There are an astounding number of gadgets for the bathroom, from LED shower heads to toilet seat heaters. However, there is one gadget that is hands-down the most essential, the most vital and the most important, and that is a bathroom clock.
When you're rushing to get ready in the morning, it helps to have a clock handy to keep you on schedule (and from missing the bus or train!). It's even more helpful if that clock multitasks and does more than just keep time.
Looking for a capable contender? We found five potential players with a variety of functions and features:
The iOption: The iShower is sleek, white, and water resistant with rounded edges and a blue time display. It's also Bluetooth-enabled so its speakers can play music from any Bluetooth-streaming phone, tablet or computer, and it'll last for 15 hours (on 3 AA batteries), making it easy to bring to the park or the beach.
The Double Duty: Get a clock and more with Oral-B's ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide Electric Toothbrush, which is basically a combo pack of an electric toothbrush with a wireless SmartGuide to help improve brushing techniques. The kicker here is the handset of the toothbrush, which holds a professional timer to help track how long you've been brushing; when the timer is not actively in use, it doubles as a clock.
The UFOs: A good option is a eye-catching glowing neon shower clock with a suction cup, or one strung on a rope like soap. There's a silver atomic version as well, but all three are waterproof or water-resistant, battery-powered, and puck-shaped.
The James Bond: Another double-duty option is this razor-thin shower mirror/LED clock combo from the Sharper Image, which is designed to stay fog-free for effortless shaving in the shower, and can also play MP3s. It can either be attached to the wall via suction cup or stand alone, and there's a swanky hidden storage compartment under the mirror.
The Matrix: What could be more high tech than the MP3 mirror from Stocco? With an iPod dock that is controlled by buttons on the surface of the glass as well as controls for the barometer and clock, it's a simple and fluid integration of technology.
Images: (1.Shutterstock, 2. Engadget, 3. Wired)
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Wondering the same thing as Tetegrondona.
long showers waste water, right? a regular old radio or speakers for ur iphone should work just as well.
As a naturalista w/time management issues, my bathroom clocks (a Hello Kitty teacup and a self-setting atomic clock) are as necessary to me as my giant bottles of conditioner. I have perfected the "five-minute face" and a few emergency hair styles, but will get lost in plucking my brows or "just a quick tub scrub" if something doesn't remind me to leave!
but seriously, i love the color of that bathroom in the first photo.
I have the ubiquitous $2 Ikea wall clock in my bathroom. If need be I can open the shower curtain to see it while taking a shower. I don't need a clock in the actual shower. It's held up for years.
I have never had a clock in the bathroom and I continue to live without it just fine.
Like a heart attack.
YES! having a clock in the shower has been the best thing ever. The most time consuming thing for me was taking a shower. Sometimes I would lose track of time while under that nice steaming hot shower making me late for work. Having a clock has kept me in check ever since.
"However, there is one gadget that is hands-down the most essential, the most vital and the most important, and that is a bathroom clock." Gee, I must be a superhero, since I get along fine without this "gadget" that is apparently the equivalent of oxygen.
You'd think the main photo in a post about clocks would have a clock in it. But you'd be wrong.
I totally agree that a bathroom clock is awesome and helpful and for me, necessary, but I got a great one at Target for $2. Can't say I want to spend hundreds of dollars on a gadget for my bathroom.
No clock, no need. I take the quickest shower I can manage in order to be eco-friendly, (I also have a short haircut and use no products on my hair other than shampoo, which saves money AND is eco-friendly.) My electric toothbrush (NOT eco-friendly, but advised by my hygienist) has it's own timer and lets me know when the optimal 2 minutes have elapsed. If I'm late for work, it's because I turn off the bedside alarm clock and fall back asleep, not for lingering in the bathroom...
I know that if I didnt have a clock in my bathroom, my phone would have gotten soaked on numerous occasions (as it is the only other time-telling device I use). So for me, it's a necessity. And I am loving that MP3 mirror, it is damn sexy.
No clock in my bathroom either, but if I did put one in, it would not be one of these ridiculous contraptions. No style at all and just not doing it for me
It is?!!... :)
Never had one... ahaha!
I've never had a clock in my bathroom. My routine is down to a fine art - no need for one.
I'm another on the "no clock" side. I usually shower at night so my hair can hair-dry while I sleep, and any time I want to listen to music in the shower I just turn on my iphone and sit in in my sink - which makes the perfect amplifier.
I just bring my phone into the bathroom. Oh, and I wear my watch while in there ;) so far I'm doing just fine. I would consider putting a clock in my bathroom as a decoration, but none of these are very attractive so I think I'd just go with an old school round clock, or maybe a square one to complement the mirror.
ROFLMBO...amusing.
Thanks for the laugh :)
comment awards to @canadianmango and @akay
Wait... people can get to work on time without a clock in their bathroom? This is news to me! I'm not being sarcastic. I have no sense of time when I'm blow drying my hair, putting on make up etc. A clock is pretty crucial for me. As for the other bathroom gadgets? I do just fine without them.
I love my bathroom clock, but I love my blow dryer even more.
I seriously admire all you people who don't need a clock in your bathroom. I must have checked mine 6-7 times this morning and I was still late to work. It very literally is the only gadget I keep in there (don't want to risk bringing the iPhone in, don't wear a watch), and I use it constantly.
I've been thinking about getting a shower timer.
Best thing I ever did was get a clock/weather station and put it in the bathroom. I check it before I go to bed to see how cold it's gotten outside and then grab an extra blanket if needed, check it in the morning to see what clothes I'll wear, check it for my kids or before I go walk the dog. It's made my life a lot easier. The clock is nice, but I had no idea how much I'd rely on it for the temperature. And just a cheap one from amazon, too.
Also, this is a long long stretch, but I once saw the coolest bathroom mirror I have ever seen. It had a shaving mirror with a felt back that was attached to the main mirror by magnets and hence was completely movable on the surface. I have exhausted google on looking for where to buy it, but still haven’t found it.
Does anyone know where I can buy it?
I'm with you Bibliovore. With limited means, sometimes a person has got to prioritize. There's certain things I'm willing to spend more money on, but the clock in my bathroom isn't one of them. Maybe one day when paying the bills isn't an issue, I can afford a sweet Braun clock too!
I have the "silver atomic version" clock from the list in my shower and I love it. It was pretty cheap and I chose it because it has nice big numbers and I am incredibly short sighted so there is no way I am able to see a clock outside of the shower when I am in it - to be honest I have it stuck to the wall at about face level and I still have to bring my face right up to it if I want to be able to tell the time.
This was pretty much the perfect solution for me - it just stuck on a tile above the power unit for my shower - I think it has only fallen off into the bath twice in about 4 years (which is much better than any other thing I have ever had attached to the tiles by a suction cup, which generally seem to fall off every other week in my experience) and has survived both times without even a mark, so seems pretty well made, and the way my bathroom is built you don't even really notice it there on the wall above the shower unit unless you are in the shower.
a simple timer would probably be fine, but i don't need one. for me, the most important gadget is my water heater. lol
The IShower should be great for enjoying a shower but finishing on time!
How much does it cost?
Such a pretty bathroom.