If your child has a tough time hearing the alarm clock, the Thomas Alarm Clock may be theideal solution.An adorable version of a quaint old-fashioned alarm clock, he has a sturdy bright-blue metalbody with two bells and a hammer on top. When the alarm sounds, the hammer vibrates between the bells,making a racket that will rouse the most reluctant of sleepyheads. And there's no snooze button! On theclock face, a train track encircles Thomas, who smiles a cheery "Good morning!" Big, bold numbers, blackand yellow hour and minute hands, and a bright red second hand make it easy for a beginner to track time'sprogress. A dancing cloud near Thomas' right headlamp keeps pace with the rhythm of the second hand andadds a jaunty bit of whimsy. Stands almost 7 inches tall. Requires one AA battery (not included).--Julie Ubben ... Read more

Asin: B00000J54V
Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Time    3. Book Characters   

If you or someone you know has a little trouble getting startedin the morning, this Jar Jar Binks alarm system may be just the ticket.With its realistic sculpted plastic head and feet and authenticallydetailed clothing, this Jar Jar wake-up doll stands a full 20 inchestall! Press the palm of his right hand and he laughs and says the timein his distinct voice. Press his right elbow and he vibrates with joyand gives either a morning greeting or a good nightsalutation! Easy-to-follow voice instructions allow for morning and night alarmfunctions. And if that's not enough Gungan jabber for you, press hisleft palm and Jar Jar says one of over 40 different phrases! Arealistic pit droid is also included and doubles as a digitaltimepiece. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Asin: B00003ETDN
Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Time    3. Movies    4. Talking   

Panasonic RC6299 Dual-Alarm Clock Radio
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $34.95
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Most clock radios wake us up with a loud blast, but not Panasonic's RC-6299. Instead, Panasonic uses what it calls Radio Tender Wake-Up, a gradual increasing of the radio's volume, to gently awaken you each morning.

Slim and silver with a pleasantly rounded, iMac-like body, the RC-6299 is as compact as it is handsome. Setting the clock and the dual alarms is a snap, and it's made even easier with the optional fast time-set mode. However, the instructions are a little confusing, so be patient until you learn your way around this unit. But we appreciate this clock's readout, which has a two-position brightness setting, high or low. And another nifty touch is the miniplug jack for headphones (mono only).

The radio sound of the RC-6299 is average; vocals are clear (if slightly nasal) and, not surprisingly, there's little bass or extended treble to speak of. But this is not a major downside--it's absolutely typical of what we hear with most clock radios in this price range.

We like Panasonic's RC-6299. It's a good value, it's easy to use, and it has above-average looks and features, if only average sound. --Wayne Garcia

Pros:

• Compact and handsome
• Easy to use
• Radio Tender Wake-Up

Cons:

• Average sound quality

... Read more

Features

• Forward/reverse fast time settings
• Radio Tender Wake-Up System
• 2-alarm system
• Sure-Alarm battery backup
• Doze and sleep functions

Reviews (4)

this clock-radio is evil!
Our toddler got hold of our Sony Dream Machine and dispatched the one essential dial that controls time/alarm setting, so for several months we've been depending on internal body alarms--with the usual resultant catastrophes. What's more, since "spring forward" daylight savings the clock has been an hour off. Ah, parenthood. Finally we got around to ordering this Panasonic. But once out of the box (yesterday) the myriad problems quickly began to announce themselves. First, the design interface of the buttons is cryptic at best. Enlarge the image above and you'll see what I mean. Various functions are attributed to the same buttons, and they're all so squeezed together that the text directionals are not entirely clear. There are TWO time-set controls. Why? After fiddling with the danged thing last night I finally had to consult the instructions to set the alarm. In other words, it was not clear and apparent how to do a routine adjustment to a bottom-of-the-line component. Gimme a break. Even after reading the instructions we had difficulty. Maybe this was a lemon--and maybe not. We couldn't figure out how to make the "fast" function work in setting the alarm, so it took a long time and much button-pressing. We never did get it right, in fact.

