Gadget Source

I received one of these as a gift. I’ve had it for less than a day and I already dislike it. For such a large price tag, it certainly feels cheap.

My biggest complaint is the LED display. It can become extremely faint if you don’t look directly at it. Your line of sight needs to be perpendicular to the LED display. If there is significant tilt, the digits become hard or near impossible to read. Moreover, the LED display is small. If you’re on the other side of the room, good luck reading the time — you’ll need it.

These are *fundamental* design issues! What good is a clock if you can’t tell the time?

There are other complaints (like the battery cover, need for 4 AAA batteries, having to re-enable the alarm everyday if you want to use it daily, etc.), but it seems like other reviews have covered them. This clock could have been awesome, but it’s very poorly engineered. Just realize you’re spending money on a gimmick. Other than the fact that it rolls away, it is really an inferior alarm clock. I have a generic clock I bought at Target that is much better at doing what a clock is supposed to do.

Its very ‘cute’ and well designed except for one major flaw. The sound level is not adjustable and its is way too loud for a day to day alarm clock unless you sleep with ear-plugs on!

I purchased this clock for my wife for Christmas who is artsy fartsy and loves different types of gadgets. I set the alarm and placed it next to her side of the bed once she fell asleep so it would wake her up Christmas morning. This clock has a very unique sounding alarm. It sounds like a robot is attacking you with beeps, chirps, etc. and is rather loud.

When the alarm went off Christmas morning, the clock jumped off the night stand and took off across the floor, my wife jumped out of bed, nearly hitting the ceiling and started screaming! The whole time, I was laughing so hard I was crying. After a few seconds, she realized it was CLOCKY and started chasing it around the bedroom trying to catch it and turn it off. She was so excited ONCE she figured out what was happening and what it was. She had wanted a CLOCKY for a long time!

This clock is GREAT! Very unique looking and sounding and is very fun! You will never hit snooze again with this clock, although you can set it so that it does not run away when the alarm goes off, but why would you take the fun out of it!!

Great product!!

One thing to note. In the picture, the clock looks bright white and the item title says Almond. It is Almond (cream or off white color) and is NOT white. Just FYI. Enjoy!

This was a fun and useful product until it broke (runs away, but stopped making any alarm sound). I was past the return period from the store where I bought it so I contacted Nanda for warranty service. And I contacted Nanda again. And I contacted Nanda again. I emailed them. I called them on the phone. I even wrote a letter (a real honest to goodness letter – you know, with a stamp). Every time I spoke to someone, they said they would have to get back in touch with me, but they never did. Always apologetic, but never solving the problem. It’s too bad. They obviously are a small company and I was rooting for them. They don’t seem to be run very well. Nanda, if you’re listening, it’s and I would still like a working Clocky. Nanda’s customer support is awful. It’s hard to recommend Clocky for this reason.

Whom I bought it from: My Gear Store

Love: cute looks, smart concept (clock that runs away!), wacky “R2D2 on acid” sounds

Hate: poor quality, random functioning, lack of reliability

Week 1 problems: one time, after hitting snooze, the clock reset to midnight automatically. Thinking it was a fluke, I gave it another try, and it worked a few more days. Then one morning, it didn’t even go off, and I realized the time was several hours off – probably another random time reset when I wasn’t paying attention.

Weeks 2 – 8 illusion: worked fine.

Week 9 death: turned off altogether. Would not re-start even with new batteries and trouble-shooting help from Nanda Home.

My Gear Store positives – taking responsibility
My Gear Store paid for the shipping, and honored the 3-month manufacturer’s warranty.

My Gear Store negatives – misinformation, confusion, disappointment
When I followed up with My Gear Store on my exchange/repair a week after returning the defective product, customer service confirmed to me that a new product has just been shipped back to me. I waited in great anticipation for my new and hopefully working Clocky. 4 days later, I got an unexpected email from Amazon confirming a refund from My Gear Store for Clocky. Confused, I checked with My Gear Store’s customer service again – only to find out that they lied, they actually never shipped a new product, and that they decided to refund the purchase because the color I bought was out of stock. In short (1) they lied about having “just shipped” the exchange (2) instead of checking with me on what I wanted to do since the original color was out of stock (I would have wanted another), they assumed I wanted a refund.

Bottom line – always have a back-up alarm for Clocky, think twice before shopping with My Gear Store again
Before any innovative gee-whiz new function, reliability is the #1 basic criteria of alarm clocks, so despite all its innovative prowess, Clocky failed in execution. I would highly recommend having a back-up. And while I respect that My Gear Store refunded my money, the return experience left a horrible taste in my mouth.

