alarmclock
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Google Assistant can create alarms based on weather and time of day
An update on its way to Lenovo Smart Clock will add a Google Assistant option that can switch up the alarm ringtone based on factors such as the time of day and the weather. In fact, Google's AI can create and curate the piano ringtones for you.
The best alarm clock
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After spending more than 60 hours setting alarms, swatting snooze buttons, tuning radio stations, and talking to potential shoppers, we've decided that the RCA RCD30 is the best alarm clock for most people. This is the textbook definition of an alarm clock, delivering a reliable, hassle-free wake-up for people who don't want to rely on a smartphone.
Amazon launches Echo Spot, an Alexa-powered alarm clock
Amazon's Alexa-themed event apparently includes Echo speakers for every possible use case under the Sun. The tech giant has introduced the Echo Spot, a cute circular-screened device that's basically an Echo Show squeezed into an alarm clock. You won't watch movies on it (not with a 2.5-inch display), but it can do many of the things its bigger sibling can -- you can look at a nursery camera, watch a video briefing or hold video calls.
A love letter to my Philips Wake-up Light
You know what's easier than getting me to wake up? Raising the dead and the Titanic at the same damn time. You'd have thought that going to bed earlier each night, quitting bacon and using tech to adopt a healthier lifestyle would have altered that. But, no. The only thing that's been able to help has been Philips' Wake-up Light, which has been faithfully rousing me for the last eight years. But now that it's beginning to break down, it's time to deliver this only slightly preemptory eulogy.
Barisieur's coffee-brewing alarm clock might actually happen
When we first spotted the Barisieur coffee-brewing alarm clock back in 2014, it was a pet project for designer Joshua Renouf. The plan was always to turn it into a gadget for the masses, and in the months that have passed since, the overall design and the tech that drives the bedside system were refined for production. To help make waking up to a freshly brewed cup of pour over coffee or loose leaf tea a reality, Renouf and his team are looking to Kickstarter to get them over the hump.
The Rock wants you to wake up and smell what he's cookin'
It can be difficult to get up and going in the morning, especially on Mondays. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has no trouble in the motivation department, and the actor/pro wrestler is looking to lend a hand with your morning routine. The Rock Clock is an alarm app that allows you to input goals you're working to achieve so you can wake up with some motivation from The Rock himself. There's over 20 alarms too choose from, ranging from the sound of a chain saw to songs and regular clock sounds voiced by Johnson.
The Shock Clock band uses fear and electricity to wake you up
How hard is it to get up in the morning? When you have a job -- and want to keep it -- most of us can usually haul our sleepy asses out from beneath the duvet, even if that's at the last minute. I'm not exactly Mr. Sunshine in the mornings, but is an electric shock really the answer? Pavlok, the team behind the Shock Clock band thinks so, and luckily enough for you, I hate myself just enough that I was willing to find out if it works. You know, for science and whatnot.
Sensorwake clock wants to wake you up with scents, not sound
One of the most hated sounds in the world has to be the shrill siren of the alarm clock in the morning. But what if you could wake up to a pleasant scent instead? That's the thought behind the Sensorwake, which is a unique olfactory alarm clock. Insert one of six scent cartridges (ocean, lush jungle, croissant, coffee, chocolate or peppermint) in the slot, program in your wake time and you'll be awakened with the aroma of your choice.
Beddi smartphone alarm dock hooks up to Uber, Spotify and Nest
We've seen plenty of smartphone -- well, mostly iPhone -- alarm docks in our lifetime, but there's been little development on that end in recent years. OK, there was that one bacon scent alarm from Oscar Mayer, but not much else. That's why we were pretty stoked when we came across Witti's neat and affordable solution dubbed Beddi. This $100 minimalistic dock houses an iOS or Android phone in landscape mode on the top, and recharging is done via your own USB cable -- you get a 2.1A port and a 1A port on the back. But it's really all about the companion app: Once paired up over Bluetooth, you can preset Beddi's three physical buttons to either call an Uber taxi, toggle a Spotify playlist, control the temperature on your Nest or switch on a Philips Hue light. Some of these can even be automated according to your desired schedule.
Google adds more useful features to its Clock app for Android
With Google's focus on improving the custom Android experience, standalone applications like Camera, Calendar and Messenger continue to get better over time. Today, the search titan updated its Clock app with a number of features that will come in handy to many Android users, including those who own a companion Android Wear device. One of the main additions is new progressive alarms and timers, which will gradually increase their volume as they're set off. You can also choose your favorite ringtone, control timers from a notification and dismiss an alarm preemptively -- in case you wake up ahead of time, as any responsible human would do. On the Android Wear side, the Clock app now further integrates with Android Wear, giving you easier management options and interactive alarm notifications. And best of all, it's free for the taking.
ICYMI: Self-healing plastic, Star Wars gear and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-241742").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are seriously in awe of the scientific discovery that came from studying squid. Researchers developed a plastic that can reform, no weaker, after getting cut in half-- just so long as water is applied to it. And if you have a couple hundred dollars to blow, you can use it to buy an alarm clock that syncs with Spotify to gently ease you in and out of sleep with a matching glowing light. Also check out the new smart stethoscope product for medical professionals, allowing them to record the heartbeats they hear, then analyze the sounds in an app.
