Philips AJ3231 Mirror Finish Clock Radio

by Philips

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0028Y4H2S
• Item model number: AJ3231/37
• Batteries: 1 9V batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,341 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Philips elegant mirror display clock radio with dim-light mode makes this an ideal bedside companion. Built in AM/FM radio for wake up calls, and a line-in connection for your portable music player.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but lacks functionality, October 20, 2009

By 

Goosecat (Vancouver, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Philips AJ3231 Mirror Finish Clock Radio (Electronics)

(What's this?)

Pros:

*Gorgeous contemporary design with mirror and stainless steel look. The LED display magically floats in the mirror.

*Very low level brightness yet perfectly legible and without glare. Many alarm clocks are way too bright even on dim settings. If the brightness of alarm clocks bothers you, this clock should work well for you.

*Easy to figure out without instructions which makes it a viable option for guest bedrooms.

Cons:

*When adjusting the alarms, there is no indication on the LED display which alarm you are adjusting. Compounding this problem is when you turn on an alarm, there is no way to see what time the alarm is set for. It's far too easy to adjust one alarm and turn on the other by mistake. This is a MAJOR negative. The display also doesn't tell you if the alarm is set for buzzer or radio. The lack of information on the display makes it impossible to adjust in the dark.

*No fast reverse. To adjust times, there is a fast forward button and a slow reverse button. I like clocks that also have fast reverse which makes changing alarm times easier and quicker.

*Slide controls are small and difficult to use. The distance between settings is very small so it can be frustrating.

*Buzzer volumes are not adjustable. Alarm 1 is set at a low volume which is very quiet and might not work for sound sleepers. Alarm 2 is slightly louder but it's still quieter than any other alarm clock I've used. With both alarms, you do have the option of waking up with radio which is volume adjustable and gets very loud.

*No gradually increasing alarm volume.

*Radio is not digital. Not a major issue but the dial is small so it's hard to know what station you're on.

*No nap function.

*The audio cable in the back doesn't stay in the holder and flops around annoyingly. I have since cut it off.

*Snooze not adjustable (set at 7 minutes).

Overall, this alarm clock would work well in a guest bedroom where style is of paramount importance. For your main alarm clock, you should consider something with better functionality.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I found the perfect one!, November 28, 2009

By 

Mountaingirl (Sierra Nevada, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Philips AJ3231 Mirror Finish Clock Radio (Electronics)

I have been looking for "the perfect" clock radio for quite a while and I think I found it!

A marvel of engineering and design -- it's light, airy, amazing looking yet sturdy and substantial at the same time. This is so well designed! I find that the buttons are in the right places, easy to get to and intuitive, they feel very substantial and not flimsy and cheap like so many other electronics today. I don't know how they were able to make a piece that is so substantial and solid feeling yet airy and light and unobtrusive looking. A really great job done though! I am quite impressed and very pleasantly surprised, this feels like a product that will last, which sometimes seems like a thing of teh past- toay everything is made to toss...

I love the non digital radio station dial-- I live in a mountainous area where it's very hard to get any reception, and the manual tuner is a must. And this one is well made and sensitive -- I actually get several stations with this, which I have never been able to get with others I have tried.

On top of it the light display is brilliantly done! The mirror finish is really cool it's a smoky color so not like a shiny standard mirror. And the time is displayed in a golden color that makes it really easy at a quick glance see what time it is whether it's light or dark in the room, yet at night it's very unobtrusive. Living in the mountains we have no ambient light (except the moon when it's full) coming into the bedroom. So, any light source really pops out and I have a hard time sleeping with that in the room. So I have been looking for one that didn't keep me awake. I have tried several ones with adjustable displays but ended up having to toss a piece of clothing over each one I have tried, which makes it a useless time keeper. This one was just perfect.

I really, really like this clock radio and can highly recommend it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty and Pretty Basic, October 23, 2009

By 

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philips AJ3231 Mirror Finish Clock Radio (Electronics)

(What's this?)

The last thing I want to do when I wake up is look in the mirror. However, even thought this Philips Alarm Clock's face is mostly one large mirror, it still looks sleek. The time is shown through the mirrored surface in bright yellow with adjustable brightness. It looks great, stands vertically about six inches and has all the basic features of a typical alarm clock. However, don't get too excited.

My previous alarm clock was easy to just reach over and slam the snooze button until I was ready to wake up. The snooze here is not so easy to find being a small tab on the top. There are two alarms (typical) that you can set to the radio, a buzz (one second beep tones) or off. They are difficult to set as the front display does not show you which setting is which. The font is very hard to read, being a tiny gray typeset on a black background. The other side contains the volume wheel, a radio tuner for AM/FM and a small dial to find radio stations (Look at the photo I included for size comparison). There is also an AUX setting as you can hook up your iPod/MP3 in the back. The cord for the iPod/MP3 is supposed to fit snugly around the back, but the slot it was designed for is too short, so the cord hangs loose. The top has the small linear tabs for `On/Off', `alarm reset' and `sleep'. The largest tab is the `Repeat Alarm/Sleep Off' on top. Its very compact, but not the easiest to set up. Do note that you need bright light to work any of the setup functions; not a dark room.

Aside from the small settings and type, this Philips Clock does look nice with the mirror finish and yellow clock shining through. That is it's sales quality. The materials are all plastic and I wonder if it could survive a drop to the floor. The 1.5" speaker is not Hi-Fidelity. Other than the appearance, there isn't much else going on here, so you might think about keeping your current alarm clock. It just looks good. Think about that with the price.