Photo by Dan Saelinger
As smartphones take over the world, alarm clocks are fading into the well-rested past. We now wake up to ringtones rather than the clatter of a metal hammer; we search for the hard-to-find touch-screen snooze instead of swatting a simple clock-top button. Turn back time and add a bit of ease to your mornings with the alarm clocks of your dreams.
[1] Bomba alarm clock "Flip clocks seem to be making a resurgence," says Little Clock Shop owner Keith Rodewald. Validation came this summer, when this nostalgia-driven ticker showed up in the movie Green Lantern. ($72, littleclockshop.com)
[2] FlipPunkt AC 01 Alarm Clock Punkt simplifies the process of waking up: A soft touch will snooze the alarm; a squeeze of the face will cause it to light up. "Our products speak for themselves," says senior product manager Luca Maurer. "They don't need to be understood." ($125, switchmodern.com)
[3] Braun travel alarm clock Designed by Dietrich Lubs in 1971, Braun's clock boasts simplicity and silence (the German gears don't tick). The original model was discontinued in 2005, sending fans scrambling to find their beloved snooze-button-free alarm; a reproduction was launched in April. ($40, nova68.com)
[4] Shine Labs LED clock This clock's wood veneer is thin enough to let the computerized guts--red LEDs--show through; that light can be set to automatically dim during the night. To welcome the sleeper to day, two speakers blast tunes from any connected music player. ($96, uncommongoods.com)
[5] Furni Alba Media Edition Devin Barrette and Mike Giles started Furni nine years ago to make custom furniture. Now, the two-person company offers everything from moccasins to bags to this alarm clock. An update to the original Alba design, the Media Edition lets snoozers plug in iPhones and iPods and, using an app, choose which songs will wake them. ($148, furnicreations.com)
A version of this article appears in the November 2011 issue of Fast Company.