It's hard enough getting up in the morning, but having to get up to an annoying, monotone alarm makes it even worse.
I've tried out a couple of products lately that solve that problem by using something far better to wake me up -- my choice of music.
Where it’s @
The Soundfreaq Sound Rise Wireless Speaker and Alarm Clock requires a Bluetooth-compatible music player or one with a 3.5mm audio cable. The Sound Rise comes in gray or Limited Edition Plaid. The product retails for $99.99. The Homtime C1Pro requires a music player with Bluetooth compatibility. The device currently is on Kickstarter, and when funded will ship in September for a retail price of $34, or $39 with a Micro-USB card and card reader. More information is available at http://tinyurl.com/…
The first device is the Soundfreaq Sound Rise Wireless Speaker and Alarm Clock.
This device has a lot of options available. It can connect via Bluetooth to play music from a smartphone or tablet. It has an FM stereo built into it. It also has six programmable favorites, so you can find your favorite stations easily. It has an auxiliary port on the back, so you can plug a non-Bluetooth music player directly into it (with the proper 3.5mm jack and cord, which aren't included). It includes a sleep mode so you can fall asleep to music. It has two alarms that can be programmed to go off daily, on weekdays only or on weekends only. It has a dimmer control, so you can adjust the brightness of the display. It even includes a charging port on the back, so you can charge your smartphone and make sure it has enough juice to wake you in the morning.
The alarms are fairly easy to program using the set and forward buttons on the top of the Sound Rise. You can set the time, days, music type and the maximum volume of the alarm. I say maximum volume because the alarm starts quietly and gradually increases in sound, so you're not jarred completely out of bed when it first goes off. That's a good thing, since being jarred from a sound sleep is said to be hard on the heart.
The sound from the Sound Rise is decent for a single speaker, although it could be a little better. A button on the back switch from the standard sound to "Bright" and "Warm," which basically means it adds slightly more treble or slightly removes it. Frankly, there isn't a lot of difference between the three modes.
I did hit one snag with the Sound Rise. While the alarm works fine with the native player on the smartphone -- in this case, iTunes on an iPhone 6 -- it did not work when I tried to use Spotify as the music player. It worked with Pandora, and even SoundCloud. But when I had Spotify running, even on a playlist that I had downloaded to my phone, the alarm stayed very silent. Not a good thing. After a few seconds of no sound, however, the Sound Rise automatically switched to the basic alarm sound, so an alarm went off regardless. That was a good thing.
That aside, the Sound Rise worked great. It will work well with Bluetooth (provided you use the correct app), it's fairly easy to program, it has lots of sound options and it's compact. It even has a battery backup, so you don't lose settings in a power failure. Overall, it's a nice alarm clock, one I wouldn't mind waking up to each workday.
I tested a second alarm clock this week as well. This one is from a company called Homtime, and the product is the C1Pro Bluetooth Alarm Clock Speaker with Dual USB Charger.
The device is fairly compact, with the LCD display taking up most of the front of the device. Two USB ports on the front serve to charge smartphones and tablets overnight. A large dial on top doubles as a button and controls several things, including setting the time and alarm, adjusting volume and setting the brightness of the display.
The C1Pro includes a built-in thermometer that can switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit, but the switch is a tiny hole on the back. You need a pin to adjust it. The back also includes a volume switch for the alarm, a 12/24-hour clock mode switch, a Bluetooth on/off switch and a Micro-USB slot.
The Micro-USB slot allows you to load MP3 files of your favorite music onto the card. The alarm will play the songs in order when it goes off. That's a good thing, because the C1Pro won't allow you to wake via Bluetooth to the music on your phone. It also will wake you to a basic alarm chime ... that sounds like someone gently playing a harp. That's miles better than the annoying buzzing or single, blaring tone of standard alarm clocks.
The C1Pro was fairly easy to set up, and it worked well. It even charged an iPad Mini and iPhone simultaneously with no problems. As with the Sound Rise, the alarm volume comes up gradually. The best part is, the sound is very impressive from a device so small. In fact, I preferred it to the Sound Rise's sound.
Now, here's the bad news -- the C1Pro isn't officially on the market yet. Its Kickstarter campaign just started last week. However, early funding looked promising as of this writing (it had more than a third of its goal by the end of the first night), and if the goal is met by July 28, it will hit the market around September. If it does, it's definitely worth checking out. I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, the Sound Rise works nearly the same way, but with a few extras. It lacks the second charging port, but it has an extra alarm, an FM radio and six programmable radio favorites. It has a nice sleep mode and, unlike the C1Pro, it can wake you using your smartphone, provided you're using a compatible music player and the player is running before you go to sleep.
The main thing is, either product will wake you up, and in a far nicer way than the typical monotone alarm. If you have to wake up early, at least there is a more pleasant way to do it.
Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at mljones72@me.com.
SundayMonday Business on 06/22/2015