Philips HF3480 Wake-up Light

I'd been interested in a daylight alarm clock for some time and bought a different model produced by a different company. I was very impressed but had to return it due to a minor fault, expecting to get a replacement. I discovered, however, that the product had been discontinued and I was left without my light. I looked around for quite a while, reading various reviews on sites such as this and eventually plumped for this model as it had a significant discount. I did so with some trepidation as some of the reviews were quite negative.
Having got the product I have discovered that it does exactly what I expected to and it does it rather well. The buttons and functions are neither fiddly nor counter-intuitive (two criticisms read in reviews on this site), the various wake-up sounds are realistic (although possibly not all to everyone's tastes) and it does not wake up my partner, who gets up later than I do.
Most importantly, the light gently brings me up from deep sleep meaning that when the alarm goes off, I'm much closer to the surface and am not wrenched from deep sleep by a screeching mobile. The effect of this stays with me all day and I've found myself much more awake during the day as a result.
In short, I've found very few of the faults that many people reported and the product has done what I expected it to. I suspect, however, that fewer people review an item when it does what you expect than when it really fails to live up to those expectations.

On the box, it states that 80% of users find this wake up light gives a "more pleasant way to wake up." I guess I'm in the other 20% then. Every morning, I've set the alarm (using the radio as my wake up call) and every morning, I've woken with a jump when the radio comes on and find myself staring at a horrible bright light. So basically just the same as when I used my mobile for an alarm clock, except I didn't have a piercing light shining in my eyes. However, Philips do acknowledge that it doesn't work for everyone, and that's fair enough in my view. I just happen to be one of those people who doesn't find it effective.

I do actually quite like the design though, and it can be used as a bed side light, so having this with a combined radio is actually quite handy. I also use it as a conventional alarm clock, so that's quite good as well. However, there are still a number of features that annoy me about this wake up light.

Firstly, the dials which are used to adjust the radio station and the clock, in my opinion, turn the wrong way! If you want to advance the alarm clock or radio station, my instinct is to turn the dial clockwise. But oh no, this is different! These dials go in the opposite direction! It's a minor point, but it's just one of those little things that could so easily have been corrected at the design stage.

Secondly, the radio gives a hiss before actually tuning into the station. So I actually tend to be woken by a long blast of interference, before hearing some music from the radio. Many other radios don't have this problem, so why does this? Surely the radio could just be silent while trying to tune into the station?

Another minor annoyance is that the bulb flickers while going through the dimming cycle. I know this is what we've come to expect from energy saving bulbs, but for anyone who suffers from headaches from this, the flickering is quite pronounced. I don't personally suffer from it, but it can be annoying all the same.

My final grievance, for now, is actually the one that annoys me the most. The lamp is non-replaceable. Who's idea was that? All bulbs fail, some sooner rather than later. So when the bulb does fail, you're left with a very expensive alarm clock and no light. Philips say this is for safety reasons, but I reckon it is all about profit. If the bulbs fail, you have to buy a new wake up light. After all, some of the lights in the same range have user replaceable bulbs, so how can it be safe to replace those, but not the one in this?

This wake up light could have been so much better if the little things mentioned above had been considered and corrected. Even though it doesn't work for me, I'm willing to accept that there may be plenty of people who do find it useful. However, until Philips sort out the problems with it, I'd be very hesitant about buying this particular model.

I've been using this alarm for about 10 months. Prior to purchasing the alarm I was having great problems waking up on dark mornings and consequently being late for work. This alarm has worked wonders. The slow lighting really helps to you wake up gently.

But....

* ...the device is incredibly fiddly to use. Whoever designed the button/wheels and menu system needs sacking, it's just terrible and REALLY frustrating. e.g. If you need to turn the light on in the middle of the night you risk turning the radio on or entering the menu system!

* ...the nature sound are terrible. They sound great until you realise they're only a few seconds long and then repeat. Once you've heard the same frog crock & bird whistle for the tenth time in a minute, you start to go crazy. The other 3 sounds are ok but not great. After 10 months, I only use the radio function now (which only has a one station memory).

* ...the device emits a high-pitch electrical buzz even when the lamp is off. I've since found this relates to the LCD display and the buzz reduces if you set the LCD to it's dimmest (which renders it almost unreadable in day light).

* ...the high price. RRP of over £100 is just crazy.

When I got the alarm it came with a "money back guarantee is you're not satisfied" offer. I wish I'd taken the offer because I'm now thinking of replacing the device.