Customer Reviews

iHome iP39 Kitchen Timer and Alarm Clock Radio Speaker System for iPhone/iPod (Silver)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have a small kitchen, and an old microwave with a dim, barely readable clock and single timer. In addition to my desire to replace the clock/timer, I had a set of speakers taking up valuable counter space, and was always searching for a safe place to set my iPhone where I could read recipes while cooking, but not risk knocking it over or splashing on it.

Enter the iHome Kitchen Timer. It's small - a lot smaller than it looks online - but not too small. Compact is really a better description. The retracting iPhone/iPod dock is great for extra space saving. I was able to replace a set of speakers, and get two timers and a clock, all with this one device. It sits neatly in the corner out of the way, but the iPhone is still usable when docked. The clock and timer is really easy to read, and it displays the date as well, or the audio source when playing. To set the time, I just docked my iPhone and hit the "clock sync" button on the iHome. Each timer has its own button for setting the desired time, and timer 1 is also a "quick minute" button which is very handy.

Sound quality is more than acceptable for a device of this type, and it can play from any of 3 sources: radio, iPhone/iPod, or "auxiliary" which means anything you plug into the input. I generally use the auxiliary input to stream music from an Airport Express without issues, although the iHome was rather picky about cables and it took 3 tries to find a speaker cable that didn't result in static while streaming music. A remote is also included to control iPod playback, but my kitchen is so small that I don't have any reason to use it so I can't comment on how functional it is.

This is really a handy little piece of equipment, and the sleek black and silver design blends right into my kitchen. My only real complaint so far, and it's not much of one, is that there doesn't seem to be a way to dim the display, although the default brightness seems fine with the lighting in my kitchen.

Pros: dual timers, easy to read clock, iPhone/iPod dock with speakers, space-saving design
Cons: no dimmer on the clock

As for device compatibility, my new iPhone 4 arrived this week, and it docks and works with the iHome iP39 without any issues or warnings about incompatible devices.

I am in love with my new iHome kitchen stereo system! I was looking for something to replace a bulky iPod stereo that keeps me company in the kitchen while I feed my daughter. I wanted something that was a radio as well as iPod player and I was so disappointed looking in local stores.

What I love about this product:
1. It's so smart! I dock my iPod Touch (by the way, there's inserts that will allow your Nano, iPhone, and iPod Touch 2nd Gen to fit perfectly in the dock, but even our iPod Touch 1st & 3rd Gen and iPhone 4th Gen still fits with and without using the inserts) and play my music. I also love listening to the radio - smart part is that when I change the "mode" from iPod to radio, the stereo pauses my music and goes to the radio. And vice versa - radio to iPod - it turns on my iPod and continues playing the last song. I don't even have to hit "play" to start my music, just one touch and it does everything.

2. Remote controls. Comes with a battery :) My stereo came with 2 remote controls - I'm not sure if this was a mistake but I love having two remotes - one to keep near the stereo and one to put on the other side of my kitchen, perhaps on the fridge. The remote is also awesome, a bit small, but still useable. I love how it allows you to control the iPod like going through the music menus/playlists, even skipping tracks. It also has a magnet on it that allows you to keep it on the side of the stereo or on any metal surface.

3. So compact. My husband was pleasantly surprised how small it is. Now I can actually put it on my counter and not on a stool near the table! Just look at the photo of the product - it's that small, but the sound quality is great!

4. Extras! You can use this as your bedside clock - the time is always illuminated allowing you to read the time in the dark. Alarm capable too! The dock retracts making it even more compact. Two types of timers - a quick minute timer and a regular timer - haven't used this yet but I'm sure it's equally as awesome as every other feature.

This product had everything I was looking for and even more! I am so happy with it!

Given that this is labeled a "kitchen timer", it fits the bill almost perfectly. There are two separate timers you can set at one time which makes cooking multiple dishes with it a little bit easier.

The remote controls are far better than the alarm clock I purchased from iHome in the fact that you can move through the different albums and playlists with the remote- which is not possible with the alarm clock.

My radio reception is pretty crummy, but that may have to do with my location.

I would not recommend this as an alarm clock because of how bright the display is and the fact that it cannot be dimmed.

