Review: Awake2Music

If you are at all like me then you may have a really hard time getting up in the morning. For several years, I’ve used my cell phone as my alarm clock, and the Pre is no exception.

I’ve tried to use all of the different default ringers on the webOS Clock app, but I still seem to have an issue getting up. I’ve also tried to use songs that are on my Pre, but a little more variety is always good.

Enter Awake2Music by Ed Miller (currently $1.00 in the App Catalog). The main feature of Awake2Music is the ability to launch Pandora when the alarm goes off. Needless to say, you must have the Pandora app installed for this alarm option to work. This adds an almost unlimited amount of extra music to wake up to. In addition to Pandora, this app lets you pick from a selection of streaming Internet radio stations from SomaFM. If you aren’t familiar with SomaFM, it’s a commercial-free Internet radio outlet that specializes in independent music. On top of that, you can set an alarm using any of the music on your webOS phone, and several rather annoying sounds (which can be a good or bad thing).

There was definitely some good planning that went into this app with options like adjustable snooze duration, and one-minute increments for alarm times. In the case where there is no data connection, Awake2Music defaults to the beep alarm. The app works in portrait and landscape modes. Another really nice touch is that even though the Dismiss and Snooze options are almost exactly like the default webOS alarm clock, there is a small amount of space between the buttons so it’s not as easy to accidentally dismiss and alarm when you meant to hit snooze. Want to set an alarm for every Thursday at 9:00pm? You’re all set. You can set an alarm for any day of the week, weekdays only, weekends only, or daily. Feature-wise, Awake2Music pretty much has everything you would be looking for in a good alarm clock app.

The user interface is pretty basic and there is no way to change the clock font or the color scheme. However, that is going to change. According to the developer, there are a few changes in the works, including one that is due out soon. Users will be able to change the color scheme using a slider in the Preferences menu. New alarm types (hopefully other sounds on your phone will be included) and scheduling options are also something that will be released in the near future. Ed has promised some other major upgrades, but we’re going to have to wait until they are ready to hear what they are.

Interested? Go here to download Awake2Music directly to your device!