How many of you wake to sounds from your smartphone, charging on or near your bed? How many of you still have a clock in your bedroom for timekeeping (not for decoration)? These two questions will determine your interest in the latest gadget to cross my review desk: the Sandman Alarm Clock.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

We all sleep, and most of us are cursed with the necessity of having to be awakened at a specific time. For this, most of us use some sort of alarm clock or alarm app. While we’re sleeping, most Gadgeteers also plug in their phone, tablet, watch, or another device for charging. The result has made for a lot of tangled confusion on and under nightstands the world over. A company called Palo Alto Innovations has developed something to tame some of this with the Sandman alarm clock. They sent one to me for testing, and I’ve done so with great enthusiasm. (Anything that includes me sleeping is met with great joy.)

The clock itself resembles any of the thousands of LED clocks you’ve seen over the years: black plastic face with large numerals and small dots nearby to indicate alarm status and AM/PM. There are buttons to allow you to change the time, set the alarm, etc., on the back. There’s also a built in backup battery in case of power outage. The Sandman, however, features a multi-level brightness adjustment on the display, which means you’ll actually have a dark room to sleep in once more. (My youngest actually puts an index card over her current clock to dim the display.)

The other secret superpower this clock brings to market is four USB charging ports across the back. No longer do you have to flail about under the bed and nightstand for that cable to plug in your device(s) at the bedside. In fact, since it’s right there on the nightstand, using a short cable or one with several tips makes lots of sense.

With these features, what’s not to like, right? Well, a few things. First, the buttons have no way to lock. So, in the middle of the night, you reach to turn the clock around and read it, and you’ve grabbed the button to change the time. Or you’ve turned off the alarm if you grab the other side. Second, setting the alarm takes a lot of twiddling to get the hang of. With only three buttons, you’d think they could have made some other location for them, or built up a collar around them to make it more difficult to change or add a lock button. And holding the snooze bar while holding one of the buttons on another plane means this is never a one-handed operation.

The sound is loud enough to wake me, but I’d like to change the sound or make it louder on those days I’m going to need some added encouragement to rise. These things should be easy enough to add for the next version, but without them, the addition of USB ports is not quite enough to make me change from my current clock.
How has what you keep on your nightstand changed in the last 10 years? How about the last 15? That question brings into sharp relief the changes brought about by cell phones, iPods, smartphones, and our move from needing clock radios to using phones to wake us. This could be an interesting social science study, actually. Let’s discuss it in the comments.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Palo Alto Innovation. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews, Watches and Clocks

Tagged: Clocks

Sandman 4 Port USB Charging Alarm Clock review originally appeared on on March 23, 2017 at 12:23 pm.

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This projection alarm clock is pretty cool. It has a lot of features most radio alarm clocks have, and a few that are not so common. My favorite function on this clock, of course, is the ability to project the time onto the ceiling. I love this because I always sleep on my back, and it’s a pain to have to turn over, or turn my head to see the clock.  I guess I’m a lazy sleeper…  Don’t judge me!  With the projector, you just have to open your eyes, and you see the time on the ceiling. 
Standard radio alarm clock features are dual alarms, AM/FM radio, and the alarm sound is either a buzzer or radio. But it has some nice ‘extra’ features on it, too, like battery backup, DST setting, and 3-mode dimmer.

The “A” button, pictured above, sets the time, programs radio stations, and selects preset stations after they’ve been programmed.

The “B” button advances hour increments when setting the time, and reduces the radio frequency when tuning stations.

The “C” button, pictured above, advances minute increments when setting the time, and increases the radio frequency when tuning stations.

The “D” button dims the display, in three modes: High, Medium, and Low.  It also turns the DST (Daylight Savings Time) function On/Off.

The “E” button, often the favorite, is the Snooze button.  It lets you sleep for 9 additional minutes after the alarm goes off.  You can do this six times before the clocks ‘gives up on you’, and then you’re on your own. GET OUT OF BED!!  This “E” button also sets the sleep timer. While listening to the radio, you press this button repeatedly until your desired sleep time is displayed (up to 90 minutes), and the radio will automatically turn off after the entered sleep time expires.

The “F” button is used to set the 1st alarm time, to turn the alarm On/Off, and to decrease the volume of the radio.

The “G” button sets the 2nd alarm time, turns that alarm On/Off, and is also used to increase the volume of the radio.

The “H” button turns the radio On/Off, it deactivates alarms when they turn on at their set time, and it also deactivates the snooze button, if you had pressed it earlier, but decide to get up before the alarm sounds again.

The “I” button changes the mode of the projector on the device.  This button is really helpful.  The projected time can project forward, like when your clock is next to you on your nightstand.  Or, the time can be in a reversed image, which is very helpful, if you’re one of those people that needs to have the clock on the other side of the room in order to wake up.  This lets you see the clock face from across the room, and it projects the time backwards on the ceiling so you can still see the projected image from your vantage point.  So it gives you a lot more options for where to place the clock in your room.  Just press this “I” button to project the time in ‘regular’ mode, ‘flipped’ mode, or turn the projector off altogether.

The picture above shows how the projection looks on the ceiling when you’re lying in bed, and the clock is facing the direction you see on the nightstand.  This requires the projector to be in the flipped mode.  The picture below shows what the projection looks like on the ceiling when the clock is across the room from your bed, and the projector is in normal mode.

The product has a radio auto-scanner to automatically find radio stations. You can save 10 FM radio stations, and 10 AM radio stations, too.  It has a USB charging port in the back of the unit, and you can focus the beam of the projector by twisting the focus ring so you get a crisp, clear image of the time on your ceiling.  As for sound from the speaker; it’s designed for mid- and high-range audio.  It doesn’t do very well with bass.  But it is loud enough to wake the average sleeper.  I was pleasantly surprised that when the volume was all the way up – the speaker didn’t oversaturate.

The unit also has a very small footprint, so a lot of your nightstand isn’t taken up by the clock.

The instructions for this clock are very detailed and clear.  It’s really outstanding, which is rare in most instructions included with products these days.

Overall, I really like this clock radio with time projection.  I have not experienced any problems with it, and am really pleased with the functionality, operation, and options.

It takes 2 “AAA” batteries for battery backup, measures 8″L x 1.125″W x 2.5″H, has a 1.8″ LED display, and costs $29.99.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Mesqool.  Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to purchase.

Filed in categories: Reviews, Watches and Clocks

Tagged: Clocks

Mesqool AM/FM projection alarm clock review originally appeared on on March 11, 2017 at 8:35 am.

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