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Snooze: Minimalist iPhone alarm dock gets the job done
I've seen a lot of iPhone alarm docks, and for the most part I haven't been impressed. Most have built-in speakers, some add in an AM/FM radio, and the majority have apps that are used to program a dizzying array of settings. Snooze (US$39.99) is an iPhone alarm dock that uses a minimalist design approach and works surprisingly well. Let's take a look at what Snooze is and why it does a great job of turning your iPhone 4/4S/5 into an alarm clock. Design If Snooze looks familiar, it could be that you saw it on Kickstarter where it achieved its funding goal and became a real product that is now being sold through the BiteMyApple.co online store. The product was designed by Charleston, South Carolina-based Distil Union, the same people who made the Wally iPhone wallet case I raved about last weekend. This design team has a knack for distilling a product idea down to the basics and making things that just plain work. For an alarm dock, what do many people want? Since the device is near your bed, you probably don't want it to take up a lot of nightstand space, you want it to charge your iPhone while you sleep, you'd like to be able to glance at the time occasionally, and you'd want to have an easy way to tell the iPhone that you want to snooze for just a little longer. The wood, silicone and plastic Snooze is compact, taking up a 4.5" x 2" space on the nightstand. It uses your own charge cable and AC adapter, smartly looping the cable through a port on the back of the unit so it doesn't flop down behind that nightstand. Buyers have a choice of four color schemes: maple and white, maple and black, white, and black. One thing that made me smile was the series of Z's molded into an interior plastic strip... Your iPhone will pretty much have to be "naked" or have a very minimal case installed in order to work in the Snooze. It's convenient that Distil Union's Wally just happens to work quite well with Snooze ... that's what's on the back of the iPhone 5 you see below. The wooden base has some high-friction type of rubberized material on it, so despite your best sleep-dazed attempts at knocking it all onto the floor, it's probably going to stay in one place. There's a groove to hold your iPhone 4/4S/5 horizontally in the Snooze, and atop the device is a flexible silicone "snooze button" that's the same size as the base of the unit. Whack that button, and you have another few minutes to sleep before the alarm goes off again. It's this snooze button and the free Snooze Alarm App that work together to work their magic. The app displays a clock with large white letters on a gray background. Don't worry about the screen being too bright in your darkened bedroom, because with the swipe of a finger you can turn down the brightness. The app allows users to set multiple alarms, each with their own snooze length and tone. One negative about the app is that it doesn't allow users to select their own favorite music or built-in tone. Distil Union notes that they're having the app rewritten and the new version will address some shortcomings of the existing one. Functionality I put this one to the test -- the snooze test, that is. With the lights out I used the app to set an alarm with a 10 minute snooze, then swiped to reduce the brightness of the display. The choice of a neutral gray and white was a good idea for the app, as the display is readable but not obtrusive. Sure enough, when the alarm went off I blindly reached out with an arm and managed to bump the top of the Snooze, at which time the alarm went off for the requisite 10 minute period. Conclusion Snooze works, it's fairly inexpensive, and it looks surprisingly good with an iPhone installed in it. If you're looking for a way to replace that ancient clock radio with its glowing red LEDs, Snooze is a great way to add more utility to your iPhone by turning it into a useful alarm clock while it's charging. Pros Simple design ensures that there's little to go wrong Clean and attractive lines look good Much less expensive than an "active" alarm dock with speakers, a radio tuner, etc... Doesn't take up a lot of room on a nightstand Cons App should let users select their own music or other tones as a wake-up sound Who is it for? Fans of good design who want a simple and effective way to charge their iPhones while they're asleep Giveaway As much as I'm going to regret giving this Snooze away, that's our policy here at TUAW. I guess I'm going to have to buy one! Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before March 1, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Snooze valued at $39.99 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Pure's Contour 100i alarm dock delivers solid, stylish sound for pre-Lightning devices
