Sept. 16--Name: TCL Pulse from Amplifyze
What it is: A Bluetooth-enabled alarm clock and timer that is paired with Apple products (Android is in the works). The device has three intensity settings for vibrate or beep or both. I've tried all settings, and all I need is the lowest vibration setting to wake me up. The beep setting is almost like a regular alarm, so you can set this on a nightstand, but the idea is that, with vibration, you put it in your pillowcase, where it is sure to wake you but not necessarily those around you. It comes in black, white and pink. It runs on three AAA batteries.
The good: I found the vibration mode impossible to ignore, yet it really is a stealth alarm, because it won't awaken everybody else in close quarters if set on vibration. In one week while using it just for myself, it awakened my wife only one morning out of five, and that's because I was trying it between the fitted sheet and the mattress instead of in my pillowcase, so the vibrations went through the whole bed. The beauty of it for travelers is as a stealth alarm, especially if you're in a group setting such as a hostel or even a college dorm. But it's so small (about 3 by 3 inches and not quite an inch thick) that it's also just a great travel alarm. Too, it would work well for the hearing-impaired or even teenagers who find a standard alarm so easy to miss. Your paired iOS device doesn't need to be on once you set up the alarm, so you won't drain power from your iPhone or iPad.
The bad: Once the alarm goes off while buried in your pillowcase, retrieving it to hit the snooze button or turn it off can be an adventure if the room is dark, although there is a blinking light on it that helps once you get it out of the pillowcase. Finding the snooze button is easy because it blinks, but finding the button to turn off the alarm is more difficult, so you need to memorize its position. You are, however, almost guaranteed to be fully awake by the time you find it.
Cost: $39.95
Available from: www.tclpulse.com and www.amazon.com
