Customer Reviews
Works with IPhone 
2008-10-08
The most important issue with the product was whether or not it worked with IPhone. We have experienced no issues with the radio and our IPhones, and it works great. In addition, the radio does not take over your IPhone and force you to use the ipod function. So, we can dock the IPhone and listen to AOL radio thru the speaker system.
Good value 
2008-09-30
Like what's mostly been mentioned already, this machine is compatible with the iPhone and works well. The audio is decent but not great and the display is, for some reason, ridiculously bright. I'm considering finding some translucent sticker to place over it since it's right next to my head. Overall though, it's a decent alarm clock and does the job well. I've never been really all that happy with alarm clocks but this one is still up there on my list. Plus it's nice waking up to music.
Works as advertised. 2008-09-24
Works fine with my iPhone 1st gen. First device I've found that wasn't susceptible to GSM buzz. Put it through the wringer and only buzz I got was physical from the phone in vibrate mode. Phone charges in the cradle for me, not sure what the other reviewer's problem was. Only 4 stars as FM reception is weak - typical of all Sony Clock Radio's I've owned over the decades. Overall, it's what I've been looking for in a new clock radio for the past year.
Really does work with iPhone 3G 2008-09-20
I was a little nervous about buying this radio based on earlier reviews, but I bought this exact model and it works great with the new iPhone. It charges the phone and plays music with no problems/warnings and for a clock radio, has a nice sound. The only bad thing is that the display is really bright -- I don't know what Sony was thinking. To make it dimmer I bought a cling-on car window sun shade and cut a piece to cover the display. Now it's nice and dim and, because the radio is black, you don't even notice it's there. I wasn't expecting the remote to work with the phones iPod, since it's not based on a clickwheel, but it has more functionality than I expected...but who needs a remote for something next to their head?
A step backward; I returned it. 
2008-09-18
I bought the Sony ICFC1 Clock Radio to replace my venerable Sony Dream Machine EZ-2, which must be 20 years old now. I wanted a decent clock radio suitable for our bedside table, and a place to dock/charge my new iPhone. While the new product is chock full of new technology, features, and functions, it is a leap backward in usability, so I returned it.
The Good
** Unlike many iPod/iPhone docking accessories, this Sony is compatible with the new charging design in the iPhone 3G. (Many older docking products, including Apple's HiFi Radio, will not charge the 3G, due to a change in charging circuitry).
** The sound quality is quite good. Not as rich and detailed as high-end products from Bose and Klipsch, but if you're looking for reasonable audio performance for under $100, this is a good choice.
The Bad
** As others have observed, the display is blindingly bright, even at the lowest of the three brightness settings. Being a clock radio, it's right in your face, and it fills the room with an unearthly glow. Deep sleepers won't be bothered, but we certainly were. It's not a Dream Machine, it's an Insomnia Inducer.
** The display is right at the bottom of the front panel. If you leave a book on your bedside table in front of the unit, it may obscure the display. After the first night, we deliberately did this due to the brightness.
** Operation of the unit, especially the alarm clock portion, is exceedingly complex, especially compared to the EZ-2. Fundamentally, that's why I returned it. The clock/time setting controls comprise 7 flat featureless buttons, six arrayed around the perimeter of a circle and one in the center. Sony appears to have forgotten about function and effective UI design. They used to be one of the best, but they seem to have forgotten their heritage.
I love the EZ-2. I hated the ICFC1. Here's why.
Setting the alarm time on the EZ-2 is utter simplicity. It has two large rotary switches on the front panel: a 24-position switch to set the hour, and a 12-position switch to set the minutes (in 5 minute intervals). You merely click the knobs around to the desired time. Need to push the alarm time back an hour or two for a Saturday morning sleep-in? No problem - just click, click. This can be done in the dark, while lying in bed. And it's easy to find the two big rotary switches while groping in the dark. (groping the clock radio, that is..)
The ICF requires multiple clicks and click-holds on several different buttons that offer no tacile differentiation. I defy anyone to do this without sitting up, turning on the bedside light, and then operating the various buttons while watching the display. In my case, this also means putting on reading glasses.
