Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I like the features offered in this clock -- The projected stars are very cool, the nature sounds are nice, having temperature of the room is nice, and I don't have any problem with it being battery operated. But I'm VERY disappointed in the whole design. The failings boil down to one thing - the designer didn't use standards that have been used in cheap digital clocks for the last 30 years (standard time and alarm setup, sleep function, battery life management). It's as if the clock designer had never seen another digital clock, and just started from scratch. Biggest problem: Not being able to do BASIC setup without instructions (that other reviewer was NOT kidding). When was the last time you weren't able to figure out how to set the time and alarm on a clock in about 10 seconds? Another reviewer mentioned losing the instructions and not being able to turn off the darn alarm - we had that, too. Accidentally turning ON the alarm is the first thing that you do when you play around with it, thinking, "surely I can figure this out without instructions." And turning OFF the alarm is the most non-guessable series of steps (Press "Alarm", Press "Set C/F" 5 times, then Press "Mode" 3 times!) We put the batteries in before we wrapped it and put it under the Xmas tree, and for two nights before Xmas, we had the stupid alarm going off inside the box. I made fun of my poor husband (an electrical engineer) for doing that, and when he said it was harder to figure out that I thought, I thought he was crazy. Then the batteries died and I had to set it up, and I saw his point. I had thought this would be a nice start for my 6-year old daughter to maintain her own clock and turn on and off her alarm as needed for school. Not this clock. Second biggest problem: Battery life! In the three weeks we've had it, we replaced the batteries 3 TIMES! Brand new, out of the package, both regular and rechargeable. Yes, my daughter leaves the stars on all night, but the design doesn't leave any other option. (Besides, I have had battery operated clocks run for years without changing batteries.) You turn the stars on, and both the stars and the LCD display light up - until you turn it off. There is no time-out, there is no sleep function. And if a kid can't turn on the stars and fall asleep, what's the point???? (And if the designer thinks that parents need one more thing to check before they go to bed at night, well, . . . . ) Also, if it's the stars that are such a draw on the battery, why is it the stars have never gone out when the batteries get low, just the LCD display? If they would redesign the setup and maybe either turn off the LCD display, add a sleep function, or get better battery life, this would be a fun product. Otherwise - WAY more work than it's worth.