Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought the Powerbear radio last week, and have been using it everyday...probably a total of 30 hours of listening while in the garden, and moving it around with me, from area to area as I was weeding my plants. Nothing has broken yet :) and so far, battery life is good with cheap batteries...I mean 30 hours and the cheap dollar store batteries are still going strong. I am impressed with the reception of this Powerbear radio. Reception is probably the main thing I look for in a small radio, because my favorite station has a weak signal and their transmitter is 50 miles away. This inexpensive radio picks up this station better than most radios I own, and I own a lot of them. The antenna seems to move smoothly and does it's job. This powerbear has a striking resemblance to the Sony ICF-S10MK2 (an excellent radio in most all aspects, which is now discontinued and very expensive to buy a NOS or a nice used one), but the replacement model (Sony ICFP26) is just as good, but is twice the price of the Powerbear. The rest of my Powerbear review will be comparing it to the Sonys. The Powerbear came packaged in a sturdy and fancy box, which I was surprised at, because of it's price point. The ICFP26 came it cheap packaging that isn't likely to protect it during shipping, depending on how Amazon packs your items. The ICF-S10MK2, if you find an unopened one, comes it a plastic blister pack, and it well protected. For my use, the the two big pluses about the Powerbear is, it has better reception then the Sonys and the Powerbear has the capability of louder volume. OK, now the things about the Powerbear that are seemingly of less quality than the Sonys. 1. The Sound quality is "tinny", no Bass sounds at all, so if you prefer to listen to music, you may be disappointed. The very treble-like audio is just fine for me, and MAYBE EVEN BETTER if you listen to talk radio like I do. The Station I listen to is all Talk, and I find that voices are more easily understood, than with the Sonys that I own. 2. The Volume control dial feels flimsy, but for now, it is working just fine. Maybe it'll last a long time? I hope so. The on-off part of the dial does have a nice click, so that part feels OK. 3. The AM-FM switch also feels flimsy. Again, it is working fine for now. 4. The frequency indicator leaves a lot to be desired, as mentioned in many other reviews. Some reviews stated their indicator wasn't visible or just not moving when dial is turned. I guess I might be lucky, the indicator on mine moves fine and is easy to see. BUT, it could have been better "zero'd in" at the factory, although the amount that it's off, isn't a major problem. I haven't used the earphone jack. I hope this review helps you out.