This clock-radio represents much of what's wrong with the modern world, in albeit simplified terms:

1. Apparently it was designed by a troupe of monkeys. Seriously, Panasonic should be embarrassed by the poor design of this product. If I owned Panasonic stock (I don't) I would be selling today.

2. Just like car stereos, in which the classic, time-tested volume control knob is somehow not good enough (so they had to replace with complicated multi-function push-button controls that cannot be operated by anyone aside from the driver who has painstakenly learned the "rules"), the designers/manufactures of this clock-radio have taken a simple concept that worked...and ruined it.

3. Marketers/advertisers bombard us with lies about how great this product is.

4. Consumers, like a bunch of sheep, take the abuse--insuring the cycle will be repeated again, and again, ad nauseum.

Forget it. We want out. We're sending the blasted thing back today. Thankfully Amazon will refund our purchase and we can try again. There must be someone out there who can manufacture a clock-radio that does the job it was intended to do.

cool clock
.
I'm really happy with this little clock radio.It's an excellent value for the money.It looks great, works great, and sounds great.The glow is not too bright; it has a high and a low (I keep mine on low all the time).A note about the alarms: One is a radio alarm only and the other is a beeper alarm only.The radio alarm doesn't work if the power is out.The beeper alarm will work if the power is out.I thought that was odd.The unit does have a battery back-up.

I'm very pleased with this clock radio.I bought mine for $$$and not shipping cost on another website.Happy hunting!
.

More isn't always better
I got this as a replacement for my girlfriend.It has a lot of nice features, but (unfortunately) we're considering taking it back...The biggest problem is that the buttons are too small and too close together.The snooze, while bigger than the rest, is in a corner that can be hard to hit if the clock is not faced a certain direction.That's bearable, but the rest of the 5-6 buttons are tiny little circles all in a tight row.The off button is in the middle of the row and I have yet to hit it without pushing at least a few others in the process.

Similarily, the buttons to set the clock/alarm are positioned so that it is difficult to change the alarm time with one hand.

Finally, the "Tender Wake-Up System" is nice, but whenever I push snooze or off the volume goes up to full for a fraction of a second.Just long enough to really annoy me.

Overall the clock is just... annoying.We'll probably keep it and we'll probably get used to it, but I certainly wouldn't buy it again. ... Read more

Asin: B00004SCIF
Subjects:  1. Portable, Personal    2. RC 6299    3. Clock Radio (Radios)    4. Accessories (Accessory)   

Polder 891-90 Triple Kitchen 20-Hour Timer/Clock/Stopwatch
Average Customer Review:
Kitchen
list price: $25.00 -- our price: $14.88
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

If you're cooking a large meal, one timer isn't always enough to let you know when it's time to take the pie out of the oven, reduce the heat for the vegetables, and start heating a sauce. This triple timer allows the ambitious chef to schedule all the elements of a meal, down to the second, and its loud, 30-second alarm ensures that the broccoli won't burn while you're whipping the cream. It's also portable, so if you have to leave the kitchen, wafting smoke won't be the first sign your meal is ready. If you've always wondered exactly how long it takes you to beat egg whites to a peak, the timer also comes with a stopwatch feature. --Laura Cuthbert ... Read more

Features

• 19-hour, 59-minute, 59-second timer
• Memory for frequently used settings
• 12/24 hour clock
• Triple Kitchen 20-hour timer/clock/stop watch
• White

Reviews (13)

Are Three Timers Better Than One?
After reading the other mediocre reviews, I still purchased this product.I'd much rather buy 2 or 3 separate devices that work the way they should instead of purchasing this one.The buttons are HORRIBLE.I often cook 3 things at the same time, and it's the biggest pain to try to shut off one alarm while not messing up the other ones.It's also impossible to set the timers.Overall, it's just barely useable.I'd rather have either of my old single digital timers back any day.

I just purchased a new triple timer today from Williams-Sonoma.The display is the same, but the color is metallic.The key difference is the BUTTONS!It's slimmer and not as flimsy.The beeping is also literally twice as loud as the Polder.I give this Williams-Sonoma triple timer 5 stars even though it costs $18 dollars.It even has individual buttons for each timer.Trust me, when you're busy timing things and rushing everything to get done at the same time, the extra (or should I say less) time spent really makes a difference.With all 3 timers on, I guestimate saving a total of about 45 seconds between the Williams-Sonoma compared to the Polder.

