iPad App of the Week – Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock

This week’s featured app is brought to you by the developers at LightPillar.  The Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock is by and large the best alarm clock app out there for both the iPhone and the iPad.  Recently I did some redecorating in my room, which allowed me to clear my laptop off of my nightstand.  With all that empty space I figured it would be the perfect spot for my shiny new iPad which wasn’t getting nearly as much use as I had originally anticipated.  I also decided to have my iPhone (which was my alarm clock) next to my laptop at night to allow it to charge and sync.  With my old alarm clock on the other side of the room I figured I would investigate alarm clock apps for my iPad.  I came across the Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock and it was love at first site.  Read on to hear why…

Simple Layout

I love the simplicity of the layout of this clock, you can view it in landscape or portrait mode and can, to an extent, adjust the font and layout of the clock itself.  While the display is simple there are many options and configurations to allow for full customization.  The display is divided into three sections and with different viewing options for each line you can customize your clock to show as much or as little detail as you like.  For example, at the very top of the screen you can set your clock to display the time for your next alarm and the amount of time left until that alarm goes off.  Need to know what time it is in another time zone?  You can set that bar to show the time in whatever time zone you choose.  If you prefer a more simple display you can keep the top part of the display blank.  The middle section is the actual clock, you can adjust how the time is displayed by scrolling trhough the preset designs.  The bottom section is dedicated to showing the date in whichever format you prefer.

Night Mode

I prefer to have my bedside clocks lit all night so I can turn over and get the time at a glance, but one thing I’ve always hated about the traditional digital clocks is the bright light it casts in the room.  Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock has a night mode to prevent just that.  You can adjust the brightness in night mode and it’s activated with one tap of the screen.

Speaking Clock

Well with a name like “Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock” you would expect the clock to speak right?  Well not only does this app speak but you can also adjust how and when it speaks to you.  One of my favorite settings is ‘tap to speak’ where all you have to do is tap anywhere on the screen and a nice male computer voice tells you the time.  You can even set how he tells you the time i.e., “the time is 10:30 pm” or “the time is half past ten”.  So now I don’t even have to open my eyes when I need to know the time, I just tap and I hear it.  You can also set the clock to speak at hourly, quarterly and half hourly intervals, it can speak the time when your alarm goes off and you can silence the “speak time” option when the clock is in night mode to prevent unwanted wake ups.  One thing I would ask the developers though is that there is an option of a female voice.

Wake Up Test

Probably one of my favorite features of this app is the “wake up test”.  The wake up test feature requires you to follow a set of simple instructions to turn off the alarm.  How many times have you found yourself accidentally turning off your alarm in your sleep?  I’ve done that far too many times to count.  The wake up test actually requires me to wake up by requiring me to tap numbers in various spots on the screen in order to dismiss my alarm.  While I can easily go back to sleep  after passing the test that requirement wakes me up just enough to prevent me from falling back into a deep sleep.

The Touch LCD Designer Speaking Clock has a plethora of features, far too many to discuss here, if you would like to see a full list of features check out their site (which includes a link to a pdf users guide).  I have to thank LightPillar for creating such a great app, I look forward to more apps from them soon.

Do you use Touch LCD?  What’s your experience?  Do you love/hate it?  Let us know in the comments.