Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Alarm Clock w/ Lightning Connector

jjk454ss

jjk454ss

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 10, 2008
4,528
522
My 20 yr old, $10 alarm clock died:(. I'm debating on getting something that will charge my iPhone. Any suggestions for something that will charge an iPhone 5? Maybe one that does an iPhone 5 and an ipad mini?

Is there such a thing as an alarm clock that will sync with your iPhone for alarms? It would be cool if I could plug in my iPhone and the alarm clock reads the calendar and activates alarms based on your iPhone calendar. Or better yet just syncs with bt automatically. I know you can just use the phones alarm, but I like having a clock instead.

If I go this route, I'd want something certified for the lightning cable/charger too.
 
There are pretty much only two yet:
the i-Blason alarm clock
41VWR3ZvmRL.jpg


and the Philips DS1155, which is 'Made for iPhone', so it should be certified.
41JYT7TDTfL.jpg
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I have the Phillips. Stay away from it as it's a bit flakey, especially the alarm. I have an alarm set up on my iphone. When the alarm goes off, sometimes it will be through the phone speaker and sometimes through the speaker on the Phillips along with the iphone. It does charge it with no problem. And if you have a case, it better be thin or completely open on the bottom, or it wont work.

Curious, why is the i-Blason listed as an 8 pin instead of 9 pin?
 
wxman2003 said:
I have the Phillips. Stay away from it as it's a bit flakey, especially the alarm. I have an alarm set up on my iphone. When the alarm goes off, sometimes it will be through the phone speaker and sometimes through the speaker on the Phillips along with the iphone. It does charge it with no problem. And if you have a case, it better be thin or completely open on the bottom, or it wont work.

Curious, why is the i-Blason listed as an 8 pin instead of 9 pin?
Click to expand...

Thanks. I like the style of the I-Blason better anyway.
 
wxman2003 said:
I have the Phillips. Stay away from it as it's a bit flakey, especially the alarm. I have an alarm set up on my iphone. When the alarm goes off, sometimes it will be through the phone speaker and sometimes through the speaker on the Phillips along with the iphone. It does charge it with no problem. And if you have a case, it better be thin or completely open on the bottom, or it wont work.

Curious, why is the i-Blason listed as an 8 pin instead of 9 pin?
Click to expand...

The ninth pin is ground on the metal casing of the plug.
 
Giuly said:
The ninth pin is ground on the metal casing of the plug.
Click to expand...

Do you actually own one? If so, how is it? I've been waiting for a dock with a clock and this one looks pretty decent. Wondering if it will work ok with my Switcheasy Tones.
 
Just wanted to let you know that I ordered the i-blason and received it yesterday. It looks like a really nice clock/docking station, but unfortunately I'm going to have to return it because it is not case-friendly.

I tried it with both my Switcheasy Tones and my Magpul Field Case and both cases are apparently too thick to allow the phone to charge while docked on the i-blason. Unless your phone is naked or you use a case that is completely open on the bottom, I would say that this is not going to work for you.

There may be some superslim case with bottom protection that will work but if such a case exists, I certainly don't know about it and I'm still not sure that it will work with this dock. Such a shame too because I was really looking forward to finally having an alarm clock with a dock again.

It's so frustrating that these accessories are taking so long to come out. Guess I'm going to have to wait and see what ihome and others come up with. Someone has to make something that works with cases.
 
psywzrd said:
Just wanted to let you know that I ordered the i-blason and received it yesterday. It looks like a really nice clock/docking station, but unfortunately I'm going to have to return it because it is not case-friendly.

I tried it with both my Switcheasy Tones and my Magpul Field Case and both cases are apparently too thick to allow the phone to charge while docked on the i-blason. Unless your phone is naked or you use a case that is completely open on the bottom, I would say that this is not going to work for you.

There may be some superslim case with bottom protection that will work but if such a case exists, I certainly don't know about it and I'm still not sure that it will work with this dock. Such a shame too because I was really looking forward to finally having an alarm clock with a dock again.

It's so frustrating that these accessories are taking so long to come out. Guess I'm going to have to wait and see what ihome and others come up with. Someone has to make something that works with cases.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I dont use a case. But for now I just bought a cheap alarm clock, will wait and see what comes out for the iPhone 5 in the future.
 
psywzrd said:
Just wanted to let you know that I ordered the i-blason and received it yesterday. It looks like a really nice clock/docking station, but unfortunately I'm going to have to return it because it is not case-friendly.

I tried it with both my Switcheasy Tones and my Magpul Field Case and both cases are apparently too thick to allow the phone to charge while docked on the i-blason. Unless your phone is naked or you use a case that is completely open on the bottom, I would say that this is not going to work for you.

There may be some superslim case with bottom protection that will work but if such a case exists, I certainly don't know about it and I'm still not sure that it will work with this dock. Such a shame too because I was really looking forward to finally having an alarm clock with a dock again.

It's so frustrating that these accessories are taking so long to come out. Guess I'm going to have to wait and see what ihome and others come up with. Someone has to make something that works with cases.
Click to expand...

