The Knock Clock is interesting because it only communicates via knocking. It looks like nothing more than a simple block of wood and sounds as if there’s a squirrel or woodpecker inside knocking. If you want to know the time, simply knock twice on the outside and it responds with a series of knocks corresponding to the current time, at least to the quarter hour. It even works as an alarm clock. Cover a sensor hole and knock out how many minutes until the alarm goes off (consisting again of knocking).

Although the Knock Clock would fill the simplicity void, it would probably work best as a novelty or conversation piece. There’s no clock face, winding nob, or even an alarm that fulfills even the basic needs a normal alarm clock would need to meet. Still, it makes a cool widget to show off to your friends.

And while we should clarify that they are not suggesting you use your phone for anything other than a bedside alarm, we tend to think that if found close by — it will get used. That said, the first thing in my hand each morning (aside from a cup of coffee) is a smartphone. But before I digress any further, there is the WakeMate, which is a wristband that you wear while you sleep and it is touting the ability to “calculate the ideal wake time closest to your alarm setting” so you wake up feeling more refreshed.

Anyway, according to the details on the WakeMate website, you set your alarm to wake you at a latest possible time. For argument sake, say that wake time is 7AM. And from there, once you fall asleep, the WakeMate monitors your sleep cycle and judges the optimal time to wake you. But worry not because you will not be waking up hours in advance — its the perfect time in a cycle. But more specifically, it will be within a 20 minute period from your must-wake-by time.

In addition, there is also the web-based Wakelytics which will allow you to login online and check things such as your “nightly sleep score” as well as the number of nightly awakenings, the time it took you to fall asleep and more.

Bottom line, for $59.99 you can purchase a WakeMate and could potentially start waking up a little easier. And I only say could because I have yet to test this myself, though in some strange way — I really want one. Of course, I have also been sort of eyeing a Fitbit and really love tracking my runs and bike rides with Runkeeper. In other words, I may just like having data on myself.

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Folks in Japan who own atomic watches might be surprised to find their clocks inaccurate. This is because the radio transmitter responsible for synchronizing atomic clocks throughout most of Japan is offline.

Mount Otakodoya hosts a transmission station for syncing  atomic clocks, and is 16 km from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant that almost had a nuclear meltdown after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Because of the threat of nuclear radiation, engineers decided to shut down the station when news of the nuclear incident broke.

This is said to affect taxi meters, wristwatches, and other compatible clocks around the country. While most  systems can run on their own internal clocks, some might be inaccurate due to the lack of the syncing pulse.

Engineers are likely to resume broadcast once the threat of radiation has been reduced.

Scientists believe that the magnitude 9 earthquake has shifted the Earth’s mass, resulting in a small change in the planet’s wobble and rotation. This means the Earth might have days that are 1.8 microseconds shorter. That’s about 0.0018 of a second.

According to the Richard Gross of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs, previous earthquakes have also resulted in similar changes. For example, the 2010 Chile earthquake reduced each day by 1.26 microseconds, while a 2004 earthquake in Indonesia resulted in a 6.8 microsecond decrease.

Humans might not notice the change in time, but computers will have to adjust. The ITU usually adds or subtracts microseconds to the official UTC time used by networks and computer systems by adding or taking out “leap seconds.” This helps reconcile the computer systems’ time with the actual solar time.

The UTC has introduced a total of 24 leap seconds since 1972 to offset the reduction in time due to a slowing-down of the Earth’s rotation. While computers worldwide will be able to adjust, it is said that this can be problematic for systems that require millisecond accuracy, such as systems involved in high-speed financial trading. However, for the rest of the world, this will probably mean just a millisecond difference for each year.

If you rely on your iPhone 4 for alarms and alerts, then you’re in for a surprise. A bug in the adjustment of time accounting for DST this Sunday, March 13, has resulted in iPhone 4 clocks moving backward one hour, instead of forward. Clocks were supposed to move forward one hour come 2:00 a.m. of Sunday, March 13, jumping to 3:00 a.m. However, the iPhone clock seemed to think DST was silly, and decided to move back to 1:00 a.m.

A similar glitch affected iPhone previously, when alarms failed to come off, and was said to have resulted in a lot of people running late to work. Of course, a cheap alarm clock would’ve helped prevent all this trouble.

The fix: users can simply power-cycle their devices, and the clock will right itself.

The same DST bug will likely affect European users, as UK and other EU countries switch to DST come March 27.

I’m a watch geek, and I’ve seen Avant-garde watches of all sorts. But this strikes me as something really simple and straight to the point, but with a learning curve, though.

I assume that some point among the swirls correspond to the hour and minute hand of a traditional analog watch, respectively. So, it’s nothing really new, like the NOOKA watches that indicate time via dots. It’s more like the Tokyo Flash watch concept, which shows the time in an analog fashion, although with a twist.

Most of the Ziiiro watches come in minimalist designs, in various colors and strap styles–including rubber, metallic and plastic. These are great for collections or for gifts to people who are into watches or eccentric designs.

The Ziiiro minimalist watch retails for 110 to 149 euros, or about US$ 145 to US$ 200 from the Ziiiro store.

The Lumimask is a sleep mask, much like a lot of people already wear. But simply dial in the time you need to get up into the Lumimask–there are controls built right into it–and when a half hour before that time actually hits, a soft light will turn on in the mask that will get steadily brighter for a full half-hour, thus letting you gradually climb out of your REM phase and whatnot and move into the fully awake posture that’s so necessary to face your day down.

At the end of your simulated sunrise, a sound will chime from within the mask, letting you know that your day has begun, even if it’s still pitch black outside. The hope is that people will be less grumpy when they wake up because waking up will no longer be an all-or-nothing proposition heralded by screaming bells or tones or blaring music, depending on the choice of your personal poison. There’s actually some pretty sound science behind this kind of thing, what with the role light and dark play in sleep, so I’d think it might just work after all.

They’re still trying to get venture capital sufficient to get this operation going, and have thus turned to the internet to raise dough. They’re looking for ten grand so far and have taken in just short of $3400, so hopefully they can get this going. Donors will get prizes at a variety of levels (no word on if you’ll get a cut of the gate should this thing go to market, though), so if you want in, now’s a good time to get started with the Lumimask.

The Tivoli Model 10, a brand new release from Tivoli Audio, boasts a pair of independent alarms that you can set to music or tone (great if you happen to be sharing a bed with someone who needs to get up at a different time than you do) as well as an onboard LCD display, menu screen with adjustable backlight settings, and all functions are controlled by either a topmounted rotary control, or an included remote.

