Not only is it oozing with charm and retro appeal, but Jamie McMahon’s Acoustic Alarm also provides a subtler alternative to annoying electronic beeps, or local radio DJ banter, when it goes off in the morning. A simple pair of dials make setting the alarm time dead easy, while a toggle switch on the opposite side is used to activate, and presumably deactivate it, once you’re awake.

When the Acoustic Alarm goes off, a mechanism inside its sound hole gently strums a set of 4 guitar strings. It does sound a lot like the traditional electronic beep we’re probably all accustomed to, but considerably more pleasant. And if you’re not happy with the sound, like on a guitar the strings are connected to tuning pegs allowing to adjust the notes until you find something agreeable for your morning self.

[ Acoustic Alarm ] VIA [ Fancy ]

If it’s like Christmas morning every day in your home with your kids bouncing out of bed well before there’s even distracting cartoons on TV, this alarm clock is supposed to let them know when it’s appropriate to rise and shine, and when they should stay under the covers if they know what’s good for them. It’s claim to fame is a miniature streetlight that corresponds to the alarms set by parents.

When it’s glowing red it subtly lets your kids know that they should still be sleeping, or at least keeping their crack-of-dawn wild child antics confined to their bed. But when the alarm goes off the light turns green letting them know they’re free to roam about the house. Apparently the yellow light is just there to complete the set, though I think it would serve as a good reminder every night that bedtime was getting close. $34.99 available directly from its website.

[ Stoplight Alarm Clock ] VIA [ InventionSpot ]

Tired of only one ear being punished every morning when your alarm clock goes off? In addition to the new 3 in 1 Microdock we brought you yesterday, XtremeMac also unveiled their new Luna SST alarm clock dock on Wednesday which features a detachable speaker that can be placed on the opposite side of your bed for that full waking stereo effect. While the floating speaker isn’t wireless, it can be used as an independent alarm clock which is handy, even if it can only be set using the main unit. And like the 3 in 1 Microdock, the Luna SST can also be used with XtremeMac’s Alarm Clock app making it easier to set the alarms or choose what music you want to wake up to. The Beatles mono or The Beatles stereo… $129.99 listed as ‘coming soon’ on the XtremeMac website.

[ XtremeMac Luna SST ]

At the moment there are two things that have kept me from switching to an alarm clock with a built-in iPhone dock. While I’d love to wake up to my own music in the morning, they’re usually pretty monstrous and would dominate my small bedside table, and at least once a week my current alarm clock gets knocked to the floor as a result of my half-conscious attempts to silence it. So while it doesn’t solve the issue of my iPhone taking a nasty tumble, I really like the small form-factor of XtremeMac’s new 3 in 1 Microdock. (I’m halfway there!)

At just 4.7 oz it looks to be just slightly larger than the iPhone itself, but it includes a built-in speaker with “surprisingly big sound” and of course can be used to sync or charge your phone while docked. I think it’s the ideal alternative to other alarm clock docks that seem to be gaining weight every year, it comes with a travel pouch so it was probably designed with portability in mind. And while you don’t necessarily need the 3 in 1 Microdock to use it, there’s a basic but free XtremeMac Alarm Clock app you can download if you’d like your on-screen aesthetics to match the hardware. $59.99 available now.

[ XtremeMac 3 in 1 Microdock ]

Remember Clocky? It was the alarm clock with a set of rubber tires that allowed it to drive off when the alarm sounded, forcing you out of bed in order to hunt it down and silence it. Well Tocky here is billed as its “tech savvy” younger brother, and instead of driving away on a set of tires, Tocky is able to simply roll away on its own once again forcing you to find where its ended up before you can silence the alarm.

Annoying for sure, though it’s probably a very effective way to wake up in the morning. But Tocky isn’t just a one-trick pony. Besides its built-in escape mechanism it also has a touch sensitive interface which makes setting the clock and alarms as easy as spinning your finger around the dial. It’s also got a voice recorder if you prefer to wake up to the sound of your own voice and can be connected to a PC in order to upload MP3s if you prefer to wake up to music. Tocky is available in bright, playful colors like orange, white, aqua and kiwi and were it not for its $79 price tag I’d say it was a must-have for those of us who have to fight our way out of bed each morn.

