Hands-on: PURE Chronos II, the eco DAB

DAB radios aren't known for being particularly energy efficient. In fact the Freeplay Devo gave a measly 3-5 minutes of play on DAB, compared to an hour of FM radio in a review by our sister site CNET. So we're happy to hear there's a new energy-saving DAB radio on the block: PURE's Digital Chronos II clock radio.

The original Chronos I is already a favourite among our techie friends at Crave, who gave it an impressive 8 out of 10 last year. It was even nominated for their prestigious 2006 Editor's Choice award thanks to its cute design, ease of use and good price. So what do they make of the Chronos II?

Well they're pretty impressed. At first glance, they say, you might not notice much difference between this and its younger brother: it's the same shape, same colour, same price and has the same button layout. But there are a couple of changes under the hood. Firstly, the Chronos II has FM radio in addition to DAB, something that lost the original model a few marks. The Chronos II also boasts PURE's 'EcoPlus' tag, meaning it supposedly consumes less power than the competition.

The EcoPlus tag, according to PURE's website, is part of their "ongoing commitment to our environment and its future". But what exactly does that involve? Well first of all is their aim of reducing power consumption -- not just when playing but in standby, too. According to PURE's tests, the Chronos II uses just 2 watts of power when active, compared to an average of nearly 8 watts for the top 10 selling portable and clock radios of 2006.

And that's not all. EcoPlus products are also packaged using cardboard made with at least 70 per cent recycled material, and finished using water-based varnish. Meanwhile the internal pulp trays are 100 per cent recycled, and the paperwork is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper using Soya-based inks -- which is pretty unusual for a techie company like PURE, and rather admirable we must say.

EcoPlus product boxes are also designed "to be the smallest they can be" -- fair enough this probably cuts down on costs for PURE but it also reduces wastage and cuts down on transportation, which we always like to see. PURE tell us that almost all of their products go under the EcoPlus banner -- apart from their micro systems and the Marshall Edition of the EVOKE.

The Chronos II may have no battery-operated option -- its primary use is as a home radio -- but when you add up the green features, a setup that's praised by Crave as being "extremely simple", not to mention the preset slots for saving your favourite stations and multiple alarm options, we give it the thumbs up.

The Chronos II clock radio is priced £70 on the PURE website -- remember to keep an eye on CNET.co.uk for a full, frank review.