Product review: Clocky, the alarm clock that runs away

Jan 6, 2010 by Joshua    No Comments    Posted under: daily life

The Clocky, invented by Gauri Nanda at MIT, is ready to roll.

Before, I mentioned how poor college student types such as myself could make their own giant chalkboards using chalkboard paint. Now I am here to tackle another issue that many college students (and countless others) face: waking up in time for class/work/whatever.

Humanity created alarm clocks to help even the drowsiest wake up on time. But lo, fully aware of the flaws of the heavy sleeper, the designers of alarm clocks saw fit to also invent the SNOOZE button, and many a sleepy-eyed person has suffered as a result.

Then in comes the Clocky to fix all of that.

Like most alarm clocks, the Clocky makes extremely irritating noises when its alarm goes off. The sounds are not unlike those made by popular robot and cultural icon R2-D2. And, like most alarm clocks, it has a big SNOOZE button on the top.

Where the Clocky sets itself apart from other clocks is in what happens a minute after the button is pushed. The second time the alarm goes off, the Clocky wheels off the table and drives itself around the room, forcing its owner to chase it down or put up with irritating beep noises as it runs itself into the wall.

The alarm clock runs on batteries to allow for mobility. As a standard clock, it is a bit lacking – the display is small and hard to see in the dark or the light. It has no additional features beyond the alarm (and the wheels, of course). While it may not serve as an effective clock to be read at far distances, it more than accounts for its purpose as a means to get one out of bed quickly.

The Clocky is available both at the home page of Gauri Nanda, the developer, as well as other sites such as ThinkGeek. It is a little pricey, from around $40-$60 depending on where you buy it from and what model you purchase. I lucked out and caught it at Woot for about half the price, and I am thankful for it. I have the most trouble getting out of bed during the cold winter mornings.

For a demo of the Clocky in action, check out this YouTube video.

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