iLuv Internet Radio with Dual Alarm Clock (Black) Review

There was so much potential although I just find myself saying "BUT" way too many times.

They emphasize the clock display is remarkably large BUT it really isn't.

It is a nice looking unit, BUT you can't appreciate how large the case is until you see it and realize it will take up most of average sized night stand.

The sound quality is quite good if you play it at 4 to 5 or higher BUT the quality goes down at the lower volume level where most people realistically would use at the bedside.I haven't found any adjustments for things like bass and treble.

Customer support is terrible.They give you a phone number BUT it just sends you to voice mail.They give you a way to send a message online for express service BUT it is not "express" or helpful.I asked some simple questions while I was waiting for the unit to ship and it took two days for them to respond.They didn't actually attempt to answer my questions at all BUT just sent a .pdf of the manual and told me to read it.Not one of my questions was answered in the manual they sent (simple stuff like does the unit support WPA2, have a place for a 9 volt backup battery, etc.).The manual is very brief and does not go in-depth on any technical details like networking.There are many menus of options on this system that are never discussed in the manual. (Update: they did send me a second email a week later that did attempt to actually answer a few of my questions, and yes, it does support WPA2 but keep on reading).

The biggest killer to me, unless customer support can't advise me otherwise (waiting to hear from them), is that any time your wireless router is turned off OR the security key does a rolling change of the key AND you are using a wireless connection to the router, the iLuv is not able to reestablish a connection on its own.It will try BUT fail.When it fails, it starts the network wizard again AND DELETES YOUR KEY/PASSWORD!You have no choice and no way of stopping it.Even if you try to bypass the wizard and manually configure things, it will wipe out all of the network settings (it keeps the station presets, etc.) and require you to redo things.Oddly, when you manually reenter the key (the same key as you inputted the first time), it will reconnect on its own just fine.If you have a "strong" key for your system (like you should to be really secure), it takes forever to re-enter in the key.You would not believe the arcane method to enter in data via the buttons on the front panel.

This means whenever your router rolls/changes the security key (this is often multiple times an hour for security reasons) the wifi connection will drop and it cannot reconnect.Additionally, any time you turn off your router for an approaching storm, have a power outage, change any setting on the firmware of your router that requires it to reboot itself,etc., you are going to need to reenter your many-charactered key.Router power downs and reboots are just a fact of life.Using a router without a password would bypass this problem BUT that approach is not smart/safe.All of my other wifi devices can reconnect without a problem, so the issue is with the iLuv radio.

This brings up anther flaw.When you plug this unit in via Ethernet (which works well), there should be a software application provided on CD from iLuv that allows you to do all of the programming via your PC versus through the keys on the front of the radio.This is a serious oversight by iLuv.

UPDATE: After about another week (some "express" service, eh?) iLuv finally got back to me in regard to my second email about the dropped wifi connection issues.This is their one_sentence answer to the wifi disconnecting problem: "This problem will not happen after reset iNT170 & re-connect to internet every time user changed the password." I am sorry, but what a lame attempt at a guess/reply after a week of waiting.

I wanted to keep this thing... BUT I just am not feeling the "luv" at this point.The industry is now on the second generation of internet radios and I expected more.Maybe iLuv will release an updated firmware to fix the flaws.The radio is being returned today :( .


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Product Description:
The iNT170 from iLuv is an internet radio with dual alarm clock. It allows the user to access world-wide internet radio stations via Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections. Features include powerful built-in speakers to hear your music with depth and clarity, large display for easy reading, dual alarm clock, 40 preset stations for 20 Internet radio & 20 FM radio, auxiliary line input for any audio devices with 3.5mm jack, and LCD dimmer level control (3 steps). Digital dual alarm clock features include auto time update everyday though internet, wake to Internet radio, FM radio, or buzzer, and sleep to Internet radio or FM radio. Radio features include nternet/FM stereo, PLL tuning digital tuning technology, and programmable presets for 8 radio stations.

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