Enabling the alarm is also a pain. On the EZ-2, there is a single yellow button, and it provides both visual and tactile feedback that the alarm is engaged. You push it down and it stays down. To deactivate, you click it again and it pops up. You can find the button easily and operate it in the dark. On the ICFC1, you have to locate the proper button in the cluster of seven - there is no obvious tactile feedback that you are pushing the correct button.
Further, the EZ-2 indicates that the alarm is engaged with a glowing red LED on the front panel. It's easy to know if the alarm is on, or just as importantly, is off (we get to sleep in). On the ICFC1, you have to look closely at the busy front-panel display to see if the alarm is enabled or not.
An additional refinement - the EZ-2 has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the display. It dims down at night so it doesn't dazzle light sleepers, and it brightens up in the day so it can be easily seen. The ICFC1 has a manual adjustment (3 brightness settings). I find it amazing that in 2008, the Sony designers can't include something as simple as an ambient light sensor. (The iPhone has one:-)
I have several other gripes about the ICFC1 user interface, but I will end the critique here. To be sure, comparing it with the EZ-2 is a bit unfair. The latter doesn't have dual alarms, doesn't have a remote control, doesn't have a digital radio tuner, doesn't have SRS WOW sound enhancement, and of course doesn't charge an iPhone. But as a clock radio, it offers complexity when I want simplicity and ease of use.
My Sony EZ-2 Dream Machine is back on my bedside table. With luck, I'll get another 10 years of service from it. The ICFC1 is back on the shelves of my big box retailer, awaiting a new owner who prefers form over function.
Does exactly what it's supposed to, and well. 2008-09-11
The iPod, iPhone, and MP3 player have all but replaced other media for portable music access. Now you can enjoy it at your office or home while listening through speakers instead of earphones. Sony extends it even further with its ICF-C1IPMK2. Add your iPod or iPhone to this AM/FM clock radio for additional music to listen at home or office, to fall asleep by, and to awaken with. The Sony ICF-C1IPMK2BLK speaker dock/clock radio combines Auto Time Set and Automatic Daylight Savings Time Adjustment along with a dual alarm and the added bonus of being able to dock your iPod music player or iPhone and listen to your favorite tunes through its speakers. If you don't have an iPod that fits into a dock or own an MP3 player of another brand, there's an audio input port that lets you connect those too. Digital AM/FM Tuner lets you choose from a wide variety of radio, talk and music programming Full Function Wireless Remote Control (included) permits access to all the music on your iPod from across the room. Dual Alarm - Set two separate wake-up times with the option of waking up to your iPod, the radio or a buzzer. Stereo Speakers with MEGAXpand iPod Battery Charging - While your iPod is on the dock, it will charge so you never have to worry about running low on battery life. Audio Input - Let's you easily connect any digital music player to the clock radio for easy access to all of your music 2 Speakers - Speaker Dimensions - Approx. 5.1cm (2 inches) diameter 3 Watts per channel Unit Size - 11-13/16W x 5-1/8H x 5-1/2D / Weight 4 pounds
Nice clock radio that's iphone 3g compatible 
2008-08-28
This is a feature rich, sound quality mediocre, that's nice to look at. One of my pet peeves of the iPhone 3g is the inability to wake up to music (other than ring-tones). This will allow you to do just that. It also has a rather cool way of auto-adjusting the time (rather slick!). It has two alarms, radio, a useful and effective little remote, and works with iphone, ipod etc.
That being said, the sound quality is a little thin. Mid rang and treble are present, but somewhat flat, while the bass response is non-existent. For a clock-radio this is fine, but for those of you looking to replace a desk-top stereo, you may want to pursue other options.
Works well with iTouch after reset 2008-08-20
I just bought this unit today to use with my iTouch and am very happy with it now that it is working properly. At first the only thing the remote would do is turn the iTouch on and off. I did a live chat with Tech support online at Sony and he had me reset the Sony unit and now the remote works fine. I can scroll through my music and pause and turn it off and on. The reset button is in the battery compartment. Now that the remote is working properly we are very happy with the system.
