Home: Test: Wake-Up Call

We wake up to lights, sounds and vibrations to see which alarm clocks really ring our bell

Every morning at 6:04, a piercing, staccato “beep, beep, beeeeep” sets off the tug-of-war between me and my alarm clock. It goes off. I sleepily paw at it until it’s silenced. Ten minutes later, it goes off again. I slap the snooze button. Beep. Snooze. Beeep. Snooze. Six snoozes later, I admit defeat and swing my legs over the side of my bed, groaning in protest.

Every morning at 6:04, a piercing, staccato “beep, beep, beeeeep” sets off the tug-of-war between me and my alarm clock. It goes off. I sleepily paw at it until it’s silenced. Ten minutes later, it goes off again. I slap the snooze button. Beep. Snooze. Beeep. Snooze. Six snoozes later, I admit defeat and swing my legs over the side of my bed, groaning in protest.

[sidebar]Needless to say, when asked to test out different alarm clocks, I jumped at the chance to find something — anything — that could ease the transition from blissful dreamland to bleary-eyed consciousness. So for five mornings, I let different alarm clocks pull me from my contented slumber — slapping snooze only a few times along the way.

iHome iH4

It’s 6:17 a.m., and I’m lying in bed, singing along to James Brown’s I Got You (I Feel Good). After a few minutes, I lean over and press the small off button on the side of iHome’s iH4, an alarm clock that doubles as an iPod dock. The iH4 lets you wake up to any song from your iPod’s music library, hence the upbeat oldie-but-goodie that roused me this morning. (Choose your songs wisely—Barry White’s baritone pipes lulled me back to sleep.)

Setup was fairly easy, thanks to a straightforward instruction manual. While I was disappointed to find that the iH4 isn’t compatible with the iPod shuffle (it works with all other iPod models), its other features make up for it: a decent-sized LCD display with a dimmer; an automatic daylight saving time switch; a “Gentle Waking” option, which gradually ups the alarm volume; a nine-minute snooze cycle; and a backup “cell” battery system in case of power outage. These numerous pluses—and a modern design — give this alarm clock a refreshing bedside manner. 4

iHome iH4, $49.99
Buy it: By special order at Brookstone, King of Prussia 610-337-0774, brookstone.com; iHome, ihomeaudio.com

Verilux Rise & Shine

Oh, no. No. It’s 7:16 a.m. Next to my bed, the Verilux Rise & Shine Deluxe Natural Alarm Clock Bedside Lamp is emitting a gradually brightening light and playing soothing babbling-brook sounds. So soothing I’ve hit snooze seven times.

The large, putty-colored lamp—not the most aesthetically pleasing bedside accessory — has a digital alarm clock built into its base, and is equipped with enough features to fill an 18-page instruction manual (among them a portable “pillow” speaker and the aforementioned nature sounds). Claiming to work with the body’s “natural waking process,” the Rise & Shine simulates dawn through a slow brightening of light to ease you awake, but I barely noticed the faux sunrise in my already natural-light-filled room.

After a lengthy setup process, the included light bulb (only Verilux bulbs can be used with this model) did not work. However, hours later (luckily, right before I tucked in for the night) the light suddenly burst to life—only to refuse to go on the following afternoon, leaving me bedside-lamp-less. And I never managed to get the colored-light display to work. While its features make this alarm clock-lamp a bright idea, its unreliability and user-unfriendliness made me late for work. 1 1/2

Verilux Rise and Shine Deluxe Natural Alarm Clock Bedside Lamp, $149.99
Buy it: The Sharper Image, Philadelphia 215-732-2390, sharperimage.com; Verilux, verilux.net

Nanda Clocky

It’s 6:04 a.m., and I’m convinced R2-D2 is in my bedroom. Robotic beeps and whistles are coming from Clocky, a small alarm clock on wheels that is sitting on the bottom shelf of my nightstand. I press the snooze button. Nine minutes later, a crash jolts me awake. Clocky has rolled off my nightstand and is reeling across my bedroom floor—wheels spinning, android noises in full effect. I watch in sleepy fascination as the alarm clock bumps into my dresser, turns itself around and rolls toward my closet. It continues speeding about my room for 30 seconds before coming to a halt next to my desk, where it sits — alarm blaring — until I walk across the room and turn it off.

Only one snooze in, and I’m awake and out of bed. Impressive. But I’m still skeptical. The display is small, and the numbers don’t glow in the dark — you have to press a button to activate the three-second backlight. And minor obstacles like strewn-about clothes and thick carpeting will stop Clocky in its tracks. Another downside? It can withstand falls up to only three feet, so you’ll need to find another jumping-off point if your bedside table is any higher than this. But the easy set-up, cool exterior and funky functions make this an alarm clock worth chasing after. 3 1/2

Nanda Clocky, $49.99
Buy it: nandahome.com

Lexon On/Off

After nature noises, crashing clocks and simulated sunrises, the ever-familiar beeping alarm seemed a distant memory, until I tried Lexon’s On/Off model. Designer Nina Tolstrup took the traditional alarm clock and turned it on its side — literally. Tilt the L-shaped alarm onto its side to activate the alarm, and push it back to its original position to turn it off. No more searching for miniscule off buttons in the early-morning darkness. Plus, you can tell at a glance if you have, in fact, set your alarm. The only thing this model is missing? A snooze feature. (Gulp.)

While the alarm’s very faint beeping did wake me up, its alarmingly easy shut-off and lack of a snooze button meant I got an unplanned extra 15 minutes of sleep—making for one mad morning rush.

With its sleek physique, the On/Off takes the alarm back to basics. Its low-tech nature coupled with its high-style design makes this a clock I’d love to have on my bedside table — for pure aesthetic value. But I’m keeping my unwieldy, screeching alarm clock on the bottom shelf. I’m not ready to live without my snooze button. Yet. 2 1/2

Nina Tolstrup For Lexon On/Off, $37.95
Buy it: Scarlett Alley, Philadelphia 215-592-7898, scarlettalley.com; Lexon, lexon-design.com

Sonic Boom!

At 6:14 a.m., I’m literally shaken from sleep. A deceivingly small disc is powerfully vibrating beneath my pillow, and a loud, pulsating buzzer is sounding from my nightstand. Not the most subtle of wake-up calls, but it’s effective.

According to its box, the Sonic Boom! Loud + Vibrating Alarm Clock is “designed to wake up the deepest sleepers.” And it lives up to its word. Only two inches thick, this alarm is the sleekest I’ve seen, but its small frame packs a powerful, sleep-shattering punch. The attached circular disc is placed underneath a pillow or mattress to stir you awake, and a buzzing alarm can be adjusted for volume and tone, letting you choose the perfect pitch to wake you up. A large, easy-to-see display (two-inch digits!) and oh-so-simple instructions and controls make this the ultimate in user-friendliness. It’s also got a nine-minute snooze function, but once you’ve been roused by the Sonic Boom!, drifting back to dreamland is pretty unlikely.

Bring on the day. 5

Sonic Boom! Loud + Vibrating Alarm Clock, $39.95
Buy it: The Sharper Image