apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Is this just a concept product, or can it be purchased?

I have a clock like this (the snooze button is on the underside, so all you have to do is give it a good slam), and it is a HORRIBLE thing for me. It is way too easy to have a bit of violence and then fall back asleep!

Or just get a clock that doesn't make an irritating sound. I mean, hostility and violence has its time and place!, but if you love mornings, why would you solve your problem this way?

Punching aside, how can I know a clock doesn't make an irritating sound before I buy it? KTG, anyone else? Where can I buy a decent-looking, fairly inexpensive alarm clock that makes a pleasant sound? We don't all need to be jolted awake with harsh beeps.

When I go to the store, and mind you, I prefer the louder, more irritating, more reliable for my needs clock, I test them. They are usually plugged in to a power cord, and I set the alarm and wait a minute and hear what they sound like and how loud they are. That's how you do that.

My clock is only backup -- Geisha, my cat, is how I really wake up. sigh. Even when I could otherwise sleep in...

PS. I also do this to see if I can figure out how easy it is to set/reset the clock, and what features are there for my convenience without having access to the manual.

looks like a yarmulke . . . or a dress shield. Cats are very effective, and efficient, alarm clocks.

If you are looking for a nicer sounding alarm you might check out the ambient noise machines, some of them have alarms. Although you'd have to be a light sleeper I'd imagine. Personally I'd sleep right through them, I'll stick with my radio alarm (but really only because its got one of those snooze buttons that start out at 10 minutes then the next time you hit it 9 minutes and keeps decreasing by a minute each time.

My dog and cat are my alarm clock.

I never have liked alarm clocks. If the sound is too jarring, like most alarms to me are, I wake up confused and shaky. My body is usually pretty good about waking itself up around the same time everyday. The only alarms I have used are the radio or my iPod. I use my phone now and I wake up to "She's A Maniac".
My sister, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She cannot wake up on time unless there's an airhorn in her ear. As for the Smash, I'd buy it for her because she's so horrible with electronics and it's sure to not be broken in her mid-sleep stupor.