This is the second radio that I tried after needing to replace my very old, trusty GE portable radio (after dropping it far too many times, I finally broke the antenna for good, and the handle) . The first one was Sony ICF38 Portable AM/FM Radio (Black) which I HATED. See my review on that one.I did a lot of research on portable radios, looking for one that had excellent reception. Didn't want to spend a lot (wanted to keep it under $20). Bought the Sony for $25 because of excellent reviews. Sadly, my experience was not good so I returned that. Then I went back and increased my price range and decided to try this Sangean. I didn't want to spend much because I only use this radio on Sundays for Green Bay Packer broadcasts, and depending on the sync with the TV broadcast, I need to change the station to find the one that is closest in sync. Was never planning to spend $50 on a radio that I use so little, but conveniently it is my birthday and mom gives me $50 bucks so this became my birthday present. Anyway....WOW....this little radio is awesome. I am glad it has the electronic tuning and the five presets for both AM and FM. This has made it much easier to lock in the stations that I am trying to tune. The sound is amazing and the size is perfect. My ONLY negative is that it doesn't have a handle, but with it's size and the slightly indented speaker, it makes it easy to carry around. Another plus is it also will fit in my front jeans pocket for those times that my hands are full.This radio has excellent reception. Even with the antenna folded down, this pulled in FM stations better than the Sony radio that I had bought previously (with the antenna fully extended).I was concerned about the battery life because of the electronics, and lighted screen. But other owners said battery life was pretty decent. I have tried rechargeable batteries in this, but it doesn't seem to like them as much so I switched to regular alkalines.I had forgotten this radio also has an alarm clock. I might just bring this one camping with me for that reason.I like the rubberized surround (the darker colored part) which helps keep it from slipping. Nice extra.SOUND: Excellent sound, and volume is amazing...minimal distortion when set at highest volume (which I will probably never use)No AC cord included: Not a big deal to me. I will only use it on batteries, so this allows it to have a smaller size since you don't need storage for the cord.No Handle: I thought this was going to be a big issue for me. It's not. Fits easily in your hand for carrying.