Sony ICFC1T Dual Alarm Clock Radio, White

This Sony alarm clock is in a nice cubical housing with a clear digital display. Current time and the trigger times for both alarms are easy to set. Each alarm has an actual physical switch to select Off, Beep, or Radio. Common Off and Snooze buttons affect the alarm that's sounding. If not manually shut off (usually only for Radio), the alarm stops after one hour.The time settings are backed up with the popular and reliable CR2032 disc battery. It an alarm is set, it even switches to and uses the Beep sound at the scheduled time in case of a power failure. The battery is user replaceable if necessary.All of this is typical. If you just want to wake up, this clock works well and has a simple, clean look.Checking out the radio, I felt like I had stumbled 30 to 50 years into the past. The analog tuner is controlled by a small thumb wheel. (I didn't switch the band to AM.) Especially at lower FM frequencies, a small rotation of the wheel is likely to pass several stations. Finding the station you want and getting it clearly tuned in is tricky, particularly for weaker stations.This is important only if you use the alarm to wake to the radio, say to listen to a quick news summary. For four successive nights I tuned in a favorite weak station and set the alarm for it. The Sleep timer worked fine. When the alarm went off the next morning, I heard a garbled, static-filled, mis-tuned sound. I had to pick up the unit and re-tune the station by hand. I might as well have had the alarm beep instead.In another nod to the past, the radio uses the power cord as its FM antenna. This ignores the Achilles heel of this technique -- that the cord must end up at the wall. But if you drape the AC cord carefully, and tune to a strong station, using the alarm with the radio does work. I like the weak stations, so I moved the clock into my kitchen, where the alarm and radio aren't important.

I was looking for a white clock that didn't require an advanced degree or needle nose pliers to set. This clock is perfect for that - super easy to set, and in the middle of a comatose state at 5am, it's easy to work the controls.I almost did not purchase this model with two alarms, but I'm glad I did. I use setting A for work days, and setting B to get us up for Mass on Sunday which is a little later. Nice to not have to reset the entire clock every weekend.The size is nice - not too large for a small night stand.So here are the cons (thus the 4 stars):**I hate the thick bulky black cord. On a white clock -- really Sony? No one makes a cord like this in white?**I am one of those folks who cannot have any light in the room, and even the lowest setting is too bright for me. I still need to flip it face down to sleep. But that's just me, and surely normal folks would not be bothered that much.**While the controls are very easy to use on top, you have to be VERY careful with the controls on the back of the clock or you are going to flip yourself into another time zone or mess things up and not realize it.I would definitely buy it again, and do recommend the clock.EDIT: Updating after having it for quite awhile now. This clock is IMPOSSIBLE to use as a radio - it does not keep the station tuned in. Too many times I've missed my alarm in the morning due to a lost channel. Had to switch to the buzzer, which I hate. The controls on the back are WAY too easy to grab and totally screw up your clock, with no way to know what the heck you grabbed, so how to fix it. The turn off the alarm button is SOOOOOO tiny, trying to find it in a near sleep stupor in the morning, is not easy. The only thing I do like is the dual alarm, and that it is white. Now a very high bar to meet there. Ending up pretty disappointing.

Pros:1. Time was preset and accurate when shipped.2. Gradual alarm is much more pleasant to wake up to than the typical full volume blasters (main reason I purchased this unit).3. Large easy to read display with simple alarm identification.4. Tunes the stronger bandwidth radio signals fine.5. Does not have a lot of extra stuff you really don't need on an alarm clock, it wakes you up and lets you know what time it is. I appreciate electronics that manage to keep it simple these days.Cons:1. If you like to have your cell phone next to the bed you will hate this clock, it picks up feedback from the cellular signal that sounds like a low buzzing noise anytime a cell phone is less than 4 feet away (I prefer not to take my phone into the bedroom so it's not a big deal for me).2. The display is way too bright, even at the lowest of the three settings it illuminates the nightstand and anything within 5 feet. I actually turn the alarm clock face down on the nightstand when I go to bed or the brightness bothers me. Fortunately it's square so putting it face down is no big deal at all, and the alarm functions fine in that position since the speaker is on the side.3. The controls to turn the alarm on and off are kind of cheap and can be tricky to set in the center (for the gradual wake up alarm I prefer using).

We like this alarm clock so much that I bought a second one for myself after my GE clock stopped working. It is identical to one I bought for my wife a year or so ago. Both had the same problem upon arrival. Dead backup battery. It is supposed to hold the factory time settings for EST to make things easy, but was flashing 12:00, indicating dead battery. I had a couple of these CR2032 batteries around, and replacing them fixed the problem.Setting the alarm and time couldn't be easier if you take the time to read the instructions.Sound quality is good considering how small the cabinet is.It would be nice if they packed a fresh battery with the clock.Since owning it for a few months, we are in love with this clock. In spite of the crazy reviews about buttons and daylight time, we find the alarms easy to set, and the neat thing is that the time can easily be read from the smallest possible side angle. And, it is a sharp looking clock.

This small clock works great. The backup battery needed to be replaced but that was easily done

Parfait pour mes besoins, simplicité d'utilization

nice job !