PHILIPSWake Up Light, White, 5 Natural Alarm Sounds

We bought this to replace the £100 Lumie Bodyclock Advanced 200, which lasted for 6 years but didn't survive its first bulb failure. There were things we loved about the Lumie - the subtleness of the light, the 'sunset' feature - but there were also things that were surprisingly awful: the clock gained about 30 seconds every day, setting it up felt like using a digital watch from the 80s, and the whole thing felt flimsy and badly made, and worth nowhere near the asking price.The Philips has all the strengths of the Lumie and none of the weaknesses. It feels like a premium product (as it should for this money), with a reassuring weight and obvious build quality. The sunset/sunrise feature is if anything better graduated than the Lumie, and the change in colour tone, although I thought it might be a gimmick, in fact adds to this and makes the sunrise feel more natural and less abrupt, although we never used to think the Lumie was poor in this regard. The LEDs that the Philips uses appear to be just as effective, if not more so, than the halogen lamp that the Lumie relied on, and we're hoping will also have a reasonably lengthy life, since I don't think they can be replaced.The user interface is much more fitting for a £100 clock - it boasts a dimmable display that appears to float on the surface of the clock, and four tiny LED marker lights for the principal controls, which increase in brightness as your finger approaches the clock. We've got more options in the way of sunrise/sunset times, and two independent alarms. There are apparently a host of bird noises it will emit as the light comes on, but you should be reassured that these can be silenced, and the wake-up effect of the sunrise is perfectly sufficient for getting us out of bed. The only feature which we miss from the Lumie (or at least haven't yet found on the Philips) is the automatic shut-off of the sunrise alarm, which happened approximately 10 minutes after reaching maximum illumination. This is particularly useful to prevent the bulb burning out if you forget to switch off the alarm whilst on holiday, and also if, like us, you have small children who occasionally wake you up and force you to begin your day before the sunrise alarm has come on...We've only had it a couple of weeks, and there are a few features we've not used, and probably never will (the built-in FM radio, aforesaid bird noises) but it feels like a luxury item and I sincerely hope that our very positive first impressions are borne out by long service. It's very expensive, but it's so good that you don't feel you've been fleeced. From our experience, definitely buy it over the equivalent Lumie.

I bought this model after poring through the reviews and asking several questions. In summary, I am extremely pleased with it. On the positive side, it's solidly made, has two separate alarm times, and has five different audio alarms, including radio. You can adjust the brightness and time of the sunrise, the type and max volume of the audio alarm, and it doubles up well as a bedside lamp. The menu controls are initially a tad bewildering, but once you understand the 'philosopy' of the menu, it's very straightforward. The birdsong alarm is very pleasant, and also ramps up in volume over a while.On the negative side, as some other reviewers have commented, the button to turn off the audible alarm and the light are fiddly and it's easy to press the wrong one if you wake up a little dozy and the light is shining in your eyes - if you do. the light goes off or the radio comes on or other annoyances you don't want to happen when you've just woken up. I've worked around this by using the no. 2 alarm (closest to me) for my weekday alarm and remembering that the alarm off button is at '2 o clock'. The birdsong alarm is very nice wo awaken to, but if you have it on a loud setting, you noticea fair bit of background noise.The instruction manual is mediocre. It's largely pictorial, and there is a lack of connection between what's shown in the pictures and what you are actually adjusting. If I I were to recommend changes to the design, I would suggest the radio and light functions be kept on the circumference of the globe, as they are, but that the 1 and 2 alarm on/offs be made touch sensors on the front face, respectively left and right of the time display and safely away from the string of touch sensors for the menu.All round, a good product and I gladly recommend it.