Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light HF3520/60

This is the second Philips SmartSleep Light i've owned. My first lasted me a LONG time; and waking up to light is a game changer in regard to overall sleep quality. No loud noises; you can choose a birdsong or your favorite radio station to ease you awake; and this is an option under the Menu; in case the emerging 'Dawn' doesn't do the trick. I've never had to use anything more than the light source. Many of my friends don't believe that a light can wake you! But I say they don't know what they are missing. Once you understand the science behind Dawn Simulation you will understand why this is best for your sleep - wake cycles. Especially in the dark winter months; you can train your body to still believe it's spring! Magically. I like all the Menu options available; you choose when and how you want to wake but one of the really amazing features of using a Dawn Simulator is that you are also able to use it as a Sunset at night when you may want to read in bed to relax you into sleep. This is a unique and amazing feature; you set the timer for Sunset; and tuck yourself into bed - the light is brighter and very very gradually begins to fade into 'sunset' and dark. Your brain is easily and happily relaxing into sleep! I love this feature. The clock comes with a very easy to understand User Manual - and there are several Timers options you can use as well. The color quality of the Philips is excellent; soothing and bright IF you want it to be - you make the choices as to the amount of brightness you need or want. I'd HIGHLY recommend this product.

I purchased this because I'm not a morning person, and I live in a northern state where it's still pitch dark outside when I'm supposed to get up for work. So far, this alarm clock has been a godsend! I'll be honest, I was skeptical at first. Plus, let's face facts... this is a lot of money to spend on an "alarm clock." But I had such a hard time waking up in the morning in the winter, that I decided to take a chance and figured I'd send it back if I didn't like it. I'm throwing away the packaging this weekend. :) Here's some random thoughts and observations about the unit: * I love how the dimmest light settings are reddish. This more closely mimics real sunrise/sunset and helps promote proper circadian cycles. * I use the Dusk Simulation feature every night now. As I said, I'm not a morning person. Instead, I'm a night person and often get a "second wind" when I should be winding down for the night. Whenever I can climb into bed for the night, I put the dusk simulation feature on the lowest light setting (1) with a 30 minute countdown. It slowly fades to darkness over the 30 minutes, and it honestly does seem to help me fall asleep better. * In the middle of the night, if I need to wake up and do something, I turn on the light at the lowest setting (1) which doesn't wake me up as much, but is still plenty of light for digging through the nightstand drawer, or whatever. * I have the alarm set to start turning on the light 30 minutes before the alarm time. So if I need to get up at 06:30, the light will come on at 06:00 and slowly brighten. I've found that I've been waking up around 06:10 or 06:15 because of the light, but not fully awake. Very similar to slowly waking up when the sun rises in the summer. It's much less jaring on me than pitch darkness broken by a piercing alarm, followed by the snooze button. It feels much more natural and I don't get jolted awake in complete darkness feeling crabby anymore. * Ever feel too tired and wish you could tell the sun to shove it and go back down for awhile? You can do that with this alarm clock. A couple mornings, I was just too darn tired to want to wake up naturally, so you can turn off the light but not turn off the alarm. So let's say the light wakes me up around 06:10 and I don't feel hippy enough to wake up naturally, I want to tell the light to shove off, I just turn off the light and go back to sleep. The alarm sound still goes off at 06:30 as scheduled. * I like the "nature" alarm sounds and how they gradually increase in volume over the first 5-10 seconds. My wife was convinced those sounds would be too "pleasant" to actually wake us up, but they do. If you're the type that absolutely would sleep through loud birds chirping and flutes playing, you can choose to wake up to the radio instead. * I wish it had an AM radio. I live in the boondocks and only get 10 FM stations. Oh well, not a huge issue, just something I wish was different. * I love how the time display automatically brightens or dims with the room's ambient light. So you can actually set the clock display to the lowest brightness setting and it will be nice and dim while sleeping, yet you can still read the time during the middle of the day. * When we first unboxed the unit, my wife and I thought it looked like some kind of crazy Apple product. All weird and high-tech looking. I was worried it wouldn't fit in on our night stand. No worries though, once I got it in place, all we really see is the front of the unit, and it blends into our decor just fine. * It's not a substitute lamp. I mean, yes, you can use it as a lamp. But it's not really a lamp replacement. It doesn't brighten the whole room or area like a true lamp with shade will. If you have a lamp on your nightstand already, don't expect this to replace it. * Sometimes I put the Dusk Simulator on for 45 minutes, and I'll lay in bed and read a book on my Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi . I'll have the Paperwhite's light set to 5 and the alarm clock's light set to either 2 or 1 on the 45 minute countdown, and read for 20-30 minutes to help unwind and get sleepy. It's awesome! * When you turn off the alarm in the morning, the light stays on. You have to push a second button to turn off the light. I actually like this feature a lot. Like I said, where I live, it's pitch dark outside when I wake up. Having the light on helps me not to just fall back asleep by accident, and it also helps for actually getting out of the bed and seeing where I'm going. :)

