Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Alarm Clock, FM Radio & Wireless Charging - Perfect for Bedroom, Office, and Travel Use

I was bought this device as a gift, thinking it would be a suitable replacement for my current bedside clock, which also charges my iPod, the function of which has these days been taken over by my phone.Firstly the good points. The unit is compact and quite attractive (if you overlook the fake wood finish, which seems to be a thing that Americans are drawn to). Most importantly, the sound is pretty good for a unit of the size and price. The charging pad worked fine with my Samsung phone - even with it still in its case. This display is bright and readable. The bluetooth, FM , Aux and SD Card playback functions all worked OK.I would be happy to have awarded this 5 stars, but it is is let down by its software, which defines how the thing works and how the user interacts with it. So firstly, every time you switch it on it defaults to "Bluetooth" playback mode. This is fine if it is all you ever use, but if you normally use FM, you have to turn it on (long press of the On/Off button), then make a long press on the Play/Pause button, which selects "Aux", then another long press on the P/P button to select "FM". Then, you find that it always powers up with the same volume setting, which is quite loud, so you normally have to turn it down. So that's 3 long button presses and 10 seconds of your life spent each time you want to listen to the radio. For me it would be preferable if it powered up in its "last used" state. Once on, the reception is pretty good (you have to keep the Aux lead supplied plugged in to act as an aerial) and it does store FM presets.Next the display. A long press on the On/Off button turns the unit completely off, including the display. To keep the time showing you need to remember to switch off with a short press. Unfortunately, the battery charge indicator blinks continually while operating under external power, which is unnecessary, and a bit annoying in the dark.The unit requires powering from an external USB supply. One is not included, but they are ubiquitous. You will need a 2A one if you want to use the wireless charging.The SD card replay works fine, but the tracks seem to only play in artist alphabetic order. You can skip forward and back, and fortunately it does resume playing from where it left off when powering on, but the rigid playback sequence is very limiting. A "shuffle" capability would make it much more worthwhile. I guess most people are going to use this device to play back content from their phones and use things like the BBC Sounds App to listen to "radio" channels, but why go to the trouble of providing this facility and stop short of making it useful?Like so many products it frustrates because the hardware platform is good, but it is let down by the user interface software (like an 80's VCR). Oh, for the ability to update it! not quite what I was hoping for as a bedside companion, but will find use as a floating unit for use in the shed, kitchen and on weekend trips away from home.