When I was a kid, I could set the alarm on my watch, and it would wake me up. When I was in my 20s, a clock radio would do. Now that I'm in my late 30s, I'm finding even three or four clock radios ineffective they just irritate me instead of convincing my to get up, and then I get mad, and then the morning is shot.
This clock seems to have been made for deaf, or near deaf folks. It has both audible and vibration alarm modes, and you can have one or the other or both. The audible alarm has both a volume and a pitch adjustment. You can set it high and squeeky, or kind of the annoying mid-range tone you're more used to hearing from an electronic alarm, or anywhere in between. That's kind of a unique feature all by itself, and I'm sure it's intended for folks that can only hear in a certain range of tones.
WARNING: this clock can be LOUD. I would be considered a person with normal hearing, and the volume on this thing at level 8 is PAINFULLY loud. WAY louder than other clocks that may claim to be the "world's loudest alarm". When this thing came out of the box, the volume was set on 8, and when I plugged it in and was setting the time, the alarm went off unexpectedly, and my ears HURT afterwards. I've never heard it on 10, and I never want to. 2 or 3 is about as loud as a normal alarm clock.
However, I generally don't use the audible portion of the alarm at all. The clock comes with a little white pod, a little bigger than a cell phone, perhaps, but round like a saucer. It had a long, sturdy chord that plugs into the clock itself. You can put it under your mattress or in your pillow case. I find this the coolest, least annoying, most reliable way to wake up I've yet run across. Way better than lights that slowly turn on (they don't wake me up). The body seems hard wired to wake up fully alert when something nearby vibrates, but it isn't annoying like an alarm clock buzz.
The vibration pod does not need to be plugged in for the clock and audible alarm to work, so if you don't like the vibration, you're not stuck with it.
A word of caution: if you put the vibration pod in your pillowcase and the chord runs to the alarm clock, I could see potential for getting yourself wrapped up in it. Clearly it's not suitable for use with children, and if you toss and turn a lot, I would definately think about the ramifications of the chord. The easy solution, of course, is to put it under your mattress. The vibration is strong enough that it will wake you either way, in my opinion.
My son (15 yrs old) can NEVER, EVER get out of bed in the morning. I have grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him out of bed and he still doesn't wake up. I have taken a metal slotted spoon and banged on a pot and he still doesn't wake up.
This is the 1st thing that I have ever found that actually wakes him up! This alarm clock is worth every penny!
P.S.: He HATES this alarm clock. (I love it)
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Ok, so I'm married to a man who (a) could sleep through a dinosaur tromping through the living room and (b) worships his ability to hit the snooze button. At 5:10am I'm rudely awoken by some screaming AC/DC or Motley Crue (oh, and I guess I didn't mention "c" that he's a old hair band metal head) that I have to listen to, on some totally inexplicable volume of 8 or 9 (inexplicable I say, because he couldn't hear it at volume 18 if there were such a thing) I have stopped waiting to see if he'd wake up, because he won't. I start kicking and punching (gentle nudging won't work... trust me) He rolls over and hits the snooze. OH GREAT! NOW I GET TO ROLL OVER AND GO BACK TO SLEEP FOR EIGHT AND A HALF MORE MINUTES BEFORE I GET TO REPEAT THIS. SIX MORE TIMES!!! But of course I won't because every morning I still get mad and stay awake thinking about my stupid husband who refuses to consider even letting me wake him up in the morning. I do not have to get up that early... haha! Not even close!! And then this wonderful thing happened...
I discovered a vibrating alarm clock! OH MY GOD! IT'S AWESOME!!!!! Ok, so let's be honest. It still wakes me up... but it's not some giant rude awakening and I CAN easily fall back asleep. But on the MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR PLUS SIDE -it wakes my husband up right away!! He can still hit the snooze a buttload of times and carry on his routine, but now he can awake to a gentle vibration instead of a mental kicking and punching woman. So, this thing works out great for both of us.