Even my girlfriend doesn't want my Polder timer for free.

Poorly made
I, too, have had nothing but trouble from this timer.It worked fine for the first month or six weeks, although as others have noted the buttons are excessively debounced and have to be pressed and held to function.After that initial period of unenthusiastic mild satisfaction, however, it began to "freeze" sporadically and, more recently, continuously.Even the kids now know how to remove the battery cover, take the battery out for a few seconds, and replace it to reset the timer.I ordered a new (different) timer today, and figured I'd stop by here and leave this review while I was thinking about it.Avoid this thing.

Avoid this Cheap and Quiet timer that Freezes.
Conclusion: Avoid this cheaply made timer.It has little buttons that are unresponsive to presses.It is too quiet to hear.It also has a tendency to frequently lock-up or freeze, like your computer does, and stop counting time, requiring a battery removal for reset.

Cheap: The timer is made very cheaply in China out of soft plastic.The buttons are unresponsive and jiggle in their holds.Unless they pressed exactly in the center they do not work and often times you have to press them multiple times hard to make them work.

Quiet: The timer's alarms are very quiet and hard to hear.With the pots cooking and even a little water running it is hard to hear it when it goes off.If you happen to put your dish cloth on top of the timer, then you won't even know that it went off.

Freezes: Worst of all after a few months of dealing with this timer the real serious problem came up.It started locking-up and freezing just like a computer does.It would stop counting down time and just sit there, completely frozen.I burned a few dishes this way when the timer didn't go off.To this fix this problem, I had to take the batteries out and put them back in to reset the unit.Changing the timer's battery to a new one didn't solve the problem.It became progressively worse and started occurring more frequently, now when you sometimes pressed a button to start or stop one of the timer counts it would completely freeze and require a reset.

Defective: I am not the only person that had this problem with locking up, another reviewer Colin Bowness from Weston, MA USA had this to say: "When little more than a year old our timer failed with the display locking up.".Hearing another user reporting the same problem as myself it l looks like I did not just have one defective unit, it looks like the problem is more widespread with other units also.The worst thing about this is that the timer was working fine until the problem started happening many months after the purchase and it became progressively worse, further showing the poor quality of the manufacturing.

I really liked the functionality of this timer since it allowed three count-down timers, one count-up timer, and a clock to run at the same time, giving me a lot of information for the many dishes that I was cooking.However, I have to be honest with my experiences with this timer so I had to write a negative review of it.Now I'm back and looking for another timer to purchase. ... Read more

Asin: B00004S4U8
Subjects:  1. Timers   

Whooo can tell what time it is? The Tic-Tock Answer Clock, a brightly colored plasticowl clock toy, will help children learn how. The clock face in theowl's chest gives the analog time; pressing the left foot advances thetime by five-minute increments.Pressing the right foot opens theowl's eyes to reveal the same time displayed digitally. The time canalso be advanced or turned back using the clock's hands and centralknob. The toy is a stately 10 inches tall. --S. J. Kurtz ... Read more

Asin: B00000J4C5

As soon as they start asking "Mom, what time is it?" over and over, your kids will be ready to tackle this project. Creativity for Kids scores again with this make-your-own-clock kit, complete with everything required to make a colorful, personalized, working tabletop clock--except, as the box says, a child's imagination and one AAbattery (you'll also have to supply a pair of kid-safe scissors andsome adult supervision). The kit includes a die-cut cardboard clockform; an optional printed face; craft glue; an assortment of coloredfoam, feathers, pom-poms, and "googly eyes"; a paintbrush and a set of washable glow-in-the-dark paints; and all the pieces of the clock mechanism, which you and your child assemble once the clock has been decorated. The instructions are clear, easy to follow, and very open-ended: they tell you how to put the clock and the mechanism together, and leave it to your kids to customize the clock face. Creativity for Kids kits always encourage creative recycling of materials; this one won a Parents' Choice award in 1991. --Rachel Radway ... Read more

Asin: B00000J08Y