But where the Tivoli Model 10 distinguishes itself is in its 7.8 inch cabinet in your choice of furniture-grade woods in a variety of shades. You’ll get to choose from walnut or cherry, as well as your choice of black, red, and blue shades. You can step up to the so-called Celebration Collection, which gives you access to light or dark aluminum wood finishes, and the Superior Collection will let you into Frost White or Chestnut Brown territory.

Now, all of this sounds really nice, of course–it’s not every day you find furniture-grade wood in a gadget setting–but considering what they’re asking for it you’d think they were offering gold cases. The cheapest one of these sells at $199.99, and the price tag goes up from there to a whopping $379.99.

I don’t know about you, but spending $200 on a clock radio doesn’t exactly sound like a smart move to me. Considering that, for that price, I can lay hands on a used laptop and hook speakers to it to wake up that way, or just buy a cheap clock radio (with or without iPod docking, and possibly an iPod to go with it), I don’t see how anyone would go after a Tivoli Model 10, anniversary edition or no. But for those who have a really specific design scheme in mind, well, you may have just the thing you were looking for right here.

You last heard about the iA100 back in the depths of January, (with some updating in July) but now, the device has made its landfall on shelves. It offers FM radio (which is a strange offering to say the least given that you’re hooking an iPod or similar to it), Bluetooth connectivity, app-enhancement features (like iHome+Sleep for sleep-lifestyle work like tracking your sleep cycles and iHome+Radio for streaming radio), Studio Series sound performance (featuring Bongiovi Acoustics DPS), four speakers, as well as a recharge feature that lets you not only play your iPod, but also recharge it so that it’s ready for detaching in the morning and following you wherever you need to be.

Interestingly, it also boasts a rubber insert, so that if you use accessory cases, it’ll still fit into the docking system. But I can’t shake the realization that something’s off here. Sure, back around the date it was first announced it was a big deal, but a lot of competing models have entered the market. Sony…Altec Lansing…Klipsch…Bose…I mean, what kind of system competes with a Bose unit? The proprietary apps certainly help the iHome out, and no mistake, it’s got some nice features, but there’s just so many other dogs in this particular hunt right now that I can’t see the iHome doing very well here.

Still though, if you’re inclined to give latecomer iHome a little of your business, you can pick one of these up right now for $199.

The folks out at Altaz are bringing this one to us, and as clock radios go, this thing’s stretching the boundaries of function overkill. Not only is it packing a built-in battery (great for those power outages when you still need to get up the next morning, and if they’d had this function back in Home Alone’s era, Macauley Culkin would likely not have had a career at all), it’s also got a 3.5 inch touchscreen, SD card reader, 128 megs of onboard memory and 802.11g wireless.

But it’s that wireless that really blows this thing out of the water in terms of function overload. Want to know if you should put on a sweater before leaving the house? Check the weather on the clock radio. Want to wake up to your favorite late-night broadcast on Japanese radio? Streaming radio, right here. And I have no doubt that all of you out there are already rubbing your palms together in anticipation of what you’d do with an Internet portal mere inches from where you sleep.

And I’m sure some of you are looking at me narrowly and wondering what such a device would cost. Well, okay, this is also one of the most expensive clock radios I remember seeing lately, though it’s not going to be as pricey as, say, a Stuart Hughes monstrosity in gold and diamond and unnecessary bling. No, you’ll merely shell out $99 for one of these, and chances are a little surfing and some well-applied Google Fu will get you a better deal. In fact, out at Amazon, that better deal seems to have already emerged at $79.30

As for the clock itself, similar to the countless other iHome alarm clock products the Apple device sits on top. Though, I must say the iPad seems a bit on the larger size sitting on top. That said, the product description does not offer any measurements but going on how wide the iPad is — the iA100ZE appears to be of decent size.

Moving back to the features, of which there are some that are positive. For one, it comes sporting the iHome+Sleep app compatibility which turns your iPad and alarm clock into a slightly more useful tool. This particular app will offer goodies such as custom alarms, sleep stats, weather, adjustable snooze times and does it with any “easy touch interface.” In addition you can also expect the app to work overnight and have things like social media alerts and morning news waiting for you when you wake up.

Other goodies come in the form of a sync button that keeps your iPad and alarm clock time in sync. The iA100AE also comes touting an FM radio, Bluetooth, Bongiovi Digital Power Station technology and Reson8 speaker chambers which are said to be “specially designed high-end drivers” for “pure, crisp audio.”

Personally I am not sure I want this staring down at me from my bedside table, after all, this thing has to sit at more than a foot high and almost that wide. If nothing else I guess this will allow your iPad to work for you even when you are sleeping and considering how much you shelled out for the iPad that may be a good thing. With that, I am curious to see what the price will come in at.

5.The Roku Soundbridge Radio

Yes, it looks like your basic clock radio, but it offers a wide variety of other options that should help you fall asleep. Not only will it connect to your PC by WiFi and stream music from it, it’ll also play Internet radio stations, of which there are a huge amount. Now that by itself is pretty good, but when you tack on that the Roku Soundbridge has the capability to slowly fade out while it plays, then you’ve got a device that’ll really help you fall asleep. You’ll go from listening to music, to steadily quieter music, to eventually, none at all. And by the time you get there, you should be well on your way to falling asleep. The Roku Soundbridge sells for $250.

4.The Sleepwave

If you miss the old days of being rocked to sleep, well, we’ve got just the gadget for you. No, it’s not a hammock–it’s the Sleepwave from Philips. Now you too can re-live the old days of being rocked to sleep at night even if you’re now significantly larger than your dear old mother. The Sleepwave has two earpieces that hook over your ears and, in turn, stimulates the vestibular nerve and thus makes you think you’re swaying back and forth. It retails for $440 in Australia, so chances are if you’re elsewhere you can get it too.

3.The Lightsleeper

Designed by an insomniac college student, the Lightsleeper projects a moving light image up on your ceiling in a controlled circle, and does that for about 30 minutes at a clip. You watch the spinning light and this, apparently, helps you fall asleep by relaxing your mind. And if the first half hour isn’t enough to relax you, just tap the device for another half-hour’s worth of spinning light. Sounds more like a way to get you dizzy to me, but the folks behind it assure me it works. It currently retails for 150 pounds sterling at lightsleeper.com.

