Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Who Lives in an Alarm Clock on Your Nightstand?

Spongebob Squarepants!

Yes, I know that's not how the song goes, but I had a chance to review a Spongebob Squarepants alarm clock, and...well, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I get lots of pitches for reviews, so I'm picky about them. Sometimes I'll get pitches for baby items, for example, and my kids are older, and I feel like there are plenty of bloggers to review those, while us Moms of older kids get a little lost in the Mommy blogosphere. So I really try to find things to review for teens, or tweens, or their Moms. Or things that are so universal that everyone needs them. So in my mind, I'm going through this rating system while I'm reading my email pitches.

Okay, so I see an email about Spongebob Squarepants. And the thing about Spongebob is, even adults know who he is. The cartoons have a lot of sneaky little adult references and clever wordplay and just bizarre situations to keep you interested, so even worldly teens still think Spongebob is cool. So that's a coolness factor of +1.

Then I see that Sakar International has teamed up with Nickelodeon, a name I know and like for kids, and created an animated SpongeBob Alarm Clock radio, and The Owl needs an alarm clock anyway, so that's another personal +1.

Oh, and the "animated" part?
SpongeBob himself pops up with the snooze alarm feature!
Kids can pick different alarm sounds to wake up with, like a ukulele, marimba, seagull and foghorn!
But here's the best part: the clock projects images on the ceiling of your child's room!

So even the little kids will enjoy this clock, because not only are they learning to tell time, but they aren't just lying there in the dark, maybe feeling a little scared at night. And The Owl's room *still* has glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling from when he was little and not too fond of the dark. But hey, if you like the dark, you can turn down the backlit LED display so that it basically disappears until the alarm goes off if you want. So that all  gets a big old +1, too.

And then I see that this SpongeBob Squarepants alarm clock lets you hook up your own mp3 player, like an iPod or iPhone, and because my kids like, most kids these days, are practically surgically attached to their iPods, that's an even bigger, more important, like maybe I should put it in bold: +1.

And then I see that--wait for this, it's worth it, you are not going to believe it--the bright yellow texture of this SpongeBob Squarepants alarm clock is actually spongy, and that's like a definitely bold, let's even make it HUGE +1. 


Because really, people, isn't that genius?!

So now we get to the actual review, and all I can say is that I was just tickled pink by the actual  SpongeBob Squarepants alarm clock once it arrived. That doesn't happen a lot. Here I am, this jaded, cynical blogger reviewer, and I was honestly delighted. I mean, just look at this little guy:


He's so cute! The description on the box says The SpongeBob Squarepants LED Alarm Clock is  "perfect for a nightstand in any young child's room", but I'd take that 'young child' out of there and substitute "anyone", because when my son's friends came over--and some of these guys are heading off to college this Fall--they loved it, too. They felt the sponginess and said things like, "Cool!" and "Dude, that's awesome."

And I recently discovered that the clock won the National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval for its 'ingenious and exciting' design.

And you can't get a more ringing endorsement than a delighted Mom and impressed teens.  

Viv's take: The SpongeBob Squarepants LED Alarm Clock from Sakar International and Nickelodeon offers a bright, friendly, animated interface, projecting images on the ceiling of your child's bedroom and also a pop-up Spongebob snooze function. The iPod connectivity allows them to listen to their own music, and the spongy texture of the clock is an absolutely ingenious design that wins approval from parents and teens alike. I happily give it my personal highest recommendation! A+.

I received a complementary SpongeBob Squarepants LED Alarm Clock for the purposes of this review.




No comments:

Cool Moms Rule! is in full compliance of the new FTC rules concerning Bloggers. I disclose on all posts where a product was received for free and/or if there was any kind of financial compensation involved.