vilakins | Gadget lust

I first heard about our latest gadget in astrogirl2's blog, though I'm not sure if it was this one: an Austrian alarm clock that wakes you up when you're ready for it.

We pre-ordered it a while ago, and we've had it for a week now. It's a beautifully-designed thing with a semi-transparent display that glows translucent blue when you press a button on it or on your wristband. It works by monitoring your movements and picking the first time in the half-hour before your alarm time that you're in shallow sleep to wake you. It works for two people quite independently and I chose bird calls for my alarm; Greg has a drumbeat which would have been my second pick.

And it works! This review explains it pretty well.

My only complaint is that it doesn't have a silent vibrating option, apparently because it would eat up the battery in the wrist band which will last five years. Still, deaf people need alarms too, as do those who sometimes have to resort to earplugs because their partners snore. [sigh] However it seems to work well if I remember to take the plugs out if I wake up in the night.

A very clever and futuristic-looking little device!