We review the no-nonsense iPhone alarm clock app, Travel Clock Pro, that knows how to sweet talk you out of bed
This app's slogan is amusingly self-deprecating, as it proudly proclaims 'Yep, another alarm clock' at the top of its App Store page. And that's exactly what it does: Join the legions of other alarm, world and travel clock apps that turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a hellishly expensive time piece.
But the thing that's particularly interesting about this application is the motivation behind its development. Rather than a developer trying to come up with the fanciest, most attractive 'smart alarm clock,' this one was built by a guy who needed an alarm clock app but couldn't find one with just the right feature set on the App Store.
So Travel Clock Pro is actually something of an elite app, as it was designed with a clear and concise remit - not just another alarm clock app, after all.
This remit wasn't to make a flash-looking display to keep you awake at night with bright-burning graphics, or one with a retro aesthetic that regresses your iPhone into a pseudo-mechanical ringer or pretend seven-segment LCD display.
It's to create a purely functional travel clock that puts the most pertinent information on the screen and entirely dispenses with the fluff. This might sound a bit dry, but it's surprisingly refreshing - especially at 3AM.
Big and bold at the top of the screen is the time. Not a huge surprise, but it's unmistakable and very visible through a haze of sleep. You're also given the day, date and time zone, what with this being a travel clock as well as an alarm clock. Your current time zone is determined automatically by your location, so there's no confusion about the actual time, and you're given a small window to home in the bottom corner where your native time zone is also shown.
The alarm is denoted by a simple on or off - no fancy graphics that leave you wondering if it's actually set or not. This is accompanied by the time you've set the alarm for, and a countdown timer to when it goes off. This alarm can be accompanied by a vibration, built-in sounds, iPod music or a computerised male or female voice that even offer a bit of motivation to get you out of bed ('Time to get up, sweetie!').
Finally there's a flashlight button right in the centre of the screen for stumbling around in the dark, which rounds out a great set of unambiguous, essential alarm clock features that entirely dispense with the usual iPhone twaddle.
Travel Clock Pro boasts absolutely no frills, but remains entirely functional at all times - and that's a huge plus point in our book.
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