Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best tableside clock I've ever had, April 5, 2007
I'm always looking for the Nirvana product...best briefcase, cellphone, carry-on bag, toiletries container...and that's just for travel. I'm obsessive about my golf clubs, cars, televisions, etc. So when I stayed in a luxury hotel in Palo Alto, CA, this somewhat normal looking clock was on the nightstand. I looked at it, no cord, but a very large and readable face. And what was this little dial on the lower right? I spun it and it was the most effective and easy to use alarm setting dial I had ever seen...on the front of the clock!!!! I noticed it had a simple alarm on/off on the right and a large snooze button on top. Also, on the lower left was what looked like some kind of sensor. So I set the alarm and a placed a backup wakeup call as I usually do to the front desk. When I turned the light off, I noticed that the clock face was glowing green from a small LED in the lower part of the dial! Turned the light back on and it went off. Turned the alarm off and the light off and the face glowed orange! So, turned the alarm back on, face glows green again!!!! So, if you're an idiot like me, then you get "reassurance" that the alarm is on if it's green. And if you want it even brighter, you press the snooze on top. The alarm is escalating, and incredibly effective. This thing should be in the MOMA for a design award. One of the best and most fairly priced items I've ever purchased on Amazon. I regularly give them for gifts to my team and friends. Only problem, it's a little large to travel with. BTW, I asked the front desk if I could keep the clock and they could charge it to my room and they said "sure, people ask to keep that clock all the time!" Might want to order some LiIon batteries, 3 AAs to go along with it. I think the silver one is cooler looking than the black one.
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Functionally perfect, beautifully built., March 8, 2008
This is the first alarm clock I've had that I like looking at, working with, and waking to. It's the first one I've not want to put through the wall when it goes off. It strikes me as a peculiarly friendly alarm clock.
The alarm starts simple and rather quiet, then smoothly but quickly gets more complex and louder. A brisk waking, not a jarring one. Generous snooze. At least four repetitions of about 10 minutes each. There may be more. The index marks for the alarm hand are for every 10 minutes. The alarm set wheel is large, serrated, and one-way. It also "ratchets". Every "tic" is 5 minutes, there's marks every 10. The most precise and user-friendly alarm setting I've seen in an analog clock. The switch to arm and disarm the alarm is not exactly hidden, but not exactly exposed. This makes it easy to deliberately operate, but very hard to accidentally move. Perfect for us "brain not in gear till caffeine" types. Fairly large, but not obnoxiously so, that switch.
I'm sure they had in mind people who find it difficult to operate fiddly things when they designed the entire clock. All the controls are easy to operate easily, but hard or even impossible to accidentally move. Battery door is huge, and hinged, and looks quite strong. Behind it are 3 AA battery slots, the time-setting stem, and the switch for the ambient light sensor which drives the LED night light -- more on that later.
The dial is two-piece, a white background, with a transparent foreground about 2mm in front of it. The numbers and index marks are on the transparency. The result: A luminous dial with shadows, the likes of a fine old porcelain-dialed clock or pocket watch. The hands received equal attention, the second hand, which glides along quietly without a sound or jerk, is long and thin, a very shiny perfect cylinder which reflects light in a most delicious dance. Then, very few clock and watchmakers understand light the way Seiko does. I own a 1968 Seiko wristwatch, and it also plays delightfully with light. I own two more seiko clocks, and they also are very good at playing with light.
The build is good, the plastics chosen are more than adequate, the lens is also plastic, but beautifully domed and faceted, as is Japanese watch and clock tradition. More gorgeous light trickery, that domed lens reduces big lights to mere pinpricks.. with a christmas tree in the room, it's downright dream-like. Once you load the batteries in, it's a nice hefty piece. Takes 3 AA's: The bottom one runs the movement, the other the two LEDs just to either side of the 6 o'clock. The LED's are amber for no alarm, green for alarm armed. A switchable light sensor can activate the correct LED and glow it very, very low. Low enough that it won't bother even in the darkest of rooms, but due to the luminous nature and shape of that magnificent dial, you can easily read it by that faint light alone. But if you hit the top button (the snooze button) that LED will go full-intensity.. but I rarely use that. Just for effect ^.^ The barely-there LED is enough to read it. I imagine running it for 8-12 hrs a day on that faint light alone will probably stretch the batteries to a year? Maybe more? We'll see when a year passes.. but I do know LEDs require very little juice to run. Especially when run so conservatively as in this application. However you run them, they're beautiful. They illuminate upwards, from 6 to 12. They're narrow, like a car's headlight, and shine directly on that beautifully detailed dial. Being between the transparent portion with the numbers and marks, and the white background behind, the light actually results in a very sharp contrasty dial, even with the ghost-like night light described above. This dial is at it's best when lit from the sides or directly above or below.
Oh yeah. Did I mention? This clock is tomb-quiet. It doesn't make a sound. No tic-tic-tic. It won't drive you bonkers.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good looking, easy to use, but cheaply made SEIKO, November 18, 2008
I have never reviewed on any products that I purchased from Amazon.com before, but have an urge to write about this clock.
I am an ER physician and have the following criteria for an alarm clock because I have had one that I liked (a small digital Casio alarm clock for 19 years) very much: simple design, easy to set up, easy access to set-up buttons preferably in the front, easy access to alarm stop button (I do not need to snooze again and again), clear and moderately loud alarm sound, and no clicking sound (silent clock).
This clock fits all the criteria and I placed an order. I was excited opening the box yesterday and quickly inserted three batteries. I tested the alarm and liked the sound. The set up process was very easy without even referring to instructions. I then tested the alarm indicator light and realized that my clock was defective in this aspect. The light lit up for the first few times and then became very inconsistent. Sometimes it lights up but most of time it does not. I think the alarm indicator light sensor is malfunctioning. I have decided to keep the clock because I do not really need this indicator light since it is confusing anyway (Green for alarm? Does orange suggest an alarm in common sense as other reviewers pointed out?). I will establish a habit of checking the alarm turning-on button which is located on the right side of the clock. By the way, this clock's snooze button also functions as a clock reading light button. I can still read time in the dark if I desire.
Anyway, I wrote this review to tell other potential buyers that this is a very good looking, easy to operate, alarming sounding pleasant, but indeed cheaply made (in China of course) SEIKO alarm clock (a SEIKO should not have such a poor quality). To show you that I am objective, I'd better tell you that I am a Chinese American. I hope some of the readers who are USA based entrepreneurs see the opportunities here and continue to build their solid businesses within the United States and I will buy your products!
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