Panasonic Pocket FM AM Portable Radio with Digital Tuner Large Dial Easy to See Fluorescent Pointer Clear Sound

Light weight, easy to carry in a purse/bag. Works well. Easy to use. Very satisfied. Read more

This is a great little radio. Got it for my gf. She listens to it every night at bedtime. Very good sound though not very loud Read more

Nice FM/AM radio - sound quality is good, easy to read tuner, compact size. I use it to listen to sports radio in the a.m. as I'm getting dressed for work. Read more

I recently purchased the Panasonic RF-P50 because I was in need of a portable radio that has a built in speaker. I have discovered that this is hard to come by in a brick and mortar store. So I did a little search on Amazon.com and came across this product. I also own its direct competitor - the Sony ICF-S10MK2. The Panasonic radio is great because I can carry it around anywhere and always have music with me where ever I go. I especially like to use it in hotel rooms when I go on trips, but it's also nice to have in order to listen to music in all of the rooms of my apartment. The Panasonic RF-P50 has a telescoping antenna which can be swiveled back and forth, and on/off/volume switch, band selector, and tuning dial. The speaker measures at 2 and a half inches. I live in a basement apartment, so it is not always easy to get a fantastic signal. I have discovered that this radio pulls in all the major FM stations quite easily - although sometimes I have to fiddle with the tuning and antenna to get a good reception. The few local AM stations can be pulled in as well. The appearance of this radio is quite nice. It appears that Panasonic has taken some time into building a radio that is pleasing to the eye. It's a pocket radio with a nice contemporary look. The radio frequencies are listed on the unit quite clearly - much bigger than what I've seen on similar units from other companies. Also the tuning light, which lets you know when you've locked on to a strong station just right, is bright and easy to see. This Panasonic pocket radio comes with a wrist strap. This is one of my only gripes. I wish it came with both a wrist strap and a belt clip. Another nice feature that would make this radio better is if one could remove both the wrist strap and belt clip. How does it sound? Keep in mind, it's a pocket radio, you're not going to get huge sound as you would with a stereo system. However, for its tiny size, the speaker sounds surprisingly good. The sound quality sounds clear, but not too tinny. I've ehard models with much harsher sound. Also don't expect glass shattering bass, you won't find it here. But as I said, for its size, it has a pleasant sound. In comparing this model to the Sony competitor, I notice a few things. 1. I like the appearance of the Panasonic model over the Sony model. I just feel that the Panasonic model looks nicer. 2. In terms of when I'm holding both radios in my hands, the Sony model seems to have a better build quality (harder plastic, less flimsy feel to the radio). However, I've had the Panasonic model for a while and have had no issues with its build quality. Of course, I'm very careful with my electronics, I don't abuse them. 3. Both models seem about equal in terms of receiving FM signal. Both models pull in the local stations quite easily. The Sony model seems to have a slight advantage in pulling in the slightly weaker stations but this could be due in part to the fact that its antenna is longer. 4. AM reception on the Sony is much better than the Panasonic. It seems to be able to pull in the stations with more clarity. But again, the Panasonic radio can pull in the strong local AM stations just fine. 5. To my ears, both of these models sound exactly the same. Sound quality of music/talk shows sound the same with both units. NOTE: People should note that the headphone jack on both of these models are in mono only. This means that when you plug stereo headphones in either model, you'll only get sound in one side of the headphones. Please bear in mind that this does not mean the radio is broken. These units were designed this way. The Bottom Line: I definitely consider the Panasonic RF-P50 a steal at ten bucks. It's a small sized radio that you can carry with you anywhere to listen to music, or get the latest news. Both the Sony and Panasonic models are what I consider to be excellent deals. I prefer the Panasonic over the Sony model though. For most cases I'd recommend the Panasonic model. But if you're looking for slightly better build quality and better AM reception, then I'd recommend the Sony model. Of course get the Sony model if you prefer its appearance over the Panasonic model. Read more

This is my second purchase of this radio. It works well, as does my first one. I wanted a second radio so I could efficiently yet economically switch between two stations to try to escape long stretches of "never-ending" ads. Just as "shrink-flation" may be affecting consumer products, it seems perhaps it has invaded some radio programming. I use these in my basement, and the reception is clear. I want portable but good. I'd buy again. I encourage a supply of rechargeable batteries. Read more

A serviceable basic AM/FM radio. I'd say the primary use for this is as an emergency battery radio. I'd buy it again even with my 3-star rating but only for use as an emergency radio or maybe for a kid's radio. If I needed a radio for daily listening, I'd spend ten more bucks and get a better one. One could argue the point that 'look at what you're getting for twenty bucks' but I disagree. See below. Pros: 1. Good size. 2. Decent full sound through speaker; not too biased one way or the other. 3. Batteries are easy to get in and out. 4. Battery cover is not flimsy (this is important.) 5. Materials are substantial. i.e. the plastic case housing is not flimsy. 6. The sound on FM in decent earbuds is actually petty good. Cons: 1. Headphone jack is mono. If you use regular stereo earbuds with this radio, you only get sound on one side. Deduct one star for this. I suppose one could find mono earbuds but I've never seen them (haven't looked actually). 2. The wrist strap is useless and only gets in the way. 3. Needs some type of case. I would have paid another $2 for this radio if it came with a case of some type. 4. There is a screw on the back that says "ANTENNA SCREW" but the manual says nothing about it. What the heck is it for? An external antenna connection? Since the manual says nothing, it must therefore be either a secret tuner to access the microwave bands, or is a decoder of CIA or Russian (or both) numbers stations. 5. Ergonomics of the controls are really bad. The on-off-AM-FM selector switch and the tuning knob are small and are somewhat difficult to manipulate for folks with big thumbs (me). I have big ole fat fingers so I have to use a thumbnail to provide enough dexterity to turn the knob. This makes it difficult to tune between closely-spaced stations on the band. Deduct the 2nd star for that. A person with limited use of hands (e.g. senior, infirm, physical challenges) would have a hard time operating this radio. This would not be a good radio for one's grandma. 6. The tuning frequency indicator is not accurate on FM. It is accurate for AM but is off about 10-15 MHz for FM. This is typical for small radios, so, no deduction for that one, although it's annoying. Read more