The only real gripe I have that can be improved upon would be the remote. The buttons are small and the contacts seem to be recessed to the point where if you have big hands or fingers, you have to use extra pressure or a finger nail to operate. The remote does have a magnet on the back that allows you to place it on appliances like the fridge or the side of the microwave. Other than that little complaint, this product is well suited to its intended purpose.

This kitchen timer/alarm clock is a great addition to my kitchen. The timer is loud enough to hear in another room. I can listen to the radio or my ipod and I love that it is also a charger for my ipod. So easy to use. It is compact and doesn't take up a lot of counter space. I definitely recommend this product. Great gift idea as well.

I do think this would work well in the kitchen. But, that was not what I was looking for. I was hoping to use this unit in the bedroom as an alarm clock. I liked that it had a small footprint for my small nightstand. I liked that the docking station retracts into the unit. Overall, it worked great, sounded great. But the clock itself is way too bright for the bedroom. It gives the whole room an eery blue glow. This item would be GREAT if it were multi-purpose and had a dimming option for the clock so that you could use this in the bedroom. I had to return it.

Ok, so I picked up this item given it's description that it is good for kitchen / home / office. The kitchen part got my attention. Ok, so it has "two cooking timers," small counter space design, etc etc. Trying is believing ... and here is a run down of this unit:

* I like the two cooking timers: Timer 1 and Timer 2. Timer 1 serves as a 1-minute button, and Timer 2 doubles as a 5-minute timer. It was a bit confusing at first how these work since the two buttons serve more than one function, but I have them figured out now and this is the best way I figured how we'd use it. Technically both timers can be used for ANY AMOUNT OF TIME but this is the best way to remember it due to the way the buttons are assigned. Use Timer 1 for anything less than 5 minutes, and use Timer 2 for anything that takes more than 5 minutes. Let's say you want to boil something that takes only 3 minutes. All you have to do is push Timer 1 four (4) times. Why 4 times? The first time it throws the timer in the "ACTIVATE MODE" when it flashes to let you know it is ready to accept timer setting. Pushing it three more times is the same as saying +1 +1 +1 on your timer 1. The screen will show 3:00, still blinking, in case you want to add more minutes. If you are happy with the setting, leave it alone for 5 seconds and it will begin counting down. That's all there is to it and it is way cool. Now let's say you want to cook something for 7 minutes, then I'd use Timer 2 instead of timer 1. They both do the same thing and wake up the same way so it doesn't matter which you use. The idea is that you can have TWO timers going at the same time instead of one if you need that many. The fastest way to do a seven (7) minute countdown is press TIMER 2 twice, and then quickly push timer 1 two times. That is the equivalent of saying ACTIVATE TIMER 2, +5 +1 +1. It's that simple and I like it! I'm sure from this you can figure out how to do any amount of time effectively, including "adding" extra time while the timer is already counting down, as in you just decided whatever time is left is not going to cut it and wanting to add an extra five minutes to what is left. Well, this is really cool but the best part is NEITHER of these timers STOP alarming you when it is time, unlike the digital timers on most ovens that give up on you within a few minutes. These will keep sounding until you hit OFF. That makes them PERFECT for when you are in a shower or in the backyard and coming back in possibly more than a few minutes after the time kicked off. Now, don't ask me what happens to your food (if you used the timer to help cooking), but I often use these timers for non-cooking events so the "persistent alarms" are a must since nothing really gets burnt in those cases. If you haven't figured this out already, the way the TIMERs activate and add minutes makes it a breeze to set, unlike other timers that require you to "type in" the digits on a keypad, taking much more work and discourages frequent use. Five stars for the timer implementation.

* I like the space-efficient design of the unit where it doesn't take up that much space in a kitchen, especially.

* Now, the part that I don't like ... I don't like the fact it doesn't have radio station presets, as mentioned by others already. However, I am able to forgive this for the timer functionality that I have not yet found anything else that can replicate in such an efficient manner. After all, how often do you need to change radio stations in the kitchen? I'd imagine most people can live with just using their IPODs, IPHONEs and play back their favorite playlists instead.

