Best alarm clock ever!!!

[Keymaster]

I just wanted to pipe up quickly...although (especially with the battery pack and WiFi)the SB Radio is a super music player due to its portability, great sonics, killer interface, etc...I am mostly using mine as my alarm clock/bedside radio.

I have gone through a dozen such devices in the last decade.

The SB Radio is THE BEST ALARM CLOCK SINCE THE INVENTION OF TIME AND/OR THE 5 DAY WORK WEEK (although I would imagine that somewhere a chicken and egg are offended).

In all seriousness, if you're remotely contemplating a purchase with this application in mind, I cannot see how your EVERY expectation will be exceeded. I mean...geez...You can define the length of snooze...I have never seen that elsewhere (I like 9 minutes, not 10...'cause I'm funny that way)

Waking up has never been so happy an event

In general, if you are a first time Squeezer, prepare for one of the most positively consequential purchase that you will every make!!!

[Bert0123]

Good to hear!
I wish the same was true for the Boom, which is not so reliable because it most of the time works, but not always. And with this invention of the 5 day work week I can't afford to get to work too late 1 or 2 days a month because the Boom failed to wake me up...

[sander]

I'm not a tester, but according to another thread the alarm clock functionality in the radio is the same as the boom. If you have trouble with the boom you'll have trouble with the radio.

I hope Logitech will get their stuff together and fix the functionality of these multi-hundred dollar alarm clocks to give the same level of dependability of say a 1 dollar promotional item.

[sebp]

The SB Radio is THE BEST ALARM CLOCK SINCE THE INVENTION OF TIME AND/OR THE 5 DAY WORK WEEK (although I would imagine that somewhere a chicken and egg are offended).

Working for Logitech must be really enjoyable, because I was talking with a colleague yesterday, and we were both ready to kill the man who invented the 5 day work week with our own hands for not having preferred the 5 day weekend.

I wish the same was true for the Boom, which is not so reliable because it most of the time works, but not always.

In more than 2 years I own a SB and use it as my alarm clock, my Classic never ever failed to wake me up in the morning.
Sometimes, because I got to sleep too late (and a bit too drunk), it took it up to an hour to do so, but it always succeeded.

My only complain with the SB used as an alarm clock so far, is that it doesn't (yet) read my mind and automatically turns off/delays an alarm when I don't have to wake up at all/so early in the morning, and I forgot to change the alarm accordingly.
That's what I'd call the best invention since... say... holidays.

[eap]

I'm not a tester, but according to another thread the alarm clock functionality in the radio is the same as the boom. If you have trouble with the boom you'll have trouble with the radio.

I hope Logitech will get their stuff together and fix the functionality of these multi-hundred dollar alarm clocks to give the same level of dependability of say a 1 dollar promotional item.

What exactly is the issue with the boom's alarm?

[sander]

The issue with the Boom, and apparently the other new models, is that they're no more reliable as alarm clocks than the original slimp3.

Despite all the marketing and promises, when the network is down the new units will tell time, but the alarms will only play for either 30 or 60 seconds and stop.

If they were indeed the "best alarm clock ever" they would be completely dependable, and would have additional settings for fall back alarms and such. As they are they are less reliable than traditional alarm clock. If you choose an internet stream to wake you up, you have two points of failure with no recourse. Given the premium paid for these devices its ridiculous that this charade has gone on for so long.

Now, I have a boom and the issue only has affected me once, but its pathetic that Logitech considers this a low priority issue when it's a promise they've been making for almost two years now.

If you told someone you paid more than $100 for an alarm clock (more than $200 in my case) which wasn't completely reliable, they would laugh in your face.

I love the Squeezecenter system, but its ridiculous that if I really need to get up the morning I'm better off relying on a 15 year old Sony Dream Machine over a system I bought less than a year ago for more than ten times the price!

[Goodsounds]

Reality is probably somewhere in the middle, as with most disagreements.

I don't have an SB Radio, but from my other SB devices, I'd agree that calling them the best alarm clocks ever is probably unwarranted. But they're probably not the worst either. If you're unhappy because you look at your >$200 purchase as an unreliable alarm clock, I'd suggest your expectations are the problem.

Why think of these products as anything other than great network music players/devices with an alarm function? It's a bonus, not a core function. It's no more reliable than your and my crappy networks, patched together with products and technology made by others and out of the company's control.

In any system, reliability comes from redundancy. If oversleeping is not an option, relying on just one device (no matter what kind) involves risk. Use two to be certain.

[Mnyb]

But they are dragging thier feet regarding making the backup tone last longer on the boom.

The other older players can not be improved on, it's only the boom (of the old players ) that have an on board real time clock and can function without any server at all,
making it better than an SB3 in this regard.

So making the backup tone 30 minutes would be a good start.

What is puzzling with the boom is that it can only remeber one alarm on it's own so more than 24h of any server is blows the alarm .
Why not putting 0.01$ on an rtc chip with an weekly schedule, very strange decission ?

I hope/assume that the new players can remember more than one day. This would be easy for the Touch as it can be it's own squeezecenter, making all this very possible.

I don't know what radio could do, but an applet for it would not be unlikely, products are not released yet so I have not seen one irl .

But the new line has far more brains than the old ones soo if someone made it a priority I think they could be much more reliable as alarms than the old products.

[Justme]

Why think of these products as anything other than great network music players/devices with an alarm function? It's a bonus, not a core function. It's no more reliable than your and my crappy networks, patched together with products and technology made by others and out of the company's control.

Well, as it advertises as an alarm clock, I think it is justified for people to expect it to be 100% reliable (presuming the device doesn't physically break down). My Nokia phone has an alarm. It is certainly not the core function of the phone. But it has never failed me.

That said, as I don't use my kitchen boom as an alarm, I can't say if it is reliable or not. But I am very interested in buying this new Radio for the bedside.

[eap]

The issue with the Boom, and apparently the other new models, is that they're no more reliable as alarm clocks than the original slimp3.

Despite all the marketing and promises, when the network is down the new units will tell time, but the alarms will only play for either 30 or 60 seconds and stop.

If they were indeed the "best alarm clock ever" they would be completely dependable, and would have additional settings for fall back alarms and such. As they are they are less reliable than traditional alarm clock. If you choose an internet stream to wake you up, you have two points of failure with no recourse. Given the premium paid for these devices its ridiculous that this charade has gone on for so long.

Now, I have a boom and the issue only has affected me once, but its pathetic that Logitech considers this a low priority issue when it's a promise they've been making for almost two years now.

If you told someone you paid more than $100 for an alarm clock (more than $200 in my case) which wasn't completely reliable, they would laugh in your face.

I love the Squeezecenter system, but its ridiculous that if I really need to get up the morning I'm better off relying on a 15 year old Sony Dream Machine over a system I bought less than a year ago for more than ten times the price!

If the power is out my Sony Dream Machine doesn't work at all and it has no network connectivity whatsoever, so I'm limited to staticy terresterial radio.

It sounds like with the boom when the network is down (which happens almost never for me at home) -- you still get an alarm, it just doesn't go off forever? I wake up in the first few seconds of any alarm -- so this sounds like it won't be a problem for me. 30 or 60 seconds is more than enough to wake me up.

Also, I'll be wired (not wireless), so should be even less of an issue for me.