Sony ICF-C17PJ Clock Radio product reviews

For those of us who still prefer an actual alarm clock to a cell phone alarm this is one tricked out clock. After quite a lot of research we settled on this model then had to find out if we could even get it in New Zealand, luckily we could. On paper it looked like everything we could want and more, in real life it certainly hasn't let us down. It is small and compact while looking modern, external devices can be connected via a 2.5mm stereo plug so you aren't limited in what music you can listen to. It would appear however that you can't use this as an option to wake up to.

A digital tuner was a must for us after years of not quite being able to get our old alarm exactly on the station half the time, as a result we can now have multiple stations tuned in, although we stick with just the one. The ability to have two alarms set at the same time is good as well and something on our wish list. This alarm takes it one step further with the ability to choose if the alarm is for weekday or weekend operation, or both, very handy for those of us who forget to reset it on Sunday night.

The ability to turn the back light off is perfect for us, I used to throw something over the alarm as I wasn't keen on it lighting up the entire room and when the alarm comes on the back light goes on dim so you can see the time. There is the added gimmick of being able to project the time onto a surface such as the wall or ceiling, this is focusable and shows which alarms (if any) are set, I'm not sure how much use this feature will get but it's fun none the less.

A few of other extras include the indoor temperature sensor which is on the end of the FM antenna and displayed on the screen. The unit is also dubbed the dream machine as it has a number of nature sounds which you can either wake to or go to sleep to, the sleep setting can be changed between 30, 60 and 90 minutes. The cell battery enables the time and alarms to be kept in the event of a power cut and there is an on screen low battery warning. If the power is cut over the normal alarm time the alarm will sound which gives piece of mind to those who rely heavily on an alarm.

The only downfall is probably the speaker, that said, it is an alarm clock, not a full surround sound system and it performs this task adequately. It is a little expensive, especially if you're just after something to get you out of bed in the morning and aren't bothered by the extras, but if you keep an eye out you're bound to be able to pick up one (or two) on special as we did.