Clock radios

	Model E-C250 from mainland China's Zhongshan Leetac is a projection clock AM/FM radio with LCD screen.

Makers are reinventing the product in the function department as they seek to attract more buyers to a mature line.

Brisk competition compels mainland China and Hong Kong suppliers in the mature clock radio industry to continuously develop new models. Clock radios from the two areas receive FM and/or AM signals, and have a wide range of traditional and novelty designs. Makers have integrated additional functions such as CD player and MP3 playback to new models in order to entice more buyers.

There are about 80 clock radio manufacturers on the mainland. These consist of traditional radio and clock makers.

In Hong Kong, there are about 50 suppliers.

	From Hong Kong, City Electronics' CDT-1 PLL clock radio features a CD player and an amber-backlit LCD touch panel.

The mindset of most mainland makers is to highlight product selling points in the crowded market. Some add value functions, some offer models with attractive appearances, while some can customize according to client preference.

Model 436CR from Shenzhen Guanghua Electronics Co. Ltd, for instance, is a clock radio that has a high-sensitivity FM digital display radio with clock control. It supports an alarm on/off function and a light-touch electric switch.

Putian VST Electronic Fty’s VST 735 and VST 741 are LED FM clock radios with time, alarm, snooze and auto-scan functions. Model VST 735 measuring 185x87x116mm has a 220V power supply or standby battery, four-color LED display and housing that comes in five colors. The similar VST 741 measures 207x57x107mm and features a built-in antenna bar.

Zhongshan Leetac Electronics Co. Ltd’s E-C190 AM/FM alarm clock radio has a 0.6in red LED display. The 130x115x50mm model offers a sleep timer and snooze function, rotary volume control, a built-in antenna bar with a pigtail antenna, and built-in speakers. It is CE, FCC and UL-approved, and powered directly by an AC power supply or by a 9V battery. The product is available in several housing colors.

Another model from Zhongshan Leetac is the E-C250, a DC projection clock radio with LCD screen. The CE-approved AM/FM model has a telescopic antenna, 24hr time display, a radio and buzzer alarm, snooze and time projector via push button. It is powered by three AAA batteries or through an external AC adaptor. Unit size is 116x71x72mm.

	Hong Kong's Qanstar has the 730SD digital FM/AM alarm clock radio that doubles as an MP3/WMA player.

Many Hong Kong suppliers introduce at least one new model every quarter. The more prolific ones display five to 10 new models every trade show season.

The most striking designs veer away from the ubiquitous round, shoebox and cube models. For instance, Qanstar Development Ltd offers housings shaped as vintage radio, binocular and various geometric shapes. City Electronics Ltd offers turtle shell, rugby ball and egg-shaped clock radios.

Various display options are available. The display frames are typically round or rectangular, but the LCD or LED digital readout comes in colors other than the traditional black, including amber, red, green and blue.

Aside from the traditional clock radio add-ons such as alarm, snooze and calendar, buyers can select from a long list of extra features. These include a PLL tuner , a CD player, a temperature and humidity display, MP3/WMA playback, an auxiliary-in, flash memory support and a projector.

The CDT-1 clock radio from City Electronics features a CD player and amber-backlit LCD touch panel for tuning, CD control and settings. It supports PLL digital tuning with 10 MW and 20 FM preset stations and integrates two 500mW stereo speakers. Other features include dual alarm, weekday/daily/weekend buzzer alarm with crescendo, 90min sleep function, 120min countdown timer, last station memory and stereo earphone jack.

City Electronics’ CR02DAB is a DAB clock radio with dual display. It has a 0.6in green LED display for the alarm clock and 2x16 dot matrix negative display for the DAB radio. It features sleep, dual alarm, last station memory, 10 preset stations, display dimmer and buzzer adjustment. The device comes with 2x300mW stereo speakers, a pigtail antenna and a 9V battery backup.

The 730SD digital AM/FM alarm clock radio from Qanstar doubles as an MP3/WMA player. It has an SD/MMC expansion slot and USB port, as well as auxiliary-in jack for connecting an external audio source such as an iPod. The 115x115x115mm device comes with radio/buzzer alarm, sleep and snooze functions, and runs on a 9V DC power supply.

Qanstar’s 720SD clock AM/FM radio has a digital readout and can play MP3 and WMA files from any USB storage device. Its program playback supports up to 99 folders and has a radio/buzzer alarm with snooze and sleep functions.