It's tempting to look at the 30-pin "legacy" iPhone connector-equipped accessory and stereo market as yesterday's news. With the new Lightning connector gracing the iPhone 5 and both the new iPod touch and iPod nano, plus high-quality A2DP Bluetooth streaming support in iOS and other portable devices, it's clear that the next generation of audio gear is going to be re-engineered for Apple's new direction. Then again: There are hundreds of millions of iPods out there, and hundreds of millions more iPhones and iPads, all featuring the vintage dock interface. Plus, Apple's still selling two models each of iPhone (4S, 4) and iPod (4th-gen touch, the iPod classic) that haven't gone to Lightning. While the attention and excitement will be around the Lightning accessories when they arrive, the classic 30-pin dock ecosystem will be good business for years to come. With that future/current split focus in mind, consider the compact and handsome Contour 100i alarm/radio dock from Pure. This unit has the audio oomph to stand out in a den or family room, but with a low profile that would make it at home in a kitchen or office. If you're looking for a dock that plays nicely with both iPhones and iPads (to say nothing of a yet-to-be-announced yet strongly anticipated 7" iPad mini) it's a contender. The Contour, which could double as a hostile space fighter in a backyard film project, has a unique "swivel dock" that rotates out from the front of the unit to expose the 30-pin dock. As other reviewers have noted, it's likely that the dock will get spun out just once and left that way in many iPhone households; still, it's a nice bit of design and makes for a sleeker profile when it's closed. The dock is sized to support all varieties of iPhone and iPod, and even holds an iPad nicely; there is a small rubber bumper that prevents the device from leaning directly on the speaker. All iOS devices, including the iPad, charge from the dock port. In addition to playback of iPod-class devices, the unit also sports an FM radio and a 1/8" stereo aux-in option. The front LED display of the Contour shows the time and dual alarm settings, plus the FM station (including RBDS song info, where supported) or iPod song details while music is playing; this works with non-Apple music apps like Spotify as well as with the bundled Music app. There's a compact remote control with the expected functions, which tucks neatly behind the Contour on a magnetic perch. The Contour's sound is surprisingly big and clear for such a small unit (20W of power). It's not as powerful on the low end as the similarly-styled (and subwoofer-equipped) Breathe and Luna 5 Encore speaker docks from Chinese speaker giant Edifier, but it's quite good and plenty loud for a modestly sized room. I cranked it up quite a bit on both FM radio and playing back from my iPad, and it avoided clipping or distortion even on loud passages of music. Brookstone sells the Contour 100i for $169.99, which means you have a chance to visit the store and check out the sound quality for yourself. You may be able to find slightly better deals online, but not by that much. Pure has a stepped-up version of the Contour featuring onboard streaming audio and a portable charger option, plus a forthcoming Contour 200i Air that will support direct AirPlay playback over Wi-Fi. If what you're looking for is a simple and good-looking dock speaker that will wake you up -- and maybe the neighbors, too -- then swing by Brookstone and give the Contour a listen. Mike is @MikeTRose on Twitter
A pair o' docks: Edifier Tick Tock Dock and XtremeMac Luna Voyager II
Alarm docks are one of the most popular genres of charging docs for iOS devices. They not only charge your device while you sleep, but help to wake you up to tunes from your device, FM radio, or auxiliary sources such as chimes. I received a couple of docks over the past month that caught my attention, and here's a full review of both the Edifier Tock Tock Dock and XtremeMac Luna Voyager II -- two very different products that do the same thing. %Gallery-153166% Edifier Tick Tock Dock I'm old enough to remember the good old wind-up alarm clocks. They had several really annoying habits, like ticking way too loud and scaring the crap out of me when they went off, but in a lot of ways they had some charm. They always had two bells on the top sticking out like ears, and a round face with a dial clock. Now Edifier has come up with a fun retro-styled dock for the iPhone and iPod touch called the Tick Tock Dock (US$79.99) that brings the old round alarm clock into the future. Edifier is all about design, and this clever product is not only fun to look at, but works well as a alarm clock, as a charging speaker dock for your iPhone or iPod touch, and as an FM radio. The round face of the clock (which, alas, is digital) hides a big speaker as well as the dock for your iOS device. With a touch, a secret door pivots around to show the dock -- once you grab your iPhone, you can close the dock to make the Tick Tock Dock look more like a clock. Those two "bells" that stick up from the top appear to hide two smaller speaker ports. On the top of the unit is a navigation pad for your Music app, and a toggle button to switch between functions and inputs (you can hook in an external input). On the back of the Tick Tock Dock are a 9V DC IN port, the AUX IN port, and four more buttons -- mode, set, down and up. Setting the time and date on the clock is easy; you just dock your iPhone or iPod touch and it's done. But here's where the design begins to get a bit wonky. If you're like me, you like to be able