Philips AE1000 Radio - My Own Experience Of Using It (Philips AE 1000)

Member Name: andrew_dav

Product:	Philips AE 1000
Date:	11/10/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Enviroentally Friendy, Cost Efficient

Disadvantages: Basic Features Which The Price Doesn't Reflect

About 6 years ago I bought my dad one of these as a Christmas present, and it's still heavily used today and gets carted around the house, normally with Radio 4 on. It's been wound more times that I can remember and yet it's still working just as well as the day it was bought. The proof of reliability has been severely tested and it's passed with flying colours.

It's a basic radio, nothing too fancy and can receive both AM and FM radio stations. It has no memory presents and nothing too technologically advanced in it.

It is however very environmentally friendly and very innovative. It can hold two AA batteries to power it as a contingency, but it can be charges using the winding mechanism on the front. It can vary on how much power you provide depending on how aggresively you wind it, but as a rule, a minute of winding firmly will give you about 45 minutes of uninterrupted radio listening. It also powers the green light which you can press on the front to highlight the radio dial. This brings two major benefits. Firstly, your saving on your pocket. A pack of four batteries can cost up to a fiver these days so if your a frequent user of a radio then you could find this paying for itself before the year is out. Secondly, is saves on the environment as it's using your energy to power it.

It's also easy to use, and there's not a lot to this. However, but there are a few drawbacks.

The sound quality isn't all that great and considering it only really holds a winding mechanism and a receiver, for the price it retails for too (about £30) you could get a DAB radio with a lot better sound. Also the aerial is pretty bug and you need to really have the aeriel extended its full 4' in order to get a good signal.

That said it does it's job well and it's handy for something that uses no batteries or artificial power. It's handy in the garden or particularly if your someone who goes camping and or spends a lot of time outdoors.

Summary: A Good Basic Radio With Some Unique Features

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