[ Tocky Touch ]

It looks like there’s a new version of the Banclock we brought you a couple of years ago. Like the previous model, the new Banclock’s (a shortened version of bank + clock) snooze mode can only be activated by inserting a coin, so when you run out of loose change, you’re going to have to drag yourself out of bed. The new design features a retro yet modern take on the classic alarm clock, with a golden dollar on top that moves back and forth ringing the bells. It’s available from the Japan Trend Shop in black, white or pink for $55.

[ Banclock ]

Alarm clocks with iPhone docks are a dime a dozen (well maybe not that cheap just yet) but the uninspiringly named iA5 from iHome manages to stand out in a very crowded market with its own custom app. In fact my eyes usually glaze over when I read about these types of devices, but I’m actually kind of impressed with what iHome has done here.

The iHome+Sleep app is available for free from the iTunes App Store, and in and of itself it looks like a pretty fantastic replacement alarm clock for your iPhone or iPod Touch. It allows you to program up to 18 sleep or nap alarms, using your own music library to get you out of bed, including custom 7.5.2 settings for weekdays, workdays and the weekend. It keeps track of random statistics like your average night’s sleep, bedtime, waketime etc. and can even connect to your favorite social media like Facebook and Twitter, letting friends know your bedtime status. It will even deliver local weather and news in the morning, so you know what kind of day you’re facing.

When your iPhone or Touch is docked to the iA5 though, things get even better. Adjusting the alarm clock’s settings is made about 1,000x easier with a touchscreen interface (it can still be used as an alarm clock without anything docked) and setting the time is as easy as pressing a single sync button. That alone makes the $99.99 price tag totally worth it to me. And the iA5′s Reson8 speaker chamber technology is probably a lot more effective at waking you than the iPhone or Touch’s own speakers.

[ iA5 - App-Enhanced Alarm Clock Speaker System for iPhone and iPod ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

If someone had a gun pointed at my head, demanding to know the time, and the only methods I had at my disposal were reading it off this Darth Vader Japanese Desk Clock, or somehow gauging it from the position of the sun and other stars in the sky, I’d definitely be reaching for my sextant. Because given the fact that Vader is 13-inches tall, reading that minuscule LCD display with the naked human eye is just not possible.

I don’t even know why they bothered adding a clock to the base anyways. If they had just left this is as a Darth Vader statuette, they could have easily charged way more than the $14.99 it’s currently on sale for at ThinkGeek. It’s definitely one of those instances where more is less. Oh and not surprisingly, it’s an officially licensed Lucasfilm collectible.

(And couldn’t they have just slightly adjusted the stance of Vader’s legs so the unsightly black support rod isn’t needed? I guess I’m just going to have to stop thinking about this… I’m choking on my own disgust here…)

[ Darth Vader Japanese Desk Clock ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Evan Ackerman

This is what’s called a sundial cannon, or a noon cannon. Assuming the weather cooperates, at noon exactly the lens on the sundial focuses sunlight onto a pan filled with gunpowder, setting off the cannon to mark the time. Generally, the cannons weren’t loaded with shot, but with all of the novelty alarm clocks out there, it seems like one that automatically shoots you could be really, really effective, in a potentially dangerous sort of way. And hey, it’s even solar powered.

VIA [ Neatorama ]

Since most alarm clocks are designed to sit on a bedside table, mankind has developed the unique ability to read the time at a 90 degree angle while laying in bed. It’s yet another skill that separates us from the animals, but it looks like someone is trying to change that. Designed by Greg Wolos, the Emily alarm clock is supposed to be mounted to the wall or a headboard so that the red LED display ends up being on its side, making it easier to read while lying in bed.

Now I for one refuse to let my angled time reading skills be forgotten, and intend to pass them onto my children and grandchildren. But I also refuse to pay $129 for an alarm clock with less features than a model from the early 80′s.

[ Emily ] VIA [ CraziestGadgets ]