to check the time at night, and with your iOS device plugged into the dock to charge, you can't see the clock face. Sure, you could hit the Home button on your device and check the time, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a large time display on the clock, doesn't it? Once you've set the alarm -- on the dock, not on the iOS device, it will start up the music at the appointed time, with the volume gradually getting louder. That navigation pad serves as a snooze button, which gives you a brief respite (10 minutes) before you have to wake up and face the day. The sound of the Tick Tock Dock is pretty good as "clock radios" go, providing amazingly good stereo separation. It can definitely get loud enough to wake almost anyone -- with the possible exception of one of my college roommates who could sleep through a direct hit by a meteor. XtremeMac Luna Voyager II The next dock I looked at was the XtremeMac Luna Voyager II ($69.99), a larger dock that can accommodate the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad -- although not simultaneously. The Luna Voyager II has a nice demarcation of device and clock, so you can actually see the clock when your iOS device is docked. In case you were wondering, that was a not-so-subtle jab at the design of the Tick Tock Dock. XtremeMac refers to this as an "app-enhanced" accessory, meaning that when you dock your iOS device, you'll get a request to download and install an app. The app is the self-named "Luna Voyager II" app, and it's what you use to set up and use the alarms. For setting dual alarms (one at 7:00 AM and the other at 8:30 AM, for instance), you just use the app. Tuning the radio? Use the app. Selecting a song to listen to when you wake up? The app. The Luna Voyager II app is, however, quite flawed -- especially when used with an iPad. The dock works well with an iPhone or iPod touch, with the phone sliding right onto the Dock Connector and working with the app to synchronize alarms you have set with the actual dock. With the iPad, the app doesn't provide controls for setting the time of the alarm -- a major issue. I even tried XtremeMac's other app -- Alarm Clock -- but it's not designed to work with the dock. So while you can recharge your iPad with the Luna Voyager II and play tunes through the speaker, it doesn't work well as an alarm clock with an iPad. The Luna Voyager II works well with the iPhone and iPod touch, but not so well with the iPad due to the lack of full app integration. I also found the iPad a bit difficult to dock on the Luna Voyager II. Some positives for the dock are that the company includes an FM radio antenna for better reception, and there's a small plastic stand for holding up your iOS device, especially important with the iPad. I felt that the sound quality of the Tick Tock Dock was actually better than that of the Luna Voyager II, but if you're looking at buying the dock primarily for the purpose of using it as an alarm clock, it's going to do the job. Conclusion and Giveaway Both the Edifier Tick Tock Dock and XtremeMac Luna Voyager II are nice-looking products with some subtle flaws. The Tick Tock Dock is one of the happiest-looking iPhone docks I've ever seen, although the design makes it impossible to see the time on the clock when an iPhone is docked. I found the lack of an integrated app to be somewhat odd, but the superior sound quality of the Tick Tock Dock more than made up for that. The XtremeMac Luna Voyager II is more traditional looking and includes an integrated app that works quite well with the iPhone and iPod touch. The dual alarm capability is wonderful for couples with different wake-up times, and since all settings are made through the app, there's no complicated dance to do with a bunch of buttons to get things to work. Here's your chance to win one of these two docks and make sure that you wake up on time every morning. To enter, just fill out the form below completely and press the submit button. Follow the rules, get your entry in early, and you can be the happy owner of one of these two docks. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before April 15, 2012, 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Two winners will be selected. One will receive an Edifier Tick Tock Dock valued at $79.99, while the other receives an XtremeMac Luna Voyager II valued at $69.99. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
iHome intros three new iOS docks, plans to blast you out of those Zzz's in return for your G's
That iPhone 4S just not cutting the mustard when it comes to wake up calls? Need something a little iHome-ier? Well, you're in luck because the company behind the iW1 AirPlay has a slew of refreshed docks just waiting to step and repeat at next week's CES. On deck are the $270 iW4, an AirPlay for your bedside table, the $70 iP18 with its selection of four distinct flashing LED colors to rouse you from rest and the$170 iD50, a Bluetooth alarm dock that's equal parts clock radio and speakerphone. Sadly, it's going to be all show and no buy for a while, as these iOS-friendly devices won't be released until later this year. Think you can sit tight? Good, then check out the PR after the break while you wait.
