Worked for five days, now a brick after software update, I got this as a gift and have been using it for five days. Coby offers a software update on the radio menu itself...after the update, the unit is dead. What a waste of money and a waste of landfill space.
Their service refuses to repair this--in fact, they seem to be incapable of fixing this other than swapping a whole new unit, which means you're paying for a new replacement unit.
If this is how Coby treats customers, and if this is how unreliable their software updates are, I wouldn't buy or trust anything with their name on it.
Good Sound But One Major Problem, I bought this radio to replace the IR825 which had good sound but I found it too hard for anyone to operate using just the buttons on top and a 2 line display. This radio also has only buttons on top and no knobs but is easy to use and the big display shows everything you need to see. The buttons are not lighted though and are sometimes difficult to find in the dark. It also has a remote.
I also have 2 other internet radios, an IR808 similar to the Kaito IR-168 and an RCA/AR RIR205 from Audiovox to compare this to. While the RCA uses Vtuner for it's portal and the IR-168 uses IR168's own site this radio uses the Frontier Silicon wifi radio portal but it's list of stations seems to be based on Vtuner. Frontier Silicon, in the U.K., designed the radio's processor module, wrote it's firmware and also provides the website for radio makers and owners to use. When I first opened the box and got the radio out and plugged it in, it connected to wifi and got a station right away which was a surprise since I had a lot of trouble getting the first 2 other radios to work at all. I did have to update my wifi router from an old 802.11B to a D-Link DI624 G model a while back though which is a big part of why it worked right out of the box.
The radio has two fairly large speakers for good sound and is bigger than it looks in the photos so it might not fit on some small shelves or night stands.
The wifi antenna is just a small J shaped etching on one end of the processor board inside the radio but seems to receive OK. It could be replaced with a high gain external antenna for better reception if necessary.
Not ready for Prime Time !, I just want to confirm what others have experienced in terms of the display. It does fade away to almost nothing after few months of use.
The radio has great features and good sound, but if you can't see the user interface and menus, it is almost worthless. I dare say this is one of those products that COBY knew has some design issues, but rather than recall the product, they flooded the market with low prices to get rid of the inventory.
That was a bad move on Coby's part. Just creates ill will from the consumers towards the Coby brand name. I was always thought of Coby as a low end Electronics brand, but this product was so different from many Internet Radios I has seen. It sounded great in the store and the display was nice, so I took a chance.
Big Mistake... I actually gave mine away after using it for about 2 months because there was no way to dim the display and I wanted to use it for a clock radio in the bedroom. Little did I know that it had a self dimming feature. The problem is the dimming is permanent.
Stay away from this product unless you want a brick or a one station radio.
Very Disappointed, (What's this?)
Better than expected, (What's this?) I bought this because I needed a new alarm clock and since I enjoy several internet based stations I thought I would take a chance and try an internet radio out.
When I opened the box, it is a bit bigger than I really wanted but I can live with that. I turned it on and went through the wireless internet set up with no problems. We use WEP encryption and fortunately I had written the key down when I set my laptop up. I would definitely advise having that on hand when you set up. It was a bit of a pain having to navigate around with the up, down, left, and right buttons but I only have to do it once so I can live with that.
As soon as I connected to the internet I was informed that there was an update available. it downloaded and installed with no problems.
I then went looking for some of my favorite stations. I started with a couple of BBC stations I like. No luck. I was told that the Media format was not supported. I tried looking for another station that I like (Planet Rock in the UK, in case you are interested). Navigating the menu can be a bit tedious (which is why I gave "Ease of use" a 4 star rating) but once you are used to it, it is not too bad. I set a few more stations and tried BBC again. The others worked but not BBC. Adding stations to the presets is easy enough. I will have to see if 10 stations will be enough. It probably will be.
I looked for my local FM station. It would be nice if the numbers on the remote could set numbers on the device but I will suffer through the up and down arrow. I found my station pretty quickly and added it to the preset.
Not worth $100, I would have a much lower opinion of the Coby IR850 had I not spent only $20 for it (thank you, Sears 2010 clearance!) Long story short, it has done what I wanted it to do. I can hear many of my favorite internet radio streams and podcasts on it, as well as my MP3 collection. The sound quality is okay, not great, and it has a nice alarm clock too.
However, as many others have mentioned, it has some severe flaws. Again, I only paid $20 for mine. Had I spent more I would be furious. I was lucky to not have my LEDs go out, but they flash badly when the radio is on.
Poor product and poor customer support, (What's this?) DO NOT BUY ANY COBY PRODUCTS!!!
This radio model is a defective product and by other reviews a known defective product. The LED display WILL burn out in a short time. One of my 4 IR850 radios burnt out in 2 days the second one in 2 months the third one in 6 months and the forth one in 8 months. The first 2 were replaced by the retailers to make up my second 2 units. Contacting Coby to discuss this known problem, I was informed that there is not a problem with the IR850 as they do not have a recall on them. I said to them that just because they don't recall them does not mean a problem is not there. Coby has rejected any responsibility for any problem. This is not the only Coby product that I have found that that Coby has said "There is no problem". I have a surround sound/DVD/radio in my travel trailer that needed to be replaced 3 times by the dealer for the same problem each time. So Coby is off my list of products to purchase.
Black Hole, (What's this?) P-poor planning in a black box. It receives well and doesn't sound bad but the human interface is a failure. After you connect to a station the clock doesn't come back as in your car. You'll spend the 1st 15 minutes looking for the on/off switch. Setting the alarms will keep you up all night so why bother. Clock is so dim it can't be seen. Now the LCD screen is flashing continuously, like spending the night in a seedy motel.
Not only wouldn't I buy this again but from all the things I've read about their customer service I wouldn't deal with this company again. Boycott Coby and put some Chinese out of work!
Amazon should be ashamed for consorting with these people. The only star it gets is the one on their flag.
Great! Except for one thing :(, I own 3 of these.. yes 3. They all work great and sound good too.
A Bit of Advice...., This Coby could have been a great internet radio. It has good sound,& works well in general, except.....
The dimming of the display, as many here have said. This is not an "IF", but a "WHEN" sort of thing. Mine actually lasted longer than most - a little over 2 years. After a year it looked somewhat dimmer, then started to flicker, and it steadily got progressively more dim and now the display is totally dark. When I noticed this happening, I made sure all my presets were set so I would be able to use the remote to change the stations.
However, I found a way to see the display when this happens. If you shine a flashlight towards the display (You have to experiment to find the right angle to shine it), you can actually see the characters in the display, however faintly. Then the radio is still usable, and you can at least program the presets for the remote.
Receives local FM radio broadcasts, enjoy your entire music collection wirelessly from a computer.Large easy-to-read display, 10 internet radio & 10 FM radio station preset memory.High-performance stereo speakers with 30W total output power, twin ports deliver enhanced bass response.Radio stations free from around the world with a Wi-Fi internet connection.Clock with alarm and sleep timers, convenient 3.5mm headphone jack, full function remote control. Traditional radio gets a digital upgrade with Coby's IR850 wireless internet radio system. Featuring both wireless internet and FM receiver, this system receives broadcasts from both traditional and web radio, giving you flawless reception, premium sound, and thousands of stations to choose from. Programmable station memory lets you save your favorite channels, digital or analog. Additional features include a large 6-line display, alarm clock function, and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack for private listening.