Alarm Clocks
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Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find a better alarm
Dear Aunt TUAW, Why do all iPhone alarm clock apps have to simulate an old and unattractive 7-segment display? Or the old, cheap, unattractive flip-clock display? I understand the gee-wiz factor of emulating these classic displays, but aren't we way past that point? I would love to see a simple, attractive and reliable alarm clock app for the iPhone without 7-segment or flip displays. Does such an app exist? Thank you! Your loving nephew, Pete L. My Darling Pete, Auntie is right there with you on alarm clocks. Auntie is so over mornings. Just let her sleep in or bring the caffeine right to her, along with roses and a tasteful continental breakfast, as she rises to a well-designed iDevice app's summons. After receiving your letter, Auntie set out on a hunt for beautiful clocks. Thanks to many of her electronic nephews and nieces, she tracked down the following suggestions that offer alternatives to the humdrum. Emerald Observatory (US$0.99) offers a stunning clock that's full of astronomical information without sacrificing a clock or a daily alarm. Observatory was the single-most recommended application in Auntie's search. The presentation includes the phase of the moon, the current time, sunrise and sunset times and much more. Night Stand HD ($1.99) offers some handsome analog displays as well as those 7-segment and flip presentations you're looking to skip. Clockus ($0.99) puts a mechanical spin on 7-segment output with elements that flip and adjust to show the time. Art Clock Van Gogh (free) provides a beautiful take on waking up. It has a criminally small audience (only nine ratings to date), and offers over 50 impressionist backgrounds. Unfortunately, the highly recommended Pencil Clock from Paz Interactive seems to have disappeared from the store -- but the screen shots that Auntie has been able to track down show that it really had a fabulous and non-traditional take on time. Hopefully one of these apps will strike your fancy and help you transition away from the boring 7-segment/flip-clock run-of-the-mill alarm apps. Love & hugs, Auntie T. Thanks to gonzopancho, NienorGT, pTracker, josh_m, Consumer_NeXT, mssres, rosskimes, zyafa, LucasTizma, jeffmc, and everyone else who tweeted suggestions...
Alarm clock apps for iOS and Mac
Now that the iPhone's built-in Clock app has suffered two alarm-hindering hiccups, some users are ready for an alternative. Sure, Apple says the latest issue, affecting non-recurring alarms set for January 1 and 2 of 2011, will be "fixed" as of January 3. However, some of us here at TUAW experienced the problem again this morning, and others are just sick of the shenanigans. Fortunately, we've reviewed a number of alarm clock apps for the iPhone over the years, and we present the best here for your consideration (all prices are USD). Awaken We last looked at Awaken 1.2 for iPhone. Today it has matured to version 1.9 with support for iOS 4.2, the iPad and more. With iOS 4.2, Awaken supports local notifications for alarms, so the app needn't be running in order to wake you. Both the iPad and iPhone versions offer multiple clock faces to choose from, with an additional photo frame option that's unique to the iPad. An alarm can trigger either your favorite iTunes track or one of the app's built-in sounds. You'll also find a sleep timer and a flashlight feature, for those late-night sojourns beyond your bed.
CES Watch: More clocks and docks
(image by Cult of Mac) As expected, there are a number of iPhone and iPod-related accessories coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Here's a couple we've seen already: iHome's got both audio systems and alarm clocks on display -- the clocks even have a sync button that will pull the time in straight from your iPhone or iPod, so no more having to set it yourself. They've also got another unit for the kitchen, but is it just us or do these all look pretty much the same? Sharper Image has a clock that uses an app on the iPhone screen as the clock hands, while sitting in a dock that holds numbers around the handset. They also have a speaker dock that can pull sports, news, and weather information from a custom app and display it on a separate LED screen. Pretty cool, actually, even if an iPhone already gives you all of that information anyway. FLO TV and Mophie are trying to bring mobile television to the iPhone this year. And Tunebug is showing off "surface sound" speakers -- you attach a little piece to a bike helmet or other surface, and it turns the whole thing into a giant speaker, sending the music into your head. Freaky. So far, as you can see, it's mostly clocks and speakers. Which sounds about right for CES, actually -- not everybody gets to release an augmented reality helicopter. We'll keep an eye on the show all this week, and let you know about any other iPod-related releases there.
LCD alarm clock for your iPhone
Oh no! Another alarm clock app for the iPhone. No shortage of these at the app store, but I am always impressed at the variety and creative approaches these apps take. Many combine the clock and alarm into one application, so you can leave your iPhone in the charger and have a nice desktop clock as well as an alarm.A just-released app for the iPhone and iPod touch is LCD Clock from Japanese developer forYou inc. The app, called LCD Clock [App Store link] has several functions, including display of holidays (U.S. and Japanese), 12 or 24 hour time display, a choice of 4 colors for the clock and calendar, support for landscape as well as portrait orientation, and the ability to disable auto-lock so the display stays running. Be sure to activate that only when then iPhone is charging or you'll eat through your battery quickly. I had trouble finding the settings menu, and it turns out they are not in the app, but in the main iPhone settings menu. You can change colors and set the alarm from within the app.I didn't find the screen displays particularly striking. I liked Touch Flip Clock [App Store link] a bit better for a more interesting design, but the on-screen controls are in Japanese. (edit- it's actually Korean. I regret the error). For something a bit more traditional there is an old style clock in the AA01 Led Time [App Store link] app.My favorite clocks for the iPhone are apps that emulate the look of the old Nixie Tube units. Here's one, Nixie Clock A, [App Store link] that looks nice and supports an alarm.All the clocks discussed are US$0.99 which seems to be the going rate, although there are some free ones [App Store link] around. Improvements I'd like to see in the clocks I've mentioned would be the ability to choose a music track for an alarm, just not the standard rings and buzzers. There are lots and lots of clock/alarms for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's really just a matter of finding one that suits your needs and personality.If you are looking for an alarm clock app for your mac, TUAW has you covered as well, with an extensive review from Mike Schramm of what is out there.
