Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

10/30/2012: I liked this radio when it arrived a month ago (just in time for a Tornado Watch in my area). I charged it in the window with the solar cell and it sounded great. It fit my bug-out bag, seemed sturdy. It's functions, especially as a charger for cells, etc. were attractive. Yesterday during the worst of Hurricane Sandy we were without power. We plugged our cell phone into the charger and started hand cranking. We're handy people and we take care of our equipment, so we were careful. First there was a creaking noise, some resistance and a burned smell. Then the crank jammed and broke off. So we were without cell and without radio in the emergency situation for which we bought it! I can't thank the manufacturers enough! Here I was, thinking I was well-prepared. Good riddance to that assumption! PS (10/31/2012). Someone from Ambient almost immediately contacted me and said they are shipping me a new radio under the one-year warranty. If it turns out to have been a problem with just this one item, I am happy to try another one since, as I wrote, I like the functions. Let's see what happens. I will use it a couple of times soon (in a non-emergency situation!) and will change the rating according to the success/failure of the hand crank! One thing I can say: they have great customer service!