My quick review…

it’s much smaller than i thought it would be…i don’t know why, but personally, from the pictures it always seemed like it would be a clunker…it’s actually rather small & quaint!…and the almond color makes it somewhat elegant-looking.

i did not have problems with the battery compartment as others did… it’s a slight inconvenience to have to use a screwdriver to replace the batteries, but at the same time i can feel assured knowing that the batteries will remain securely in place…

as far as the main reason you would purchase this item, here’s my take: when the alarm goes off.. 1) it doesn’t “run” far from you 2) it makes neat “R2D2″ noises at a pretty decent volume (would be rather difficult for the average person to sleep through) 3) it’s difficult to locate the snooze button quickly while it’s moving/beeping, and 4) it’s difficult to locate the tiny button to turn the alarm off while it’s moving/beeping.
…BUT–these are all GOOD things!!… it means you have to actually be somewhat conscious and focus your mind a bit in order to turn the darn thing off…so even though you don’t have to chase it very far, after you’ve grabbed it, it’s the process of turning it off that actuallywakes you up!…(at least that’s the way mine worked)…and at that point, you’re now somewhat awake and therefore more likely to stay up than try to go back to sleep!!…hence, Clocky has done its job! (FYI Sidenote: my Clocky takes about a 3-foot drop from a dresser next to my bed onto a carpeted floor)

the caveat here is that obviously everyone’s sleep patterns/behaviors are different… If it helps, here’s my personal “sleep background:” i typically leave the house by 7:00-7:30a M-F for work…i have ALWAYS had a hard gime getting up in the a.m. & also have a sleeping disorder which exascerbates things..i have tried many different methods over the years (some technical, some traditional) to try & help me get up on time…i even bought (& later returned) the $175 SleepTracker Pro watch, but it did not help me (it was quiet, i was still tired when i woke up, and it was way too easy to turn the thing off and go right back to sleep).

another good thing about Clocky is that you can only snooze once….that’s another part of my problem: i always snooze…as i describe it: the nightime “me” says “i’ll allow myself to snooze once–and only once–in the a.m.”…however, the morning “me” throws that right out the window without remorse and snoozes repeatedly– on at least one occasion, i snoozed repeatedly for 2+ hours…

realize that all of the opinions i’ve offered above stem from one use thusfar…today was my first morning waking up with Clocky…however, i have to say i’m surprisingly optimistic about “him” helping me with my recurring problem. i actually forgot to re-enable the snooze function last night, so i was extra confused this morning, but tomorrow i will begin my first real “standard” usage of it… if my opinion of Clocky later depreciates upon further useage, i will update this review accordingly. hope this helps.

Well I have to say that the second guy that reviewed this clock must really be a coma patient, because if this thing doesnt wake you up, then nothing will.

I am a very deep sleeper. I can sleep through earthquakes, kids, and every other alarm clock known to man. I was habitually late when it came to getting up in the morning. I have have slept through my alarms on most occasions and when woken up, had never even heard them. To put it another way, on a scale of 1 to 10, on how deep one can sleep, I’m a 10.

At one time when I was single, and had no one else to consider, I had a home theater system with a built in alarm function. I would set it to about half volume and set it on a hard rock CD. This would be so loud that I would on occasion fall out of bed, and most times be scared when it went off. If I had a heart condition I would be dead, thats how loud. This is the first and only alarm clock that has come close to giving me that same feeling when it wakes me up. It has a very distinct and random tone, very reminiscent of R2-D2, and it is very loud. To top it off he will run and hide, although this is not what has forced me to get up, it has been the alarm sound itself.

When I first purchased this alarm and tried it out, I allowed it to run and it went to the middle of my California king. I couldnt reach it to shut it off. If this had been a real situation I would have definately been wide awake. Since I have actually begun using it though I have found that I have not given it a chance to run, because as soon as it hits the floor I am on it and awake, as it scares me awake.

The only bad thing is that it runs on batteries, which for me only seem to last a couple weeks. That being said, since I am always on time now it seems like a small price to pay. Would have been a better design if it had built in rechargeables and sat on a dock most of the time.

All in all I totally recommend this Clock.

This clock is not for anyone with a heart condition or gentle constitution. Clocky went off, clanging and whistling some some mechanical banshee, and I nearly jumped out of my skin, clinging to the ceiling by my fingernails like a cartoon cat.
Perfect.
If you’re starting to habituate to your present alarm clock, press the snooze button to often or find the process of waking up pales in comparison to anything the Marquis de Sade could come up with, then this is the clock for you.

People who are looking for an alarm clock that runs away are not the usual sort of people I think would like an alarm clock… I doubt that most of them would give an alarm clock that fights to wake them up a good review. The first few weeks where this alarm would roll away from me after it went off I felt like I wanted to kill it, but I bought it so that me and my girlfriend would have an easier time getting up in the morning on those days we stayed up late.

Sure, it isnt the best looking alarm clock (hello, it has wheels!!) but it works well for what it does. Mine has lasted over a year with no cracks or breakdowns. I love it (and hate it!! Let me sleep!!).

To be fair, it is not loud enough for me. It’s louder than most alarm clocks. And should be loud enough to most people. Unless you are like me, need to set the radio alarm which is right next to your bed, and set the volume to maximum, so it will wake up your neighborhood. Then this will not solve your problem.

But the important issue I had with this, and is why I’m giving it 4 starts, is its batteries. It takes 4 AAA batteries, and if you set it to run every morning like I do, you will need new batteries every two weeks.

The good part is, unlike most alarm clocks, it will notify you once the batteries are about to die.

Although changing its settings is not as straightforward as I would like it to be, the little manual that comes with it explains it all.

All on all, I’m happy with it, i still keep the radio alarm on as a back up, but if clocky wakes me up, I wake up in a much better mood thanks to its amazingly-not-annoying alarm sound.

Bought this as a gift for my sister, she enjoys it and purposely lets it roll off sometimes. I think it works as a fun gadget to have, if you’re a professional who’s not into cute things this isn’t for you. It is loud though and as of now nothing has happened to it.