2.The Kuchofuku Air Conditioned Bed

If there’s one thing I know full well, it’s that it’s a whole lot easier to fall asleep in a cool room than it is in a hot room. And if the bed’s cool, that also helps a whole lot. Enter the Kuchofuku air conditioned bed, a bed that uses two fans to draw in cool air and circulate it through the bed while you sleep. I can personally see this one working as long as the fans aren’t really loud. Between the cool temperatures and the droning fan blades, this one should do the job nicely. And for $399, it’s not a bad price.

1. The Suimin Sleep Room

Oh here we go. It’s one thing to say that your bedroom is designed entirely for sleep, but it’s another thing to actually have a room designed by scientists for sleep. The Suimin Sleep Room uses built-in controls to induce quality sleep, using a reclining bed with massage functions, soundproofing, specifically-tuned lighting and music to make an environment tailor-made for sleep. In fact, it’s so well crafted that no one has ever spent more than a half hour in a Suimin Sleep Room before falling sound asleep. It’ll cost you a whopping $50000 Australian to have one of these put in, but considering what it can do, that’s almost worth it.

And so, there are five devices that suggest they’ll help you get a good night’s sleep. I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, so I can’t say they will or not, but I’d definitely like to try some of these myself.

Inception hits theaters today.

all pics copyright their owners.

The inPulse BlackBerry watch isn’t a substitute for the popular phone also known as the CrackBerry. The watch connects to your BlackBerry via Bluetooth 2.0. It includes a 1.3-inch OLED display screen and lets you preview e-mails, messages, alarms and will even show incoming call details. To answer calls or reply to messages, you will still need to whip out the actual phone.

All the settings for the watch are done on the actual BlackBerry. It features optional vibrating alerts and comes with a microUSB port for charging. Once the 150mAh Li-ion battery is fully charged, Allerta claims that it can last for up to four days, based on receiving 20 to 30 updates a day.

Allerta’s initial press release included features for the inPulse that had gadget fanatics smiling:

Check your messages quickly and discreetly
Using inPulse, a glance down at your wrist is all it takes to easily check recently received email, SMS and even Twitter messages. New messages are sent directly to your inPulse. Instead of pulling out your phone to figure out who keeps texting you, just keep an eye on your inPulse.

Never miss an important call
Have you ever missed a call because you didn’t hear your phone ringing or couldn’t feel the vibration? inPulse has a built-in vibrating motor which immediately alerts you of incoming calls. Glance down at inPulse to quickly see who is calling.

You can place your pre-order for the inPulse for just $149. Keep in mind that the first batch has been fully pre-ordered. It was meant to have gone out in February but obviously that didn’t eventuate due to manufacturing problems. Do expect longer delays to receive your inPulse if you’re just putting in your order today. Although the long wait could be worth it in the end.

Hours are represented in blue, five minutes increments in purple and single minute increments are represented in pink. The lights are placed on the same points as the numbers on a clock face. Which means that in this picture the blue LED represents twelve. The purple LED represents 45 and the pink LEDs represent one minute each. Making the time, in this picture, 12:47.

Design it not limited to the watch face and casing alone, it extends to the black stainless steel strap style bracelet. The bracelet which is made of matching stainless steel dots, echoes the design on the watches face. Obviously, this watch isn’t for someone who wants a mere time piece. It is more of a fashion statement and conversation piece with time keeping capability or someone looking to add an interesting watch design to their collection.

By presenting this watch concept, Tokyo Flash shows that they are anything but conventional. The new time keeping design puts a new spin on an old practice and makes keeping time more interesting. Despite it being a suitable for all unisex design, this watch is not for the faint of heart. This Tokyo Flash watch makes a bold artistic statement and will catch the eye of on lookers where ever you go.

Since this is a concept Tokyo Flash is asking shoppers to give their opinion before rolling this out for production. No word yet on when this prospective design will come to life. Right now all you can do it look at it and weight, but if you would like to weigh in feedback is welcome on the TokyoFlash Design Studio blog. There are many watch concept designs there, but I think this is definitely on of the more interesting concepts.

Home Electronics giant Sherwood showed off the iNet 2.0, a powerful new iPhone dock that is filled with new features. The most noticeable thing about the iNet 2.0 is it’s big 8-inch touchscreen display. As an iPod/iPhone dock, it can play music off of your device with a bigger set of speakers, but the features don’t stop there.

The iNet 2.0 can be connected to the internet via an Ethernet port on the back, or WiFi. Once connected, the iNet 2.0 can stream music from internet radio stations, and Audio-On-Demand is even available from Rhapsody and Napster, letting you choose songs and play them back at your own pace.

As for the other features, it can act as an Alarm Clock or a Digital Photo Frame. It contains 1GB of on-board storage that can be complemented by SD cards or USB thumb drives. For audio nerds, the iNet’s speakers are driven by a 20-watt amp. Unfortunately for those interested, Sherwood didn’t give any pricing or release dates yet.

Oregon Scientific have released two new +ECO Weather Stations which, along with embracing eco-friendly solar power courtesy of detachable solar panels, offer atomic clocks as well as offering indoor and outdoor temperature readings and LED backlit displays.

Aside from both being capable of serving as atomic clocks complete with alarm functionalities, and serving as weather stations capable of displaying both indoor and outdoor temperatures, the more expensive BAR332ESA +ECO weather station additionally sports a larger display complete with weather icons allowing you to gain an at-a-glance snapshot of the prevailing weather conditions (Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy, Rainy and Snowy) though the UK specific model apparently only shows overcast and dull (making it right an astonishing 99.9% of the time). I jest of course (lest someone writes in to advise me I’m wrong, spouting misinformation, etc, etc).

The RMR331EAV Oregon Scientific +ECO Weather Station is yours for just shy of $70 whilst the BAR332ESA Oregon Scientific +ECO Weather Station, with larger display and weather icons, is yours for just short of $100.

Okay, saying that iHome’s new iP88G dual iPhone/iPod docking clock radio could save relationships may be going a little too far but, if you live with someone and you both own iPhones and/or iPods (or any combination therein) and you have a standard single dock you’ll know that when charge is running low there’s a battle to secure access – not so with the iHome iP88G.

Aside from happily serving to charge two devices simultaneously, meaning you’re both catered for, the iHome iP88G Dual Dock Clock Radio & Audio System for iPhone & iPod (to give it its full official title) would undoubtedly suit bedside table placement in additionally being a full featured alarm clock radio offering eight AM or FM radio presets allowing you to wake, if not to its buzzer, to the radio station of your choice (I can see potential for an argument there) or, of course you could otherwise opt to wake to a playlist. And, thanks to coming with three independent alarms, its nice to know you can have one each – though quite who you’d give the third to I don’t know (the mind boggles – oh, how I wish it wouldn’t).

