Blog Shop Reviews

American Innovative Neverlate Executive Alarm Clock
From American Innovative
List Price: $59.99
Price: $59.95

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from and sold by American Innovative

4 new or used available from $45.00

Average customer review:

Customer Reviews

very pleased with this item
This was bought and given as a Christmas gift. The person who it was given to said that it has worked wonderfully so far and has every gadget and setting and anything you could think of. They were very pleased with the multiple ways of setting the alarm.

Overpromises and Underdelivers
I was so excited about the potential of this clock, because for years I had wanted one that offered gradual wake features, plus options other than the annoying screeching beep that most other alarms offer.

Unfortunately, as one poster thoroughly summarized, the many good features of this clock are balanced by the many shortcomings. And for me, those shortcomings were just too much to offset how cool this clock really is. Overall I’d say this: if you’re the type who puts the alarm clock across the room so you have to walk over to shut it off, it might work for you. But for next to the bed, it failed for me. Here’s why:

1. The value collar at the top. Not only is it too stiff, it clicks loudly when you turn it. When I get into bed late and my wife is sleeping, just setting the alarm wakes her up every time. To go from 7am to 530 am takes about 15 very loud clicks. I love the concept, but it should be smoother and quieter.

2. The brightness – next to the bed, even on the dimmest setting it’s too bright. This is a minor annoyance due to the fact that almost every alarm clock out there has this problem. I think they test them only in well-lit labs. But for an innovative clock whose makers thought of so many other features, this is a shortfall.

3. This is the dealbreaker – the volume. I bought this radio primarily for the gradual wake feature, but even at its quietest setting when it comes on, it’s much too loud. For a few weeks I even stuffed socks into the speaker compartment at the bottom, which helped, but was just ridiculous. At night when going to sleep, I’d want some very quiet music on a timer to help me fall asleep, but there again it was too loud, and kept my wife and I awake.

One last minor comment: this probably would not be the best alarm for a guest room in your house, because it’s a bit complicated to figure out. But if you’ll be the one using it every day and you don’t mind these negatives, you’ll love this clock. Different alarms for all seven days is a great feature (although I don’t know anyone who has the same repeating wake schedule every week), and the different alarm sounds are a nice break from the traditional beep.

If American Innovative comes out with a new clock that fixes these issues, I’ll sign up. But those interested in the gradual wake feature should check out the Homedics Soundspa, which even controls a lamp on a dimmer and offers pretty good nature sounds to wake you up. I bought that one last week and love it, so my American Innovative went on eBay last night.

Not a Chumby, but still the best alarm clock out there for the money and functionality.
So far I’m pretty impressed. No native internet radio, but it does have a line in for an mp3 player/iPod, external internet radio device, or other auxiliary audio source. The sleep function will work for the external audio source, but it won’t shut off the external device since it’s just connected via a standard 3.5mm audio plug.

I’ve found it to be the best alarm clock I’ve seen, after spending some time looking at alarm clocks. That said, I’m still surprised that there isn’t more innovation in the alarm clock space.

For $50 bones, it’s better than wearing out my fingers on the alarm clocks I’d be buying down the road, and it’s cheaper than a lot of the other alternatives (though I still want a Chumby ).

I did find it a bit confusing to set up at first, and had to re-read the manual regarding the “daily” alarm versus the individual alarm banks. Still, it was easier to set up than other alarm clocks I’ve used. The USB is apparently 1.0, and doesn’t charge my devices, but it does work for a USB powered reading lamp (I’m still looking for a better one of those).