Customer Reviews

Emerson iC172 iPod Dock Alarm Clock Radio

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Since I just got it, I'll try to post a followup review in a few weeks.
There seems to be only 1 review on this product (everywhere, believe me I looked) and I have been tracking this for a long while to see if more review would come but alas. The price was down to $49 and since I had a 10% coupon I thought the time was perfect. I was so dubious I had to download and read the entire manual online before visiting the store to check it out. The manual made it even better than I first thought - it just doesn't make sense that the price was so low.
To be honest I guess the biggest hesitation I had about buying this was the fact that, being a gadget freak, a brand like Emerson isn't exactly one that gets me excited to covet said product. I have never owned anything with this brand.
Having said that - these are the features that changed my mind (ranked by importance):
- projection clock - the one that I had really been coveting was an Oregon Scientific one that projects during the day as well, looks really sleek, when it alarms you wave at it and it stops. It does the 180 to reverse display in case needed. And yes, atomic time was cool too for all the obvious reasons - but guess what, it costs $119. It didn't matter how much I told myself that I was 'worth it' - I just couldn't justify spending that much for something that does just one thing. No radio, no dual alarm (I think), no in/out jack. THIS ONE has all that, the projection is bright compared to my old one (I did a side by side) and the focus adjust works great. I am visually impaired so this was important. But wait, theres more!
- IPOD mode - a lot of the made for IPOD products out there do not have a projection clock. That's a deal breaker for me - so that starts to narrow the selection even further. This one has adapters for the various generation ipods and for added measure it has a line in (for shuffle or other mp3 players). So what made me give it 4 instead of 5 stars is the fact that the dock is not made for IPHONE. And I knew that when I bought it. Having said that, if you don't care to miss calls while charging, then just put it in airplane mode. Ah, but this is where the line in comes handy for me - I can't miss phone calls (because of work), so if I don't care about charging my IPhone, I connect it to the line in and voila! no more interference (the wire I use is long enough to keep the phone away from the clock). SO for IPhone, to charge - put in the ipod dock, to use - connect to line in. Its like, whoever designed this product read my mind or was in the exact predicament I was in - I really feel that ( in case (s)he happens to read this review. p.s. this product better be reliable! )
- The sound quality is decent - I mean for the price, its not really fair to compare it to the Logitach 5.1 surround setup that I have on my laptop with a Creative Audigy sound card. Like the previous reviewer, I listened to a couple of other made for IPOD gadgets and they were all pretty awful and the one that sounded decent was in the $150 - 300 range. This one to me sounded better when it was louder. The bass could be better BUT again its really not that bad. If you are such an audiophile, you probably won't feel bad spending a few hundred dollars but I bet you probably will not get all the features this $45 has.
- The dual alarms, the weekend, weekday, 7 day alarm mode, the Smart Set, Sleep Mode, headphone jack and backup battery got thrown in too and it still $45! Depending on who you are, these could be nice to haves or absolute musts. I'll take 'em - all of them! I heard horror stories about atomic clocks being iffy on the receiver's strength or the signal's strength relative to your location - so this Smart Set fixes that issue. Lets just hope that the president doesn't change the DST again in a long while - but given that this contraption is already a swiss army knife masquerading as a bedside clock I wouldn't be surprised if there was a way to adjust for future changes like that as well ,like the way Iphone does firmware updates...ok maybe not.
- Can't wait to try the hand wave snooze thing tomorrow when the 'weekend mode' on Alarm2 goes off at 9. Whee!

So the biggest gamble for me is gong with a brand I haven't used before. I am hoping to be lucky, my last projection clock radio is a no name brand JWIN and it has always been reliable since I got it as an elephant gift 6 or 7 years ago. I am so hesitant to replace it - but the lure of smart set, ipod and the 'wave' upgrade (not to mention the price point) caused me to cave. I guess once you use a projection clock you can never go back - so my little girl will get the old one in her room. (unless they can develop one that tells you the time when you want without you having to open your eyelids - kekeke, yes I am lazy, but apparently not lazy enough to write a short review).
Heck I'm on a roll, I'll continue on - what does it NOT have that I wish it did (as if all the features for $45 wasn't enough) - a smaller footprint like the Scientific Oregon, a weather sensor, a remote, a clapper, a kitty litter box cleaner, a masseuse...just to emphasize how absolutely silly it is to expect more for this price >.< I'll just be thankful if its reliable for a few years.