Wake up to the smell of money, not farts
If we were rich, we'd pay gourmet baker Richard Bertinet to rouse us every day with the scent of his freshly baked bread. Unfortunately, we're not, which is why SensorWake's smell-based alarm clock is such an exciting prospect. Rather than waking users up with the traffic report, the device uses a cartridge of odors to get you out of bed in the morning, from coffee and croissants all the way through to the smell of US dollars.
The Barisieur alarm clock automatically brews coffee while you wake
It's no secret the first five minutes of consciousness for many of us each morning involves brewing a cup o' joe. Well to help get a jump-start on things, designer Joshua Renouf has developed a striking alarm clock that starts the process before you even get out of bed. Using induction heating and stainless steel ball bearings, the Barisieur boils water for pour-over brew, giving off the aroma of your favorite beans as you rise to start the day. There's even a cooled slot for a spot of milk and storage for sugar and extra grounds. Renouf plays up the ritual of loading the unit before nodding off as an activity that helps alert the body that it's time to catch some shut-eye. Though there's only one for now, plans are in motion to produce the multitasker that's said to retail for £150-£250 (around $250-$420). While a retail option is in the works, we should have ample time to stash away our loose change.
Pandora's Android app gets an alarm clock function, right on time
There's no denying it -- many people will need extra motivation to get up at a reasonable hour after sleeping in during the holidays. It's a good thing, then, that Pandora has just given its Android app the alarm clock and sleep functions that reached iOS nearly a month ago. Most of the functions are the same. You can still tell Pandora to wake you up to your favorite streaming station, and you can hit the snooze button if you're not quite ready to greet the new day. Android users do get a few OS-specific perks, including support for recurring alarms and the luxury of switching apps once the alarm has been set. If you need some tunes to make the early morning a little more bearable, you'll want to swing by Google Play to grab Pandora's update.
ALARMclock forces you to seize the day by telling you how many you have left
"Nothing gets you up in the morning like the things that keep you up at night." So goes a tagline on ALARMclock's Kickstarter page. Sure, we've seen other bedside timepieces that encourage alertness by making you use brain or body, but as its creator Fig says, ALARMclock doesn't wake you up, it "efficiently ends dreaming." Hazy images of flying unicorns will soon dissipate as ALARMclock reminds you of your "financial instability, social insecurity and fear of death." Simply made from a bamboo enclosure and 32 x 8 LED display, the heart of the sadistic clock is a WiFi-connected Raspberry Pi. Using a computer or mobile device, you can ask ALARMclock to pull your bank account balance (or other depressing personal finance info), aggregate the number of (virtual) friends you have or, worst of all, estimate your remaining life expectancy. A "morning dose of cold hard reality" is available for the next 20 days to pledges of $85 or more over at Kickstarter. While Fig is listed as the maker of ALARMclock, we can't help but think Aperture Science is involved somehow. Check out the pitch video to see what we mean.
Daily iPhone App: CARROT alarm clock uses mild forms of torture to wake you up
CARROT, the beloved personality in the popular CARROT task manager from Brian Mueller of Grailr, is now the star of an alarm clock app that berates you into waking up on time each day. The new CARROT alarm clock is a minimal app with a whole lotta personality. You get a glimpse of what you are in for when you first open the app and you are greeted with a curt "Hello, meat bag" as you're chastised for clicking on the wrong part of the screen. CARROT Alarm is a basic alarm clock with a good-looking, gesture-based UI. It supports one alarm at a time. You set the time for the alarm by sliding your finger up and down the screen until you reach the correct time. As you drag your finger, the time changes in 15-minute increments. You can also tap directly above or below the time display in the center of the screen to adjust the time in 5-minute blocks. Tapping once on the time in the center will let you see the current time and a second tap will show you the alarm. This is handy if you need to set an alarm for 10 minutes from now and you are not sure of the exact time. After you select your time, you can turn the alarm on and off by dragging the big blue alarm button to the left or the right. When the alarm is on, the blue button turns into an alarm clock. It's an easy, visual way to tell whether the alarm is set. Once the alarm is set, you leave the app open, place the phone down on your desk or nightstand and wait. When the alarm goes off, you are woken up by various pleasing sounds and music. Depending on how deep you sleep, you may have to turn up the volume on your phone as the audible part of the alarm is a bit subdued. Once you're aware of your surroundings, you can turn off the alarm by completing your daily chores, which require you to tap, pinch and / or shake your device. If you need some extra ZZZs, you can hit snooze and grab 10 minutes, but I'll warn you --- CARROT won't be happy. When that snooze alarm goes off, CARROT will yell at you, and your daily chores will be harder. The yelling is pretty tame, but it's definitely geared toward adults. There are no obscenities, but some of CARROT's angry wake-up chants, like "Death, Murder, Kill," for example, are not appropriate for children. CARROT Alarm clock is an entertaining way to wake yourself up each morning or alert yourself during the day. It's the abusive drill sergeant that many of us need in our lives. The alarm music is a tad soft for my tastes (I always pick the obnoxious "Alarm" sound for my alerts), but not everyone needs a blaring alert to wake themselves up. The daily chores to turn off the alarm are challenging enough that they wake you up, and the fear of an angry CARROT makes you think twice about turning on that snooze. It's quite effective at waking you on time. You can check out CARROT Alarm in the iOS App Store. It costs US$0.99.
