I do give this product 4 stars, but it's really more like a 3.5. I bought this off craigslist for $40 and I'm glad that's all I paid. I wanted it to do some specific things that it does not do and I could not find out about online.
My main irritants with this product are what I really wanted it for and as follows:
1.You cannot use headsets with either the line out or bedside speaker (Extension Speaker Jack) portals on the back of the unit!!! That is so incredibly stupid. MANY people sleep with a partner, this is not a surprise to anyone, anywhere. So why is there no option to plug in your earbuds or speaker pillow so that you can dose off/wake up to your music without disturbing your partner!?
And yes, I called them to verify this. Note: they did not recognize the Bedside Speaker label, even tough it's clearly marked on the unit and on the diagram in the user manual.
2. You cannot go to sleep to one playlist and wake up to another. Again, it amazes methat this option is not available - but then I remember products are made inferior to get more money from you when the next version comes out, it's called planned obsolescence. Sleep music is often not the same as wake music- come on! There are many reasons this function would be highly useful but nope, whatever playlist is active when you dock your ipod is the one that gets used for sleep and then wake. That's crap.
Funny that they provided a rather advanced and useful option in being able to independently set your sleep volume separate from your normal volume setting.
3. The gradual wake function is a joke. You get choices of 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes for gradual sleep, but a quick minute for "gradual" wake. They should both have time options, period. As for the rest of it:
Speakers/Sound: Eh, okay- didn't amaze me at all. You can add speakers via the output and beside speaker jacks in the back though if you want to amp up the sound. It's good that there is an Equalizer button you can use to adjust Bass, Treble, and Balance- a useful function that could have been overlooked.
Looks: Awesome! I'm not a child (I'm 29) but I love the pink and think the black and silver ones look equally great. Love the size and the profile being low, but not too low. Very stylish and doesn't exactly look like a cheap piece of crap, even though it pretty much is.
Back Light: Nice blue back light with 4 levels of light adjustment are great. You can turn it completely off if it bothers you when you sleep BUT the buttons on top are back lit with an orange red and you can not turn them off so there's still some light/glow coming from the there.
Remote: I enjoy having it.
Buttons: The ipod, radio,and sleep functions all have a one-touch on button which I love, BUT the button that turns each of them off is too small and not in a good location. This button also turns off the alarm. It should be a bigger, more important button but the only button that gets a larger size is the Snooze/Dimmer button. I can see this becoming a problem for some people who fumble around when they wake up. It's too easy to push the snooze button when your alarm/music sounds (b/c it's front and center and so big) while you're trying to find the small off/alarm reset button.
The volume and set wheel "buttons" are not good- they're cheap and crappy and if you have slick fingers you'll have trouble turning them. Setting the alarm with the set wheel is the cheapest, crappiest function on this whole unit. I feel like I'm going to break it if I have to go up or down more than an hour or two. It's not a quick set, you must turn that when through each minute and then each hour. Looks good on the unit, horrible functionality and process.
Docking/Charging Station: I can only say that I have to prop my ipod up with business cards in the back otherwise the connection can be bad and result in distorted/fading in and out sound that makes you think something is wrong. So that's a pain. Not a very solid docking port.
Also, I did have a problem with my ipod charging when the battery was drained, as in it wouldn't. It just sat there telling me it was going to and then 12 hours later it was still on empty. The manual says it may take 6 minutes of charging before the ipod will respond but I had to charge my ipod with the cord before I could use it with the ih8 again.
Radio: It has one. Good amount of preset options. I'd say it's a bit like the vhs/dvd combo units. Nice to have in a few instances, but I would have much rather had the unit be more ipod friendly and not have had an entire row of buttons dedicated to radio preset stations-bigger off/alarm reset button!
Other Mentionables: VERY NICE that they provided a line in jack that enables the use of other mp3 players. The Alarm buzzer is freakin' irritating and loud. You can set time zones. If you have charged batteries in it provides backup alarm protection in the event that your ipod alarm doesn't sound (a few reasons that could happen). You have to choose music with some heft to it in order to wake up to it because if it's too low at any point in the song it may not be detected- then the ih8 will switch to the buzzer and you'll be jolted out of bed! There's no AM indicator when setting the alarm time- just annoying and lazy. It's overpriced, duh. Overall it has some things going for it, but it also has a long way to go. It's no mistake.
Click Here to see more reviews about: iHome iH8PR Dual Alarm Clock Radio for your iPod with Universal Well, Remote Control and AM/FM Presets, Pink
Product Description:
What better way to Rise and Shine to your favorite tunes ! This sleek clock radio wakes you gradually and lulls you to sleep with your iPod music or AM/FM radio or buzzer. It does all this while charging the iPod with a built-in dock connector, so it's ready to go when you are!
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