I spent many hours reviewing projection clock/radios on amazon and newegg. The problems i saw everywhere, regaurdless of the price of the units were: the projection isnt bright enough, the alarm is not loud enough, and the alarm doesnt have the right settings. This to me means that the price of the unit will not improve these problems for various reasons. I also do not need the extra features like the outdoor temp or the weekly forecast(which seem not to work most of the time anyways). So i chose to find a clock that only had what i needed: TIME, ALARM, RADIO, AND PROJECTION. So i set out to find the most solid, simple, and best priced unit that had all these features. I ended up finding this unit. Not the most attractive, not the most Hi-tech, but it seems the most reliable and had decent reviews all around.
THE PROJECTION on this clock works fine, you can start to see it once dusk comes, but does not become clear until the TV or Computer Monitor in the room is turned off for the night. It will remain clear on your wall or ceiling until about 8AM or so, unless you have dark or thick curtains do completely cover your windows. It swivels 180 degrees, and has a manual focus to help make sure the time is clearly projected. No complaints with this feature.
THE ALARM starts very very silent and then crescendos. If you are already awake, you will first ask yourself if you really heard it it is so quiet. It then slowly, crescendos to a good decently loud tone, it can definitely wake me any day of the week, and i need a loud alarm to wake up. If this is still not loud enough for you, the radio alarm can be set at whatever volume you left it at. Also, it has 2 alarms, one for Mon-Fri, and one for the weekend which can be set for different times. I like this feature, but wish it would let me alternate days, ie. Mon, Wed, Fri. Otherwise, no complaints here.
THE RADIO works fine. Although i wouldnt mind it being digital, the knob seems sensitive enough and finds all of my radio stations fine. The speakers are decent, nothing special, but dont distort until the radio is louder than you would ever play it on a simple clock/radio.
THE AUTO TIME SET wasnt correct when i got it, but this didnt matter. It sets in about 15 seconds, then i adjusted it a few minutes and that was that. When i had to unplug it to move it, it came back to the adjusted time which was pleasant. The Day and Time were correct though.
OVERALL im very pleased. unit works well, and i recieved a silver one.. which actually looks much better than the aqua colored one pictured. Tt seems solid, not too large, with good features. Id say it packs about the most reliable punch for its price. If you dont like alot of light in your room at night, the time screen may be a bit bright for you even when its dummed.