Innovative & User Friendly, 1 Nov 2004

I bought it because I wanted to record and download tracks from the radio and for this you will need to buy an SD card to record on to. Some SD cards have compatibility issues with The Bug and I was directed by their tech support to use a SANDISK card which works fine.

I also use an Apple Mac and wasn't sure if it was compatible but it is - you can't download software updates on to 'The Bug' via a Mac though so bear this in mind. Itunes works fine with the MP2 files The Bug stores tracks as too.

The Bug is very user friendly to anyone who uses computers or mobile phones and can do lots of useful things. It can act as an alarm clock so you can wake up to music and it also has the capacity for you to set recording times like you would a VCR. If you have a favourite radio show you can set it to record every week, or every night for example. It also has a pause and rewind feature which is brilliant for when you hear a track and you want to record it - simply rewind the radio to the start of the track and press record!

This is the kind of machine that has been built and designed for music lovers and I can't see the recording industry neccesarily enjoying the fact that you can now record tracks off the radio and have them on your computer or MP3 player in almost real time!

Only flaw is that the central navigator button 'rocks' up and down, left and right but also has to be depressed to select an option. This means it is easy to turn the volume up or down when you really wanted to select a different station. It's a minor grumble but I expect later models to have a separate button for 'select'. A better screen would be nice too but these are just small quibbles when you consider the amazing things this radio can do.

I believe it's the only one on the market that you can record the radio on and then download to your computer and it's worth every penny just for that feature alone.

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Love Bug, 14 Jan 2006

It's easy to set up your favourites, and much easier to change stations within your favourites (up to 12) than some other DAB radios I've used.

I really like being able to record to SD card, the MP2 files play fine in iTunes, though I usually convert them to MP3 for playback in my iPod.

The pause/rewind feature is helpful if you want to hear a song again, or if you don't want to miss the beginning of a programme.

Waking up to different stations (at different times) at weekends and on weekdays is a great feature, I don't have to worry about re-setting my alarm on Friday night. But if you don't hit a button within an hour of the radio switching itself on, it'll turn itself off again, which is quite something to remember when you're half awake!

I agree with the reviewer who said that the control button can be a bit fiddly, especially when you want to turn the thing off and end up making it louder. I think that one of the software updates dealt with this, but I'm a Mac user and couldn't install them (which is a bit of a bugbear, since they've obviously been somewhat 'inspired' by Jonathan Ive's white iPod/iBook design.

But other than these minor gripes I would recommend The Bug to anyone who wants a digital radio that isn't just a boring box.

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