I must admit I JUST got this and have only had it one day. But, rest assured I literally have gone to at least 7-8 stores, pulled out of their boxes at least 15-18 diff. radios and played, prodded and looked and finally selected this one when coming across it. (I actually bought it at Target for $59.99, same as above, but no shipping of course.) I'm very happy with it as of right now. Time setting was so easy - 10 seconds, incl. changing it to my PST zone and it was done. One primary necessity, among some others, was having a HEADPHONE JACK!! The majority of clock radios do NOT have this anymore! I like to listen to the radio sometimes at night with headphones and use the slumber switch - this way I don't disturb my DH. Another was having GOOD, STEREO sound on the FM band. A real nicety is that in addition to having a traditional snooze alarm bar, you can just "wave your hand" in front of the radio face instead of having to find/reach the snooze bar and it will reactivate repeatedly, if you like, in 9 min. increments (body heat from hand activates the snooze bar). Also, the time can be projected onto your wall or ceiling, visible only during the dark, however, without being intrusive. For those that are sensitive to the brightness of the face display, it has two levels of brightness or off - I don't find the std. setting too bright for me, however. Numerals are large and easily seen with my nearsighted eyes - numerals are in red. Alarms can be auto-set to activate only during the week or only on weekends or singly, of course. Has dual alarms with multiple choices of how you'd like to be awakened and an IPOD dock - not important to me at the moment as I don't have one but I did want the other choices so that's fine; I'll buy one later. Footprint isn't too big, could be worse. Looks nice and contemporary. I'm just real pleased with the decent sound; nice bass relatively speaking and 100% better than almost all the other ones I plugged in and listened to. I'm very fussy so keep that in mind if you don't like doing all the leg work.

The features and functionality of this unit are pretty complete overall. The combination of iPod dock and time projection at this price makes it attractive, if that's what you are seeking, especially considering the lack of alarm volume control reported on the Excalibur 134BK Soundmaster and the host of issues associated with the HoMedics SS-7000.
However, the Emerson has its share of notable nits.
1) The sensor function used for snoozing is very cool but dangerous if you wish to avoid oversleeping. The range is too far and if the unit "senses" you within 2 feet, it will immediately snooze at the designated alarm time before the iPod can even turn on and wake you. The sensitivity can be moderated with a piece of Scotch tape placed half way over the sensor, but this is a bit unreliable as well.
2) The buttons for setting alarms, etc. are loud. If your partner goes to bed before you and you need to adjust the alarm setting, you risk waking him/her with the loud clicking noises.
3) On the particular unit I bought (and returned) the time projection was faulty. I would hope this to be an anomaly but it's certainly a concern regarding quality.
If you can get past the sensor issue and loud buttons, then you might be happy with this unit. I ultimately splurged and invested a few more coins for the equivalent but far superior Gigaware product, which can be found at the Radio Shack website.

I've been fairly pleased with this product. I've been using it for about a month. Considering all its features, it's a pretty good deal for the price. The sound quality is decent. Don't expect it to sound like a $300 Bose system. It sounds like your typical clock radio. The projection of the time works fine and displays large and clear numbers that are easily readable. I'm using an iPod nano with it and the built-in controls on the unit function as they should. My one and only complaint with the unit concerns the shutoff sensor. As a previous user pointed out, if you are within about 2 feet of the sensor, the alarm shuts off right away. The unit is way too sensitive in this regard. One foot or less would have been a better setup.

Overall, this is a good product for the money.

When I pulled this out of the box, I loved it! The SmartSet feature is amazing. The sound quality is pretty good. I bought it specifically for the ipod docking feature. For the price range I was looking ($40-$50), it was the best radio available at the Target store where I purchased it. After about two weeks of use, the display started flickering in and out. For a clock radio, that's a pretty important element to it's use. The display would go out as long as 5-10 minutes before flickering back on.

I was disappointed to find out that it would not pick up many radio stations. I was willing to deal with that since I was primarily using it to listen to my ipod at work, but I would like to listen to the radio at times. Coupled with the display issue, I will be returning the radio.

I've been looking all over for a iPod Docking Alarm Clock Radio with projection. I was so excited when I found this one. I love how it sets itself, just plug it in.
However, the reason I am returning this one is ...

