You can tell the "flame" is fake, but only if you look directly at it. Otherwise, the ambiance is surprisingly good, and the e-candle itself looks fabulous, especially with interior candle lighting turned on (which halves the battery life). The candle can be turned on and off with the remote, or, by pushing one of the timer buttons, the candle can be set to turn on for a length of time -- 2 to 12 hours -- starting at the same time every day. The timer works well, but there are a couple of issues. 1) If you merely want to "light" the candle for a set amount of time (in two-hour increments), this works well. The candle will turn off after that interval -- but bear in mind it will turn back on at the same time the following day unless you intervene. 2) As a decoration, say in a window where you want the candle to be lit every evening, setting the timer works, but bear in mind that the candle does not have a clock, it has a "timer." You have to be physically present to turn on the candle at the time of day you want it to start every day. If at some point, you turn it on for a little off-schedule ambiance, the timer is now toast -- you have to start over by being present at the time you want the daily cycle to be repeated. 3) When the timer turns the candle off, the candle can be reluctant to turn on using the remote, though it will come on at its appointed time. If this happens, you can regain control by switching the candle off (using the switch underneath) and back on -- but this messes up the timer, which will need to be reset, perhaps the following day (set an alarm?). The bottom line: Pick a role -- use the candle for ad hoc ambiance-on-demand OR as a timer-based decoration, and you will like this e-candle a lot. If you mix and match, be aware of the price of frustration. Someone reported that batteries are used up quickly, not lasting one evening. I have not found this with my particular candle, but I suspect it's a timer problem: when the timer turns the candle off, sometimes the remote won't turn it back on. If someone assumes the batteries are dead, they will "reset" the candle by replacing the batteries (same as turning the switch off and on), and it will appear like dead batteries were at fault. If this candle did NOT have the timer, I would be tempted to give it 5 stars, especially at a lower price. With the timer, it needs a better way to activate and manage it, such as a clock accessible on the bottom, then it would be a solid 5-star item. You will need C-cells (remember those?). You might invest in a heavy-duty variety for your e-candle, especially when used with the timer, to expand the replacement interval. They typically cost over a buck apiece and they are physically heavier than a normal C battery.
