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alarmclock posts

Finger Dance Alarm Clock: it's like DDR, in an alarm clock

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 4th 2009 at 8:04AM

If the world required that you complete an expert DDR jam each morning only moments after you awoke, there's a solid chance the global death toll would far outpace the birth rate. Thankfully, all that's typically necessary is that you actually listen to whatever device you've got ringing. If you've noticed lately that said noises just aren't cutting it, here's a little puzzler that's pretty much guaranteed to either get you up or entangle you in infinite frustration. The £9.99 ($16) Finger Dance Alarm Clock sounds at a user-determined time, and once your weary eyes begin to focus, you then have to use your digits to follow a lighted dance pattern in order to shut the cacophony off. It's half torture, half genius -- precisely the way we like it.

[Via OhGizmo]

Infallibly Polite Speaking Alarm Clock does what it says

by Darren Murph, posted May 20th 2009 at 1:07AM

Truth be told, there's an alarm clock out there for every type of waker, but this bad boy just might be the most enjoyable (if such a thing actually exists). Sold by the always intriguing Hammacher Schlemmer, the Infallibly Polite Speaking Alarm Clock supposedly "reproduces the subtle wit employed by P. G. Wodehouse's most famous character, the valet Reginald Jeeves." In fact, it plays back 126 fey wake-up messages in the voice of Stephen Fry, with our favorite being the following: "Excuse me sir, I'm so sorry to disturb you, but it appears to be morning... very inconvenient, I agree... I believe it is the rotation of the Earth that is to blame, sir." If only the thing weren't $99.95, we'd have one in every room.

[Via Slashgear]

Update: ThinkGeek has it for just $69.99 -- score! Thanks David!

Sony debuts four new Bluetooth-ready digital photo frames

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 7th 2009 at 7:01PM

We know, the digiframe market is just downright saturated with ho hum offerings that offer little innovation and oodles of boring, but Sony's got four out today at CES that are just a step or two above the rest. Kicking things off is the top-end DPF-X1000 ($300; March) and second-tier DPF-V1000 ($250; March), both of which offer 10-inch panels, an alarm clock, auto dimmer, a variety of slideshow functions, an auto orientation sensor and a bit of magic that "auto corrects the white balance" in your photos. The former model arrives with 2GB of internal storage and sports a black / wood-trimmed motif, while the latter fellow gets half the storage and a less striking silver trim. Following those two are the 9-inch DPF-D92 and 8-inch DPF-D82, both of which have a VGA panel, 1GB of memory and would love be wall-mounted.

Gallery: Sony debuts four new Bluetooth-ready digital photo frames

Iconic's Wake Up Call wants to help you stay awake, alone

by Laura June, posted Dec 31st 2008 at 10:39AM

We'll be straight with you: trusting something like this to keep you awake in serious situations seems like a bad idea. Iconic's "Wake Up" is apparently a plastic "thingie" that you wear behind your ear somewhat in the style of a hearing aid, which then vibrates if you slouch over -- the assumption being that you've passed out in the midst of doing something important. We're pretty sure that a lot of people can totally fall asleep anytime, anywhere, without even closing their eyes, let alone slumping over dramatically enough for this iPosture clone to catch wind of it. Regardless, we doubt the "Wake Up" functions as advertised, but it's worth a shot if Krueger's breathing down your neck, and probably worth the $17.65 asking price.

Cuckoo clock loudspeaker kicks out the jams, you out of bed

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 9th 2008 at 8:43AM

And you thought The Shining cuckoo clock was terrifying -- imagine waking up to this. Designed by French artist Stephane Vigny, the loudspeaker clock does exactly what you'd expect it to. When the time comes, the doors flip open, the bottom woofer extends out and a cacophonic emission of sound is heard as you angrily wake from your slumber. We can't imagine that outstretched woofer surviving too many mornings of you waking on the wrong side of the bed.

[Via MAKE]

iLuv's iNT170 internet radio-alarm appears, no one's too excited

by Laura June, posted Dec 4th 2008 at 4:32PM

Not to be left out, iLuv's also brought out another internet radio / alarm combo and it looks exactly like you'd think it would. Only cooler. The iNT170's packing access to 15,000 radio stations and podcasts through its built-in WiFi, aka INTERNET (see photo). It's got two 2.5 watt jAura sound speakers, a dual alarm clock, plus a 3.5mm line-in if you need to plug in your PMP. The clock self-updates via INTERNET, so you'll never be able to use that Daylight Saving Time excuse for being late to work again (we recommend the "flooded basement" or "sick cat" in its stead), and you'll have the option to wake to INTERNET or regular radio in addition to the old standby buzzer. It's available now for $199.

Video: Rise and Shine alarm hack is sheers genius

by Thomas Ricker, posted Nov 19th 2008 at 4:41AM

Few devices receive as much attention to re-design as the mousetrap and alarm clock. Regarding the latter, Anupam Patahak, a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Michigan, takes a natural light approach with his Rise and Shine Alarm Shades. At a predefined time, the modified alarm clock silently (or noisily) kicks off a servo to wind open the shades. Nothing like the deep, battleship gray skies of mid-western suburbia to rouse a young mind from sleep. Video after the break.

