Ticking away, time is time, we all live by it, we all have schedules to keep and we need clocks. I have several clocks in my home as I’ve got kids and they just never know what time it is, or at least they say they don’t, but I think they just ignore them really. Today for review I’ve got a clock from a company called Bon Venu, it’s a digital clock that also shows the date and temperature and it has an alarm built in. The clock is very small and battery powered so you could take it with you for traveling if you wanted to. So far it seems to keep the correct time which is good as what’s the point of a clock that can’t keep correct time? Read on to learn more…
Specifications and Features
On the top of the clock is a large bar that is labeled snooze/light and it’s the snooze button for the alarm but it’s also used to turn the white backlighting on if needed. In the center of the bar is what looks like a white LED but it’s actually a light sensor that can turn the backlighting on low in the dark so you can see the clock without having to push the button. The clock is made of plastic and it’s about 5.25 inches long, 3 inches tall and about 1.75 inches deep. The clock is inexpensive and it’s not exactly flashy, it’s just plain, black in color and just plain really. The build quality is questionable, it seems fine for being plastic but it’s not really finished properly as you can feel sharp plastic edges and you can see imperfections in the manufacturing process. For the price I guess these things can be forgiven but they are worth noting.
On the back of the clock is the control panel to set the clock and alarm. On the left side is a sliding switch to turn the alarm on and off. In the center are three round buttons that perform two functions each. The first is for the hour display for 12 or 24, regular or military time essentially and it’s to set the year. The second button is to set the minutes and date along with changing the temperature units. The third button if to change the hour and month. On the far right is another sliding switch with positions for lock, alarm set, date set and time set, you just slide it to what you want to change. I like the lock function as once you’re done setting everything you can lock the buttons so things can’t accidentally be changed. The last button is another small slider located below the three round buttons which is used to turn the light sensor on and off, left for on and right for off.
Setting the clock is fairly easy but be warned that there is no down button the time, year and date only advance forward so if you miss the number you’re looking for you have to cycle all the way back through the digits. You can hold the buttons in though to make them advance faster than pushing it over and over again. I’ve had the clock for over two weeks now and it does seem to keep correct time, I set it to my computer clock and it’s still keeping up with the same time after two weeks so I’d say that’s a good thing.
The battery compartment is on the bottom below the control panel, you’ll need three AAA batteries for power which are not included. To the right above the battery compartment is the speaker for the alarm.
The display itself is easy to see, the digits are black on a light gray background. The whole display is about 4.25 inches wide and about 2 inches tall. The main time display is largest with the digits being about 1.25 inches tall. below the time you’ll see three section for temperature, date and alarm.
The snooze button is also the backlighting which is white and very bright really, it’s great for the dark I guess, but you need to have the clock nearby you to be able to reach the button to activate the light. The auto sensor backlighting is the same white but just dim but it seems to be enough, at least for me, to be able to see the clock in the dark but you need to remember to turn the sensor on via the switch on the back. I should also note that you can’t see this clock at all in the dark without the backlighting on, be it the button or sensor activated lighting.
The alarm works fine and it’s loud enough to wake me up. The sound is a beeping but it’s a progressive alarm as it starts out beep-beep-beep, then double beeps, then triple beeps and then constant beeping. Personally I think it’s rather annoying but that might be the point as it makes you want to get up and turn it off.
I like having the temperature right there for me to see but I found it’s not exactly accurate, it’s about 1.5 to 2 degrees off being higher than my other thermometer I have that I know is correct. It gives you a basic idea of the room temperature so I guess that’s ok as you’re not doing some accurate scientific testing with it, but still it’s not exactly what I would call accurate.
I’d also like to point out the viewing angles. From the top, right and left you can see it perfectly fine but looking at it from the bottom it starts to fade slightly. For example if you have it on a shelf above you the display will have a slightly fade appearance to it.
The light sensor works, but it has to be very dark for it to activate. I’m sitting in what I would consider a fairly dark room right now, my computer is on and I have an LED desk lamp and that’s it and the clock is sitting on top of my computer case a couple/few feet away and the sensor is not activating and I can barely see the time. For right now it’s not a big deal as I have my computer clock obviously to tell the time by, but it should be noted that it needs to be really dark for the sensor to activate the backlighting automatically.
Conclusion
For what it is, the Bon Venu clock isn’t bad really, maybe I was just expecting too much from it. It’s inexpensive and it seems to keep time correctly and that’s its main function so that’s a big plus there.
The build quality is questionable, but again it’s inexpensive so you really can’t ask for much more than what you get here.
The alarm is loud and annoying so it should easily wake you up.
Most of the issues with this clock are minor ones, not really deal breakers, but certainly things that you should be made aware of.
Pros:
+Auto light/dark sensor
+Small and portable
+Simple to use
+Seems to keep correct time
+Loud alarm
Cons:
-Can’t see in the dark when sensor off
-Fades when viewing from below
-Not really finished, sharp plastic edges
-No down button for numbers, must start over when setting
-Temperature sensor is off by about 1.5-2F
| Grading | Scores Out of 10 |
| Overall |  |
| Design / Aesthetic | |
| Value / Price | |
| Performance / Usage | |
Disclosure: This product was given to me for review by the company for review purposes only for free or at a discounted price.
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