* I also don't like another thing, and that is the ALARM feature on this unit. I liked this unit so much in the kitchen (at first) that I got another one for a bedroom, but I soon found out that the ALARM feature on this unit really is misimplemented. Let's say you set the alarm to go off at 7am in the morning. After the alarm goes off, the alarm does not reactivate itself unless you push the ALARM button again for the following day. Well, this just won't cut it for a bedroom (or any other use) that requires self-repeating each day. I'm not sure what were they thinking when they did so well on the TIMER features they failed to recognize that a bedroom use generally is for "repeating" alarms, not just one time use. Needless to say I returned the bedroom once I found out about this limitation.

In summary, I kept the one for the kitchen due to the above reasons. If I find another unit that has a similarly useful TIMER function, the one in the kitchen stays -- since it makes using the timers such a "joy" (dare I say).

UPDATE 11/19/2011:

After having it for about a year now, I discovered that a few times when you push the timer button the screen would go blank. At first I thought the unit died. Upon closer examination it appears that the display went DIM as if I had inadvertently pushed the DIM option, resulting in the LOWEST brightness setting. Since I always leave it at the highest brightness, the next push would always rotate back to the lowest level going back up with each push. Anyway this may be because the buttons are just plastic "coverings" over electrical contacts and the dimmer button is right next to the TIMER 2 (5-minute) button, which I use most of the time. This does not change the rating on this unit for me and in fact I am considering getting another item similar to this to serve the timer needs.

I was really hoping that this would be a great solution for me. However, the cons outweighed the pros and I will be returning this item. Pros: stylish with small footprint. Perfect for small areas. Good and handy magnetic remote with battery included. Charges phone while docked Cons: awful sound quality, no bass adjustment. No AM stations for that much needed weather reports prior to heading out the door for work. NO PRESETS for FM stations! How dumb is that? And who wants to spend time scrolling to find stations? Mine would NOT play Pandora on the IPhone 3GS, only the IPod feature. Very sad, as I really did like the looks of this docking station. As I said I will return it. In the meantime I today purchased the Sony dream machine ICF CS10i from Walmart. The sound is great and has all the features I want, minus the looks, style and size of this product. Looks can only go so far though!

I didn't expect a lot from this, but it has great sound! I love that it charges my iTouch as it plays music too! The remote works great with the unit and the iTouch, I have no issues with it.
I gave it 4 starts because to use the FM tuner you need to move an antenna around to get good reception...for $100 I would think they could have one built in...

Radio, iPod connector, and timers work as described. The time syncs with the iPod, but it immediately gets out of sync (the iHome's time was 2 minutes behind my iPhone's time within 2 days). There are no radio presets and the cord antenna is long and gets in the way. The iPod "tray" feels flimsy. The AC adaptor is huge and unsightly in the kitchen, especially since it is black and the unit I purchase is white. The digital display looks cheap. I guess since Apple products are so refined, I expected a company that specializes in iPod accessories to follow their design cues.

After reading through the reviews then contemplation I ordered it. To me once I opened the package everything after that was pretty much a piece of cake. I do recommend reading the destructions before going further though. The reason I say this is everything went well, no problems till I tried to sync the iPod with the unit and not understanding one little point. There's this lone button on the back that unless you really read the instructions doesn't seem to have any reference to it. This button is supposed to be pressed in when the iPod is in place and this links the iPod so the time is set from it. That said, everything else works pretty much like most iPod plug in devices. Extra care paying attention to placing the iPod onto the tray, there's a slight angle that can be damaged if this isn't given proper respect. The sound isn't bad at all, it has presence and projects. I ended up buying a second one to have one in the living room and one in the bedroom.

Batteries are included and this baby is good to go once it's all set up. The remote is so sweet to have using this too. Now if only we could get a remote for our MacBook Pro! (Sorry I have digressed)

My wife found setting the timer quite easy, I can't answer for this part at all. My only complaint and the reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is the plug in adaptor, damned thing is ridiculously large! I mean everything else gets smaller and yet we still have to deal with idiot adaptors that are space stealers. At least the footprint places it sitting horizontally on the outlet instead of making sure it gets the bottom level on wall outlets. I can only imagine it being a drag on a power strip.

Oh and adding to the sound quality ... This does fill a room very nicely even having to turn it down a bit for conversation and for us we don't need to blast the music anymore so this serves us very well but found we still needed a second one so we don't have to blast the music from the other room in order to hear it well enough. There's no bass or treble control.