The JALL Sunrise Alarm Clock is a really great product. It's rare these days to come across something that clearly has had so much care and forethought put into both its design and function. I shopped for SO long for a clock that I was willing to purchase. Mostly I shopped for analog clocks with old fashioned clock faces and arms, because I definitley prefer the traditional beautiful clock face to cold, sterile digital clock numbers (who finds beauty in that?) I think if I were to have any luck finding something both traditionally beautiful but with some modern engineering built into it (e.g, no ticking!, snooze option!), I'd probably have to fly to Germany or Austria and visit some real clock stores. Alas, not what I can budget into buying a good clock.

Enter the JALL Sunrise Alarm Clock. After looking off and on for a year, I took a gander at this digital-face clock. I was able to move past the digital numerals after looking at the overall clock and its various cool-sounding functions, and decided to try it. Very happy that I did. This turned out to be a very good purchase. Really pleased.

Semi-Luddite that I am, I was at first doubtful by the array of buttons across the top of the disk-shaped timekeeper. This doubt was short-lived for several reasons. First the buttons themselves are thoughtfully designed, riding just enough off the top to see, feel and use easily without being an eyesore or ruining the smooth round lines of the clock. They are crisply labeled and JALL's excellent User Manual quickly shows you that all is easy to understand and is in line with your natural instincts and intuitions.

It is a beautiful object, this clock. People of equal parts aesthetic sensibility and engineering aptitude designed this clock. Its front is big and round and illuminated to whatever hue and brightness fits your mood. You can, like I do, change it whevever to better reflect what you're thinking or feeling, or your activity, or the moment. I like and appreciate that more than I could have anticipated. You can set it to simulate the gradual daily brightening of the sky to your liking of color and duration. And, those digital numerals I've never much cared for? Again, smartly designed to fall toward the bottom of the circular face, not screaming from the center; AND, you can adjust the brightness (and thus, sharpness) of the numerals. I keep mine at a soft, gauzy resolution, and am pacified.

The variety of alarm sounds is impressive, giving the user the ability to change it up every so often. I use the waves crashing/seagulls for the weekend, and stick with the tonal beeping to get me out of bed during the week. I would LOVE to graduate to the point where I could use just the natural soundscapes to coax me up gently each day but I'm not yet there. I am up at 5am M-F to go to work, so not in a place where I can play around with weekday alarms. Also, if you're sometimes a heavy sleeper like me, you may just sleep through 20 minutes of waves crashing on a weekend morning like I did once, even though it was set like all alarm options to start of softly and get progressively loud. I guess the sound of waves, campfires, crickets and so on are PLEASANT enough that we all can be lulled to sleep by them. Clearly my brain is willing enough to incorporate these natural sounds as something of a lovely backdrop. After weeks of using, I only slept once through the waves on a Saturday; all the other times I was gently coaxed awake. As for workdays, I know myself well enough to stay with a more traditional alarm tone, but am relieved it's gradual and doesn't jolt me unpleasantly from my slumber.

Lots of cool stuff designed into this clock to please a broad spectrum of predilections, and for all individuals to try out and make use of. No matter from which angle you happen to look at this clock it is appealing to the eye, whether from the front, back, or side. All surfaces are curved and round and smooth. I'm a minimalist and this clock fits right in with an environment I prefer not to clutter up with a whole lot of stuff. I prefer more breathing space with fewer things, but things that stand out for their lines or colors and how they make me feel. I've become far choosier in what I shop for and what I'm willing to pay money for. Really nice job, all you folks at JALL. Hats off for making such a beautifully designed and well-engineered alarm clock for my nightstand!

Dec 29, 2024: I just received my sunrise alarm, and my first impression is there is a ton of stuff packed into this product for the price. The surprise for me is the BT connection with my iPhone to set the clock. I absolutely love that feature. I look forward to the clock always having accurate time. Second, two alarm settings for weekday and weekends is nice. The instructions are simply and easy to follow. At first it seems like there are many buttons but the many buttons make it easier to operate. Just keep the little cheat sheet included in the box and you should be okay. One issue is the battery that comes pre-installed. I don't see how or if it can be replaced. I am going to post a question about that. The battery does not run the clock, it just prevents losing your settings if there is a power outage. That is, if your power goes out, so does the clock and alarm until power is restored. I am using my iPhone sleep app to wake me up so a power outage won't be a problem. I bought this clock to see if having light at o'dark 30 will help me wake up better. Another nice feature is I can have one alarm sound play on my M-F, a soothing calm sound, and something different on my Sat-Sun alarms. On the weekends I can lay in bed and listen to the radio, which is one of the alarms options, just like a traditional clock radio.

One more observation to add. The instructions are pretty good. There are a few odd choices of words but otherwise clear and effective.

Dec 31, 2024: The light was too bright too soon and woke me up about 15 minutes early. To be fair, I was ill and not sleeping well but nonetheless I adjusted the time for the sunrise to 10 minutes and cut the light intensity down. The next morning (still under the weather but took medicine to help me sleep better), I finally woke-up five after five minutes of light and seagulls / waves sound. The light intensity was much better. It was very nice to have a well-lit, not overly lit, room. I didn't have to fumble with the lamp to find my clothes and get dressed. Day 2, after making an adjustment, was much better. Bottomline: Tune the settings to what you like. Don't expect it to be perfect the first time out. Tonight, at bed time, I get to play with turning off the alarm for tomorrow given it is New Year's day. I hope I don't forget, and I hope it will be an easy task.
Jan 2, 2024: It was super easy to turn off the alarm to sleep in on New Year's Day, but you have to remember to turn it back at night which I did, and I had another nice wake-up this morning to light and seagulls. I am rather liking the soft light and seagulls to wake up to. It does not jar me awake. Rather, it takes a few minutes which is nice. This morning, I was turned away from the alarm, facing my wall, so the sound was the key aspect of the alarm to wake me up. It was again nice to have the room illuminated when I awoke.

I am finding it important to keep the cheat sheet handy to remind me how to operate the buttons. I've used it multiple times and it saves me from having to thumb through the manual to figure out how to operate the clock.