The overall design of the lamp is pleasing to the eyes. Nice curves are certainly a part of the Rise & Shine's attractive stance when positioned in any room, and the buttons respond to the touch immediately. The shade of the lamp also appears to be well-made. I almost missed the battery backup feature of the Rise & Shine. If you look underneath the base of the RSD, you will discover a place to insert 4-AA batteries in case the power goes out. Verilux pretty much thought of everything to keep this lamp in your possession for a long time and I appreciate such a feature. I also appreciate the backup battery is NOT 9 volt. Hardly any 9V batteries are commonly used these days which means you really can't have a fresh supply of them around the house, ready for use when needed. AA batteries are MUCH more common, and Verilux was keen on this. Kudos.

One small note on the graphite version of the Rise & Shine Deluxe. As seen above, you can really notice the graphite color but in actual use, the lamp will appear more dark in color. In fact, I'd say it was borderline black--you can see the DigitalDingus images which prove as much. So, for those who are color coordinating, keep this in mind. Under very strong lighting conditions (we're talking studio-bright here), you would see the graphite color more pronounced as the above obtained press image illustrates.

The Rise & Shine might be considered a little expensive, but after using and observing how the RSD performs, the price is fair. A person could easily spend $100 on a lamp alone without any features other than an ON/OFF switch for a Full Spectrum lamp of this quality, so being just under $150 for the added alarm clock, large LCD display, nature sounds, and a variety of awake/sleep combinations make the Rise & Shine Deluxe a great addition to any home or apartment.

The Verilux Rise & Shine Deluxe is much more than just a lamp--it is a complete audible & visual sensory experience.