In terms of design the iHome iP88G dual iPhone/iPod dock, in stemming from iHome, naturally comes with Reson8 speaker chambers billed as offering ‘astounding clarity, depth, and power’ whilst bass, treble, 3D sound and balance controls should see you able to adjust the resulting output to your/your partner’s tastes (yet more potential for disquiet there, too).

iHome iP88G Dual Dock Features:

• Dual universal docks for iPhone/iPod with inserts to fit docking iPod models
• 3 independent alarms to wake to iPhone, iPod, playlist, AM/FM Radio or buzzer
• Charges and plays iPod or iPhone while docked
• Sync button allows user to sync unit with iPhone time
• Bass, treble, 3D sound and balance controls
• Includes remote control
• 8 AM/FM presets
• High-fidelity stereo drivers in specially designed Reson8® speaker chambers deliver astounding clarity, depth, and power
• Gradual Wake and Gradual Sleep increase/decrease Alarm/Sleep volume so as not to startle the user
• DST switch for quick daylight-savings time adjustment
• Line in jack to play MP3/CDs
• Backlit buttons

Yes, okay, the iHome’s iP88G dual iPhone/iPod dock, whilst undoubtedly acting as a great bedside companion for those looking to dock your iPhones/iPods, is not going to save anyone’s relationship. I take it back. But at just shy of $150 for a dual docking AM/FM alarm clock radio with multiple alarms there’s certainly not going to be any arguments about the price.

When it comes to alarm clocks and iPod docks, there’s no doubting that Sony has got that gig figured out. But even a technogiant like Sony has got to admit that there’s only so much that one can do with this technology, right? I guess not, because they’ve decided to announce the release of yet another bedside beauty, the Sony ICF-CL75iP Dream Machine. Their latest alarm clock creation might just be too much for your nightstand to handle with a display that could rival most netbooks and a smattering of other goodies sure to keep you up at night.

So what if the ICF-CL75iP isn’t DNLA certified or wi-fi enabled like the NAS-Z200iR. Who cares if it won’t project the time and weather in digits three-feet tall on your ceiling? Just take a look at this thing. I think it’s way too cool to be relegated to the back row with the thousands of other iPod docks and waking devices. One of the best features has to be the unit’s monstrous 7-in 800×480 LCD screen. The only downside I can see would be the late-night luminosity. How is one supposed to go to sleep with that thing in your face?

Some other items of note, the newest Sony Dream Machine supports MP4, M-JPEG, and AVI files just in case you have a favorite little movie you like to doze to and a slide-show function allows you to view pictures from connected device or USB drive. To makes things a bit easier, it also has 1GB of internal memory so you don’t have to keep swapping out your portable devices every time you want a change of scenery.

Lest I fail to mention, the ICF-CL75iP Dream Machine is also an alarm clock and radio. And if you’re tired of that incessant electronic beeping drilling into your ear every morning, you can wake to the soothing sounds of nature or record the sound of your choice with its integrated 10-second recording feature. The iPod dock also retracts into the base of the clock when it’s not in use so you can save some valuable table real estate. Unfortunately, this image is all we have right now as Sony is keeping both the release date and regional availability close to the vest. We do know, however, that it’ll cost you $150. How’s that for a rude awakening?

According to their website, Adafruit is a company that specializes in kits and parts for original, open source hardware electronics projects. Stuff like silkscreened circuit boards, through-hole parts and extra large solder pads. It reads like dweeb pulp fiction, doesn’t it? Besides, didn’t Radio Shack used to do the same thing? I can remember when all geeks and future manifesto writers would flock to stores like Adafruit to get their gizmo jollies. Seems like they are getting harder and harder to find these days, but we still managed. One of their latest DIY electronics kits, the Ice Tube Clock, certainly looks cool enough. I just wonder if it comes with the pocket protector or if you have to special order it.

The Adafruit Industries Ice Tube Clock is the company’s first clock kit and it would seem they’ve spared no expense. The clock is pretty much what you would expect of a clock. Once you’ve probably burned yourself about 20 times with a soldering iron and missed at least two pieces that you’ve abandoned and deemed unnecessary to the final construction, you are left with a rather cool looking timepiece. The entire thing is housed in a clear, acrylic box and the main display is some kind of Russian vacuum tube that has glowing blue digits. It’s sort of a nod to the good ole’ Cold War days, I guess. Other specs include an eight-digit display, alarm on/off dot, adjustable brightness, two-week battery back-up, and something called an integrated boost converter.

All in all, the Ice Tube Clock looks pretty cool. It doesn’t do much more than any other alarm clock (where’s the iPod dock?) so I wouldn’t go nuts over the features list if I were you. You can order your own clock kit for $70 at www.adafruit.com (strangely enough, they’re on backorder) and if you are interested in how it actually goes together you can check out the instructions at www.ladyada.net. Me, I think I might pay the nerd next door $20 to put mine together for me.

]]> http://nexus404.com/Blog/2009/09/03/adafruit-industries-ice-tube-clock-diy-vacuum-tube-clock-blue-led-display-alarm-battery-back-up-retro-nerd-vibe-included/feed/ 0 http://nexus404.com/Blog/2009/08/10/18259/ http://nexus404.com/Blog/2009/08/10/18259/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:33:15 +0000 Robert Lesher http://nexus404.com/Blog/?p=18259

It’s been quite awhile since I have had to deal with the jet lag caused by traveling across multiple time zones, but not long enough that I don’t remember it vividly. Trying to figure out the alarm clocks in your hotel room is hard enough when you’re wits are about you and trusting the front desk to hit the wake-up call on time is an exercise in REM Russian roulette. I prefer to keep those things under my own control, thank you very much. For those of us that are faced with this challenge, the Sam Hecht Jet Lag Alarm Clock could just spell a bit of relief

The Jet Lag Alarm Clock, designed by Sam Hecht himself, is a super-portable alarm clock that is meant to take the guesswork out of setting and maintaining your wake-up schedule while you are on the road. It’s half the size of a passport and could probably be operated by a chimp. On the left, set the time. On the right, the alarm. There really isn’t much more too it than that. No fumbling around with tricky slider switches to bounce back and forther between the alarm time and the current time. And another nifty feature, a lock button that is meant to prevent the time from getting screwed up while you are on the move.