I agree that it's frustrating these accessories are taking forever to come out. Apple switching from the 30 pin to the lightning must be a bit hard on manufacturers of these accessories. One thing that I never quite got. Why do people complain about certain stuff not being case friendly? Like a car dock or an alarm clock? I mean I don't mind taking the case off of my phone to plug it into a dock. It's takes me a maximum of 30 seconds to take off an otterbox defender. Unless they're those aluminum bumper frames that you need to unscrew to take the case out then I don't mind. But everyone has their preferences. I just never understood why some accessories that are not case friendly were deal breakers to some people
 
jayrflow said:
I agree that it's frustrating these accessories are taking forever to come out. Apple switching from the 30 pin to the lightning must be a bit hard on manufacturers of these accessories. One thing that I never quite got. Why do people complain about certain stuff not being case friendly? Like a car dock or an alarm clock? I mean I don't mind taking the case off of my phone to plug it into a dock. It's takes me a maximum of 30 seconds to take off an otterbox defender. Unless they're those aluminum bumper frames that you need to unscrew to take the case out then I don't mind. But everyone has their preferences. I just never understood why some accessories that are not case friendly were deal breakers to some people
Click to expand...

I'm the exact opposite - I never want to have to take my case off to do anything. I would find it extremely inconvenient to have to take my case off every time I want to dock my phone (not to mention that the more times you take off the case, the more of a chance you have to damage the phone and/or the case). To each his own, but I'm definitely going to keep looking for a case-friendly dock. Hopefully the ihome will fit the bill.
 
jayrflow said:
I agree that it's frustrating these accessories are taking forever to come out. Apple switching from the 30 pin to the lightning must be a bit hard on manufacturers of these accessories. One thing that I never quite got. Why do people complain about certain stuff not being case friendly? Like a car dock or an alarm clock? I mean I don't mind taking the case off of my phone to plug it into a dock. It's takes me a maximum of 30 seconds to take off an otterbox defender. Unless they're those aluminum bumper frames that you need to unscrew to take the case out then I don't mind. But everyone has their preferences. I just never understood why some accessories that are not case friendly were deal breakers to some people
Click to expand...

Having to constantly take your case on and off again to dock/charge your phone can get pretty annoying, especially if you do it every day. For me, I find that the more I take a case on/off, the more wear and tear it accrues and eventually breaks due to the repetition. That alone makes me sigh in these situations.
 
How hard can it be to make a freaking change in the connector? These companies make millions and they can't get a lightning based unit out now almost a year after the iphone 5 became available??

I need to buy one of these things, we have other iLife units and they've been great, but I'm not buying a 30 pin unit when everything going forward will require an adapter.
 
Another alarm clock popped up recently, the Gear4 Halo 3 alarm clock, which is an 'App-enhanced alarm clock for iPhone 5 and iPod'.
91bhmlh3rXL._SL1500_.jpg


AlarmDock Halo 3 can work in conjunction with a free app that offers added functionality and features:
  • Setting the time and your wake-up alarm has never been easier thanks to Halo 3’s auto-sync time and alarms feature.
  • Wake up refreshed and alert thanks to a wide range of customizable alarm sounds and be prepared for any eventuality, come rain or shine, with Halo 3’s animated weather.
  • Auto-scan and save your favourite FM Radio stations and select your chosen station from the station logo at the touch of a button or use the multi-source in-app media player to build combined playlists using tracks from your iTunes, Spotify account or network music. With all your music accessible from one place there’s no need to switch between your music sources.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I recently got the iHome iDL45 and so far I'm happy. But I do have to remove my case before I dock it.
Are there any cases out there that will work with these types of docks?
It seems to me that, maybe, if the bottom were more open it should dock just fine.
Currently I have on the Incipio Frequency.
 
BulkHedd said:
I recently got the iHome iDL45 and so far I'm happy. But I do have to remove my case before I dock it.
Click to expand...

I was afraid that might be the case with the ihome. I had the same problem with the iblason so I'm thinking that most of these docks will not work if you use a case unless the case is open on the bottom. I'm not really a fan of cases with open bottoms though, so I'm really hoping one of these docks will work with a case. Still waiting to hear feedback on the other ones mentioned in this thread.
 
psywzrd said:
I was afraid that might be the case with the ihome. I had the same problem with the iblason so I'm thinking that most of these docks will not work if you use a case unless the case is open on the bottom. I'm not really a fan of cases with open bottoms though, so I'm really hoping one of these docks will work with a case. Still waiting to hear feedback on the other ones mentioned in this thread.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree. But wouldn't it be nice to choose a dock based on features and sound quality and not have to worry about that?
 
BulkHedd said:
Yeah, I agree. But wouldn't it be nice to choose a dock based on features and sound quality and not have to worry about that?
Click to expand...

Absolutely! My requirements for a dock are very miminal though. I basically just need it to charge my phone without having to remove my case and I need it to have a clock - that's basically it. The other stuff (speakers, etc.) isn't that important to me but I do understand that people have different needs. It seems like this lightning connector is proving to be problematic to accessory makers because the selection of accessories is very limited.
 
I don't have a case on my phone, just a clear skin. What's one of the best docks out there right now for the money? Or even the cheapest dock but as long as its decent..?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back