Stem TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock for iOS: A nice way to wake up
Are you looking for a way to charge your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch while you sleep, and then wake to the sound of your favorite tunes? How about going to sleep as your bedside lamp slowly dims and shuts off and you listen to the soothing sound of waves? Maybe you want to listen to Internet radio channels while working. The Stem TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock (US$99.95) is an attractive and useful "clock radio" that works with your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to do all of these things, and more. Design The TimeCommand, which is available only through Apple retail stores, is a cylindrical device about 7.6 inches in diameter and about 3.3 inches tall. That width is perfect for an iPad, which can be docked for charging and rests on two included foam pads. The dock also works with the iPod touch and iPhone, of course. I found that it worked with a number of iPad and iPhone cases in place, so in most cases, it's not necessary to remove a device from a case if there is open access to the dock connector port. %Gallery-130665% On the front of the TimeCommand is a curved orange LED display that can be dimmed to the point that it's readable but not too bright, and then brought to full brightness with the tap of a button. Like most clock radios, the TimeCommand has a battery backup (provided by two AA batteries, not included) and nap, snooze, and sleep controls. One unique feature of the TimeCommand is that there is an extra plug on the AC adapter for plugging in a lamp. The Stem:Connect app (free) from Stem Innovation works with this AC adapter to provide a way to program dimming of a bedside lamp. That same app also acts as an Internet radio with access to ten free "stations," and it's the brains behind most of the functions of the dock. When your iOS device is in the dock and the music player -- which can play either from your personal library or the Internet radio stations -- is active, a new button appears which brings up a Sonic iQ control panel. This control panel includes a sound field expansion slider to simulate moving the speakers further apart for a "wider" sound, a 5-band equalizer, and bass enhancement. Functionality The sound quality of the TimeCommand is better than most clock radios or docks I've tested for TUAW, but it sure won't replace a pair of good headphones or speakers in terms of clarity and warmth. I did like the fact that the Sonic iQ control panel allowed me to really play with the sound to get it to match my personal preferences. One of my pet peeves throughout life has been having to reset digital clocks, so I was happy to see that one quick way to set the TimeCommand is to just plug an iOS device onto it when the Stem:Connect app is running. That type of integration is typical of the attention to detail that Stem Innovation brought to the app and the dock. On the top of the dock are 7 buttons, all marked with large, easily visible icons. The frontmost and largest button is the nap / snooze / sleep button, one that is sure to get a lot of use from those of us who have issues getting out of bed in the morning. Behind that button are three buttons: a center button marked with a light bulb with a minus sign button on the left and a plus sign button on the right. The light bulb button turns a lamp that is plugged into the dock's AC adapter on or off, while the plus/minus buttons are used to control volume, adjust the brightness of the LED display, and move between tracks when playing music. If you're trying to get to sleep, you can use the Stem:Connect app to dim or turn off your bedside lamp. Fans of the soothing sounds of nature can choose one of six different ambient noises that will automatically shut off after a predefined time. I frankly found the noises to be somewhat annoying -- I guess I prefer the sound of a purring cat when trying to get to sleep. The Stem:Connect app is pretty much used to set everything -- the alarms (I set two, one for weekday and another for weekend), sound levels, light levels, etc ... The app displays the current time, day, and date, and also has small panes that slide out from the time display to show the current weather (temperature and forecast from your local area from Weatherbug.com) and the alarms that are set. I recommend setting up the TimeCommand at night with a light nearby, so you can make sure that both the LED display and the iOS device's display are set to a very low light level. I found the slight glow from the iPhone and LED to be unobtrusive. In addition to the alarm sounds (there are four of them, plus any tune in your library or internet radio station from the Stem:Connect choices), you can also select "Wake-By-Light" which turns on a light as the alarm goes off. Conclusion The Stem Innovations TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock has a lot going for it. It's less expensive than some audio docks without accompanying apps or alarm clock features. The lamp dimming and Wake-By-Light features are unique, and the Stem:Connect app adds a lot of functionality in a free and well-written app. If you're looking to replace the alarm clock that you tossed out of your 8th-floor apartment window this morning, or want to send the kid off to college with a decent alarm clock, you can't do better than to take a look at the TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock. Be sure to check out the screenshots and photos in the gallery above.
iLuv's iss277 alarm dock for Samsung Yepps: yup, Yepps
iLuv is getting promiscuous with their affections this morning with an iLuv Stereo alarm dock for Samsung Yepp audio devices -- one of, if not the first third-party accessory for Yepps with more on the way according to iLuv's CEO. The Yepp T9B (pictured) is Sammy's FCC approved Bluetooth MP3 player; a good choice for display since the iLuv iss277 also features a "Bluepin" Bluetooth dongle to stream audio from the T9 and presumably any Bluetooth enabled device. Otherwise, we're looking at what appears to be pretty much the same "made for iPod" i177 which already played music from any DAP through a line-in jack. However, by connecting through the dock, the Yepp can be charged and integrated into the sleep and wake functions of the alarm clock and controlled via the remote. While it's a bit early to call it a trend, any move towards a universal device dock like that announced by Altec Lansing is certainly a refreshing change. However, here's a hint for iLuv and others: make the DAP icon (pictured after the break) a bit less iPod'ish next time if you want to keep the peace with your partners. Available in February for 189,000 Korean Won or about $204 when these arrive closer to home.
