Review: Roberts Gemini RD55 digital radio

When people buy a digital radio, it is usually for the sound quality and choice of stations.

But before plumping for one it is worth considering extra features such as those on the Roberts Gemini 55.

We sometimes take for granted what can be done with TV today: thanks to personal video recorders it's possible to record, pause or rewind programmes at will, but the same functionality is not often available for radio listeners.

Those radios that do have pause or rewind functions can be limited by the radio's internal memory which governs how much time they can pause for - usually around 10 minutes. The Gemini 55 gives up to 20 minutes but it does depend on the station. Some stations transmit at a higher bit rate for better sound quality and will therefore use more recording space.

The rewind feature is useful if you miss information such as a name or telephone number. If you need more time or want a more permanent record, then the radio also boasts one-touch recording.

The device can use SD memory cards up to 1GB capacity to record progammes to listen to later. These recordings can be transferred to a PC or portable music player by connecting the radio to a computer using USB. Alternatively recordings can be transferred from the PC to the memory card and listened to using the radio's speakers.

Sound quality is good and clear with very little distortion, but even then it has a switch for stations that have significant background noise. The large tuning/record and volume buttons work smoothly allowing for simple recording or tuning, which for both digital and FM stations can be done automatically as well. As with most digital radios, the display at the front not only shows what station you are listening to but also what it is playing at the time (this depends on the station).

Vista compatible: Yes