AppleInsider › Forums › Other Discussion › AppleOutsider › Alarm Clocks
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Alarm Clocks

post #1 of 10
7/1/09 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
There is a corner in my apartment bedroom where alarm clocks go to die. They're not broken, they just suck. I'm looking for a decently designed alarm clock, and I'm hoping that Apple aficionados can help me out.

I'm specifically looking for a layout that won't make me oversleep by hitting "off" instead of "snooze". --An alarm clock that clearly distinguished a.m. from p.m. and alarm "off" from alarm "on".

A radio would be nice. As would: adjustable display brightness, atomic clock synchronization, battery backup in case of power failure...

Why does no one make a truly excellent alarm clock? I don't get it. Hopefully, I'm just ignorant.

So, what do you use? Brand and model number would be great.
When will the governments realize it's got to be funky, sexy ladies?
-Flight of the Conchords
Reply
When will the governments realize it's got to be funky, sexy ladies?
-Flight of the Conchords
Reply
post #2 of 10
7/2/09 at 8:10am
Apple iPhone:
Clock >> Alarm

I've been using it for my "alarm clock" for about 2 years now. It allows me to schedule my alarm week days only without having to worry about turning the alarm off on weekends or back on during the week. It also has a snooze feature that cannot be mistaken for the off button. It isn't feature rich but it gets the job done.

It works great for me.

Edit: But if you don't already have an iPhone, it is a rather expensive alarm clock.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
7/2/09 at 8:45am
Sony Dream Machines used to be good but the ones I look at these days don't interest me.
The politics of charisma is so Third World. Americans were never going to buy into it for long. - Foudad Ajami
Reply
The politics of charisma is so Third World. Americans were never going to buy into it for long. - Foudad Ajami
Reply
post #4 of 10
7/2/09 at 11:09am
Ah... brings back memories of my human factors class many moons ago...

We were all required to bring in an alarm clock. The professor had us set the time and the alarm.

The point was to show that the old, wind-up, non-electrical alarm clocks had some advantages. They took less time to set the time, less time to set the alarm, and had lower user error rate. The downside was that they weren't accurate down to an exact second or perhaps even within a minute due to the precision of winding the hands around the face with a small knob on the back.

If what you're looking for just an alarm clock, believe it or not, an old-school one with a single knob on the back, is probably the best choice in terms of functionality and reliability. Of course you'd want an electric one so that there would be no chance of forgetting to wind it.

Funny thing though, i ended up with the most high-tech one available. It's an HD radio / iPhone dock. But you know what, it's defective because of all that technology. It is supposed to be able to have weekday or weekend only alarms. Unfortunately it is buggy and doesn't know what day of the week it is. It routinely wakes me up on sunday with a weekday-only alarm. (JBL OnTIME 400i HD)
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
7/2/09 at 11:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JupiterOne View Post

Apple iPhone:
Clock >> Alarm

I've been using it for my "alarm clock" for about 2 years now. It allows me to schedule my alarm week days only without having to worry about turning the alarm off on weekends or back on during the week. It also has a snooze feature that cannot be mistaken for the off button. It isn't feature rich but it gets the job done.

It works great for me.

Edit: But if you don't already have an iPhone, it is a rather expensive alarm clock.

+1

I initially thought it strange to use a cell phone as an alarm clock and then I went through a rash of power outages in the night that almost caused me to be late because the clocks lost power.

I started using my phone and it was a mini revelation that I didn't have to remember to turn it off for the weekends and I could set different alarms.

Today alarm clocks are becoming as redundant as watches for cell users. I still like watches for the jewelry aspect but i'm not spending a dime an another clock eating up a wall socket. I've never seen a clock that had all the features I want and now the only thing they do to warrant you spending more money is add an iPod dock. No thanks.
He's a mod so he has a few extra vBulletin privileges. That doesn't mean he should stop posting or should start acting like Digital Jesus.
- SolipsismX
Reply
He's a mod so he has a few extra vBulletin privileges. That doesn't mean he should stop posting or should start acting like Digital Jesus.
- SolipsismX
Reply
post #6 of 10
7/2/09 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post

+1

I initially thought it strange to use a cell phone as an alarm clock and then I went through a rash of power outages in the night that almost caused me to be late because the clocks lost power.

I started using my phone and it was a mini revelation that I didn't have to remember to turn it off for the weekends and I could set different alarms.

Today alarm clocks are becoming as redundant as watches for cell users. I still like watches for the jewelry aspect but i'm not spending a dime an another clock eating up a wall socket. I've never seen a clock that had all the features I want and now the only thing they do to warrant you spending more money is add an iPod dock. No thanks.

I too use my iPhone as an alarm. Well technically, as one half of my dual alarm system... because I can't trust just one or the other to be completely fool proof.

But to be fair, power outages aren't any more of a problem for alarm clocks as they are for iPhones. Alarm clocks can be battery powered just like mobile phones are battery powered. They are also advantageous in that they won't be accidentally left on the coffee table downstairs, nor run down the day before the night of the power outage.

The best alarm clocks are wall powered with built-in rechargeable batteries. That's the best of both worlds. No need to remember to charge yet also battery powered. And of course they aren't accidentally left in a different room.

I travel with a battery powered LCD based alarm clock. It has run on a single AAA battery for the past 7 years. Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe I should replace that battery.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
7/2/09 at 12:55pm
To completely honest, the main reason why I chose to use my iPhone instead of another alarm clock (my last one died years ago), was space/aesthetic reasons. I had just bought new bedroom furniture and I HATED that I three cords draping over my new stylish night stand. One for the lamp, one for the "cordless" phone and one for the alarm clock. So I got rid of the cordless phone in the bedroom altogether and just started using my iPhone as an alarm clock. (I kept the lamp).

The "iPhone as alarm clock" was to be temporary until I found some nice small wireless alarm clock. But I found that I couldn't find one small or nice enough and I didn't trust it running on regular batteries. Before I knew it, a year had gone by and I was still perfectly happy with my iPhone right beside me and it has never failed.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
7/4/09 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dfiler View Post

Ah... brings back memories of my human factors class many moons ago...

We were all required to bring in an alarm clock. The professor had us set the time and the alarm.

The point was to show that the old, wind-up, non-electrical alarm clocks had some advantages. They took less time to set the time, less time to set the alarm, and had lower user error rate.

Some times when I have to sleep on the couch downstairs I use the timer on the oven as an alarm clock. I think "I want to get up in 6 hours and 30 minutes." Beep beep beep the timer and I'm done. It's fool proof.
The politics of charisma is so Third World. Americans were never going to buy into it for long. - Foudad Ajami
Reply
The politics of charisma is so Third World. Americans were never going to buy into it for long. - Foudad Ajami
Reply
post #9 of 10
7/5/09 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FloorJack View Post

Some times when I have to sleep on the couch downstairs I use the timer on the oven as an alarm clock. I think "I want to get up in 6 hours and 30 minutes." Beep beep beep the timer and I'm done. It's fool proof.

Ha! I've done that. And having to get up and walk over to the kitchen to turn off the annoying timer ensures that you actually get up.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
7/6/09 at 7:28am
Excellent thread. Almost all alarm clocks suck. I tend to have the same problems: Hitting "off" instead of snooze is a big one. I found out that when the alarm is going off on mine now...hitting the dimmer button turns the alarm off. WTF? I overslept at least once from this. I also set two alarms a few minutes apart.
To save time, assume I know everything.
Reply
To save time, assume I know everything.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: AppleOutsider
AppleInsider › Forums › Other Discussion › AppleOutsider › Alarm Clocks