When it comes to certain gadgets, the fewer bells and whistles the better. The Sam Hecht Jet Lag Alarm Clock is just one of those gadgets. It tells you the time, it let’s you set an alarm, and it’s small. What more could you ask for in a travel alarm clock? I submit nothing. You can get your traveling hands on your own for $40 (in red, white, or black) at www.aplusstore.com. Happy trails.

Are you worried about falling asleep and being burned alive by a house fire because you failed to hear your fire alarms? I know I am and so are the product managers over at Frontgate (supposedly “Outfitting America’s Finest Homes”). One of their latest product introductions, the Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock is sure to have paranoid pyrophobes sleeping a bit easier at night.

The Frontgate Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock listens for your fire alarms so you don’t have do worry about your REM hearing acuity. Once it has detected that your alarms are going off it emits its own 90-dB alarm sound to alert you that you and all of your belongings are about to become kindling. To put that in perspective, that’s somewhere between the sound level produced by a jackhammer and a jet taking off. I think that should about do the trick, but Frontgate thought you could use some more security. At the same time the 90-dB alarm is going off a vibrating device starts to shake your bed. Here are the complete specs:

• Extra-loud 90 decibel signal is more effective at waking up heavy sleepers, seniors, children, and people with hearing loss
• Bed shaker can be placed under a mattress pad or pillow and vibrates when either the emergency or wake-up alarm is activated
• Large clock display shows alarm time, date, and emergency messages
• Seven-day power backup requires 4 D cell alkaline batteries (included)
• Works only with UL-listed smoke alarms manufactured since 1998
• 5.5-ft cord; 120V

The Frontgate Fire Alarm and Clock will either save you from impending combustible doom or it will cause you to have an immediate cardiac arrest upon hearing the alarm and having your bed shaken while you’re fast asleep. Either way, it sounds like a great invention. I would just check to see if there is a history of heart trouble in your family tree before buying one. You can get your own for $179 at www.frontgate.com.

Everyone is busy and it seems like there are never enough hours in the day to get things done. And if the challenge of actually completing your tasks wasn’t enough we have to actually remember when everything needs to get done. If the old fashioned way of writing your appointments and recurring events on a calendar is getting in the way of your electronics-laden lifestyle, the folks at SkyMall have just the thing with their Jenda Lifetime Voice Calendar and Message Center.

The Jenda Voice Calendar is essentially a digital version of your wall calendar. With this nifty little gadget every member of the family can now record their appointments in one central location. To enter an appointment, you press the month, day, and record buttons and it’s stored on the internal memory of the Jenda for future reference. Recurring events, like birthdays and doctor’s appointments need only be recorded once and the integrated to-do list function let’s you record things like grocery lists or other non-date-specific items. The flashing ‘today’ button alerts the whole family each morning about the day’s schedule.

The Jenda Lifetime Voice Calendar and Message Center can be mounted on the refrigerator door with heavy magnets provided or you can hang it on the wall like a traditional calendar. You can record in English or Spanish. It uses 3 AAA Alkaline batteries and a voice prompt informs you when the batteries need replaced. You can get your hands on your own Jenda Lifetime Voice Calendar for $39.95 at www.skymall.com.

Getting my ass out of bed in the morning is hard enough without being startled by the annoying ear-piercing electronic beeping of the alarm clock. You would think that the people that make these things would come up with a sound that is a little less grating on the nerves. Maybe the gentle soothing voice of Katherine Zeta Jones beckoning me to breakfast? OK, that might be too much to ask, but the folks at Philips might be headed in the right direction with their latest alarm clock the HF3490 Wake-Up Light.

The newest light-based creation from Philips, the HF3490 Wake-Up Light has taken the alarm clock to an entirely new level. Rather than using an irritating digital tone to drag you out of restful REM they have decided that the more natural approach is to use light. After all, who can sleep with a really bright light shining in their eyes? Isn’t that how they keep the prisoners at Getmo awake during their all-night interrogations?

Anyway, the HF3490 is basically a big light attached to an iPod dock. The light starts to glow 30 minutes before the alarm is set to go off and it gradually gets brighter as the minutes tick by. By the time it reaches full luminosity the alarm goes off and you’re ready to hit the ground with a smile on your face. Yeah, right. Interesting concept, but I doubt that it would put me in a better mood at 6:30 am.

The Philips HF3490 Wake-Up Light charges your iPod with the attached dock and it also gives you the option to wake to nature sounds, music from your iPod, or the integrated FM tuner. It also tells the time and will probably take up most of the real estate on your nightstand. You can purchase your own HF3490 for $199.99 at www.amazon.com. Sweet dreams.

Fans of Harley Davidson motorcycles will certainly be rejoicing when they see the latest from iHome. Touted as the world’s first Harley Davidson themed iPod/iPhone home speaker system with alarm clock, the HDP66 is a pretty unique audio system that is modeled after the headlights of a Harley Davidson motorcycle. It also has a unique feature that I’m sure only a true hog-lover would enjoy.

The HDP66 has all of the standard features of an iPod/iPhone charger and docking station. It charges your devices and functions as an AM/FM radio and integrated speaker system. The interesting feature is that it allows you to wake and sleep to your iPod/iPhone or authentic Harley Davidson motorcycle sounds. It allows you to sleep to the sounds of a motorcycle? Now that’s one for the books. It also comes with a full-function remote control.

As far as iPod docks go the iHome HDP66 Harley Davidson Headlight system is truly unique. It’s sure to attract the attention of Harley lovers everywhere and its pretty hearty list of features will not leave owners wanting.

• Cool Harley headlight design
• Wake and sleep to your iPhone/iPod or authentic Harley Davidson motorcycle sounds
• Full function remote control interfaces with iPhone/iPod and clock
• Built-in dock charges iPhone and docking iPod models
• Selectable Sleep timer with 90, 60, 30, or 15-minute countdown
• Adjustable Sleep volume allows you to select a comfortable “sleep” volume level without affecting the “wake to” or listening volume levels
• Battery backup maintains time/alarm settings during power failures
• Aux/MP3 line-in jack for auxiliary audio devices
• Alarm Reset turns off alarm while automatically resetting for same time the following day
• iPod alarm backup: if no audio is detected from iPod, a buzzer will sound
• Subwoofer for rich, deep bass
• Easy to adjust volume and time settings
• Daylight Savings Time switch easily adds or subtracts an hour
• Includes AC power adaptor

You can purchase your own iHome Harley Davidson iPod/iPhone Alarm Clock Speaker System for $129.99 by heading over to www.ihomeaudio.com.

