BackSocial alarm clocks with a twist
Wakie, Alarmatesome social alarm clock apps that use audio and video messages, music or gaming, and get your friends and even strangers to give you a wake-up callSocial alarm clocks with a twist
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Not a morning person? Hate the mundane alarm clock in your phone? Nothing can get you out of that bed? Here are some social alarm clock apps that use audio and video messages, music or gaming, and get your friends and even strangers to give you a wake-up call.
1. Wakie: This application allows community users of the app to call you and wake you up. You can sign up using your phone number or Facebook account. Users are divided into two groups: Wakies and Sleepyheads. Wakies are the ones who would wake up people and Sleepyheads are the ones who would need to be woken up. You can choose between the two options.
If you chose Wakies, you would be sent a notification whenever there is someone who would like to be woken up. The identity of the Sleepyhead is kept anonymous and only the country of the user is visible in the notification. The call is put through the app and no numbers are shared. The call cuts off exactly at one minute. At 50 seconds into the call you will hear a warning so you know there is just enough time to say a proper goodbye.
Wakie is free. It is available for Windows and Android phones and is soon coming to iOS. Though any one can sign up, the app is officially available only in Canada, the US, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. People from other countries can be the Wakies but won’t be able to set their own alarms. Users can also send out status updates, called threads. Every user has a profile page which lists the alarms set up, total call time and number of people woken up.
If there is no Wakie available for the time you set as an alarm, the app has a back-up alarm for you.
Though the app has many positive reviews, there are things some users are wary of: during sign up, the app matches you with someone of the opposite sex and your age, adding a dating twist. So, is it straying into the dating or hook-up app space? Also, how many people would be capable of having any kind of conversation first thing in the morning, that too with a stranger?
We tried the app but initially couldn’t find any one to wake up; when we did find someone in the UK, the call was patchy. All we ended up doing was ‘hello, hello’ and it disconnected. So, certainly you need a good data network or Wi-Fi to make it work. Another user from Canada didn’t pick up our call, which led to a pop-up asking to send it to voice-mail or email or rate the Sleepyhead.
The company says on the Android app page that it has around 1.5 million users across the world with 30 million wake-up calls made.
2. Wake Me Up: This is a Chinese social alarm clock that resorts to user-generated content to wake up its users. It has built a repository of audio alarms recorded by its users and randomly matches these alarms with users. When you set up the alarm, you can choose to hear the alarm from a male or a female or even your friends. The next morning when the alarm goes off, you will be matched with a random stranger (of your gender choice) who will wake you up. You can also record your own wake-up message which can be broadcast to your friends and strangers too. The twist here is integration of a social aspect into the app. If you don’t wake up in 90 seconds, you will be unable to see the profile of the person who woke you up. So, if you snooze you lose.
3. Wake N Shake: This iOS only app will literally shake you up from your slumber because first, it doesn’t have a snooze button and second, you will have to shake your phone to shut it off. You can choose from different settings, like milk shake or Pinata shake or dream killer shake. The social feature of the app is in its gamification: you can compete with your friends on Facebook and score points for waking up early and unlock rewards. Though Facebook integration is not necessary, the app will in any case match you up with other Wake N Shake users.
4. Code Blue: If your current alarm clock has failed to get you out of bed, try Code Blue. Tell the app when you want to be woken up; if you don’t wake up at that time, it will post a Facebook message on your friends’ wall to help you get out of bed. Currently it is only available for iOS users.
5. Alarmate: With the Alarmate app, you can set up an alarm in Alarmate, add your friends from Facebook within the app and see future alarms set by them. Now, you can send them a brutal or rather a nice wake-up surprise in any format—audio, video or default sound clips or even a YouTube clip. Select the media and send a wake-up call to your friends.
6. BetterMe: Social shaming for not waking up on time? Well this is exactly what BetterMe does. It uses humiliation to help you get to your appointments on time or achieve your goals. And it helps you get out of your bed too. It includes an alarm clock, goal tracking and GPS-enabled check-in system. Integrated with your Facebook account, the app will post a message on your wall, in case you snoozed the alarm or missed a goal, for others to see and comment. Currently available on Android and iOS.
7. Trigga: This social alarm clock allows you to use customized wake-up messages from friends and family. It could be a good luck message from a friend, or a reminder from your parents about a family reunion or even a pre-recorded wake-up call from your partner. Currently available on Android and iOS.
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