Clock radios and more

[Country Girl]

We need to replace some of our alarm clocks. Any recommendations? Do any of you use ones that have cell phone chargers and/or white noise machines? Thanks.

 

[Arks]

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!

 

[TheBeachHouse]

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!.

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!

For the same reason, we bought battery clocks. They don't take up electricity outlet space (in a small house) or cost of electricity. And they stay on when the power goes out.

 

[user 26]

Whatever you get, I hope it's the kind that can DIM the clock way down low. This is why guests like me will turn things to face the wall. Or drape them with a washcloth. I bring my own white noise machine with me. Gosh, I'm a fussy sleeper! Must have no lights and white noise.

 

[Innkeep]

I bought fancy alarm/clock/radio/iphone chargers to supplement the basic alarm clocks in each room. I don't believe anyone has ever used one of the fancy iphone docks, and, of course, about a year after I bought them the iphone changed the type of connection they used for charging, so I consider that experiment a total waste of money.
I would get a clock radio with the always the right time features, and just make sure you have plenty of outlets near the bed so they can plug in whatever they're charging.
If you want to try something just a little more elaborate, some of these clock-radios also have aux input plug that allows a cord to connect the ear phone jack of the phone to the radio speaker. You'd probably also have to provide those cords, but they're inexpensive and not real likely to walk off, this would be applicable for any brand of phone or MP3 player.

 

[Morticia]

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!.

Arks - do you have a brand name? None of our clocks reset and the power goes out regularly. (You might say like clockwork.)

 

[Tom]

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!.

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!

For the same reason, we bought battery clocks. They don't take up electricity outlet space (in a small house) or cost of electricity. And they stay on when the power goes out.
.

same here. Battery is good. We have power outages about 6 times a year.
And forget the special charger connections. I am installing a power strip for all the chargers folk bring, but leave that up to them.

 

[Arks]

I will ONLY buy the ones that set themselves automatically after a power outage. And I'm not talking about backup batteries. There are some models (I get them at Walmart) that always have the correct time and never need a battery change.
If the power goes off, they set to the correct time when it comes back on. A must. I'm not about to go fiddling with all those clocks every time the power blinks or the time changes to DST or back to standard time.!.

Arks - do you have a brand name? None of our clocks reset and the power goes out regularly. (You might say like clockwork.)
.

Arks - do you have a brand name?

The name is "SmartSet". The one I have on my own nightstand is about 5 years old and has been ideal, except the LED is kind of bright even on the "Low" setting. I paid about $20 for it.
I just bought 3 new ones for my new suites I'm opening soon. They are a different model of SmartSet, and the reviews I saw on them were not great. But they do set themselves after a power failure, and they use battery backup just to sound the alarm if the power's off when alarm time rolls around. The battery doesn't hold the time. It gets that automatically when it's plugged in, whether it has a battery in it or not.

 

[Generic]

I bought fancy alarm/clock/radio/iphone chargers to supplement the basic alarm clocks in each room. I don't believe anyone has ever used one of the fancy iphone docks, and, of course, about a year after I bought them the iphone changed the type of connection they used for charging, so I consider that experiment a total waste of money.
I would get a clock radio with the always the right time features, and just make sure you have plenty of outlets near the bed so they can plug in whatever they're charging.
If you want to try something just a little more elaborate, some of these clock-radios also have aux input plug that allows a cord to connect the ear phone jack of the phone to the radio speaker. You'd probably also have to provide those cords, but they're inexpensive and not real likely to walk off, this would be applicable for any brand of phone or MP3 player..

We switched last year to Sony ICFC-707 alarm clocks because the LED light could be turned off. They have a built in battery backup and they change for daylight savings automatically. There is a cable on the bottom for MP3 plays to be plugged in. A little hard for guests to figure out how to change the radio station (buttons at the back) or to change to buzzer (so we set it to buzzer and set up the FM radio). It has a room temperature setting, so they can see the temp in the room. So far, pretty happy with them.

 

[Samster]

It's 2015 - I think the guest expectation is to go with an upgrade from a basic alarm clock/radio.
There are lots of reasonably priced models on the market that have MP3 docks/chargers with clocks/radios. If you're in an area where you have other types of noise (urban noise, trains, etc.), you might want to spring for a model with sounds.
Unless you're trying to be upscale, I don't think you have to spring for the really fancy schmancy models with chargers, etc. but do plug your new devices into something with surge protection to protect your investment.