Philips TAR1609 Portable FM/AM radio with Internal Rechargeable Battery, AAA Battery & Crank Backup, Solar Power, Built-In LED Light & Torch for Camping, Hiking & Power Outages

I haven’t used all the features of this radio other than to test them but I’m impressed with the quality of sound in the radio. So easy to charge with all the options available - the windup feature is particularly easy to use and surprisingly efficient. The casing is sturdy.

A good small little radio. Good solar panel and wind up ability. Plus it can take AAA batteries. The ability to charge your phone is also a great addition. The torch is bright and the alarm is very loud. Got this at around £30 and was good value at that price.

The first thing I noticed when I picked up this radio was how sturdy and well made it felt. There are three options to power it; rechargeable battery (included), AA batteries, hand-crank power. Reception is good with the attached ariel and sound quality quite adequate. These is also a built in torch / SOS light.

For its size, this is a very good emergency radio. I wound it up with approximately 20 rotations of the wind-up handle and it provided at least 6 hours of continuous FM play. Sound quality for speech was clear and completely audible/understandable. Sound quality for music was acceptable (noting that music listening would not be the main objective of this radio as It is designed for emergency situations such when the big one happens with an extended period of no electricity supply and/or no batteries) . The little light at the top of the radio is equivalent to a pen sized torch light. The audible emergency sound is loud, probably in excess of 70 decibels. My only niggle is that the wind up handle could have been made sturdier as I suspect it would snap off if it were turned too quickly or used strenuously. All round however it is a very good practical design and fit for purpose. I will buy a second unit for the car.

This is a modern and stylish alarm clock. The clock is small but displays everything you would require from an alarm clock clearly day or night. Not as intuitive to set up as i would like but once the instructions have been read the functions are easy use. The screen can be dimmed for the evening and the snooze button is large and responsive for those lazy mornings. One of the best features is being able to choose one of your favourite radio stations as an alarm which is a nicer gentle wake up rather than a buzzing sound. Overall it looks great on your bedside table and works well.

This radio is a lots more expensive than those unknown brands but it really worths the extra cost. It is a well polished product, as you immediately feel it from the package to the build quality. The weight is well balanced, and light weight, easy to hold on hands. Speakers are good. Sound is clear; volume can go very soft for everyday use, to really loud for the SOS siren. I haven't done the stress test on the battery life though. If you have budget, I highly recommend this one. You will want the reliability in the case of emergency.

Brilliant emergency radio. Really good solar panel, the radio stays on for a good hour even after being on the windowsill for just one day. Light is ok too. Good Sony quality, sound not bad for a teensy speaker. Wind up is good too, easy to crank.

The Philips TAR4600 alarm clock has a fatal flaw- when you choose the radio as an alarm, the radio plays at FULL VOLUME! When the alarm is triggered, it starts to play very low (so as not to startle you), but then over the course of about 1 minute, the volume gradually increases to 100%. There is no way to set the volume when setting the alarm time, and the radio volume control is disabled when the alarm is active (to change the volume you'll have to turn off the alarm and then turn on the radio). I like to listen to the radio for a few minutes before I get out of bed, but not at FULL VOLUME! Due to this annoying feature, I will be returning the Philips. You may have noticed that there's a Sony alarm clock (XDR-C1DBP) that looks very similar to this Philips, but I can confirm they are very different models (I also own the Sony). The screens are very similar (probably manufactured in the same generic factory) and the dimensions are almost identical, but the speakers, buttons, USB chargers, and software are very different. The Sony is easier to use, but the Philips sounds better due to a larger speaker. However, over the past week the Sony failed to turn on the radio alarm on 2 occasions, and thus, didn't wake me. Luckily I also use Bluetooth lights with timers to help get me out of bed, so I wasn't late for work.