One thing I need to mention... We have a platform bed... no boxspring. So we've had to put it between our featherbed and the mattress, up near the pillow. It probably makes a little more noise just vibrating than is "normal" but it's still minimal.
BUT THIS THING IS A REALLY GREAT INVESTMENT FOR THE SAME PRICE AS A REGULAR ALARM CLOCK.
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Let me begin by saying that I have an issue with the "snooze button." Not the snooze button on the Sonic Alert SB200 Sonic Boom Loud Vibrating Alarm Clock (TM) per se, just snooze buttons in general. I've been known to catch an extra hour of sleep on some mornings . . . all in nine-minute intervals.
I'm probably sleep deprived, but whatever . . . the system worked for me.
It did NOT, however, work for my wife, who sweetly informed me one morning that she knew where I sleep and that I was a very deep sleeper and that if I didn't find some way to get myself out of bed in the morning without hitting the snooze button for an hour . . . something bad COULD (she's too clever to make a clearly threatening statement) happen to me.
So, in the spirit of cooperation, domestic tranquility and my continued well being, I set out looking for a vibrating alarm clock. The thinking here was that, if there were no loud, annoying beeping, my dulcit darling would not have to suffer the slings and arrows of my outrageous morning ritual.
That was the idea, anyway.
What I failed to take into account was the POWER of the Sonic Alert SB200 Sonic Boom Loud Vibrating Alarm Clock.
Whoa nelly.
This thing will practically THROW you out of the bed. Unfortunately, it will practically throw anyone else out of the bed who may be in there with you. So if, like me, you were looking for some way of gently rousing yourself without disturbing the beauty sleep of your partner . . . this may not be the right model for you.
Beyond that, the construction seems to be fairly cheap. The buttons are small and setting the alarm between vibrate AND buzz, just vibrate or just buzz is more difficult than I am willing to settle for for the price. (Not that it's really "difficult" just getting the cheap little plastic slider to click into the right (tiny) notch gets frustrating if I have to attempt it more than once, or, you know . . . LOOK at what I'm trying to do.) Also, perhaps worst of all, the "SNOOZE" button is on the far RIGHT side. The "ALARM OFF" is on the far LEFT side. If you happen to be a bit groggy in the morning and only happen to remember that the "snooze" was on the side . . . this can spell trouble (and has).
But I don't want to criticize this machine too much. As I say, it is QUITE powerful and I'm sure that it will work well for someone who may be hearing impared or what-have-you. It didn't meet my needs perfectly, but then again I don't think MY PERSONAL SITUATION is exactly what this alarm clock was designed to address.
Hopefully this will help someone out there.
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This alarm is a God send. I am an extremely deep sleeper. I've owned the loudest alarms created. After a little adjustment, I can sleep through any alarm. When I do hear an alarm, it is usually so obnoxious that it puts me an a foul mood.
I've had this alarm for a few weeks. It's amazing. I wake up every time it goes off. There's a vibrating disc that you can place under your mattress or pillow. I place mine between my mattress and box spring. The vibrations happen intermittently, which probably keeps one from habituating to the shaking. The kicker is that it's really pleasent to wake up to. I don't have to hear this screaming alarm that wakes up my whole neighborhood anymore. The alarm does have an audio setting but I prefer just having the vibration.
In terms of travel size, I've already taken it with me on a trip. It's not that small. It's three pieces but I can always find the room in my suitcase. It needs a converter if you want to use it on 220 current internationally. The alarm also connects to a 9-volt battery but the battery is only useful if the electricity goes out. You cannot set the alarm unless it is plugged in. Hopefully, the company will fix that in the next model.
If you have a really difficult time waking up in the morning, I would definately recommend giving this alarm a try.
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This is a really cute little pillow! The photorealistic fabric is a stretchy spandex material and feels kind of like silky ladies tights. It is filled with those microbeads that make a little bit crinkly sound if you're resting your head or neck on it. It is filled quite full to hold the log shape so it is fairly firm and doesn't have a lot of give; it may then push your head/neck a little too far forward to your chin, even when laying down. For that reason, this pillow might be better strictly as a decorator piece.
