Elgin Battery Powered LCD Alarm Clock with Nap Timer 3408E – Silver

This is nice for a battery operated LCD clock. Unlike some of the other clocks that take a button battery or a little AAA battery, this one takes the larger AA batteries. TWO of them! So you get plenty of run time from this large battery/small clock combo.

This clock is small enough, and attractively styled enough, to fit proudly on any night stand, desk, or kitchen counter top.

The LCD display consists of 3 simultaneous displays. The first and foremost display is the current TIME (DUH!) Then over in the top right corner of the display is the ALARM time (I like this!), then in the lower right corner is the date in MM/DD format.

The snoozer alarm repeats in 5 minute intervals. The alarm won't jolt you out of bed in the morning. It's more like a nudge, until you start thinking, "What's that high pitched sound that I'm dreaming about, and that's increasing in tempo?" Then you're up after a few minutes of listening to that. The clock gets 5 stars,...Read more

What I like:

1. Ability to see time, date, and alarm time at the same time.

2. Runs on batteries.

3. Attractive blue illumination.

What I don't like:

1. All the buttons beep, making it difficult to set the alarm late at night without waking up my wife.

2. The display is tilted back so far that it's impossible to read the numbers when you're level with the clock, such as when it's on a bedstand next to your head. You really need to be a foot or two above the clock to read it.

As a student who takes frequent naps, this clock could have been fantastic for me. I'd never heard of the idea of a nap timer before seeing this clock. Now I have. And my life will never be the same. I probably get a good 2-3 seconds more napping per rest period because of this clock. I know that doesn't sound like much, but when you nap as much as I do, it adds up.

Also, classes are on different times on different days, so the ability to quickly change the time of the alarm is really important. This clock is relatively speedy. Although there is no button to change hours directly, the inclusion of an "increase" and "decrease" button more than makes up for that. I haven't done extensive testing, but my alarm changes feel fast.

The display is tilted up a little too much for my taste. But that's because I keep it on my desk, which is just above my bed. I haven't had any problems with the viewing angle being especially narrow, though, given the way the LCD is...Read more