Home > Consumer Reviews > Timex T309T Alarm Clock Radio with Nature Sounds (Titanium)

This is a nice little item. It has good sound quality and three types of alarm: radio, buzzer, and nature sounds (there are 3 or 4 of these to choose from). You can specify whether an alarm setting works every day, only on weekdays, or only on weekends. Each alarm setting has its own radio station or nature sound (and volume) associated with it. It's got a nice big snooze button on top, which doubles as a display dimmer (my favorite feature).

I've come across just a couple disappointments in the week that I've had it.

- I thought I'd be able to create a radio-alarm setting for weekdays and another radio-alarm setting (same time, but different station) for weekends. Can't do it. You get one setting for each type of alarm.

- The radio preset buttons are arranged in a line across the front of the unit. The band setting button is in that line too, to its left. So if you want preset #1, you've got to punch the second button. Hitting the first button switches you to AM.

All in all, though, it's worth the [money].

The digital tuner and stylish look drew me to this clock -- I was tired of the drifting AM stations on my old analog-tuned radio. To my disappointment, I still get lots of AM drift on this Timex, but I admit it may just be a weak station that is to blame. Some may appreciate the ability to set different alarm times for weekdays and weekends with this clock -- but I think it makes setup complicated, and holidays a frustrating anomaly -- so I don't think it's any more convenient than the simple old-fashioned method of setting one alarm time and changing it when necessary. The nature sounds on this unit sound pretty awful -- they range from vaguely artificial to unpleasantly harsh, so I don't use them. All in all, this clock has good speakers for its size, a fine digital readout, and features that you should only go for if they're worth the added complexity to you.

(...) After 9 months, I've decided to sell this alarm clock and buy a different model. Why? The main reason is that the snooze bar is located near a smaller button which turns the alarm off completely. During the first week of owning this clock, I somehow trained myself to hit the smaller button and fall right back asleep. Which is my fault more than the clock's, but still -- it's a design problem in that these buttons should not be close together! I offered the clock to my wife but she found it too complicated to bother using. Too bad. The sound quality of the radio is very nice, but otherwise, there's no reason to hang onto this.

It's a good clock. The display is easy to read, and the settings for the display light range from a dim light that is just enough to read the time to a bright night-light.

The radio is very good too. I live near a radio station that doesn't happen to be one of my favorites, and this little radio actually picks up other stations. Until now, the only other piece of equipment that could pick up anything but the closeby station was the big stereo in the living room.

The battery back-up is excellent. It had its test this morning after my power had been out all night. The buzzer alarm still went off as usual! 5 stars for the battery back-up!!!

Now, there are only 2 drawbacks. First, it is kinda complicated to program. I've had to reset things a couple of times now, and both times I had to get out the instruction book to complete the process. But the instructions are well written and easy enough to follow. Just don't lose that booklet. Second, all the "nature sounds" just sound like white noise. "Thunderstorm" or "ocean".... I can't tell the difference.

All in all, it's an excellent clock. Very reliable and it looks nice, too. I would recommend it to anyone.

I did a lot of research to find a quality alarm clock for a decent price. I decided against one that played CDs because I already had a CD player and those tend to take up a lot of space (I have a fairly small bedside nightstand). While reading reviews on Amazon for a SONY alarm clock model, one reviewer recommended the Timex T309T instead, so I checked this one out on several websites. Most of the reviewers seemed pleased, so I asked for it on my wishlist and received it as a gift. My impression is definitely positive!

It was actually fairly easy to set up and program, nothing too high tech. My only little peeve is with setting the clock: the hour and minutes are not independent of each other, but rather you have to hold down the "forward" button until it passes 60 minutes to advance one hour. It's a minor technicality that is easily overcome, but still...

Other than that, I can't think of much else that I would change (though other reviewers had a couple of good suggestions). The battery back up is certainly a nice feature that's not found on other alarm clocks of comparable price. Another nice little feature is that the radio alarm setting has a sleeper mode that can be adjusted for 90, 60, 30 or 15 minute blocks of time. The nature sounds are not so natural, but the buzzer and radio work just fine.

Overall, a wonderful little alarm clock for a decent price. Definitely recommended!!

I purchased this for my husband who likes to sleep with some sort of noise. I thought this might work. Well, the nature sounds are the WORST I have ever heard. The LCS is not that big or bright and the snooze button is very close to the OFF button which is not good. I guess for someone who really likes gadgets and studies their new electonic toys may like this clock, but personally I found it confusing. This is not a pull out of the box and use clock. I swear you couldn't figure out how to set the alarm without the manual. You have to push 3-4 buttons to accomplish it. What we wanted if for was useless and there was WAY too many stupid extras. We ended up selling ours at a yard sale.