1.) It has a heat sensor snooze button located in front of the clock. Instead of pushing the snooze button you can wave your hand in front of the clock (with in 24 inches)and it turns the alarm off. Great. 24 inches? You must be MORE THAN 2 FEET away from the radio or it will turn off automatically. I must have been sleeping to close to the edge of the bed and my alarm never woke me. Apparently it kept turning off. The next day I moved it to the other side of my night stand. Still not far enough.

2.) The alarm radio turns on full blast not gradually. When the alarm did go off it scared the #*@! out of me. When I jumped from my slumber .. apparently it sensed me moving and turned off. So much for laying in bed listening to the news. I guess I should move it across the room.

3.) The projection clock only moves front to back not side to side. I want it to project over my bed. You can push a button to rotate it 180 degrees. My other projection has full 360 degree movement.

Unfortunately, I am returning this clock. Emerson has good intentions but has to work out a few bugs. I hope they keep trying.

I am quite satisfied with this unit. It has everything you want with a few nice surprises. When the alarm goes off, all you have to do is have your hand in front of the machine and it snoozes for 10 minutes. It also works well with the Iphone 3gs. The only "problem" is that the iphone requests to go into airplane mode when you dock it. Other than that it works well. Overall, I'm very pleased with this clock radio.

I bought this as a gift for my brother. He initially complained that the alarm turned itself off right away, but he discovered that he had it too close to his bed that any movement or light triggered the motion-sensor. He said he taped a thin piece of cardboard over the sensor, and he says it works fine for him now. It sounds like the motion-sensor is too sensitive, and, personally, I wouldn't like the look of something taped over my clock, but he didn't mind and didn't think he would use it anyway.

First let me state that i upgraded to this unit for the headphone out as the alarm i had and my phone could not wake me up.taking advantage of this feature i hocked up an old 5.1 computer speaker system to it and now it has more than enough volume.

Pros-
The built in speakers are quite nice and sound better compared to other cheap alarm clocks around this price range note tho that they lack they full deep sound of even a 60 dollar shelf unit so if you want it just for lessening to music go with something better.
As for the radio i have had no problems it is a average sounding radio and i have had decent reception in my houses basement.
The projection clock works very well and i like the on-off button is quite nice for when i am Watching a movie in a dark room.

Neutral-
the main thing the could be better but is not to bad is the controls for setting the alarm the buttons for this do not respond to rapid pressing or are really fast moving when you hold them down and they only go one way so if you pass your time you have to go around again this can get very annoying when you have to reset your alarm daily like me as i work at different times each day.


Cons-
By far biggest problem is the snooze sensor it has way to far of a range and it will turn the alarm off from half way across the room and if you are in front of the clock when the alarm goes off it wont go off at all and will instantly enter snooze this problem can be solved by disabling the sensor you can do this by covering it with piece of tape.


summary-
Despite having a few flaws i have to say the for the price there is nothing better it has all the features of a 100dollar alarm clock and is well under half the price.

Update: after a year, even though covered with electrical tape, the sensor started triggering the snooze before it had even made a peep. An alarm that doesn't make any noise is worse than no alarm! Sometimes it will go off but it randomly snoozes when there is no person or animal in the room. A year is too short a time for a product in this price range to fail. I would not recommend this product to anyone unless Emerson adds a switch to disable the snooze sensor.

Clock radio design is typically dismal; cheesy design, too big, lacking or poorly executed features, unpredictable quality. So in that context, this model does pretty well. Here's what I think it does and doesn't do well.
--Good: I like the projection clock and the standard clock face. I wanted blue, but read that red is easiest to read and doesn't add excessive light to the room. That seems true to me. I'm mildly nearsighted and can read both the projection and the clock face, while my room stays pleasantly dark.
--Some reservations: the radio seems fine, but the dial is hard to control. It skips digits and I have to backtrack. I wish it had presets so that wouldn't be an issue. The footprint is big, but then so are most clock radios. The snooze sensor drives me crazy! Every time I sit up, it goes into snooze even though I'm three feet away! Once I grabbed a Kleenex off the nightstand and it went into snooze. I was going to return it, but when I tested it, a piece of tape seems to block that feature. Having a disable switch would be a far superior solution.
--Be aware: smart set clocks are not atomic clocks. Also, the auxiliary will play a shuffle or other device, but you cannot use that device as your alarm music (nor can you charge it). For the alarm, you can only choose from the buzzer, radio, or dock.