PRUNUS 429 Small Radio, Pocket Radio, AM FM Radios USB Charging, Large Button, Neodymium Speaker, Auto Save, USB Flash Drive, SD Card AUX Input MP3, Shortwave Radios for Elderly and Senior

I picked this because it had both AM and FM (apparently shortband too) AND I could load up a microSD with some of my Dad's favorite music. And yet, it's simple enough that he can operate it easily and without any frustration. Good audio quality too and a AUX/headphone jack.This one does not disappoint.

Great quality, pretty and holds a long charge for long pistening pleasure. I got it for my parrot so she won’t be so lonely when I’m not here and here. Would definitely recommend. It does some stuff I don’t know about to.

Reception is clear and loud if you wish it too be!Tuning is so easy and being digital no guessing if you have the correct station. Quality is superb and love the bright color! Very easy to carry with you wherever I use it at work. No batteries needed you just recharge! Can't get any better. I have bought many transistor radios and this is the Best! I would definitely buy another one!!

Remember those transistor radios from Japan in the early sixties? They had a great size but a terrible sound. Well, here you have the same size but a fantastic sound. I love this little radio. It fits in your pocket. You can put it on your window ledge when you're eating breakfast and hear great music immediately. You don't have to subscribe to some overpriced service. It's right there - a real radio. The only problem I have is that it's hard to figure out how to set up memory for each station, the directions are very poorly written. So screw that, I just punch in the frequency numbers for the station and, voila immediate satisfaction. If someone can explain how to work the memory system. I would really appreciate it. But don't let that stop you from getting this radio, the one with the real antenna attached. You won't regret it.

This radio gives quite a good and powerful steady clear sound with some bass, and smooth treble even at high-end volumes. This is possible because of its advertised 3W neodymium magnet powered/equipped speakers. It is sensitive enough to acquire stations and is fairly drift-free and easy to use once one gets thoroughly acquainted with its one-page instruction. This is a radio for casual use but not for lengthy listening (unless one is near a USB port for a constant power supply) nor is it for emergency use when regular household electric power is gone or unobtainable. And this radio is definitely not for emergency situations nor as a regular equipment for one's BoB or emergency bag.The reason behind this is obvious since it is using a USB cable to charge up a low-endurance Li-ion 3.7V 800mAh battery (type BL-5C) which accompanied the radio. It takes about 5 hours to completely charge this battery type and takes just about the same amount of time before it dies out and loses all power after continual use. Unless you have a readily available power pack or power source to attach the USB cable for recharging (or one's car is equipped with such), then the radio might as well be dead as a doorknob. The power source and charging method is the reason why this radio is not ideal for emergencies. It would have been better if the manufacturer has equipped it to use regularly available AA or AAA batteries. And I just found out that the price of another battery is almost the price of the radio itself.

Sounds great. Really appreciated recharging instead of using batteries. Large buttons and display make it easy for seniors to use.

