The best alarm clock yet

Clunky, fussy, hard to dial in a station, poor sound, annoying buzzer or radio. This describes a regular alarm clock to a tee. Not any more with the iHome IH5. Now you can awake to the sounds of your iPod, the music you want to hear when you wake up.

Your iPod plug into the top of the IH5 just like practically any docking station, when not in use it also charges your iPod. Two flat controls, (that mimic the look of the click wheel on your iPod) are located on either side of the IH5 control the volume and the other controls the radio tunning. Buttons in the middle set the alarm time, wake to, sleep, snooze, and modes. Less used controls like; time set, and daylight savings times options are located on the back. An optional remote is available to control volume, on/off, and also song selection on the iPod. Unless you have the remote, you must use the iPod itself to change songs/playlists.

The IH5 is BY FAR the best sounding alarm clock I have ever heard. They use a technology called "reason 8" to improve bass. I have no idea what reason 8 is, but it seems to work. Its not going to replace your home theater system, or that big stereo in your living room, but it certainly will rival most bookshelf systems.

There has to be a down side to everything, and the IH5 is not an exception. There are two issues with the IH5, and while on the surface seem like small things, in reality; they are holding the IH5 back from being the ultimate alarm clock. First is the brightness level of the display. Now, there are 3 different light setting on the IH5, but even on the dimmest setting, it still annoys me at night. I cover up the clock with something before I go to bed. On its brightest setting I could probably use it to read. The other problem is the gradual volume increase when the alarm goes off. At first I though, nice, no more blaring, jolting, alarm clock. I couldn't be more wrong. The IH5 goes from zero volume to full volume in about 5 seconds. So 3 seconds after you've awoke, you're leaping for the volume control. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but not so different than a conventional alarm clock.