Back in my school days, I had an analog desk clock which had a built in alarm feature. I loved it because it was full of analog buttons and it never missed a beat. Later on, I graduated to an electronic alarm which was quite sophisticated but was not as consistent as the analog one. I missed quite a few classes in college and remember specifically that I missed an entire day’s work – thanks to the electronic alarm.
For the past six years, I have counted on alarm apps on my phone, and it has served quite well. The only problem is that I hit dismiss and forget all about waking up – and thereby remain absent from morning meetings and miss my morning chores.
Innovation starts where there are problems. The issue with dismissing alarms with a press of a button has troubled quite a lot of people and has brought forth a smart app that I begun to have a love-hate relationship with. Introducing Alarmy, the free alarm app that requires you to get your butt out of bed and take a snap of pre-configured object to dismiss the alarm from buzzing.
When you install the app, you have to configure it by taking a picture of someplace in your home (preferably) like the bathroom sink or the toilet – a place that you would likely visit as soon as you wake up. When the alarm rings at the preset time, you have to go back to the same place as you configured and take a picture from the same angle for the app to match the existing and new pictures. Once the match is in place, the alarm gets dismissed, and you would have woken up wide awake. Sounds a lot like your mum pulling you out of bed while you were in school?
I like it for the smart thinking it brings forth rather than getting me out of bed. I hate it on days when I really want to sleep and have set the alarm by mistake.
The app is available on Android and Apple platforms. Watch the video to get a feel for how it works.
