Looking for a kickass alarm clock

K

KhanArtist

CAG Veteran
My current alarm clock has been quirky and failed to buzz the other morning, so ever since, I've been using my cell phone as a backup.

I want to go all-out with the replacement and by a sweet alarm clock. The two features I'm interested in:
-Multiple alarm configurations customizable by day of week
-Alarm can be configured to use MP3 of my choice instead of a buzzer

I wanted a dedicated alarm clock that would do this, and not just a phone or iPod.

The Sony Dash HID-C10 looked kind of like what I wanted, but I heard that it sometimes freezes, you can't use your own MP3 as an alarm, and it wouldn't wake me up if the power goes out.

Anyone know of any alarm clock model that suits my whims?
 
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By the time my alarm gave out it proudly gave me service for nearly 25 years, it was one of those alarms with the annoying buzzer. It wouldn't let me sleep through the nastiest hangovers, I miss that thing!
 
[quote name='Ronzilla']It doesn't get any cooler than this one at least from what I've seen. Not sure if it fits your feature requirements though.

LINK[/QUOTE]

Haha, wow, I had actually seen that before, but I didn't know it was made by Bandai.
 
Ok, I've been doing a lot of research on this. Strangely, it seems the only devices that can use music as alarms are straight up music players.

The best fit seems to be some system called iHome... But it's kind of ambiguous how much of the functionality is available without having an iPod plugged into it (since a lot of the alarm functions run off of apps, that it seems the system can't use standalone). It runs about $90 on Amazon.com. If I need an iPod to do everything, though, I might as well just buy an iPod and cheap speakers and use that as an alarm.

The Logitech Squeezebox also seems to have everything I'm looking for, and it's a pretty cool media player on top of that. It runs about $150 for the standard version. I'll keep my eyes open if they go on sale- I'll probably grab one if it drops close to $100.
 
Yeah I don't think there's any alarm that will just allow you to load MP3's on to it. It's either going to be some sort of media streamer/player or have an iPod dock
 
The closest thing I've found is the Chumby One. It's similar to the Sony Dash as the Dash is built on the Chumby platform but the C1 is smaller and more like an alarm clock. Reading through the official Chumby forums it does seem like you can load MP3's to wake you up, though it doesn't always work perfectly. It also has a battery backup inside I believe

It's sold at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chumby-Indust...UU4M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317426087&sr=8-1

and here's the forum where you can make inquiries: http://forum.chumby.com/index.php
 
Hmm, that does seem like a good fit for what I want. Even if it doesn't support everything I want, I could develop my own apps to fill in the gaps.

If I can confirm that custom MP3 wakeups are in the realm of possibility, I think I'll go ahead and get one of these. Thanks for pointing it out!
 
I might go that route for now, getting a $10 clock to hold me over until I spot a good sale on a Chumby or decide that I can get along just fine with a traditional alarm.
 
It meet's none of your requirements but I love and highly recommend my alarm clock for anyone who is a deep sleeper like me. It's called a Sonic Bomb and it crazy loud sounding like a fire alarm going off plus it has flashing lights AND a attachment that you slip under your mattress and it'll vibrate your bed. Even my queen size huge pillow top sleigh bed shakes. Best $30 I ever spent and it replaced my old 2 alarm clocks spread across the room + the phone setup! :D
 
there are these alarm clocks called the sonic boom they have all different versions of it and the alarm is 113 db and even comes with something that sakes the bed to so if the alarm dosn't wake you up
 
[quote name='overblood']there are these alarm clocks called the sonic boom they have all different versions of it and the alarm is 113 db and even comes with something that sakes the bed to so if the alarm dosn't wake you up[/QUOTE]

LOL Yea that's what I have, I don't think it's really 113 but it's damn lound and will scare the shit outta you if you haven't heard it before.
 
If you're in the U.S. OP you may want to check out Sears, as I believe they sell an alarm clock by Emerson for around $15 or so that has an internal battery in it in the event the power goes out it'll stay working.

They also sell the iHome units if I remember correctly.;)
 
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ihome and other brands that I cannot remember were all being clearanced at TRU today
ihome was either $59.99 or 69.99..
 
I use my iPhone, an app called alarm clock pro. I have it set to wake me to Good Morning by Kanye West or by Lenny Kravitz :p
 
[quote name='$hady']LOL Yea that's what I have, I don't think it's really 113 but it's damn lound and will scare the shit outta you if you haven't heard it before.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, many deaf people use Sonic Boom alarm clock because it is damn loud! Many retail prices for them can be 40-60 depending on type of clock.
 
I wanted to get a Chumby a while back, and found out a co-worker was selling one for cheap (she just wanted to get rid of it). Unfortunately a different co-worker bought it and sold it on eBay.

I freakin HATE when people do that. If someone gives you a good price, it seems like a dick move to just buy it and sell it for more. They're giving the low price with the expectation you'd use it!
 
I've been surfing around trying to see if anything new was around, and I found the Sony Dash (which was actually developed in cooperation with the Chumby folks). It used to be like $150, but Amazon has it for around $100 now (less if you want a used one). That seems to be ballpark for what it's going for now, so while supplies last, etc etc.

Compared to a Chumby One, I think it has more beef. One reviewer was watching Netflix on it. It seems the only criticisms are that it doesn't store music to play (just does streaming, although this may be rectified by an OS update, allowing USB storate), and that the speaker isn't so great (but it does have a headphone jack, so you can plug in external speakers if you want).

It also uses Chumby apps.

I saw Chumby has a newer version that looks like a picture frame, the "Chumby 8", but at $200, that seems more than I'd want to spend on an alarm clock. Maybe if I wanted a digital fram that would be good, because (I think) that's about ballpark for that kind of product... then you get all the other stuff it does.
 
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[quote name='tony72']I've been surfing around trying to see if anything new was around, and I found the Sony Dash (which was actually developed in cooperation with the Chumby folks). It used to be like $150, but Amazon has it for around $100 now (less if you want a used one). That seems to be ballpark for what it's going for now, so while supplies last, etc etc.

Compared to a Chumby One, I think it has more beef. One reviewer was watching Netflix on it. It seems the only criticisms are that it doesn't store music to play (just does streaming, although this may be rectified by an OS update, allowing USB storate), and that the speaker isn't so great (but it does have a headphone jack, so you can plug in external speakers if you want).

It also uses Chumby apps.

I saw Chumby has a newer version that looks like a picture frame, the "Chumby 8", but at $200, that seems more than I'd want to spend on an alarm clock. Maybe if I wanted a digital fram that would be good, because (I think) that's about ballpark for that kind of product... then you get all the other stuff it does.[/QUOTE]Woot had the Dash on sale about 4-6 weeks ago for $70 + $7 shipping.

I picked one up there and it's been a great device, though yes, it's lacking a battery. There are two revised models of the Dash coming out this fall/winter and one model comes with a battery.

There's plenty of crap apps in what's out there for Chumby, though numerous news feeds, weather, clocks and other nice bits.

Being able to make multiple alarms for different days of the week with their own individual settings is pretty slick.
 
[quote name='DurbanBrown']I like battery operated alarm clocks. Power outage safe! Nothing fancy for me.[/QUOTE]

Many clocks come with a backup battery in case of a power outage
 
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