This unit appeared to do everything I needed. I was initially pleased with it, but then it intermittently locked up and I missed several alarms therefore making the alarm function unreliable. I investigated on the internet and discovered it was a known issue and the firmware code has to be upgraded from 1.05 which the unit came with, to 1.07. You can easily download the files to your laptop, but you cannot use a USB stick to perform the upgrade; you have to use a flash card. If you do not have a flash card and a compatible flash card slot on your laptop, you are completely stuck and as I had neither, I contacted Sony.
The Sony USA site says if you don't have flash card access, they will send you a flash card with the latest code on it, but they will not send it outside of the USA. The UK Sony support said...........try and find another laptop and refused to help me!! I insisted on complaining to a manager and after hearing nothing for two weeks, I had a phone call advising me that I was lucky they still had some spare flash copies of the latest code and they would send me one.
I offered to send it back after I had upgraded and they declined.
The unit has not locked up again as yet (but it has only been a week) but I still get a message saying my iphone 3gs is not compatible when I plug it in and try to charge it, even though it still charges!
Last complaint.......it is a dust magnet.
On the plus side, it is nice to have a unit to plug your phone in to charge overnight. The display is big and easy to read and the screen goes black at night leaving the very dimmed time still visible. The unit does not continually buzz or hum. You can set 2 alarms, turn them on and off and adjust the times easily. You can set the alarm to wake up to the radio, your iphone or nature sounds etc, a nice choice.
So this is not a unit to not buy, it is just one that you need to be aware of all the issues so you are not disappointed.