Review on Magnasonic Charging Smartphones Tablets EAAC470 by Jolett Schneider

I had to research almost every Revain clock radio before settling on this one. It has tons of useful features and a very reasonable price, which is why I bought it. Overall not bad but I have a few quirks. To be clear, I have one with a BLUE LED display. Good: - The size is suitable for the bedside table. The rubber feet stay in place well - The large display is easy to read anywhere in the bedroom, even without glasses - USB port for charging your phone. Relax! One less wall wart in a socket - digital thermometer. Relax! Check the room temperature at the touch of a button. - Preset time. Relax! Plug it in and select your time zone and you're done. (Although, let's face it. It doesn't keep time with any technical wizardry like atomic clock radios or power line signals. Someone sets the time at the factory, and a battery inside powers the circuitry that keeps time correct until you do. You can't plug it in at home. You may need to manually adjust the time from time to time if your time differs.) - Automatic Daylight Saving Time. Relax! It will "protrude" and "retract" on its own. Or you can turn off automatic daylight saving time if it's not used in your area. Time display in 12 or 24 hours. Relax! Military, public safety, amateur radio and others can display time in 24-hour format. - Waking up to the radio is good. The radio doesn't turn on with a sharp "CLICK!" like my 30 year old Radio Shack - it just starts playing. It's nice to wake up. The phone call is good too. "Buzzer" is more like a high-pitched chirp. I will say that it is less uncomfortable than one might expect. It starts with one beep per second for 10 seconds, then two beeps per second for the next 10 seconds, etc. Being able to choose which days of the week the alarm will sound (or not) is really handy. smart and useful.- If the power goes out at night, the clock will keep showing the time even if the display is off. And the buzzer will sound to wake you up at the time you choose, even if you have selected the wake-up radio function. All of this is controlled by a small battery inside. yes i checked it The AM/FM radio is pretty good. AM reception can be questionable as the internal ferrite rod antenna is somewhat directional. I can get most, but not all, of the AM stations I need in the LA area with reasonable clarity. (Note: The small wire antenna on the unit is for FM only. It will not affect AM reception.) FM reception is good if you remember to point the wire antenna. Of course, the device does not deliver the accuracy of a concert hall, but for a radio clock it does. Having 10am plus 10 reminders on FM stations is very nice. "Needs Improvement": - The display is too bright. Even on the lowest setting in a dark bedroom, it's too bright. If they removed the brightest setting and added another dimming setting just below the current minimum dimming, that would be spot on . The brightness is selected manually via the repeat bar. If they put in an ambient light sensor and the device automatically selects the appropriate brightness, that would be spot on. Perhaps the user could select a brightness range as a one-time setting? The display loop feature needs rethinking. I don't want to see the date and year, I just want to see the time and temperature. In display cycle mode, if the device showed the time for four seconds, the temperature would be spot on for two seconds (plus two seconds of radio frequency if the radio is on). - Adjust radio volume in 15 digital levels plus level 00 for complete mute. Step 15 is loud enough, but Step 01 is still too loud for the minimum volume. If they turned the volume down so low that level 01 was about half as quiet as it is now, that would be spot on. There is no volume setting for the buzzer. If it had a selectable volume setting for the buzzer, that would be spot on. Here's a thought: the device will automatically increase the volume of the radio or buzzer when it wakes up. Maybe increase the volume by one step every 10 seconds? Allow the user to program the initial and maximum volume levels for this feature. The timing of the sleep timer (the radio will play during this time and then turn off) requires a rethink. Current selection: 90 - 60 - 30 - 15 minutes. If they were 60-45-30-15 minutes it would be spot on. Sleep timer timing requires a rethink. Current options: 90 - 80 - 70 - 60 - 50 - 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 minutes. If they were 120 - 105 - 90 - 75 - 60 - 45 - 30 - 15 minutes that would be spot on. If the device gave you the choice of using the buzzer or the radio to wake you up during the day, that would be spot on. The device does not have a connection for an external speaker (!). Many people may want to use a compact, high quality speaker, a pillow built-in speaker, or headphones for private listening. Add an external speaker jack and you're good to go. USB charging cable is not included. The addition of a short (approx. 6 inch) charging cable would have been just right. Or at least ask Revain to recommend the best add-on cable. (This isn't Electrohome's fault) The Revain recommended charging cable is a large, stiff wire. It's so hard that it pushes my phone away from where it's supposed to be while charging. Revain should recommend a cable made from a smaller, more flexible wire. These are my thoughts and preferences. Your mileage may vary. The Electrohome website provides very detailed information about the unit, including a full instruction manual. You would do well to check everything before you buy, especially if you are a nitpick like me. CONCLUSION: I like it and I will keep it for myself. I can live with nits. If Electrohome included some or all of the improvements suggested above, even if it added $10-$15 to the price, that would be spot on ;) I hope you all find it useful.