Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock HF3500/01 with Sunrise Simulation

I LOVE IT! Ok originally I bought a 'sunrise' wake up light from another company - HORRIBLE everything people wrote (negative) proved to be right. I sent it back the next day. Then I saw this light from a name brand that I DO 'know' and I prayed HARD that it would be ok. It surpassed my prayers. It's not as 'pretty' as the 'sunrise' clock - BUT you can 'read' and understand the directions (I'm mechanically inclined, but Sunrise clock did not explain directions very well at all)... I tried this Philips wake up for two nights and I absolutely LOVE it. Directions were clear, the 'settings' were VERY easy and LOL. I don't 'need' or want Wifi, or radio..... So that also makes it absolutely perfect for me. I was going to take it with me to help wake me up in a hotel on a trip I am going to in a few weeks. BUT I'm afraid it may break if I take it soooo I may decide to buy another one for the trip before I leave. I DO know you all will be soooo much happier with this clock! No negatives (for me) that I have found on this clock - except that I DO wish it was a tad bigger as I put it on my desk a few feet away (I don't want it on my table near my bed, I want it 'facing' me)! Thank YOU.

I’ve been using this clock for my son since he started school three years ago and it’s fantastic. Really helps with the mornings. I just don’t understand why it’s a hundred dollars more now than it was then. They really need to do something about sellers doing that on here. The type of light and the gradualness it comes in with is perfect. I also love that the clock numbers are dimmable and red. It’s easy enough to set and check that you’ve set the alarm for the right time. It just should still be under fifty dollars.

Great clock that wakes you gently out of a deep sleep. You can make it very bright or as dim as you want. I do have trouble on occasion setting the time. I always end up on military time and have trouble getting it back to normal time. As far as value for the money, it was a gift and I know for sure that my son did not pay $120.00 for a clock. I've had it for several years now and it always did a great job of waking me for work.

I have had several different versions of wake-up light over the years and I think this has to be one of the best. It is relatively small, very light in weight, simple to operate - two buttons on the sides, one for adjusting the clock and one for adjusting the display brightness and four buttons on the front - one for the light level, a plus button and a minus button and the alarm button. It doesn't have a conventional bulb - it is an LED and will apparently never need replacing which is big bonus. My last wake up light had all sorts of extras which I found I never used so I decided it was time to opt for something simple and this is perfect for its purpose and can be used as a bed side light as well as a wake up light. I have always found that waking up to a gently increasing light much better for me than a shrill alarm with no warning. It means I wake up gradually and am ready to face the day by the time the alarm goes off. It is rare for me to not be awake before the back up buzzer sounds. If you're looking for a new bedside light or a new alarm clock then I recommend this one.

The positive: * The whole 'wake up with light' thing: much gentler than a 'sound' alarm clock and very effective for me (I'm a light sleeper). * Lovely clean light colour, warmer than I expected from an LED * LED lamp means low power consumption * Clean, simple design * Ability to dim the light and use it as a reading lamp without disturbing husband * Change the light brightness without turning the light on * Easy to set up using the quick start guide - I didn't have the problems that some people had with it. * Simple to turn the alarm off - one button to turn it on/off, which also effectively stops the alarm in its tracks pre-beep if you don't want to wake up other people (husband). * Simpler controls than the HF3505 (next model up), and the buttons don't light up (unlike the next model). Advantages over the Lumie 250 (why I bought this instead): * Sunrise only (I didn't want the Lumie's sunset, and you can't turn it off) * You can turn the alarm and sunrise completely off, e.g. for in summer (you can't with the Lumie) * Alarm does not need re-arming every day (unlike the Lumie) Negative things I was prepared to live with: * You can't turn the display completely off at night - I put a cardboard flap over the display because even on its darkest setting it's still pretty bright. (NB the Lumie 250 *does* let you have the display totally dark at night.) * You can't choose to use either just the alarm noise or just the light to wake up by (partial workaround: turn the light brightness right down the night before, to turn the light nearly off). * Short cable; about a metre * No battery back-up, loses the time if the power goes off, starts flashing when the power comes back on. This means you can't easily carry it from room to room if you're like me and you often decamp to the sofa in the middle of the night, and if you get a small-hours power cut you're going to be woken up by the display flashing. * Easy to pick up, but not very stable if you aren't holding it. Slides around easily. * Kind of expensive Negative things that nearly made me return the light: * Continual faint fizz from the transformer in the plug. This is not audible to everyone: my husband, who doesn't hear higher frequencies, can't hear it. But I needed to muffle the transformer. * In the time display, the : dividing hours from minutes blinks every second - it's not just light all night, it's lit up and flashing. The flash is intrusive even from behind the cardboard flap I taped on the display. I tippexed over the : , which works but doesn't do anything for the appearance of the light. Great idea, but sadly let down by easily avoidable design flaws and cheap components. Dear Philips, please: * let the display be turned completely off at night * make the foot grippier * remember the time if the device is unplugged * use a more powerful transformer that won't hiss

I managed to get it while it was at £30 which was an amazing deal. The light often wakes me up feeling refreshed, but often times the beeper is what actually wakes me up fully. However, I do feel it's easier to wake up now than when using normal alarm and your eyes are already mostly adjusted to the light so you are softly awakened. The fact that when you want to wake up the room is filled with light every day is great. I am very glad to have found the method of dimming the clock/display after reading a comment on here, as it was way too bright before, projecting bright orange light throughout the room at night. All you have to do is press the button on the left side on the stand, and there are 4 brightness options which you can cycle through by pressing it. Overall I would highly recommend this alarm clock but I personally would not have bought it at the full price.

Placed in the right part of your bedroom at the right angle, and set at the right brightness level for you (1-10), this really does work well at gently preparing your eyes (body) for waking up when the alarm goes off. You may have already started waking with the light. The alarm gets louder as it goes off too, so not too frightening. However you have not control over the alarm level or sound, which is our greatest regret. Believe you can buy newer models where you have some control over this - such as using your own sounds or bird song for example. That's our only gripe. But overall this has changed our lives in the morning, as we have to wake early and winter is impossibly hard. So impressed that our 9 year old daughter now has one and although it doesn't always get her ready for waking up, she now (two-thirds of the time) will be rousing or awake rather than us having to spend half an hour trying to wake her up.

I was initially very sceptical of this alarm clock....I thought the wake up light range of alarm clocks were nothing but a fad, and a fairly expensive one at that. How very wrong I was. I've set the light to come on half an hour before the gentle alarm goes off, and it works wonders.....my mornings seem easier and I'm sure I'm not so grumpy as I used to be!! It's very easy to set up, and the clock brightness and the morning light brightness can all be set to the desired level. My only complaint would be that it's mains charged with no battery option....so if there is a power cut, the clock resets as you'd expect. That aside, this was a fantastic purchase that is still going strong.....I may invest in the next model up very soon.