The media could not be loaded. Can you say "big black rubber buttons" three times real fast?UsabilityThis is a hard radio to rate with a single number because it can be approached different ways. The product advertising suggests it's useful for the elderly. I'm almost 72, so I can appreciate where they are coming from. There are some radios out there that have very small buttons and tiny button labels. My vision is 20/20 corrected, but I have to get out a magnifying glass for some radios in dim light. That would never be the case with the Prunus (J-429SW). And yes, it is easy to tune -- just press one button and the radio will scan all possible stations in the selected band (AM/FM/SW) and store what it finds so that the user can scan through them with a single button; however, I do not think the radio will help the elderly buy groceries or make friends as the product description suggests.PerformanceThe AM radio section is awful, but that's true with just about any modern portable radio. This is the only radio I've encountered (in over 100 I've owned over the years) that scans the AM band in 1 kHz increments. Stations are separated by 10 kHz in North America and 9 kHz elsewhere, meaning that the radio takes 9-10 times longer than necessary to scan the band AM.FM is fine.ShortwaveThe 10" antenna is useless for shortwave, but you can clip on a long piece of wire and pick up stations, like the strong signal from China Radio International in the attached video. Tuning is strange in that you cannot manually step through the band by frequency. You can scan for the next station, but weak stations would be skipped. Your only option is to key in the frequency manually if you know it, and it cannot be manually added to the memory.DisplayThe red LED display is very readable even outdoors; however, when it is on (automatic shut off after 1 minute), it generates radio noise that the radio picks up particularly in the lower shortwave bands. Generally speaking the 7-segment display is greatly limited in how much information it can display. When the audio cable is plugged in, it says "AUH" as an approximation of "AUX" and it says "PAUS" for "PAUSE" because there are only 4 digits (plus a 0SW and 5SW to tell you the last digit for a shortwave frequency).It's obvious why the radio does not have a clock because the LED readout on all the time would quickly drain the batteries.MP3 player/speakerIt can be used as an external speaker for a computer or phone connected with an audio cable (not included). It cannot work as a USB or Bluetooth speaker; the USB cable (included) is only usable for charging. An attached computer cannot use it to access files on the radio's digital media (TF/Micro SD or USB flash drive up to 32G), as you can with many other modern portables that double as remote speakers. The 429 can play MP3 files stored on media and that's fairly straightforward. You can skip to an arbitrary song by positional number, keying the number in. You can fast forward within an audio track by holding down the >> button.BugsThe manual says that the radio mutes when you unplug the earphones, but it does not. The radio froze one time, I think when I plugged something into the AUX port, and it would not even turn off. I had to remove the battery for a few seconds to get it under control.SummaryA senior who wants to listen to FM will find the sound quality very good (quite loud if you want it)and very easy to see and to operate. A shortwave listening hobbyist will say it's crap. So five stars or one? What I'm saying is that some people would want this radio and others would clearly not. Keep in mind the price point.I bought it because it was red, and a cheap date.

Am especially pleased with AM signals. I clearly listen to American news stations hundreds of miles to our southwest as soon as the sun sets. SW also works but there are few international broadcasters still broadcasting to eastern North America. I highly recommend the J-429SW as it appears to be solidly built, has an easily replaceable battery, lots of memory slots on every band and remembers to start wherever it was when shut down. The radio display is clear and thankfully turns off after a few minutes so it is nice to use in bed. I have many portable radios and very quickly, this became my radio of first choice.

Value for money. compact and easy to use.

I Love this little radio but don't let the size fool you it packs a powerful sound with plenty of features. Its great to put in your pocket for music on on the go, news etc.. Its very light weight and good looking too; sturdy quality product and the price is unbeatable! Easy to use I just followed the simple instructions, You can scan and save your favorite channels there are lots of them. Good AM/FM reception and along with AM, FM, this little radio can function as a mp3 player; you just plug in your MP3 music and it acts as a speaker.My eyesight isn't that good anymore so I really like the easy to see buttons in nice large print. No batteries to buy just recharge when needed it will last for 6-8 hours. I highly recommend this little radio it would also make a great gift for someone.

Father-in-law wanted a new radio, so I got this for him. I have used this a few times since receiving it about 10 days ago. Here are some quick impressions:- The radio is small enough to fit in my pant pockets. So, it is quite portable and easy to take around with me.- There is a Mode button on the front to switch between different modes. I was able to connect to all three signals: FM, AM, and Shortwave. However, all car radios and most smartphones these days also come with built-in FM radios. So, this radio is more useful when hiking or traveling in remote areas. That is where I see it being more useful than in the cities.- The radio also plays music from SD card or USB. So, the extra music listening options is great.- The 3watt speaker delivers loud sound, which is great considering the small size of the radio. The sound is quite clear when the radio is being used outside the city limits, into rural areas. However, when I use it within the city limits to listen to FM stations, there is quite a bit of static or disturbance, possibly due to frequency laps since there are so many FM stations in city limits. But, I am quite satisfied with the overall performance.- While the radio performs well overall, I have one important concern. This radio uses a rechargeable battery that is quite small. So, I don't know how long that will last. And, the product description does not mention whether replacement batteries are available for purchase. The battery is of a slightly odd size, so I am not sure I can find it in a nearby store. Including that information would be helpful for customers.

Perfect size. Perfect sound/volume!