We are just days away from MacWorld. As a recent Apple convert I am filled with excitement and anticipation. But not just for MacWorld. For me, just as the significance of the Superbowl is that it brings us one step closer to the NCAA Basketball Tournament, this year’s MacWorld, while neat in and of itself, means we are one step closer to Apple-certified 3rd pa
rty apps on the iPhone. It is going to be an exciting and busy few weeks.
Before the 3rd-party Apps floodgates open I want to focus on one or two of the more significant but overlooked apps that have been part of the iPhone since day one. The first is a feature that is as under appreciated as it is remarkable. Yes, I am referring to that most maligned of functionalities the iPhone alarm clock.
Alarm clock functionality is nothing new on smartphones. In the days of Windows Mobile it was never quite reliable enough for me to depend upon it as my only wake up. It would often work but, sometimes it wouldn’t. And while I tried numerous 3rd party apps, none of them were easy enough, or reliable enough, for me to use on a daily basis. Yes, I would set my phone to wake me but I always set another alarm for five minutes later just to be on the safe side.
Enter the iPhone. Its alarm clock is simply great. Setting a new alarm is a piece of cake. Setting multiple alarms is just as easy. Giving each alarm a different name, giving each alarm a different ring tone (standard or custom) and setting some alarms to repeat on a specific day are all simple and intuitive. And, most importantly, like so many aspects of the iPhone, it just works.
I have been using my iPhone as my only alarm clock since I first got it and it has never failed me. When the day ends I do a final check of my email, place it in the cradle next to me bed, and, without fail, at the appropriate hour it tells me it is time to get moving.
It is a simple functionality, but one that is as valuable as it is under-appreciated. If you do not already use it I would encourage you to give it a try.
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The iPhone is my backup alarm (rings 5 minutes after primary alarm), my iPod is my primary alarm.
While I find the iPod not as reliable as an alarm clock i hate the fact that you cannot wake up to your music on the iPhone.
There is an alarm app coming out in the next few days http://www.iphone-alarm.com/ that plays music instead of buzzing.
Great points!! Two oversights in my post–
1- I tend to set two or three different alarms spaced out five or ten minutes “just in case”.
2- The inability of the iPhone (at least currently) to use musical tracks on it is a big limitation. One of my ways around it is that I use custom ringtones that I’ve made from my music (yeah, I never believed I would actually pay an additional $.99 for a small section of a song I already own in order to create a ring tone but I have!)
One of the advantages of the iPhone as alarm clock is that I don’t have to have it docked in any kind of speaker system since it has an external speaker built in. Although the kind of redundancy you are describing never hurts, especially when you need to get to an early morning meeting!!
you can use garage band to create ringtones in spite of spending $.99
You are absolutely correct. The iPhone Alarm Clock is the great!! The one limitation is that I cannot wake up or go to sleep with music from my iTunes Library. NIght Clock and Alarm Tunes don't come close the the flexibility and ease of use of the iPhone's Alarm. I think one of the reasons they don't allow iTunes compatibility is because they are selling so many iHome units. At a $100.00 a pop they are making a few bucks.
Would like to see Apple change this. I thought they said they would not allow any applications into the App Store that were being duplicated?
I think a lot of things Apple has stated as part of their approvals policies have proved to be very inconsistently applied.
Just try Music Alarm Clock it's excellent! http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa...
does anyone know if the iphone can be set to "auto power-up" for the alarm? my old phone could do this (a samsung)–i could set the alarm, turn the phone off (to not waste battery at night on long trips) and the alarm would automatically turn on at the set time, and then turn the phone back off when you cancelled the alarm… this was one of my favorite features, and now I'm extremeley sad that I can't find this feature on my iphone!!! Please let me know if anyone knows about this… if it is indeed possible on the iphone. Thanks!
I'm still using my old sony tm506 phone to wake me up. Better than any iPhone alarm app.
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