Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Hi! So before I bought this alarm clock, I did TONS of research on alarm clocks that used light that gradually turned on to wake you up. I scoured the internet, comparing the few products that do exist, many having awful reviews. I really wanted to make sure that if I was going to spend this much on an alarm clock, it was really going to work and be decent quality. This Verilux was honestly one of the best ones that I found. There were mainly good reviews about this lamp, however some key features that were complained about, that I found NOT TRUE!!! So I would like to point out what I noticed about the lamp (I have had it for nearly 3 months now), to help you in your search!!! 1. The light has DEFINITELY helped me wake up better in the morning. In the past I have had SEVERE issues waking up to my alarm, including hearing it and turning it off, or ignoring it all together. I do not do that with this alarm, which is great! 2. A few people complained that the buttons were too hard to read, even with the light itself on. This is not true. Perhaps a modified model has come out since those complaints, but even my mother with not so good vision had no problem reading the buttons. 3. People complained that the music that the lamp plays starts as soon as the lamp turns on, and gradually gets louder, and the only way to do it without sound is to set the sound level to level one. But you cannot just turn on the sound at the END of the light cycle. I found that if I set the alarm 1 with very low (or no) sound, then set a second alarm with louder sound, that goes off 10-15 minutes later, it does exactly that. Also, for each alarm 1 and alarm 2, you can store different sounds (either one of the 4 presets or each their own radio station) and their own light levels. They are independent and it remembers each. Also separately the light level that is on when you just turn the light on, or the radio station/volume that is used, separate from the alarm, is stored. 4. People complained that when you unplug the alarm or the power goes out, you lose all your settings. This is not true. I have unplugged it TWICE, and both times it completely remembered both of my alarm 1 and alarm 2 settings. The only thing I had to reset was the clock time. 5. Someone complained that you cannot independently turn on the lamp just to use, without the alarm or sleep setting. This is not true. ALL you do is push down on the top of the lamp and it turns on, until you manually press down again OR press the OFF button to turn it off. 6. I also read a review that the speakers were completely unclear and muffled. I think maybe they received a damaged alarm because my noise is pretty clear and gets quite loud for as small as it is. 7. There were many complaints about the 4 preset music/nature sounds. I personally don't mind them, and the bird song is my favorite, but I think at that level it is a personal choice. HOWEVER, if you go to the Verilux website and search for this item, you can listen to the 4 preset sounds BEFORE you buy it, to determine if you do or do not like them yourself. 8. Also, someone complained that the light doesn't actually gradually come on, it comes on in 20 different levels. They said that it makes noise when it does so. I have yet to notice this. To me, it seems pretty smooth and gradual, but at the least it is quiet (unless you choose a sound, but the light bulb does not buzz or make noise)... I think that these were the main drawbacks that I read in the reviews, which I obviously disregarded when I bought my alarm. I was hoping that peoples complaints weren't so bad compared to how much the light would help me wake up. Personally I feel like I was right. The main negative reviews that I read seemed to either be a result of USER error, or simple ignorance. I would suggest if you buy this lamp, read the Verilux site about it and also read the instructions thoroughly to help you out, it is a GREAT product and totally worth it if you have issues waking up to your alarm clock with noise. It is a soothing, gentle way to naturally wake up and I LOVE it. Oh, the only review that was negative that I AGREED with was that when setting any times on the lamp (alarm 1 or 2 or basic time), you have to cycle through ALL the times, minute by minute to get to the time you want. HOWEVER, if you simply hold down the left or right arrows (to go down or up in time), it will eventually move the minutes faster, like 20 minutes at a time, so it is a lot quicker to get to the time you want...