so, gadgets...

[rmd]

I think the world is getting closer to providing the alarm clock I want. It's still not there, yet, though.

The chumby comes close, but it's much pricier than I want. The sony dash also comes close but it's made by sony and i'm hesitant to trust anything with software sony has meddled with.

But it's getting there.

What I want is to be able to play random selections of some subset of music (playlist of my digitized music, pandora, whatever) on internal speakers, and also have a buzzing or beeping alarm so that I can have music play at time T and then another alarm go off at, say, T+20m. Display the time, of course. Being able to set alarms per day would be nice, or 'weekday' vs 'weekend' alarm settings, so I don't have to think too hard about the state of my alarm clock when I go to bed. Battery backup so it doesn't get hosed by a brief power outage (5-10m, say). Having weather status and forecast as well as other potentially interesting information close at hand would be spiffy. And I want it at a price point that makes me think "clock radio alarm" rather than "high end stereo gear." Standard clock radio levels of audio quality are fine.

These things will get cheaper, and that's good. I'm currently using my smartphone for this, which does most of these things but requires more effort on my part to set it correctly every night. But I'm sure eventually they'll sell things like I want in the small electronics aisle in the drug store or something. or else tablet computers will become cheap enough that I can get a multipurpose device and dedicate it to being a bedside table device.

GO TECHNOLOGY GO!

Comments

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Isn't the Dash just a Chumby under the hood? And there's other stuff with Chumby under the hood as well. Here's a $60 one:

http://www.amazon.com/Insignia-Infocast-Internet-Media-Display/dp/B004HJN4I0/

The "Chumby ecosystem" is all Flash based. You can create a "virtual Chumby" and then play it back on many gadgets with Flash players. I once did so on my Wii, and it worked. No idea if that's of use to you. There's also a Chumby app for Android; again, no idea if that's of use to you.

If you watch Woot, sometimes Chumbies go on sale there.

(I pay attention to 'em because I was given one of the original leather-clad sorts of Chumbies as a gift a few years back.)

Then there's also the alarm clocks that have docks for an iPhone or iTouch, so you get some basic capabilities and then all the stuff those can do if you slot one in. (And there are some sophisticated alarm clock apps out there.)

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Hey. If your main complaint on the smartphone side is "requires more effort on my part to set it correctly every night", well, one thing is, go looking for cheap alarm clock apps.

Or, if your smartphone is an iPhone, well... got a requirements document handy? My Xcode is itchy.

[charleshaynes.livejournal.com]

This Braun AB1A (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703712504576243160364211774.html) is the alarm clock I just bought for Debbie. We had been searching for a replacement for hers for years.

It's everything I want in an alarm clock, and nothing I don't.

not what you want

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

but I love this

http://www.voco.uk.com/?gclid=CP6owuqD2Z0CFeFM5QodwVaMrQ

Re: not what you want

[charleshaynes.livejournal.com]

Oh god, that sounds... horrible.

I have a good friend who has a great deal of trouble waking up. I have found a solution that seems to work, quite well actually, but I don't think it scales...

[muffyjo]

My android let's me set my clock for the week/day/whatever. I have a week setting and a weekend setting since i have to get up to give the cat her meds at a regular time each day. I don't have to remember anything at night, it just goes off each day until I tell it to stop.

That sounds like the only part of the interface that's not working for you on the phone bits?

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

I bought a Dash during one of Woot's occasional sales. It's sort of nifty, but I realized soon after that I didn't really want it in the bedroom as an alarm clock. (The screen is bright, there's no battery backup, and it seemed like a bad idea to keep an 802.11 antenna next to my head all night every night.) It's also a little braindead; it takes forever to boot and I'm dubious as to how long some of the best apps will continue to work. I used it in the kitchen as a Netflix streamer but that hasn't functioned right for a while now. Honestly, given how advanced Android phones have become, in another year or two you'll be able to snag one with no SIM and make it do everything you're looking for.

[galestorm.livejournal.com]

We have something that sounds kinda sorta like what you're describing: Logitech Squeezebox.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

You may desire ClockPro (http://www.clock-pro.com/) for the iPhone/iPad.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

looks nice, but still has one of the inconveniences that annoys me -- i have to actually launch that application before going to bed, which is a tiny thing that i find mildly annoying. (i use the ihome alarm clock app much of the time now, and it also has this flaw)

I may check it out, tho.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

It looks like alarms go off no matter what, whether ClockPro is the front running app or not.

You'd have to poke it to do a sleep to music set, though, I think. But you'd likely have to do that with any similar device.

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

The iPhone's built-in alarm lets you set up regularly scheduled alarms. I have an "every evening before school days" (which yes is Sunday through Thursday), and one for every weekday morning, etc. The only thing you have to remember is to turn it off on holidays.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

I had been using a free alarm clock app, which was mediocre (ihome). Per Whitebird's suggestion, I have started mucking with clock pro which seems to be working sufficiently well for me now. Thanks!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

I am liking it so far. Thanks for the recommendation.

I've been having fun setting up different music alarm playlists for different days of the week. :)

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Sony Dash woot-off RIGHT NOW...

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Ha! I saw that.
I think I'm good with the Clock Pro app for now, though.
Thanks for the heads up!