The weather on the planet is all over the map. Global warming, melting ice caps, droughts, and tsunamis…the possibilities are endless. So what if you are really concerned with keeping tabs on the rising global temperatures or monitoring your local rainfall? The Jacob Jensen Modular Weather Station will let you do all of that and more while making sure the device fits in with even the most modern interior design.

Jacob Jensen, a designer of B & O equipment, has put his designer touch on this weather station series. The device consists of several detachable modules that monitor everything from the indoor and outdoor temperatures to the atmospheric pressure and moisture content. You also get an alarm clock module so you can stay on time for all of those important weather events. The Jacob Jenson Weather Station comes complete with a table stand and wall mounting plate.

Each section of the weather station has to be purchased separately and can be displayed alone or stacked on top of each other on the table stand. The Jacob Jensen weather station is available at www.unicahome.com.  The barometer will cost you $99, the rain gauge is $89 and an extra sensor module will run you $49. It looks like they are running a sale where all of the units are 20% off.

Now I don’t want to jump to conclusions and say that people are freakin’ paranoid, but I have got to hand it to SONY. They are certainly feeding into our irrational fears of being watched with the SONY Dream Machine Camera. After all, who would ever suspect that an alarm clock would have a built-in spy camera? And given that most people put alarm clocks in their bedrooms one can only imagine the frightening images this thing will capture.

The SONY Dream Machine Camera is a fully functional SONY digital clock that doubles as a completely covert hidden camera. The integrated hidden camera records high quality real-time video day or night with an automatic switching night vision camera that activates the moment it gets dark for night vision up to 30-ft away. Record real-time motion-activated video or high-resolution still shots onto a tiny SD card that’s housed in a hidden compartment so no one will be the wiser.

The SONY Dream Machine Camera uses removable SD cards with capacities from 1Gb up to 16Gb and it can be connected to any TV or monitor with the included cables. You can get your hands on your very own video-recording alarm clock by visiting www.skymall.com. With a nearly $600 price tag, I don’t see many wannabe spies taking advantage of this one.

If you’re like me and hate getting up in the morning, yet you need to, Bang & Olufsen would like a little word with you. Their latest BeoTime Alarm Clock not only comes with a stylish minimalistic design (it actually looks like a flute, right?) that blends great with your modern furniture, but also doubles as a control for your other Bang & Olufsen systems in the house.

Except for alarm functions, the high-end BeoTime features a built-in sleep timer that puts all B&O equipment in stand-by for up to 120 minutes and can be used to control your bedroom television, the loudspeakers, or the light — all you have to do is to pick it up and it turns into a virtual remote. It comes with three small, square displays, a trumpet-like button that you press to put the alarm off, and a design where if you touch or tap it activates the screen backlight.

We’re not sure if the new Bang & Olufsen BeoTime alarm clock will make your mornings better, what we know is that you’ll have to pay $375 to get yourself up in style …

We have enough products in our lives that require electricity, batteries, or electric power of some kind. The last thing we need is yet another little Ni-Cad crunching beastie sitting on our desk adding to the already messed up environment in which we find ourselves. That’s why the way-cool folks at Bedol have come up with a really unique way for us to do our part to help make our planet a little bit greener; The Bedol Eco-Friendly Water-Powered Clock.

Touted as the most accurate, environmentally practical, hassle-free chronometer of its kind, the Bedol Eco-Friendly Water-Powered Clock is certainly going to have the Greenpeace greenies jumping for joy. Because this tiny timekeeper works 100% on natural power it doesn’t require batteries, no chemicals (sorta), and no electricity. This translates into a zero emissions clock if I’ve ever seen one.

Just fill the tank with natural water and add a splash of natural lemon juice. The clock will run for 6 to 8 weeks before it needs a refresh. It even has a built-in memory chip that will keep track of the time during water changing so you won’t have to reset it when you’re done with the refill. While it doesn’t really have any other bells and whistles like an alarm or multi-colored LED display, it will do exactly what it is supposed to do, keep accurate time.

The Bedol Eco-Friendly Water-Powered Clock is available in four colors and you can get your Earth-loving hands on your own by heading over to www.bedolwhatsnext.com. They’ll also go easy on your wallet at a penny-pinching $16.00 each.

The grating sounds produced by most alarm clocks are enough to have you starting the day with a piercing headache. Whether it’s with an annoying electronic beep or old-fashioned brain-busting bell, being forced out of your restful REM is no fun for anyone. Maybe the sounds of a rushing waterfall or cheerful birds are more your thing. Getting the day started with the sounds of nature just might have you off on the right foot. At least that’s what the folks at Danna Bananas have in mind with their new Mosquito Sound Alarm Clock.

The Mosquito Sound alarm clock is part of the Animal Sound Alarm Clocks collection at Danna Bananas. I’m not sure how effective the droning sound of the pesky little bloodsucker will be for most people, but if it’s enough to get your arm-flailing instincts in order I bet it’ll be enough to get your butt motivated to get out of bed. And if you’re one of those people that incorporate your alarm into your dreams, it might have visions of bug nets, rainforests, and malaria dancing in your brain.

• Quartz Movement
• Chrome metal case
• Glass window
• 4 x 4-in (10.2 x 10.2-cm)
• 3-AA batteries not included

You can check out the Mosquito Sound alarm clock (along with the cow and rooster models for that rural feel) at www.dannabananas.com. For only $25.95 you too can have an entire barnyard symphony greet you at the crack of dawn.

If you are up on your geek trivia, you know that back in 2005 scientists discovered the largest known dwarf planet in our solar system, later named Eris. According to Wikipedia, it’s the ninth largest direct solar-orbiting body; it’s approximately 2,500 km (1553-mi) in diameter and 27% more massive than Pluto. So it seems only fitting that designers would be inspired to create a watch that is shaped like a sphere in honor of the discovery of Eris, right? The students at l’Ecole d’Arts Appliques Geneva thought so, too. The result is the Eris Planetary Sphere Watch.

Manufactured by Swiss watchmakers, Pierre Junod, the Eris Planetary Sphere Watch is truly a unique timepiece. It can be worn as a pocket watch, pendant or used as a small desk clock. And at just over an inch in diameter, could do some serious damage in a sling-shot. The unit reports the time with a white hour hand and orange minute hand. The case is constructed of anthracite-anodized aluminum and features laser-engraved figures, mineral glass, and Swiss quartz movement. It also comes complete with a rubber strap just in case you want to wear it around your neck to impress the ladies.

