AlarmTunes review

Damien McFerran

We review AlarmTunes, an app that allows you to use your own music as a wake up call

Published on Sep 4, 2009

We review AlarmTunes, an app that allows you to use your own music as a wake up call

I don’t mind admitting that without the trusty alarm function of my iPhone I’d be absolutely lost.

As someone who eschews the traditional bedside clock and finds wearing a wristwatch whilst sleeping uncomfortable, the only device I can rely on to be near at hand during those early mornings is my trusty iPhone.

However, it’s always irked me that the default alarm on Apple’s machine doesn’t allow you to use your own music as a wake-up call. However, thanks to AlarmTunes (a more fitting title you’ll struggle to find) this issue is now a thing of the past.

As you might expect, AlarmTunes permits you to use music that is stored on your iPhone as the sound that stirs you from your deep slumber each morning.

Configuring the application is relatively simple; you merely select the time at which you’d like to be roused and you’re done. When you load the program up initially it will use its standard alarm tone, which is a shrill beeping sound that is virtually guaranteed to have you scrambling for your phone in the wee hours.

Assigning music is equally painless; tapping the relevant icon at the top of the display opens up the option to toggle between the standard tone and a slice of musical brilliance selected from your phone’s library.

You can even select multiple tracks to create a play list; if you’re someone who resorts to hitting the ‘snooze’ option a lot then this will come in useful. Each time you snooze the alarm, a new track is played the next time the phone kicks in. Speaking of snoozing, you’ll be glad to know that all that is required to silence the phone is a quick shake, although a on-screen button is also present.

As well as forcing you to rise from your pit, AlarmTunes also doubles as a handy bedside clock. The LED display can be switched between blue and black – the latter being dubbed the ‘night mode’. The app can even be used to listen to your music as you drift off into sleep; it features an option that stops the playback after 30 minutes, by which point you’ll probably be happily ensconced in dreamland.

As a convergence of alarm, bedside clock and lullaby music player, AlarmTunes is practically faultless. One rather disappointing omission is the ability to create alarms for individual days of the week (something the default Apple alarm supports). However, given the speed with which the developer is adding to this application, we’d put money on such a feature being present in an upcoming version.