The best value iPod clock radio gets even better - good sound, great radio 2008-08-16
Last year I bought the previous version of this clock radio (the ICF-C1IP) and was extremely impressed, especially compared to many other iPod clock radios that I tried. This week I bought this updated version for another room, and was pleasantly surprised.
What I've noticed in this updated version:
- explicitly iPhone compatible ("works with iPhone" indicated on the box)
- AM radio reception is notably clearer (and the old one wasn't bad)
- the display is brighter and easier to read (it might, in fact, be a little too bright at the lowest dim level)
- the grille is a dark gray, not pure black as the last model (in my opinion, this has a slightly cleaner look to it)
- sound quality just slightly less bass than earlier version (subtle - probably because of magnetic shielding for iPhone)
How do you tell which version you're buying, aside from the model number? Look for the "MK2" in the product name, as well as the "Works with iPhone" on the box.
Like the previous version, the Sony is fully compatible with my iPod Classic, and the sound quality and radio performance is notably better than other iPod clock radios I've tested.
Sony has done a great job with the ICF-C1iPMK2. It is an upright design, with most of the unit behind the iPod, in a slanted design with controls at the top. The iPod dock accepts universal adapters, but they aren't really needed as Sony has an adjustable supporting plate behind the iPod.
Unlike other iPod clock radios, the Sony does not attempt to duplicate the iPod menus on its display. Instead, the Sony includes a remote control that lets you completely control the iPod menus as if you were manipulating the scroll wheel. Quite impressive.
Sound quality is very good for a clock radio - with crisp highs and even midtones. You may want to play around with your iPod equalizer settings to see what sounds best. (To my ears, "Jazz" EQ setting works well with these small speakers.) Sony includes a simulated mode they call "Mega XPand" that in my experience made the music sound muddied and under-sampled. Your mileage my vary.
The blue-backlit clock is located in the iPod dock area, and 3 brightness levels are available. In my experience, even the lowest setting is a bit too bright, but not enough to disturb me at night. I wish that the display were slightly larger, although the high contrast lets me see the time without my glasses from a reasonable distance.
And, unlike most iPod clock radios, the radio reception is outstanding - with an external AM antenna provided. The unit has dual alarms, which can be set to iPod (you can even select a wakeup volume), Radio, or Buzzer.
On the downside, the battery backup for the buzzer alarm and clock is a small expensive lithium battery (although after nearly a year of use, this battery was still working on my old model). And, if your relying on just the buzzer to wake you up it's not very loud. You also have to be careful when changing the alarms to make sure that you don't accidentally turn the alarm off. But all of these are minor issues. However, these are all very minor issues that don't detract from the unit overall.
All in all, in my experience, this is the best iPod clock radio you can buy.
Display too BRIGHT 8( 2008-08-15
As noted by some others, the display (even at it's lowest of three brightness settings) is too bright and lights up a dark room, if I wanted a night light, I'd buy one.
Early versions of the iHome clock radio suffered from the same problem. I tried a later version of the iHome product (iH8), and it solved the too bright problem by adding lower levels of brightness including no light, but then added an annoying low humming sound (I saw that another Amazon reviewer noticed the same humming sound even on the most current iH9 iHome clock radio), even with nothing on.
Doesn't anyone do quality checks anymore? It's almost as if the people who designed these products (both at iHome and Sony) didn't bother to put their clock radios in a bedroom at night and try to sleep. I suspect, Sony will fix this brightness problem on later versions, just as iHome did after seeing the complaints all over the internet (check Amazon reviews for yourself, many complaints on the iHome iH5).
Well, 2 iHomes returned (iH5 and iH8), and now debating on returning the Sony... I will say the Sony has noticeably better sound quality than the iHomes, and no humming, and is generally very good all around. BUT, when a "CLOCK RADIO" canNOT even get the most fundamentally basic and important functions of what a Clock Radio is (appropriately display the time in a dark bedroom where people SLEEP), that is a problem. Also, the actual clock display of the time could be a little larger, it'd be nice to be able to read the time without having to put my glasses on or stretch over to see the time.
Still looking for the perfect clock radio for my 80GB iPod... :(