• Diameter: 33.2-mm (1.3-in)
• Weight: 36-g (0.08-lb)
• Battery Ref: Renata Swiss-made 364

The two pointers report the correct time as they float around the equator of this mini-planet with the minutes in the northern hemisphere and the hours in the southern. It actually looks pretty sleek, but I don’t think I’d be confident enough to actually wear it around my neck. The Eris Planetary Sphere Watch will be available for sale late July 2009. You can pre-order yours at www.watchismo.com for $450.

Get ready to sit back and do your mad scientist laugh “muhahahaha”, as you bring visualization to your music with the Einstein Sound Master Photon Ball iPod Dock. The brightly colored lightning effects within the ball will dance along to the beat of all your favorite songs. While you’re becoming entranced by the visual effects, your iPod will be charging on the E135BK iPod Dock.

The Einstein Sound Master Photon Ball iPod Dock E135BK will not only charge and play your iPod, but you can also have it plugged in and synced with your computer. If that isn’t Einstein enough, the iPod dock also has a clock with an alarm that allows you to wake up to your favorite music directly from your iPod. The Einstein Sound Master Photon Ball iPod Dock also allows you to switch modes and listen to the AM/FM/ radio. The Einstein Sound Master Photon Ball iPod Dock E135BK certainly took advantage of some properties of physics that I am sure would even make Albert Einstein proud. You can purchase the Einstein Sound Master Photon Ball iPod Dock E135BK for $34.99 and listen to your iPod like a mad scientist.

If you’re one of those people who could sleep through a herd of elephants stampeding past your bed the newly announced iLuv iMM153 iPod Alarm Clock Dock probably won’t wake you but, if you find that your current alarm clock’s not up to the job then the iLuv iMM153 may just be the answer thanks to coming with a bed shaker attachment designed specifically to stir deep sleepers.

In essence what’s on offer here is pretty much what we’ve seen with many an iLuv iPod docking alarm clock in terms of features with the iLuv iMM153 iPod Alarm Clock Dock offering LCD display, iPod dock and charge, integrated FM radio with PLL digital tuning technology and, of course, alarm clock functionality complete with dual alarms. But, thanks to the bundled bed shaker accessory, the iLuv iMM153 certainly cannot be accused of not bringing anything new to the table (omit that and it would be an altogether different story, however).

Recently made available in black, blue, white and, yes, pink, the iLuv iMM153 iPod Alarm Clock Dock with Bed Shaker will set you back just shy of $60 – which, when compared with getting a glass of cold water thrown over your face, seems just about worth the outlay.

iLuv [via Geeky Gadgets]

If, like me, you suffer from lack of sleep due to never getting anywhere near the amount of shut-eye you need (no matter how hard you try) this novel alarm clock aimed specifically at insomniacs and known as the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach may help you not only understand where underlying issues preventing a good nights sleep lay but also, with a little help from Zeo’s online web portal, help you to overcome them.

The Zeo Personal Sleep Coach works thanks to coming with a headband (the Zeo Headband) which utilises SoftWave sensor technology to analyse your sleep patterns (or lack of them) which are transmitted to the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach alarm clock wirelessly. As a result, when you wake in the morning, assuming you’ve slept at all, the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach will offer you information concerning your sleeping pattern in the form of a graph showing light sleep and REM sleep over the course of the night.

Interestingly, it doesn’t stop there either as, thanks to the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach storing data to an SD memory card, you can upload your sleeping patterns via a supplied USB adapter to your PC and, subsequently, Zeo’s myZeo Personal Coaching website which will display trends and offer helpful information as to how you could attain better sleeping habits.

The Zeo Personal Sleep Coach alarm clock, which has just been released, will set you back just shy of $400.

Zeo [via Dvice]

These days it’s much easier to weak up in “style” as there are plenty of fashionable alternatives when it comes to alarm clocks. The same goes for Thanko’s latest upgrade to the Classical MP3 Clock, the DX version. Edging away from the common but packing powerful software behind its retro looks, the clock is able to connect to your Windows XP-based PC via USB so that you can broses on a huge sound bank with select different alarms, or alternatively add your favorite songs.

Waking up in the morning may not be sweeter but at least you won’t hear the horrible bell sound that forces you to smack it down. Yours (in Japan) for something close to $40, we’re not sure if it’s better than a cellphone, but it looks like a sleek addition for any bedroom. No?

[via Ubergizmo]

If you’re anything like me, apart from having my profound sympathies, you’ll probably find yourself curiously fascinated with weather stations and if, on top of that you have a penchant for Swarovski Crystals (personally I don’t), then this new weather station from Oregon Scientific, known as the Diamond Weather Station – though also referred to as the Crystal Weather Station – may be of interest.

Seeming serving to build upon the success of the original Crystal Weather Station (which, incidentally, I much prefer from a stylistic perspective), the Oregon Scientific Diamond Weather Station is billed as offering Swarovski Crystals that are ‘shaped into the most recognizeable of weather elements’ which are illuminated in light of prevailing weather conditions (a could for a cloudy day, raindrops for rain – you get the picture) and comes complete with Atomic clock as well as gesture control which toggles the display between time and indoor temperature with a mere wave of your hand.

Ideal for those looking for a weather station that boasts a little bling who can get over the fact that it all comes across, in my mind at least, as a little tacky, the Oregon Scientific Diamond Weather Station will set you back just shy of $140 though at this juncture there’s no word from Oregon Scientific concerning its specific date of availability.

The new Oregon Scientific Diamond Weather Station (which is part of Oregon Scientific’s Crystal Weather Station range) comes complete with Swarovski Crystals that illuminate to display prevailing weather conditions.

Back at the beginning of March we featured the new O2 Joggler touchscreen internet tablet (or ‘All-in-One Family Wireless Multimedia Hub’ as we referred to it) and now, not to be outdone, Orange is hitting back with their newly announced Orange Tabbee Wi-Fi Internet Tablet which, like the aforementioned Joggler, comes with 7″ touchscreen display, Wi-Fi connectivity and broad multimedia support.

