The Philips DCM250 iPod clock radio doesn’t have many special options. There are no extra features with this iPod dock, but almost everything it does offer is top-notch. The sleek design as well as a phenomenal sound makes this product stand out from the competition helping it to earn the TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award. However, it is missing some of the more innovative features and has poorer radio reception than the iHome and iLuv models.
The Philips DCM250 gets high points for being able to play just about any media source available. The iPhone clock radio has jacks for the iPod, iPhone, CD player and a USB port to play WMA and MP3 files from a jump drive. There is also a headphone jack for any other device including MP3 players. The jacks will charge the Apple products, including the fifth generation iPod products. All of these media sources can be used as an alarm and the devices will be turned on as the alarm goes off.
When an iPhone is docked in the station and a phone call comes in, the music will stop playing, but no sound will be broadcast through the speakers. If the call is not answered, after the ringing stops the music will resume. During a call, it is as if the iPhone clock radio is on pause.
The Philips DCM250 also comes with a full-featured remote. You will be able to stop, play, skip and select songs with the remote. However, we noticed that the remote did not always work, especially when it came to selecting songs to play from an iPod. The remote was not reliable and we found ourselves simply defaulting to manually selecting the songs.
The alarm has basic, customizable features. There are sleep and snooze times that can be set. There are also weekend and weekday settings so you don’t accidentally forget to turn your alarm off or on.
The iPod clock radio has a sound quality that rivals more expensive models. However, there are almost no customizable features for the sound quality. There are two bass settings; normal and double bass. We wanted to be able to adjust the sound to fit our own preferences and we found the two settings to be over simplistic.
Another very important note is that this product is not compatible with the iPhone 4. It works smoothly with all the latest iPods, but it will not charge or connect to the iPhone 4. If you own an iPhone 4 or plan to buy one in the future, we recommend trying the iHome product.
To begin using the Philips DCM250 iPod clock radio dock, follow the simple instructions in the User’s manual. Connect the antenna, plug the iPod dock in, set the clock and alarm and it is ready. The buttons are all clearly labeled and every step is easy to do. You won’t encounter any problems setting up this iPod dock.
Each individual setting can be customized. The screen on the front of the iPhone clock radio is large and easy to read. You can use it to select from already chosen sound presets as well as your alarm functions such as sleep and snooze times. The user’s manual available from the iPod Clock Radio's website is useful for the first time setup and customization of all of the radio's features. Familiarizing yourself with the product is simple because it is so intuitive to use.
The manufacturer’s website is well organized and easy to maneuver. Most, if not all, the answers to your questions relating to iPod docks will be located on the website. Also, the manufacturer offers a one-year limited warranty, just in case your iPod clock radio has a faulty design.
The manufacturer provides around-the-clock customer service options. When we initiated a chat session we were instantly connected to knowledgeable and helpful customer service representatives. Also available on the website are toll-free telephone lines, an email address and sections for frequently asked questions.
The Philips DCM250 has a fantastic sound quality and is compatible with almost every media source, except the iPhone 4. We loved the sleek look of this iPod clock radio, and if you don’t plan on ever having an iPhone 4, this is a superb dock.
