Shake to Wake With the G-Buzz

G-Project (who make the excellent G-Boom portable speaker) have come out with the G-Buzz, a portable alarm clock designed for people who can't find the off button. If you wake up at the same time every day, you can just shake the alarm clock to turn it off until the same time tomorrow.

That's a clever touch and the clock shares the sturdy industrial design of the company's speakers. You've got four alarm choices: a rooster, a bell, a foghorn or a snare drum. You've got a snooze button that works for 10 minutes at a time up to an hour. The alarm sounds are effective but they're not irritating.

There's a built-in FM radio, but you've got to have a strong signal if you want to wake up to a music or talk radio. While there's an attached antenna, the tuner isn't going to pick up weaker stations. That's not unusual with an alarm clock or radio at this price point ($29.99 from the G-Project web site), so it's hard to make too big an issue of that fact. There are 10 station presets so you can easily access whatever stations you can get.

You use the speaker with any device via the line-in port on the back; the speaker sounds really good with an external audio source, up to the standards set by other G-Project devices.  You can also plug in a USB cable to charge your phone if you plug the G-Buzz into a wall outlet. The clock also works with 4 AAA batteries if you want to use it as a travel alarm. There are also a selection of sleep sounds, including waves, white noise, owls and crickets that can be set to turn off in increments up to 90 minutes.

Who's this for? People who don't want their smartphones near their beds, for starters, plus anyone who's fascinated by the prospect of shaking their clock to turn it off and not having to worry if it's set for the same time tomorrow.