The Orange Tabbee, unlike the Joggler, is not restricted to desk usage in serving as a true tablet device complete with docking cradle – which also serves to charge the device – and as well as offering internet access to allow for basic browsing or access to news, weather, traffic, stocks, etc information (no word as to whether it supports RSS feeds – we assume it does) whilst also offering broad multimedia support allowing the device to show videos, play digital audio and even act in the capacity of a digital photo frame (loading media from SD memory cards or via USB flash drives thanks to its built-in SD and USB slots).

On and above the capabilities outlined above, the Orange Tabbee is also billed as offering a number of family friendly features such as message board functionality which will serve rather nicely as a sort of digital post-it note (especially handy to remind the cat to feed the husband whilst you’re out).

The Orange Tablee is set to become available to Orange customers in France in Q2 of this year for around 300 Euros (roughly $402) though, at the time of writing, Orange are yet to confirm any specific release details with respect to the UK market.

TEAC America Inc. have announced their first foray into the world of HD radio technology with the introduction of their TEAC HD-1 HD Radio iPod/iPhone Docking Station.

“With digital radio reaching critical mass across America, TEAC is excited to unveil the HD-1, our introductory HD Radio product. In keeping with our heritage of offering consumers high-quality, high-performance products and stylish design, the decision to include HD Radio technology’s advanced digital entertainment is a natural one,” said Randy Madey, National Sales Manager, TEAC America, Inc. who announced the TEAC HD-1 HD. “The affordable HD-1 will be sold at Costco and is a great value proposition for consumers in this economy. The HD Radio receiver will deliver premium sound with an iPod dock and a seamless music buying experience via iTunes Tagging.”

Capable of offering access to what currently stands at around 2,000 HD radio stations and over 1,000 new FM HD2/HD3 channels, as well as supporting AM and FM radio broadcasts, the TEAC HD-1 HD Radio iPod/iPhone Docking Station sports Crystal-Clear Sound technology and, as well as offering radio alarm clock functionality, comes with front mounted LCD display for conveying radio band/station name as well as song/title/artist info and comes with headphone and video out connectivity.

The TEAC HD-1 HD Radio iPod/iPhone Docking Station will set you back just shy of $130.

[TEAC - via press]

O2 have just announced the up and coming availability of their new Joggler touchscreen device which is billed as a ‘first-of-its-kind device which will transform the way families manage their busy lives’ though, in fairness, bears many similarities to the previously featured iRiver Wave-Home in serving as a multimedia, internet and communications hub that O2 describe as being designed to ‘keep the whole family connected’.

The O2 Joggler comes a with 7″ touchscreen and connects to your home broadband either via its Ethernet port or wirelessly and, apart from serving as a digital organiser capable of storing birthdays, appointments and important dates which you need to be reminded of (via text messages to your phone as well as via the units display) also offers calendar and alarm clock functionality, digital audio and video playback (either directly from the device or streamed via your home network) as well as serving as a digital photo frame, basic gaming device and, thanks to its internet connectivity, can also display weather, news and sport (via Sky News) and traffic information though there’s no indication as to whether it can display user defined RSS feeds.

“We’ve developed the O2 Joggler with today’s busy families in mind. It has been purpose built to help families better organise their lives.” Said Alistair Johnston, Marketing Director, Telefonica O2 UK, who introduced the O2 Joggler which is set to launch in the UK from early April and which will set you back around 150GBP or, if you prefer, can be picked up free if taken instead of a handset at upgrade if you’re an O2 Pay monthly customer on 18 or 24 month contract (though O2 also state that ‘Pay & Go customers can apply their upgrade discount to the cost of the device’).

[thanks Paul]

Lok8u claim to have developed the worlds first ever GPS locator aimed specifically for children in the form of the Lok8u num8 which, apart from utilising Lok8u’s proprietary Cell ID technology boasting an accuracy of a mere 3 meters, also happens to serve as a digital watch, thus making it a little less conspicuous than may otherwise have been the case.

The Lok8u num8 GPS Locator not only allows you to keep tabs on your child’s location via your PC (via Google Maps) or cell phone (via text message) but also offers parents the ability to set up safe zones which, in essence, serve as virtual fences which will alert you should your child stay out of the defined boundaries.

Lok8u detail its num8 GPS Locator’s key features as follows:

For you:

• Imagine never having to worry about the whereabouts of your child again.
• Advanced technology that’s simplicity itself to set up
• User friendly portal for locating your child in real time
• No range limit – can be used at home or abroad
• Compatible with all mobile phones and computers
• Child’s location shown on Google Maps or via text message (full address and postcode)
• Create personalised safe zones for your child to play and receive immediate notification if they stray
• Instant warning if num8 strap is undone without your authority
• Unit operates up to 100 hours on a single charge
• Fully waterproof – even when swimming

For your child:

• Imagine if your child had the freedom to play and discover the world for themselves
• Funky looking device that doubles as a digital wrist watch
• Designed to look cool enough to be a kid’s fashion item
• Gives children the freedom to play without visible adult supervision
• Provides more opportunities for social activities within their peer group
• Less time in front of TV or games console, more time out of doors
• Physical play helps combat weight problems and build fitness for future life
• More independence means greater opportunities for learning responsibility
• Dermatologically tested and designed for all-day comfort
• Ideal for children aged 3 – 12 and also young adults

The Lok8u num8 GPS Locator Kids Digital Watch will set you back around $218 though you’ll also have to factor in a $7 per month subscription service.

Following on from the recent release of their IMM173 Dual iPod & iPhone Alarm Clock Docking Station iLuv have announced an updated model in the form of the iLuv IMM183 which, if the image being circulated rings true, appears to be indistinguishable from the previously referred to model whilst offering a number of additional features – the most notable being its facility to receive weather information courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Due to be showcased at this years CES, the iLuv IMM183 Dual iPod & iPhone Radio Alarm Clock Docking Station, apart from offering all the functionality and features of the aforementioned iLuv IMM173, is capable of storing up to 10 NOAA weather alerts and comes complete with an integrated LED warning light that will further serve as an alert in the event of severe weather advisories being broadcast (such as tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, etc).

The iLuv IMM183, like the IMM173, utilises jAura acoustic speaker technology delivering up to a maximum of 10W RMS output (5W + 5W), can accept and chart both iPods as well as both 2G and 3G iPhones on a play and charge basis, features a large LCD display with adjustable brightness and comes with integrated FM tuner with PLL digital tuning technology.

No word at the time of writing concerning either pricing or availability but we would hope that the release of the iLuv IMM183 will see a reduction in price of the IMM173 dock which, if you can live without NOAA alerts, will no doubt be welcomed.