[Via Hack A Day]

Continue reading Video: Rise and Shine alarm hack is sheers genius

Escape Clock terminates your dream sequence with Control-Fist

by Thomas Ricker, posted Nov 17th 2008 at 3:16AM

Simple in design, perfect in execution, we bring you Santiago Cantera's Escape Clock. No tiny snooze buttons to fumble with here dozy Joe, just one big key that shuts off the alarm when meeting the business end of a morning beef hammer. Set it on edge and you've switched from alarm clock mode to an in-room stereo. The worst part? It's just a concept... for now.

[Via Design Launches]

Moshi's IVR Alarm Clock accepts voice commands, harbors own primary directives

by Paul Miller, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 10:21AM

The Moshi IVR (Interactive Voice Responsive) Alarm Clock is a chatty one. Instead of those perfectly reasonable physical buttons which have been providing us with additional five minute segments of sleep since time immemorial, the Moshi IVR wants to talk you through your morning. To activate a command, just say "Hello Moshi." Moshi will most likely mutter something threatening under its virtual breath, and then ask you "Command Please," to which you can instruct the clock to tell you the time, set the alarm, inform you of the temperature and a bunch of other things. Sounds great, and we doubt Moshi will be able to murder you in your sleep without any life support systems or pod bay doors under its dominion, but we still fear the prospect of attempting to reason with a too-smart-for-its-own-good alarm clock during one of those dreaded "before noon" hours of the day. Moshi IVR is available now for $50.

DIY SNES alarm clock is kind of cool, truly alarming

by Laura June, posted Nov 12th 2008 at 3:01AM

Oh, look -- another SNES mod. This one's actually pretty cute and useful in theory -- an alarm clock! The finished product is completely functional, though we're not too psyched on the sound of the alarm. Then again, we've never heard an alarm we were super stoked on, so it's not this inventive chap's fault. Hit the read link for full instructions on how to make your own, and take a peek at the clock-setting action in the video after the break.

[Via GoNintendo]

Continue reading DIY SNES alarm clock is kind of cool, truly alarming

Bandai's Gun O'clock: shoot the target or you'll never snooze again

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 21st 2008 at 9:02PM

We've seen no shortage of unorthodox alarm clocks, but Bandai's latest creation is nothing short of spectacular. Rather than making users defuse a bomb or catch a runaway helicopter, the appropriately named Gun O'clock actually forces heavy sleepers to aim a gun and successfully strike the bullseye to shut the undoubtedly obnoxious alarm up. Best of all, those who enjoy challenges can set it to "Hard" mode, requiring them to blast the center target no fewer than five times in order to hush it; after you're satisfactorily awake, you can utilize the game mode to work on your aim. This magnificent wonder is all set to launch in Japan next month for ¥4,095 ($41), but we don't see any obvious signs of it ever coming Stateside. Anyone feeling an online petition? We hear those work really well.

[Via UberReview]

Philips Wake-up Light simulates sunrise, still can't call in sick for you

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 3rd 2008 at 11:22AM

Some pretty extreme methods for waking up are out there, but for those of you who'd prefer something a bit more natural, have a passing glance at Philips' Wake-up Light. This admittedly brilliant device simulates the rising of the sun by gradually getting brighter as your ~~desired~~ required wake-up time draws near. If that's not enough, your windowless apartment can become the middle of Central Park with the inclusion of bird sounds, babbling brooks and millions of citizens yapping on mobiles. Okay, so maybe that last bit will come with a future firmware update, but if the current iteration is good enough for you, it can be acquired now for around $120.

[Via UberReview]

Update: Seems this has been around for at least a bit in some parts of Europe. Share the love!

iLuv intros the iMM173 dual-dock iPod / iPhone alarm clock

by Nilay Patel, posted Aug 27th 2008 at 3:02AM

Putting two iPhone / iPod docks in an alarm clock is a simple and clever idea that's so far only shown up in the JVC NX-PN7 (which we have and love), but it looks like iLuv's getting in the game as well with the new iMM173. Apart from the two shielded iPhone 3G-compatible docks up top, it's the usual iLuv kit with 5 watt jAura sound, an aux input, and dual alarms -- not a bad deal for an MSRP of $129 that'll almost certainly be lower at retail when this hits in September.

iHome ships rotatable iH41 iPod alarm clock

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 11th 2008 at 8:35AM

We've heard about iHome's twistable iH41 since CES, but it looks like the outfit finally got its act together and began to ship these out. Designed specifically for the iPod touch and its variable aspect screen, this unit can be flipped for easy orientation switching that enables users to view widescreen videos while it's docked and charging; when rotated, the digital clock display will also adjust to "complement the position of the unit." Notably, there's no mention of iPhone / iPhone 3G compatibility, but you do get a handy remote thrown in should you decide to cough up $79.99.

[Via SlashGear]

Ask Engadget: Best digiframe / alarm clock combo?

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 31st 2008 at 10:30PM

Frightening though it may be, the fall semester is just around the corner. You know what that means? You'll actually have to get up at -- wait for it -- an appointed time. Carissa, being the proactive student she is, posed this question:

"Going to school in the fall, I'm looking for the ideal alarm clock to beat the late nights and what not and noticed a few digital photo frames / alarm clocks. I want a decent alarm clock that has battery backup and good resolution on the screen for viewing photos. An auxiliary audio jack would be a major plus. Which one do you guys recommend that falls under the 200 dollar mark? Thanks a million!"

Look at that -- you all even received a thank you in advance! For those who've mastered the art of waking up on time and pretending to be a real live adult, which alarm clock / digiframe hybrid have you found to be supreme? Oh, and you know that question you've been hitting the snooze on? Yeah, send it on over to ask at engadget dawt com.