Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light, Colored Sunrise and Sunset Simulation, 5 Natural Sounds, FM Radio & Reading Lamp, Tap Snooze, HF3520/60

First off, many of these reviews sound a bit fishy, as if they are `fake' reviews made by the manufacturer or whatever to sell the product. This is not, this is an actual user of the actual product and I have actually rated it 5 stars. I'll start by going over the features then list the pros and end with the cons and wrap up with a final impression.Features:All the advertised features above are present so I won't bother going over those. This is more for the `ins and outs' of it. The device itself has a `touch screen' like front bottom portion. All of the controls are there and don't show themselves unless your finger is about ¼ of an inch from the surface of the light. Once there they light up. There is a -, menu, select and + button listed horizontally across the bottom in that order. When you get near the device they light up with an intensity to match the clock face. The clock face has an intensity setting from 1-4, which will automatically adjust UP as the room becomes brighter. For example a contrast setting of 1 helps you get to sleep but doesn't help you see the clock face at, say, 2 in the afternoon, so the auto adjusting feature I consider that a bonus. The light itself has an intensity setting from 1-20. On the lower settings it is a very dim red glow similar to the red of a sunrise (or set) and as it increases it steadily goes to bright white. Not the white you'd expect from a light but the kind of white of a sunny day. Picture a piece of paper outside on a cloudless August day. You can also adjust the `wakeup time' which is the time between program start and the alarm. The default is 30 minutes so if you wake up at 6AM at 5:30 it will start at intensity 1 and `step up' in intensity until it hits your intensity setting and it spaces this `step up' out over the `wakeup time' that you select. It ranges from 20 minutes to 40. It also includes an audible alarm of 6 different types. 1 is the radio, the other 5 are various combinations ranging from light woods birds/forest sounds to nature sounds with light music overlaid. You can also adjust the volume. These sounds do not play until the alarm time is reached. In other words, it doesn't play during the `wakeup time' period. It also has a snooze function. Simply touching the face of the clock turns the sounds off for 9 minutes but leaves the light on and after the 9 minutes, the sounds start again. The light/clock includes 2 different alarms you can set as well as an FM radio (as alluded to previously). A final note is that it also includes a "dusk" function. By activating the dusk function by pressing the button on the side the exact opposite happens than what happens with the wakeup time. It starts bright and eventually fades to 1 then turns off. This very much simulates the evening.Pros:I noticed a huge change the very first morning I used it. Instead of the harsh bleating of an alarm clock your body first starts to notice the increased light then your consciousness notices the sounds and eventually you're awake. This is VERY similar to waking up while you're rustic camping, if you've ever done so. So much so that at first I thought I was back in my tent at Yellowstone. That is really the only way I can describe it. I also liked how the light changed from dim red to bright white as it got brighter. Lights I've had in the past do not do that, you just get a more intense version of the same color light.Cons:This light is NOT meant to treat SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) being that it only puts out 300 lux at 20 in. and light therapy requires at least 10,000 lux. That aside, it can be used in conjunction with a medical grade light box (such as the SAD Light Therapy Box - Alaska Northern Lights- North Star 10,000) as a comprehensive approach. That is what I have done and it seems to work well. You also may have problems using it if you're married and you each wake up at different times as it has a tendency to light up the entire room. As brought up by others, you can't completely turn off the clock face but the lowest setting is pretty darn dim anyway. Finally when you click the alarm off you have to immediately turn it back on again, just like with the old-school alarm clocks.Final thoughts:Overall I believe, considering the price and its effects, the purchase was a very good value. I have always struggled with the `up and at-em' routine and even went to the point of drinking energy drinks as soon as I woke up to no avail. Like I said, the very first day I used it I noticed a difference. Within 10 minutes of waking up I was wrestling with the dog. No joke. I have combined it with the use of a light box (see above for which type) and it has done wonders for my mood and energy level. The minor inconveniences I noted above are just that, minor, and I enjoy the features and ability to have a sunrise and sunset `on demand' as I work very long days and during the winter months I am usually up before the sun and down after the sun as the saying goes. The first week I set a `regular' alarm clock as a backup to click off 15 minutes after this one in case it didn't work and not once did I have to rely on it, nor have I had to use the snooze feature. Like I said, entirely different waking experience and if I had the $$ I would buy one for each of my family as a present this Christmas. Hopefully this review helped you sort things out with this model as to what exactly it does, it's pros and cons.

