Smartphones have largely replaced the need to have an alarm clock at our bedsides. They have so much more to offer than an alarm clock. So, if it is not our grandparents, we hardly see anyone buying alarm clocks these days, or so you may have thought. You will be surprised to find out how big the alarm clock market is. It is big. It is huge. It is awesome.
This is an even bigger issue when it comes to kids. They tend to be very obsessive about interesting things like this. They will try to squeeze out time from their routine to play games or spend time in the virtual world when none of those seriously matters in the real world. Grades go bad, people lose contacts from their real life, unemployment increases due to unskilled labor. These are all connected to each other like a tile in a domino. One crashes and everything else crashes with it.
However, although it is an alarm clock, it cannot avoid being in line with technological advancements. In a day and age when even ball pens may become spy devices, alarm clocks have no other way but to become smart alarm clocks to some extent. The alarm clocks of today are not just for alarms anymore. They can access the wifi, smartphone, email, and even do conferences. They have controllable brightness, automatic time update, USB charging options, dual alarms or multiple alarms, snooze function, various alarm tones, FM alarm clock radio or radio alarm clock, projection alarm clock, and so many more.
If you have read so far, it means you are interested in alarm clocks. This best alarm clock buying guide will give you some pointers which you can keep in mind when you go for a purchase.
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What to Look for in The Best Alarm Clock:
You will not find everything in a single alarm clock, and of course, it is absolutely impossible to buy every clock with different features. What you need to do is to choose and compromise features to find the best alarm clock within your expectation. In this best alarm clock buying guide, we will give you some information which will be very helpful for your research and eventually a good purchase, if you may.
Features That You May Like:
Is it customizable?
- You must ask yourself this question when you choose a particular alarm clock. The term ‘customizable’ means that you will be able to change a lot of alarm settings of the clock.
- It will not just be a clock that can only offer time setting changes, and no alarm sound or display information variation.
- Although the usual run-of-the-mill alarm clocks offer only two, many other alarm clocks offer even more than six settable alarm times.
- Some clocks can even let you set different alarms for weekend days.
Does it snooze?
- Snoozing is an amazing invention. This feature turns one-time alarms into multiple alarms for a short period.
- You can set an alarm as early as an hour before your actual wake-up time or red alert time zone.
- Then just keep postponing the alarm till it is your real-time to wake up.
- Or if you just want to be in your bed for a few more minutes, hit the snooze button.
- This way the alarm will delay for some minutes before it rings again.
- You will have to manually stop the snooze if you do not want to continue.
The Display:
- Most alarm clocks have a big display. It is the digital alarm clock or digital clock.
- There should be a brightness control.
- Many clocks can simulate the sunrise and sunset light (night light) for waking up and going to sleep. You can call them the sunrise alarm clock with wake up light. This type is a light alarm clock.
- Some clocks can show not just time, but also temperature, humidity, date, and time in both 12 and 24-hour format.
- Some clocks can even work as ceiling or wall projectors. This feature is awesome. Think about waking up looking at your time on the ceiling.
The Tone and the Tunes:
One of the most amazing advances in recent years that the alarm clocks experienced is their ability to play music. You can set the time for the time you want to listen to music and let it play as you fall asleep. - Some people like their alarm sound to be very loud or provide a loud alarm. If people have hearing impairments or very deep sleep – they will need loud noise with their alarm. Many clocks give you the liberty to control the noise level of the alarm.
- The music player alarm clocks have very good stereo speakers. You can also control the volume. Before you buy, please see the user reviews of the clock you wish to purchase.
Vibrating alarm clock or Bed Shaker Alarm Clock:
- Some Clocks can vibrate at a violent rate to wake you up from your deep sleep.
Radio:
- Some alarm clocks come with an excellent FM radio option. You can set the FM radio as an alarm tone. You need to find out what kind of clock radio features are there with the radio of your choice.
Power:
- Most alarm clocks come with a battery backup and run on a direct electricity supply. Therefore, even if the electricity goes out, an internal clock keeps running on the backup battery. As long as the battery is healthy, the alarm clock will keep itself updated. Many alarm clocks can adjust themselves to the daylight saving time.
- You can charge your smart devices through USB charging ports. Many alarm clocks come with a USB port just for this purpose.
Bluetooth Connectivity:
- Many of the alarm clocks of today have Bluetooth technology. This type is a Bluetooth alarm clock and has a Bluetooth speaker. They can communicate with your android or iOS, and can play music from your favorite iOS or Android phone.
- You can even connect Bluetooth speakers with the alarm clocks.
Smart Alarm Clocks or Smart Clock:
- It is a very common practice that manufacturers are integrating smart features with anything they get their hands on. We have seen smartwatches already.
- Now, smart alarm clocks can access the internet via the wifi, and update time, temperature, and humidity.
- They can access various apps such as Amazon Alexa or Amazon Echo Spot.
- You can use voice commands to make your alarm clock do a lot of things, like making phone calls, or setting a sleep timer.
- It can turn the music on, or, run TV programs from your smart devices.
Money matters:
- There could be a lot of clocks in the market, but you can only buy what your purchasing ability allows.
- If you like simple and traditional alarm clock, it will not cost you much. You need to decide what you need. Because, if you wish your budget may spiral out of control very easily.
- You must decide what features you want in your alarm clock. Smart alarm clock? Loud alarm clock? Dual alarm? Snooze? You need to carefully decide.
Warranty:
- You need to find out the best deal on a warranty because when everything seems the same, then only a warranty will make the difference. Some offer a one-month money-back guarantee, some offer more. Carefully think which one is better for you.
Conclusion:
We have so far been talking about the best alarm clock buying guide. We hope our tiny effort would help you decide and purchase the best alarm clock that satisfies your needs.