It’ll wake you up, all right—if the bright display lets you get to sleep.

The iLuv i166’s retro circular design is a nice break from the current set of shoebox-shaped alarm clock iPod docks glutting the market. But when the room lights go out, the problems of the device shine through. Even though you have the option of dimming the blue display, the choices seem to be bright and oh-my-God-my-eyes! bright. Covering the display negates the reason for having a clock in the first place, and moving the i166 across the room brings up a new issue: The display is unreadable at about 10 feet. You’ve basically traded your alarm clock for a bright blue night light.

The iPod functions work seamlessly, and you can also plug in any audio device with a 1/8-inch audio-out port. iLuv includes a remote and dock adapters for the 5G iPod and 2G nano. The i166 has video-out for watching video from a 5G iPod on a TV, but it doesn’t have an audio output beyond the subwoofer output, so your audio still plays out of the tiny alarm clock speakers instead of your TV. The sound is typical of a sub-$100 iPod alarm clock, with muted highs and lows, but overall, it can fill a medium-size room without distortion.

The bottom line. The crummy display may hamper the iLuv’s bedroom appeal. But it’s good for a spare room that needs tunes and
a clock.

COMPANY: iLuv

CONTACT: www.i-luv.com

PRICE: $69.99

REQUIREMENTS: 5G iPod (30GB, 60GB, 80GB), 2G nano, shuffle

Retro design, Wakes you up to your favorite iPod tune.

Display too bright and unreadable at night. Video output is hampered by missing audio output.