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- menus freeze & take a while to load next sub-menu.- so far media streaming does not work with WMP12 for windows 7 beta (talking to support for update/fix).- time hangs when alarm goes off, does not re-sync with auto-updated time until alarm is turned off.- several times while trying to add station to favorites whole clock froze & was forced to reset.
ABSOLUTE BEST purchase I have made in the past year. This particular product was recommended to me by a friend and I have thanked him several times for his input. Works perfectly, sounds great, no interference with anything else I have (IPphone, Cable Modem, Wireless printer, wireless laptop). If you live in a house with a RADIANT BARRIER you live in a space that signals have trouble penetrating so this is a perfect solution. My wife likes to get music from foreign countries and I like to add Big Band Swing from the United States to my favorites. For you engineers, I haven't noticed ANY reduction in my bandwidth from my Cable Modem from COMCAST and I have the Aluratek Internet Radio ON ALL DAY while I'm doing my business on-line.
Then I set up connectivity to my network. You can also add stations not listed if you know the URL but they need to stream MP3 or WMA, it does not play Real Audio format stations.The alarm clock is configurable to wake to any audio source on specific day(s) of the week and at a specific volume level -- no more missing an alarm because the volume you fell asleep to was too low.It can also play MP3 files stored on a USB drive. The price made it a viable solution since most other Internet radios cost much more and have less features.Initial setup was fairly straight forward. Plus it can play MP3 and WMA files stored on a USB drive or via WiFi on a home PC.
The lowest level is still way too bright. I ended up doing what other people have done and covered the display with a piece of 5% window tint. I hadn't even considered an Internet radio until I saw the AIRMM01F with it's integrated clock and dual alarms. Since my home WiFi network includes WEP security and MAC filtering I had to use the advanced setup mode to configure it. You'll also need a USB drive to update the firmware.
There are three brightness levels -- Bright, Brighter and Brightest. I had read about it needing a firmware update to fix problems so that was the first thing I did. But after adding the radio's MAC address to my router and entering the WEP shared key, the radio was able to connect without problems.It took a while before the radio showed up in the Windows Media Player shared device list. This is a problem if you fall asleep using pillow speaker.
I was looking for a replacement for my old clock radio after the CD player died. The headphone jack is essential to me because I like to fall asleep to the radio through pillow headphones.Now the flaws:The main problem with this radio is the back light which is way too bright to be used at bedside. This is a major design flaw since the nightstand is a common place for clock radios. You can set it to turn off the display after a period of time, but this means the clock display is turned off too. After registering your radio's MAC address and creating an account, you can browse stations and add them to one or more favorites lists. Even my old cheap-o clock radio played the alarm through the speaker when the headphone jack is used.There is major delayed response time when you click buttons to navigate through the menu when playing the FM radio.For some reason the sleep timer intermittently won't allow you to set it or it will only set to 15 or 30 minutes.A minor annoyance is the loud clicking sound of the buttons on top of the unit. So now I don't even need a CD player in the bedroom.
I listen via headphones in bed and the button clicks wake up my wife. It also sometimes takes a couple of attempts to connect to the "Media Server" but this could be due to the HDD on my PC in sleep mode and takes a while to spin back up.You can add favorite stations through the radio but I found it easier to do through the web site http://aluratek.vtuner.com. The radio then connects to your account and lists the favorites you selected. I used a static cling tint that can easily be removed.If you use the headphone jack the alarm won't sound through the speaker. The work around is to use the remote control which is silent.Some other things to consider before buying:*No AM tuner*FM tuner is not HD*Mono sound unless you connect to an external device.If Aluratec ever fixes the flaws this will be a great clock radio.
Purchased Aluratek AIRMM01 Internet Radio Alarm Clock - Very happy I did. Wished I knew how to pronounce Aluratek. To get max benefit of Aluratek radio, you really need the added speakers.
Offers thousands of stations but I use only Smooth Jazz and New Age from sky.fm. Be sure - as others have said - to update to current operating system. Has a few "bumps" in terms of operating system, but once the "undocumented features" are understood, would not give the product up.
Purchased to use USB drive for my music collection, but the available radio stations make USB/MP3 feature unimportant. Took minutes to link to home wi-fi. Also purchased $35 logitech speaker set which gives great sound.
Plan to buy as gift for others. This is a sat radio killer.
Not a show stopper.2. Let me add some things others have not mentioned and some criticisms at the end. I actually use this radio more for MP3's than Internet radio stations. All of these are too bright to get any sleep. But I am used to an alarm clock where the backlight is very dim but readable at night. The latest firmware allows you to add your stations from [.]. You CAN add your own stations.
Once you add it in go to the favorite folder on the radio and there it is. This feature works without a hitch (I've added 10 new stations so far).2. I agree with all the positive reviews here so I won't repeat what they have said. There is NO dim backlight setting. You get bright, brighter, and "Suntan mode" bright. You can turn the backlight off and you can set a timer to have it turn off within a minute. This isn't the end of the world but I advise you to keep the remote with the radio at all times.Besides those two complains (and they are small nitpicky complaints) I like this radio. The network key can only be entered via remote.
Comments:1. The remote. I can connect over my network to my Maxtor Shared Storage drive and play my MP3's off of it (the Maxtor has a media server on it). This also works very well and no problems.Complaints:I have two complaints.1. The remote works fine but if you LOSE it you will have lost your ability to connect to another network that requires a key (open wifi doesn't but home networks do normally). It sounds good and works well so far.
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