When I first got this lighted alarm clock I loved it. It makes waking up each morning much easier. By the time the radio comes on my room is well lit from the light making it less tempting to push snooze and fall back asleep. However, after two months it stopped working. The light has never been dropped, nothing has spilled on it, and the cord is still completely intact (it hasn't been bent but it still won't work). One day it just shut off. If I hold the appliance in my hand, and hold the connection point where the power adapter meets the appliance, sometimes I can get it to turn on for a minute or so before it shuts off again. I've thoroughly inspected the cord and it looks completely intact. I can only surmise that there is some issue with the connectivity to the power device. The amazon return window has expired but it is under warranty so I figured no problem. I have called them repeatedly but to no avail. The number listed in the manual is for a Phillips electric toothbrush and they told me they couldn't help me. They then gave me another number to try: this one was for a Phillips photoframe. They gave me another number. The last one was an automated system that would give me the option of speaking to a representative, but then it would never connect me to anything other than voicemail. I left a message, no call back. Extremely frustrating. Great product, I'm assuming the issue was a little glitch, possibly fixable with a new powercord, but since I cannot get ahold of them it is worthless. If they ever contact me and fulfill my warranty I will update this review and give it a rating based on it's performance but since it currently does not function and I cannot get ahold of anyone I cannot recommend it to anyone. *****Updated****** After struggling to get in touch with anyone on the customer service end through the numbers provided in the manual, I tried going directly through their website. It took some navigation but eventually I was able to do a direct chat with a customer service representative and after a little bit of purchase verification, (make sure you keep the serial number and everything so you can verify if you have problems!) they were able to help me. They told me that the warranty only covers the actual clock and not the power source, which looking online it is actually a fairly common problem with this product. That said, they did agree to replace the cord at no cost but did tell me it wasn't part of the warranty and that they wouldn't replace it again. So I guess in some sense I still have doubts about whether they have replaced other peoples' cords for free. I do love the clock though. I've had quite some time, I think about a year now, and I still love it. I do have doubts about the flimsy cord holding up, but I can't imagine not having a lighted alarm clock, especially during winter months.

I'm really happy with this product. I found setting the clock and alarm quite intuitive. I like the feature of a 30-minute sunset, as it gives me time to get into bed and sort myself while still having light but I don't have to get up to switch my bedroom light off and turn my room into instant blackness. Love the peaceful descent into slumber. The light can get as bright as you want it - to me it simulates the sun. They say there are 3 colours to choose from but you can't choose. The light is more red and orange at low light and slowly becomes yellow as the light gets brighter. At first I was disappointed that there wen't any colour options but now I'm not sure I would use multiple options, as I would want to simulate natural light as much as possible. Some have commented there is no battery in case the power goes out. While this is true in a sense, I can say that when the power returns, the clock doesn't need to be reset - it keeps the time and alarms that were stored before it lost power. I'm not sure how long it keeps the settings before it needs to be reset. I unplugged it for an hour and everything was as before when I plugged it back in. So I'm happy with that. The radio is a decent quality. Not powerful but also not like listening to something in a tin can. Can also deliver a little bit of bass, so no complaints there. Very happy with this purchase.

Muy buen producto, si ayuda a despertar, pero es necesario tenerlo cerca de la cama. Buenos sonidos, buen nivel de luminosidad, y buena calidad. Tiene dos alarmas, yo una la uso para días laborales y la segunda para fines de semana. Las rayas en el video no se ven en persona.

Horribly expensive here in India. But cheaper than an air fare. I bought my original, glass, model (this one is plastic) in UK, but, after some years its buttons are failing. It is part of my wake-up life. Don't know how I could live without it. And, as I said, cheaper than an air fare. Is it worth it to YOU? At this price, probably not.

Ya llevo meses desde que lo utilizo y me encanta. Siento que cada mañana despierto de forma suave y natural y por ser un despertar lento no me duelen los ojos al abrirlos. También me encanta usarlo como lámpara, su luz cálida y suave me recuerdan mucho a las velas y en las noches es una buena opción para meditar si se activa el modo de apagado automático. Una compra qué realmente vale la pena realizar.

普段は朝日で目覚めるので、除雪や早朝出勤のために、冬の日の出前に起きるのが大変でした。 使った初日から、朝日で起きるのと同じ感覚で目覚めることができました。 大変いい商品です。