Sony outs Lightning-friendly speaker dock in Japan, alarm clock and radio features in tow
Sony may have unveiled a slew of new audio products back at CES 2013, but the company has been relatively quiet when it comes to launching ones that are compatible with Apple's novel Lightning connector. That being said, it looks as if folks in the Land of the Rising Sun will soon be able to pair their current-gen iOS device with a dock from the PlayStation maker, thanks to the recently announced SRS-GC11IP. Pictured above, this little 0.8W speaker isn't loaded with fancy features like Bluetooth 4.0 or WiFi, but it does offer convenient functions such as an alarm clock and AM / FM radio -- these, of course, go along with the ability to also play tunes straight from a Lighting-ready iDevice or, with the proper RDP-NWC11 model, a new-era Walkman and many different smartphones. Whether we'll ever see the as-yet-unpriced tubular peripheral hit other markets, well, that still remains to be seen, with Sony only going so far as to listing it as "coming soon" on its Japanese website.%Gallery-184886%
iHeartRadio keeps Android users in mind, boosts app with 'Perfect for' and alarm clock features
This year's CES is well behind us now, but that was back when iHeartRadio first introduced some extensive alarm clock functions and its handy "Perfect for" feature. And while these have been available on iOS and PC since, a recent update to the Android application will now see them present in Mountain View's mobile platform as well. To give you a quick refresh, "Perfect for" provides listeners with the option to choose from more than 1,500 curated stations that are based on current moods and activities, while the alarm clock simply allows reminders / alerts to be customized to launch with any music or radio stations. So, Android users, fret not, as iHeartRadio hasn't forgotten about you; perhaps it was just making sure the new tidbits were -- you guessed it -- perfect for you.
Gear4 spreads Lightning connector love with $129 alarm clock, $79 portable speaker dock
Looking to build up a collection of accessories for that newfangled Lightning connector on your iPhone 5? Well, Gear4 is hoping that you'll start off with an alarm clock (and in the process, forget about iHome's duo of bedside companions, which will soon hit the market). Vying for your attention is the AlarmDock Halo 3, which retails for $129.99 and is on sale as of today. The system includes a companion app called SmartLink that lets users choose from a variety of music sources -- iTunes, Spotify and networked tunes all qualify -- and the app also ensures that any alarms you set on the Halo 3 will be synced to the iPhone, and vice versa. The AlarmDock Halo 3 also offers FM radio, line-in audio, a dimming LCD display, customizable alarm sounds (for when your iPhone is lost in the couch cushions) and, thankfully, a snooze button. Also shipping from Gear4 today is the StreetParty 5, a portable, Lightning-loving speaker dock that's powered by four AA batteries. Sadly, there's no line-in audio support here, but if you're properly equipped, the $79.99 system will have you disturbing the peace in no time. Hop the break for a peek, won'tcha?
Rise Alarm Clock is lovely to behold and effective at waking you up
Some developers throw in a minimalist, gesture-based UI because it is trendy, while others use this style of interface because it works with their app. An excellent example of the latter scenario is Rise, a new alarm clock from Simplebots. Rise is a basic alarm clock. It only does one alarm at a time and doesn't have any fancy bells or whistles that turn your alarm into a challenge. It does one thing and does it well. When Rise opens, it takes over your entire screen, including the menu bar. You still have access to your notification slider, but every other distraction is hidden from view. Rise can pull this off because you really only need your alarm and some music to relax you when it's time to go to sleep. In the middle of the app is a simple alarm timer that you adjust by sliding your finger up or down your screen until your reach the correct time of day. To fine tune the alarm, all you have to do is tap on the screen above the timer to wake up later or tap below to awake earlier. It's an intuitive way to set an alarm and much faster than dialing in the time using a wheel. Once you pick the right time, you can turn the alarm on/off by swiping your fingers to the left or right. When you turn on your alarm, the app displays the amount of time until the alarm is scheduled to go off and a + and - button to adjust the alarm clock in five-minute increments. At the bottom is a volume slider, a repeating alarm toggle and your background music settings. The background music option lets you compile a playlist of songs that'll send you peacefully off to sleep. This music is optional and you can turn it off whenever you choose. The app is filled with thoughtful design elements such as a gradient background that changes color as you adjust the clock and a small clock that shows the actual time at the top of the alarm. The alarm sounds are unique and vibrant enough to wake you from a deep sleep. All on-screen elements are easy to tap and simple to understand. You don't have to think about setting the alarm, you just tap, swipe and you are ready for bed. Trust me, you'll appreciate this simplicity when you are drop dead tired and need to set an alarm. Rise Alarm Clock is available for $1.99 in the iOS App Store.
