hOmeLabs Sunrise Alarm Clock

I am in the habit of carefully researching my purchases, so I rarely buy something that I quickly find completely un-useful. This one slipped under the radar. While this clock may work for many (or even most) people, there are a few things about the light alarm that should be known. First, the light alarm clicks on at about 50% luminosity 30 minutes before the wake-up time. I expected it to start from 0 and gradually work up, but it does not. You’d have to be a pretty heavy sleeper not to be snapped awake when this happens in a dark room. Second, the light actually goes OFF at the wake-up time! This is probably when the sound alarm kicks in – for people who use it. To me, this defeats the purpose of a light alarm. So, the upshot is that if you want to be woken gradually by light, rather than being jolted awake by sound or light, this is probably not the clock for you. You will either snap awake when the light comes on or sleep through it and not know any better when you start to rouse after the wake-up time (when it is dark again). I would also add that trying to manipulate the settings is frustrating. There is a short window to make a change, say to the current time or alarm time. It’s impossible to sneak a peek at the instructions (which literally require a magnifying glass), so you have to memorize the steps in advance to do them in the few seconds allowed. On the plus side, this is a nice looking device, with a relatively small foot print. The stand is sturdy with a good gripper pad on the bottom. It has a backup battery to retain settings if the power is lost. The mood lighting is fun (although not an alarm option). Most pleasing was that the LED clock display CAN be turned off (contradicting a previous review left here). Manufacturers are starting to realize that people fall asleep faster when they don’t have the time counting down in their face.