Customer Reviews for Philips - SmartSleep Wake-up Light - White/Gray
Customer Rating
4
Quite Pleased
on January 2, 2014
Posted by: SleepyHead32
Gender:Male
Purchased this product to help me wake up during the long, dark hours of winter. Works great; very pleased with all its options. Not the easiest to toggle through all the options, but it can be figured out.
This alarm clock is delightful. It is the best representation of a simulated sunrise I have seen. There is one drawback and I think it could be easily resolved. Unlike most other dual alarm alarm clocks, the alarm has no setting for days of the week, so every time you turn off the alarm in the morning you have to re-enable it for the next day. I forgot to do this once and almost slept in but luckily woke up anyway.
I had high hopes for this product, since dawn simulation and waking to light was what I was after. But I ended up returning it because:
1) When fully on, it wasn't bright enough to wake me and didn't feel like the sun but more like a bright flashlight.
2) The controls on this were REALLY annoying to use. They are teeny tiny pinprick buttons along the curved edge of the glass, spaced oddly and off-center so that you have to feel around for them and they all feel the same so you can't tell which one you're touchng. Also, setting up the alarm required a complex sequence for which I needed the manual each time and had to scroll through a lot of menus.
I wish Phillips would re-design this and up the brightness to a full 10,000 lux sunrise lamp -- perhaps floorstanding -- still with the warm color change of this product. When fully on, I'd want the light to look like sunlight (not blue) and Phillips needs to completely redesign the control interface -- either by putting an old-fashioned radio-alarm button layout on the base of the unit if it's a table-top unit, or if it's a floor-standing unit then perhaps a wireless connection to a remote or iPhone alarm clock -- those are really easy to set and use.)
Pros: size cost and concept
Cons: not bright enough, a pain to set turn on and turn off
Does not illuminate ceiling or other parts of room
on August 8, 2013
Posted by: ThosP
Gender:Male
I probably should have tried the older model (HF3470) which casts light in all directions. I sleep on my side and if facing away from the HF3520 it doesn't provide much illumination to my eyes. While the LUMINANCE rating (250 lux# of the 3470 model is slightly lower than for the 3520 #300 lux#, the 3520 provides that luminance only directly in front of it, and the 3470 clearly provides a higher LUMINOUS FLUX #measured in lumens#, though I have not found the actual numbers. The older model probably illuminates the ceiling and other walls much more than the newer model. The clock display is too small for me. The edge controls aren't that easy to use, nor are the front controls. It is shaped like a sealed-beam headlight and is pretty tipsy. So I returned this unit, and pulled a cheap digital plug-in timer out of my junk box and connected it to a bedside lamp that points at the ceiling. That works great. It doesn't gradually increase in brightness as do the Philips units, but it still wakes me up quite gently in comparison to an alarm. The "click" of the timer turning on is more disturbing than the sudden light. I also have an old Android phone that I use as a bedside clock #full screen bedside clock app# and I use the Alarm Droid app as a great alarm. It ramps up #over a user selectable time# some nature sounds to wake me up #from an album of nature sounds I purchased). I prefer birds, and they start after the light has been on for 15 minutes. I leave the light and alarm it set for the same time 7 days a week since I want to maintain the same body sleep/wake cycle, so having to set two units is no problem since I never change them.
Cons: does not illuminate ceiling or other parts of room, controls difficult to use, display too small, expensive
I have wanted a wake-up light alarm clock for quite some time and must say that this model has not disappointed in its functionality. The light and sounds are perfect and everything is very adjustable to the user's personal preferences. My only complaint would be that the buttons around the edge of the light are not the most intuitive nor are they very big so it takes a while to get used to them.