The 730SD has rotary controls for volume and tuning, and includes an auxiliary-in jack. The device measures 80x200x145mm and runs on a 12V DC power source.

	Mainland China maker Shenzhen Guanghua's 436CR is a high-sensitivity FM digital display radio with clock control.

Price of clock radios from mainland China are expected to be stable in 2009 because these are already at rock-bottom levels.

Basic FM clock radios with LED display are priced from $1 to $3. Models with an AM/FM receiver, ABS housing and functions such as sleep timer, snooze and volume control are priced up to $4.

Models with an LCD screen, time display and additional functions such as single alarm by radio or buzzer are priced up to $6.

Multifunction models with novelty designs and additional functions such as temperature detector/display, timer, auxiliary-in and calendar are priced more than $10.

Models that are RoHS-compliant are priced an additional 50 cents. Multifunction clock radios from Hong Kong such as Qanstar models with MP3 player are priced between $20 and $26.

	Mainland China's Putian VST has the VST 735, an FM clock radio with time, alarm, snooze and auto-scan functions.

Most of the 80 active clock radio makers in mainland China are based in Guangdong province. Key manufacturing cities of clock radios are Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Zhongshan.

Zhongshan Leetac has been manufacturing electronics for major clients in Europe and the US since 1995. Its clients include Best Buy, J.C. Penney and QVC (US); Tesco and Dixon (UK); and Tchibo (Germany). Its products cover Nostalgia wooden music centers, boom boxes, portable radios, portable CD players, mini component audio systems and MP3 players.

Zhongshan Leetac has a 20,000sqm factory and 10 production lines with 1,800 workers. The factory can produce 600,000 radios, 50,000 nostalgia wooden music centers and 100,000 MP3 players monthly. The company recently reduced exports in Europe and the US. Its model E-C190 is not shipped to either area. Model E-C250 is also not shipped to Europe.

Putian VST is based in Fujian province. The company makes LED and LCD clocks, clock radios, and multifunction radios.

Putian VST company, which has OEM and ODM clients, exports to the US, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan and South Korea.

Shenzhen Guanghua, based in Guangdong province, was established in 1992. It supplies walkie-talkies, watches, clocks, photo frames and wireless thermometers. It offers more than 150 clock models with add-on functions such as radio and voice recording. Shenzhen Guanghua handles all processes in-house from molding, plastic injection and SMT to silkscreen printing and assembly. It offers OEM and ODM business services.

In Hong Kong, 20 of the 50 clock radio manufacturers offer related products such as shower radios, weather stations and standalone desktop digital clocks. The other suppliers have more diverse offerings that often include flash MP3 players, digital photo frames, CD players, mini component systems, iPod docking systems and digital radios.

Most suppliers are small to medium-sized enterprises with monthly shipments of tens to hundreds of thousands per month.

City Electronics is one of the territory’s veteran suppliers, with its more than 20 years background in the line. Qanstar also has extensive manufacturing experience in the line going back to 1988.

Aside from a wide selection of models, both City Electronics and Qanstar can develop custom-designed clock radios based on the requirements and specifications of clients.

Qanstar’s products are manufactured at its ISO 9001:2000-certified, 48,000sqm factory in Huizhou, Guangdong province in mainland China, where it runs 20 production lines for clock radios, digital photo keychains, Internet radios, iPod docking stations, desktop MP3 players, portable CD players, shower radios and digital clocks. About 1,500 workers are employed at the factory, where quality control standards follow AQL (MIL 105) Level II major 2.5 minor 4.0. For customers that are more interested in distributorship, Qanstar offers its Sancy, DY and Qanstar brands.

Qanstar exports 100 percent of its output. Its main export markets are the US, Europe and Japan. Its customer roster includes Wal-Mart, Samsung, Brookstone, M&S and Carrefour.

City Electronics has an 18,580sqm factory in Dongguan, Guangdong province. The factory is certified to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 standards, has 32 production lines, and about 1,500 staff that can churn out at least 20,000 clock radios per month.

City Electronics’ clocks radios and other products ship with ETL, CE, CSA, FCC and BAPT certifications mainly to Western Europe, Australia, Japan and the US. The company also ships to other world regions.

Aside from supplying clock radios, HD radios, DAB radios, pocket radios and Internet radios, City Electronics also accepts OEM production of garage remote controls, receivers, control boards, hotel guest room control systems, heath care products, basic phones, and feature phones.