After about 15years my alarm clock finally died and it was time for a new one. The panasonic RC-DC1 works pretty much as advertised and I couldn't be happier with it.
All settings are able to be changed without an ipod/iphone via the buttons on the sides and face, however with an idevice things are very simple and intuitive.
A couple of quirks, however. Syncing the time, the alarm settings, and the radio presets are all separate actions. The alarm and radio presets are set by hitting sync on different screens of the memory loader app. They do not sync at the same time, as I learned when I woke up to static instead of a radio station. Although you select what preset/frequency you want on the alarm setting screen, it actually sets the radio only to a preset (preset 1, 2, etc) rather than the actual frequency of the station. If you haven't synced your presets, it'll tune to the default frequency, which in my area is nothing but static. Obviously, you probably won't be changing your radio presets very often, but after a power outage or whatnot there will be at least three sync actions to perform. That being said, this is something that could easily be improved by an update to the memory loader app.
The time is synced by pressing a button on the front of the clock. I actually like this feature because I like to set my alarm clock a couple minutes ahead and it won't be reset every time I adjust the alarm settings.
The events setting is pretty much useless. It seems as though it only will display events from the address book (birthdays... and that's pretty much it). It does not display events from the calendar. Again, this seems like something an update to the app could fix.
As far as the dock itself, it seems adequate to accommodate just about any configuration of ipod/iphone and whatever case you may have. There is about 1/3 of an inch space on each side of my iphone 4 sans case, and a small support beam that can be raised or lowered to support the back of the device. Once in place my iphone has a fair bit of wiggle room and is not seated particularly firmly, but it works well enough.
The display is back-lit and is a bit bright. The snooze button doubles as a dimmer button and there are three brightness settings. The brightest is too bright for me at night, but the lowest setting isn't bad and still very readable during the daytime. The volume is also more than adequate. The default volume level of 13 is way too loud, I turned mine down to 9... the thing is right next to my head. Sound is also pretty decent for a dinky little speaker in an alarm clock.
Overall, I love this thing. You can customize all your alarm settings, then plug your iphone in and sync it. Either alarm 1 or 2 will play from the ipod, buzzer, or radio, and either of them can be set for whichever days of the week you wish. You can even customize the length of the snooze. In my research this is easily the most, and easiest, customizable alarm clock I've seen. Panasonic iPod/iPhone Compact Clock Radio, AM/FM Radio, Dual Alarm and Clear Vision Sound (Black)
OK, so if one thing you hate about clock radios is locating and holding down buttons this is for you. Once you download the free App-store App called MemoryLoader, you can drive this whole thing from your iPhone app. It can set the time/date, load 10 radio presets, and change Alarm settings (by day of the week)just by syncing. When your phone is in the dock it charges and plays tunes (of course) but you can also change between radio channels by tapping the phone. You pretty much don't have to use the buttons on the clock unless you want to. Power goes out...no problem...just sync the time again off your phone and then sych your presets and alarms again. It does have a battery backup (battery not included) but I don't see why you need one. The sound quality is no Bose but thats not what I bought it for... its a clock radio.
Positive: well made device, fits iPhone4 with the case on it (at least mine), great sound and reception, very convenient and easy set up thru the Apple store free application, nice features and look, small size, easy to read the screen at any angle, good price, nice packing.
Negative: nothing really, except may be the backup battery CR2023 is not included, but that's a minor inconvenience.
This is easily the best alarm clock I've ever owned.
To put things lightly, I am not a morning person AT ALL. Finding an effective alarm clock is one of the more difficult purchases I ever have to make. This clock is GREAT.
Some people complain about the display being too bright. As far as I am concerned, they are nuts. How that display could be distracting when your eyes are closed is beyond me. Then again, I tend to fall asleep with the TV on and I have no problems sleeping during the day.
I love that I can now charge my phone next to my bed without having to use my sync cable and no other adapters are needed. The only reason I give this clock four stars out of five is because it can be difficult to seat the phone on the 30 pin connector in the dark because the phone sits in the cradle at a slight angle.
Others have said that the phone sits in the cradle a little loosely. That's actually a good thing because I do not need to take my phone out of its case in order to charge it or sync the times. I currently use an ifrogz case with my phone, and I've tried it with some of the available bumpers, and I can keep my phone in all of them while it charges in the dock.
The ability to set which days the alarm has to go off is great. I don't know how many Saturdays have been rudely started because I forgot to disable the alarm the night before.
Being able to set the alarm with the app on the phone is great, too. No more accidentally setting the alarm for PM because I forgot what that stupid little dot symbolizes when the alarm is set at night.
Speaking of the App, the first time I set the phone into the cradle, the clock recognized that the app was not installed and displayed a pop up on the phone that took me to the application's download page in the App store right away. Programming the radio presets was the only part that wasn't 100% intuitive for me.
The speakers on this thing are amazing. I've never owned an alarm clock where the radio was actually listen-able before this clock. The music comes in LOUD and CLEAR. Quite impressive for the size of the unit. The music isn't tinny at all and the speakers do an impressive job of duplicating the bass in certain music. I may actually replace some of the stereos in my house with more of these clocks.
If I could change one thing about the functionality of the clock and its features, I would like to be able to set the audio source to one of the various music applications on my iPhone. Let me pick a station on Slacker or Pandora or some other station. Or, let me pick the song the that starts playing when I use the iPod as the music source. It starts playing with the last song you listened to.
I would also add in a Micro USB cable to charge phone accessories such as Bluetooth headsets or extended battery packs. - Clock Radio - Alarm Clock - Docking Station - Ipod Dock System'
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