I am fond of saying there is no perfect Smartphone; there is only the Smartphone that is perfect for you. Whether your beloved device runs Android; BlackBerry; iOS; webOS; or Windows Phone, we're all just part of the larger Mobile Nations family (do you like how I worked that in there?).

Still, when a story like this comes along, I can't help but feel a little sympathy for our iPhone brethren. Last Tuesday, Mahler's Symphony No. 9 came to a halt at the New York Philharmonic after a new iPhone user had trouble silencing his phone's alarm. Sitting in the front row, the patron's iPhone Marimba ring was easily heard by the conductor, Alan Gilbert, who actually stopped the performance until the ring was silenced.

The iPhone's owner, a long-time subscriber to the orchestra, made sure to silence his phone before the concert - as we all should do before movies, concerts, shows, and other such events - but an alarm set on his Smartphone sounded anyway. The day before the concert, the man's company had switched from BlackBerry to iPhone, and the poor gentleman had not yet become familiar with his new device. He didn't know his phone's alarm was set; when it sounded, he had trouble figuring out how to make it stop.

On Thursday, he had a chance to apologize by phone to the conductor who graciously accepted the apology. Like the iPhone, selecting the "All Alerts Off" or "Silent" sound profile on a BlackBerry effectively silences any and all alert sounds on the Smartphone - except for the daily alarm. Silencing that alarm seems to be a bit easier on a BlackBerry than on an iPhone, though, as pressing just about any button on the RIM device will cancel that sound. Methinks the unfortunate iPhone user at the symphony found things a bit more complicated when his iDevice stopped the show.

Source: New York Times via iMore Image: WSJ

I admit I'm not a morning person. Normally, it requires more than one alarm going off to get me out of bed on a daily basis. That being said, I'm usually scouring the forums and App World for a decent alarm app for either of my devices. That's when I happened to come across Todays Alarm Clock by Turner TeKnologies. It's a an app chock of full of features that I was pleasantly surprised to see was absolutely free. Click on the jump for more information and screenshots.

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Awhile back I had a chance to review Musical Clock - Musical Alarms by Karvi Technologies. It's a handy little app that allows you to set multiple alarms on your device using either preset tones, songs stored on your SD card, and even streaming applications such as Pandora and Slacker. This update adds a weather dock which displays current conditions and the four day forecast. It also changes the name from Musical Clock - Musical Alarms to Musical Clock and Weather. So now when you turn to your nightstand to shut off the alarm you can choose to see your time and weather all in one place. Definitely a nice way to start your day. Musical Clock and Weather is $1.99 in BlackBerry App World and available for most devices running OS 5 and higher.

More information / purchase Musical Clock and Weather
More information / download Musical Clock - Multi Alarms Free

My wife can attest to the fact that the snooze button on my alarm and I have a love/hate relationship. It hates to see me sleep in and I love smacking the crap out of it. I guess you can say my alarm clock and I have mutually abusive relationship, as well. It’s gotten to the point that I had to place my alarm on the other side of the room, so that I’m forced to get up in order to hit snooze – in the hopes that I just decide to give up and wake up. That also doesn’t seem to work every time, as I now shuffle from my bed to the alarm and back to bed like a zombie. Perhaps I need to get to bed earlier, or perhaps I need a more insistent alarm to make sure I am up.

I’ve never been one for alarm applications on my BlackBerry smartphone – I’ve had the same old alarm clock for almost a decade. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to hit snooze or turn off. I know it so well, I can use it in my sleep (honestly!). I need more of a challenge to help me wake up. When I first heard of the puZZed application, I didn’t take it too seriously. Now after using it, it may replace a decade old toxic relationship with my old alarm.

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Nothing is more annoying when you first wake up than the "beeping" of your alarm going off. A lot of us use our BlackBerry devices as an alarm clock and have had the luxury of different apps to choose from. Now it seems more and more people are starting to use their BlackBerry PlayBook for that same use. If you're one of them, you may want to check out the application called Bed-Buzz by Comantis LLC. The calm soothing music and melodic voice saying "Good Morning" and your name is a much nicer way of waking up. With the Bed-Buzz application, your personal greeting is followed by the time and current weather conditions and then the day's weather forecast. Keep reading for both the free and paid versions features.

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When one alarm isn't enough... Alarm Clock!

I admit it; I don't like to get up in the morning. I once accused a friend of lying about the existence of 5:00 a.m. I have even been known to set upwards of four alarms to make sure I get up on time. The alarm on my BlackBerry works just fine, but I need more. I need multiple alarms to wake me up.

Alarm Clock fulfills that need and so much more. An infinite number of alarms and alarm profiles allow me to completely customize when, how, and how often my alarm will sound. And gives me control over just how long that snooze will last.

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A little over a month ago we told you about a great app appropriately named Alarms by JoPs. Alarms is a useful application that allows you to set up many different alarms or reminders, either on a given date or with the frequency of your choice: daily, weekly, monthly, etc. The application also lets you customize the text to display, music or playlists to play, and a picture background.

I'm happy to let you know that Alarms was just updated to v1.1.6 and they have added some nice features to the mix along with some minor bug fixes. The application is running on OS 4.6, 4.7 and 5.0 currently, and hopefully an update for BB6 is in the near future.

The update includes:

• playlists in the m3u format are supported in the music player
• custom vibration option added
• options page added
• choose to display or not the indicator in the notification area of the device
• set the number of alarms you want in the main screen
• set a shuffle option to the playlists
• today's date and time are displayed when setting up the alarm

Along with the update, Alarms is now also available through BlackBerry App World as well as in the CrackBerry store. You can pick this up today for just $2.99.

• For more information and to purchase through the CB store >> 
• To purchase Alarms via BlackBerry App World >>
  

 

As we all know the native BlackBerry alarms application is rather simplistic and extremely basic when it comes to features that it offers, and this does not meet everyones needs unfortunately. Previously it had been shown that additional alarms besides the one that is allowed in the alarms application could be added through your calendar, but for people with busy calendars this may not be ideal either. The folks over at JoPs agreed that this was an area that was lacking on BlackBerry devices, and have come out with a rather feature loaded replacement for everyones enjoyment called Alarms. 

Alarms allows users to set up multiple alarms with five different frequency options, one time use, hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. Another feature of this application is that you are able to customize the alert of the alarm beyond just the sound. Users can select a picture to popup when the alarm sounds, or even a video file to play in the popup. For users who want a more simplistic experience it can also be done as just plain text like a regular alarm as well, but once you try the custom options you will be hooked. Along with LED support, Alarms also offers a status indicator so you will see an icon for upcoming alarms in your notification bar, which is very convenient to see how many alarms are still upcoming. Alarms is available for all devices running OS 4.7 and above and available in the CrackBerry store for $2.99 for a limited time.

• More information / download of Alarms >> 

Marcus from Versatile Monkey, the creator of Podtrapper for BlackBerry, has just released a new beta application for you all to check out. VersaTool is a collection of tools all wrapped into one small application which is nice and lightweight. It features all the little functions your BlackBerry has or you wish it had in one spot. Be it the ability to start apps as your BlackBerry boots, down to creating an auto reply for emails right from your BlackBerry, to doing unit conversions on the fly - VersaTool has you covered. Read on after the jump for the full functions list and how you can help out with this new beta app.

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