This may be baked, but I've never found it anywhere. Always thought it'd be a good idea.

My alarm clock doesn't wake me up. Very well. My telephone does. What I propose is a small alarm clock device plugged into the wall that your phone plugs into. Your phone functions normally. The device causes your phone to ring at the desired alarm time that you have set. When you pick up the phone, the robotic voice tells you "eight o'clock, time to get up", or whatever. You can respond by saying "off" or "snooze", in which case the phone will call you back in a few minutes.

The benefit of this product is that you can never be sure if it is someone calling you or your alarm, so you will always wake up to answer it. Plus, being portable, you can use it anywhere there's a phone, such as at hotels, etc. Naturally the device should function like a standard alarm clock in the absence of a phone, too.
-- nihilo, Jun 19 2006

It might cost more, but answering services used to do this.

Back in the dark ages I worked for an answering service and this was one of our tasks, we had clients who we would call to wake up at certain times. Some of them also had us calling back some number of minutes later to make sure they were really up. Sort of a paid nagging service.

This was probably around 1980. We actually used plug boards like you see Lilli Tomlin use on Laugh-In.
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jun 19 2006


Just set the alarm on your mobile and use one of your ring tones as the wake up sound.
-- xenzag, Jun 19 2006


What [xenzag] said, this option has been available on every phone I have ever used.
-- fridge duck, Jun 19 2006


Ah, well, this idea pre-dates cell phones! But your cell phone alarm doesn't talk to you when you answer it, does it?

Anyway, I don't want my cell phone to wake me up. I nostalgically long for the simpler days of less technologically-advanced yore....
I want that good ol'-fashioned rotary home phone I have to wake me up, with that ol'-fashioned bell ring, with a good ol'-fashioned robotic voice on the other end.
-- nihilo, Jun 19 2006


my very new, cordless phone set with talking caller id has a ringtone that sounds like the first Bell telephone ever made, if you're looking for nostalgia.....or listening for it.
-- xandram, Jun 20 2006


A ring tone that sounds like "Ahoy? Ahoy? Is this thing on?"
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Jun 21 2006


//You can respond by saying "off"...// On a bad morning, can I prefix anything to that "off"?
-- pertinax, Jun 21 2006


my cell phone has an alarm clock on it, most do if you have some sort of reminder function on it- just select a ringer for your cell phone that resembles you home phone if you would like
-- tatmkr, Jun 21 2006


[tatmkr]No disrespect, but have you read the anno's above?
-- skinflaps, Jun 21 2006


I think at least Alexander would've been proud. *sigh*

Mr. Bell, come here; I need you.
-- nihilo, Jun 22 2006


Mr Watson, sod off, I'm still in bed.
-- david_scothern, Jun 22 2006


The person calling you could ask you to calculate a hard sum; say something like "What's 36 * 5?"

This would force you to engage brain and wake up.

If you got the answer wrong, they could add a small premium to your bill, if you got it right it would be free; this would encourage to get the answers right as well; rather than just telling them to feck off.

[+]
-- monojohnny, Jun 22 2006


Laugh in? G_C, you just made me feel old.
-- BunsenHoneydew, Jun 24 2006



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