Philips Wake Up Light, White, 5 Natural Alarm Sounds

I'll try to make this helpful, as there are already so many reviews. The '3519' model is the one Amazon calls '5 natural alarm sounds', it is the cheapest of this type and it also has FM radio. After lots of reading and deliberation, I chose this model because it has all the features I particularly wanted: *Clinically proven/medical grade *Customisable settings *Two separate alarms *Battery backup (up to 8 hours) *Birdsong wakeup sound *Sunset (also customisable) *Option to turn the display completely OFF *Doubles up as a bedside lamp Other pros: It doesn't lose time [UPDATE: after 8 months and two power cuts, it lost 1 minute; I'm happy with that)]; you can change the time of the alarm without going through all the other settings; the light graduation is pleasant (both sunrise and sunset); and it's intuitive to use, which I hadn't expected from the negative reviews. In fact, the only functions I wouldn't have figured out without the instructions were how to demo the alarm/s, which buttons turn the alarm off whilst leaving it set for the next day (for me tapping Menu is easiest - if the display is off, it lights up again when your hand gets near); and toggling the feedback beep on or off. Everything else is easy to figure out straight out of the box. It may go without saying, but most importantly, it is a much more pleasant way to wake up than an alarm jolting you from your slumber. I have the light and sound set to well below max and it always wakes me up gently without the need for a backup alarm. I am also trying to train myself to fall asleep with the sunset - that's still a work in progress, but at worst it is a lovely soothing fading light. There are of course some cons, the main one being it is VERY expensive for what it is, I've wanted/needed something like this for decades, but couldn't afford a decent Philips/Lumie until now (and very much expect the cheap versions are false economy). I also can't see any sense in paying more for the similar Philips options, unless the extra wakeup sounds are very important to you. Which brings me to my next con: the birdsong is awful! Not pleasant sounding at all, with only a short loop and some unintelligible background noise. It's really not difficult to find a beautiful morning chorus, and for the very premium price, this was very disappointing. However, it does make me snooze or turn it off and get up quicker, so mission accomplished I guess!? The radio is also pretty pants, as others have said, so if that's important to you, you'll be very disappointed with this product. I actually thought mine was faulty because when I demo'd the alarms, it only ever played the radio, not the wakeup sound I'd set. I decided that rather than have the faff of returning it, I'd just tune the radio to nothing and have it play quiet white noise. But then it did play the wakeup sound in the morning. Unlike some other reviewers, I do not find the buttons difficult to find or use when sleepy at all. Pressing the sunset button can move the whole unit, though, as it's situated at 3 o'clock - Philips could have added a weight inside to counter this, which would also have made it feel more premium! In summary, a good quality wakeup light is a truly wonderful gadget that many of us need and most of us would greatly benefit from. But the price is prohibitive, and much too high for what it is.

I love this alarm clock so much - I'm not a morning person and wake up groggy, especially in the winter when the sun gets up so late - this has helped me wake up naturally and feel refreshed - it also doubles as my bedside light at night which is a bonus and I set the alarm for relaxing bird sounds which is so nice.

You don't have to turn off and on the alarm every day!!! I almost didn't buy this because of all the reviews saying you need to remember to turn the alarm on every day. This isn't true at all. There is a "light" button, so when your sunrise starts, if you want to turn off the sunrise, just press the light button. Similarly, if you have sound programmed in, you press the play/pause button or I think FM radio button, and then it turns off the sound. The alarm stays on. It says this in the instructions, which I suggest you spend 3 minutes of your day reading to understand it all! That being said, the clock is fantastic. I bought it for £110 as an opened box return. I love that it starts with an extremely low, deep red light and gets very bright. I had returned another sunrise alarm because the light started so bright that I woke up as if someone was flicking the light switch on in our bedroom. I love that the display auto-dims, and it goes incredibly low. It doesn't light up the room. I also thought that the unit was shiny, the front face, but it's matt. Very nice. The functions are great and having 2 different alarms to flick between dependent on the day or your mood is perfect too. Wholly recommended.

The experience of waking up to bright natural light is 5 star. I'm still not a morning person, but this is so much more pleasant and natural. I rarely get to the bird sound (my chosen alarm) as I wake naturally as the light reaches about 90%. When you open your eyes, the light feels like it could be a spring morning, which is a lot better than waking up suddenly and thinking how can it be this dark and I'm expected to get up?! My rating gets an overall 4 star, rather than 5, as the clock/alarm/ light setting is dated. It feels a bit like setting your radio alarm clock back in 1999. Especially when most other tech can be controlled verbally.

I had my previous wake up light for thirteen years. It has been a great boon and I now I cannot manage without such a lamp. The new one has an optional second alarm which is useful.