier JBL products, this clock radio definitely holds its own. Oh, and the gradual wake feature really is nice. It's not jarring or sudden like others have said it was. It's nice not waking up to BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP in the morning. I hope I've hit all major points for the IH8BR. I Completely recommend this to those who are trying to make a decision between this and any other items that they may be looking at. You won't be disappointed!Customer Review: Very nice product
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this radio after getting tired of CD alarm clocks that the CD player stops working after a year or two. I'm hoping this one will last a lot longer. My last radio had a more colorful display and a few nice features, but this one is pretty good overall.
I'm not sure a backlit display is right for a clock radio. My previous clock had an auto-dim feature so you can read it during the day without having a spotlight at night. I really wish this radio had that feature. If I set it to a dim setting that I can handle at night, I cannot see it during the day. If I set it bright enough to read during the day it is too bright at night.
The radio sounds real good, lots of volume and I really don't think the optional extension speaker would be necessary unless you put the clock on one side of the bed and want clear sound at low volume on the other side. We have a bookcase headboard and put the radio in the middle. My one complaint about the sound is that it is almost too loud for an alarm clock, I have the volume set to 2 or 3 so we don't get blasted out of bed. Perhaps a separate volume setting for the alarm would be helpful.
The two alarms are fixed as ipod and radio, you cannot decide to have alarm 1 be radio, it is always ipod. Sometimes I wish I could select which function to use for each alarm setting because I use alarm 1 during the week and alarm 2 on weekends.