I purchased this because I'm not a morning person, and I live in a northern state where it's still pitch dark outside when I'm supposed to get up for work. So far, this alarm clock has been a godsend!I'll be honest, I was skeptical at first. Plus, let's face facts... this is a lot of money to spend on an "alarm clock." But I had such a hard time waking up in the morning in the winter, that I decided to take a chance and figured I'd send it back if I didn't like it.I'm throwing away the packaging this weekend. :)Here's some random thoughts and observations about the unit:* I love how the dimmest light settings are reddish. This more closely mimics real sunrise/sunset and helps promote proper circadian cycles.* I use the Dusk Simulation feature every night now. As I said, I'm not a morning person. Instead, I'm a night person and often get a "second wind" when I should be winding down for the night. Whenever I can climb into bed for the night, I put the dusk simulation feature on the lowest light setting (1) with a 30 minute countdown. It slowly fades to darkness over the 30 minutes, and it honestly does seem to help me fall asleep better.* In the middle of the night, if I need to wake up and do something, I turn on the light at the lowest setting (1) which doesn't wake me up as much, but is still plenty of light for digging through the nightstand drawer, or whatever.* I have the alarm set to start turning on the light 30 minutes before the alarm time. So if I need to get up at 06:30, the light will come on at 06:00 and slowly brighten. I've found that I've been waking up around 06:10 or 06:15 because of the light, but not fully awake. Very similar to slowly waking up when the sun rises in the summer. It's much less jaring on me than pitch darkness broken by a piercing alarm, followed by the snooze button. It feels much more natural and I don't get jolted awake in complete darkness feeling crabby anymore.* Ever feel too tired and wish you could tell the sun to shove it and go back down for awhile? You can do that with this alarm clock. A couple mornings, I was just too darn tired to want to wake up naturally, so you can turn off the light but not turn off the alarm. So let's say the light wakes me up around 06:10 and I don't feel hippy enough to wake up naturally, I want to tell the light to shove off, I just turn off the light and go back to sleep. The alarm sound still goes off at 06:30 as scheduled.* I like the "nature" alarm sounds and how they gradually increase in volume over the first 5-10 seconds. My wife was convinced those sounds would be too "pleasant" to actually wake us up, but they do. If you're the type that absolutely would sleep through loud birds chirping and flutes playing, you can choose to wake up to the radio instead.* I wish it had an AM radio. I live in the boondocks and only get 10 FM stations. Oh well, not a huge issue, just something I wish was different.* I love how the time display automatically brightens or dims with the room's ambient light. So you can actually set the clock display to the lowest brightness setting and it will be nice and dim while sleeping, yet you can still read the time during the middle of the day.* When we first unboxed the unit, my wife and I thought it looked like some kind of crazy Apple product. All weird and high-tech looking. I was worried it wouldn't fit in on our night stand. No worries though, once I got it in place, all we really see is the front of the unit, and it blends into our decor just fine.* It's not a substitute lamp. I mean, yes, you can use it as a lamp. But it's not really a lamp replacement. It doesn't brighten the whole room or area like a true lamp with shade will. If you have a lamp on your nightstand already, don't expect this to replace it.* Sometimes I put the Dusk Simulator on for 45 minutes, and I'll lay in bed and read a book on my Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi. I'll have the Paperwhite's light set to 5 and the alarm clock's light set to either 2 or 1 on the 45 minute countdown, and read for 20-30 minutes to help unwind and get sleepy. It's awesome!* When you turn off the alarm in the morning, the light stays on. You have to push a second button to turn off the light. I actually like this feature a lot. Like I said, where I live, it's pitch dark outside when I wake up. Having the light on helps me not to just fall back asleep by accident, and it also helps for actually getting out of the bed and seeing where I'm going. :)