Roberts SolarDAB 99 vs Philips TAR3500: DAB+ or a longer-running FM radio?

Same rating, different priorities

On paper these two are close. Both are rated IP55 against dust and water jets, both have a hand crank, a solar panel, a torch and a siren, and both recharge over USB-C. The split is what each puts first: Roberts builds the SolarDAB 99 around DAB+ and Bluetooth for everyday listening, and Philips builds the TAR3500 around running for a long time and never quite running out.

We haven’t used either radio. The figures below come from Roberts’ product page, Philips’ datasheet and manual, and in one case a launch report. See our Roberts SolarDAB 99 review and Philips TAR3500 review for more, and emergency radios compared for every set we track.

DAB+ or FM: what you actually need

The government’s Be Ready checklist asks for an FM radio, battery or wind-up, and suggests writing down the frequencies of the stations you use for news. Both radios meet that: the SolarDAB 99 has FM alongside DAB and DAB+. What DAB+ adds is everyday convenience, with stations by name and more of them, and the Roberts adds Bluetooth so it doubles as a speaker for a phone. If the radio will live on the kitchen windowsill and be used every day, that is a real reason to choose it.

The TAR3500 has AM as well as FM and no DAB at all. Its tuning is digital, with 20 presets for each band, so it is not a fiddly dial radio. Our guide to which radio works in a power cut explains why FM is the band to rely on whichever you choose.

Power: the TAR3500’s clear lead

Philips rates the TAR3500 for up to 60 hours of continuous play at volume 5, three times the SolarDAB 99’s up to 20 hours on paper, though Philips’ figure is at volume 5 of 16 and Roberts gives no condition. More important in a long cut, the TAR3500 runs on four AAA cells when its lithium battery is flat, and Philips says that battery is replaceable. Roberts lists no slot for disposable cells on the SolarDAB 99: once its built-in battery is empty, the only refills are the sun, the crank or a socket somewhere else.

Neither maker publishes a solar figure, and Philips gives none for the crank. Roberts’ product page doesn’t give one either; What Hi-Fi’s launch report relayed Roberts’ claim of up to seven minutes of playback per minute of cranking. Philips’ manual says to use the crank and solar panel only in an emergency. On both, the sensible routine is the same: keep the main battery topped up from a USB-C charger so the radio starts any cut full.

For phones, Philips rates the TAR3500’s USB-A socket at 5V 1A, a slow but genuine charge. Roberts publishes no rating for its USB socket. Philips’ datasheet does give the TAR3500 two different capacities, 5,200mAh in one place and a 2,600mAh power bank in another, so treat either radio’s socket as a top-up and keep a power bank for proper charging.

Weather, weight and availability

Both carry an IP55 rating, which Philips’ datasheet defines as protection from limited dust and from low-pressure water jets from any direction. Philips’ manual still says not to expose the TAR3500 to dripping or splashing, so treat IP55 as protection against a passing shower, not somewhere to leave it outdoors. The Roberts is the heavier and larger of the two, at 837g against 670g. Neither is a rucksack radio.

When we checked on 14 November 2026, Roberts’ own shop listed the SolarDAB 99 only as a refurbished item. The box above shows live stock for both.

Which suits who

The Philips TAR3500 is good enough for most households, and it is the simpler choice for a power cut: three times the Roberts’ rated play time on paper, ordinary AAA cells as a second line, a rated phone socket and the same IP55 rating, in a lighter case. Choose it if the radio is mainly for emergencies.

The Roberts SolarDAB 99 suits someone who wants a DAB+ radio they will use every day, with Bluetooth, from a British radio brand, and who will keep it charged on a windowsill. Accept the shorter running time and that Roberts lists no battery slot, and keep a pack of spare cells for a torch rather than the radio.

If you want something smaller than either, Philips TAR1609 vs TAR3500 compares the TAR3500 with Philips’ 390g set.