The Perfect Alarm Clock!

For god sake this is 2009, you would think they must have developed the perfect alarm clock by now. Well, me and my wife were trying to find one but ended up doing days of research and calling different stores for availability so we can go there to try them out.

We finally bought the perfect one yesterday - Emerson CKS9051 SmartSet Dual Alarm Clock Radio. It got everything we are looking for and more:

• Weekdays\weekends\everyday alarm function for EACH of its 2 alarms. We set up alarm 1 @ 6a.m. on weekdays (for me), alarm 2 @ 7:30a.m. (for her) on weekdays, therefore no alarm on the weekends. No more forgetting turning off the alarm on Fri. night and wake up by the alarm clock Sat. @ 6a.m ever again!
• The most amazing thing is the SmartSet(R) technology. That the clock will set itself to the correct time and date when you plug it in, first time or not, also work in the event of a power outage. The alarm will preserve the alarms' settings. So in case of a power outage in the middle of the night, when the power comes back on, your alarm clock will continue to function as before. What a great idea! You don't have to manually reset it again, and worse, miss your morning alarm.
• Individual settings for each alarm wake up to a gradually increase buzz or radio.
• The clock has a high/low light setting. If you think the display is too bright, set it to low.
• The display is very clear, showing time and day of week and alarms on/off.
• Warning light when the backup "button" battery is low.
• The radio is very clear compare to our existing radio alarm clock.
• Aux input jack for your iPod or MP3 player.
• The price is cheapest given it functions.

I also found this Emerson CKS1702 SmartSet Alarm Clock Radio. It looks exactly the same as CKS9051 but cheaper.

Buying Tips: The backup battery could be dead if the clock has been sitting on the retail shelf for too long. Make sure you take it out from the box, plug it in and set the time zone at the store in order to make sure the backup battery is still good.

These are the other alarm clocks that we researched:

• Emerson Radio Jumbo Triple Display Dual Alarm AM/FM Clock Radio with SmartSet Technology
  Also made by Emerson. I was going to get this one, but I tried it at a store and it can tip forward as you reach in from hitting the snooze button. Also, some of the buttons are small. CKS 9051's design is more stable\sturdy.
  You might also want to consider these Emerson alarm clocks as well.
• Sangean RCR-22 AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio
  Too expensive.
• RiteAlarm Triple Weekly Alarm Clock (R) for Weekdays, Saturday and Sunday, Automatic Extended Daylight Saving Time, Automatic Snooze, Adjustable Volume, Gentle Sound Pattern, Simple Buttons, Pushing Backlight and Battery Operated
  Too small, for travle maybe.
• Timex Nano Color
  This could work, but we prefer larger display and not background lit ones.
• Sony ICFC180 AM/FM Clock Radio
  Could work but couldn't find it at a store (Target\Sears) to try. Dispay might be too small.
• American Innovative Neverlate 7-Day Alarm Clock
  Might work but don't like the dial, display too small, not available at local stores. A little expensive. But if you have one, I would like to know your comment. Let me know if you tried any of the above alarm clocks.