Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips AJ3136 Groovy FM Alarm Clock Radio

The problems I have with this unit are numerous:

1) The display is backlit *only* when you press the face of the unit. Which means you can't tell what time it is at night unless you reach over and push the face.

2) The phyiscal orientation of the unit determines which alarm you hear, but the controls to turn off the alarm are only on one side. You will have to pick up the unit, turn it around, hunt down the little alarm on/off button, and put it back down on the side you want. No thanks.

3) The sleep function only sounds the alarm three times. Once you've snoozed the third time, the alarm won't sound again until the next morning. A great way to miss work :(

Yes, it looks cool; yes, the alarms are very nice and will wake even a sound sleeper. But if any of the negatives above sound annoying to you, you'll probably find this unusable.

I was searching for a clock that was capable of actually waking me. This is it. The "sonar" alarm does actually wake me up. Have no fear though, the buzzer and frog alarms offer others looking for less of a jolt a more serene wake up. The radio even picks up my favorite public radio station even though it doesn't have that strong of a signal. I also like that the display is not glowing all night, but if you push the dial it lights up; sometimes the glow from an alarm clock keeps me from sleeping.
The only remotely negative thing I can say is that it is battery operated. I hope it doesn't go through batteries quickly but I haven't had it long enough to tell. Also, when the description says you "Rotate the clock to change the alarm" it means the entire clock. It is a sphere and has guides on the back that keep it from rolling away.

Following the previous reviewer's comments I went ahead and bought this clock. Having serious problems waking up this toy saved my semester... The sounds are definitely going to wake you up and the design is cool. It will take you a sec to understand what the rotation does (it is a gravity sensor with 4 predefined positions that selects the sound according to the way you rotate and place the clock). It may work with batteries but it has a "battery low" indicator and an 1 min internal battery so that you won't have to reset the clock every time you change them. Radio reception is good, though I was never interested in that feature...It is the best alarm clock I ever had...strongly recommended...gj philips!

I'm updating this, after 4 years, I still have it and use it. Its actually grown to me and works fine. Battery life isn't too bad either, I change like once every 6 months.


I've had this clock for about 3 months now. Its a funky looking clock radio, but the usage is cumbersome. First, the buttons are tiny, so if you fumble around for the radio. Second, since this is battery operated the back light is pretty dim, so you really have to focus late at night.

Wait for ver 2.

A little hard to figure out at first, but a very unique item.