iA5 Alarm Clock iPhone Dock Goes The Extra Mile With Its Own App

By Andrew Liszewski

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 ]