Brandstand CubieWink - Charging Alarm Clock with USB Ports

I'm giving it five stars because I LOVE the usability and simplicity of the design, which is EXACTLY what I wanted. Someone put in some really serious thought into making this usable. Have you ever woken your partner because you thought you'd turned the alarm clock off, but you'd accidentally hit snooze instead--and the alarm went off again while you were downstairs making coffee? Have you ever overshot the time setting holding down the + button, because you weren't ready when it switched from snail speed to warp speed--and then overshot the other way going back? Have you ever missed an alarm because you carefully set the ALARM for 5 am, but didn't notice that you had the wrong am/pm setting on the TIME? Does it drive you crazy that you need to fuss with daylight savings time on your alarm clock when every other clock in your life adjusts automatically? Do you have trouble finding the button that shuts off the alarm, in among the eight buttons that control the tinny radio you never use? If none of those things ever happens to you, then you will not understand why I love this clock. Here is what is so good about it: --it shows both the time, in big numbers, AND the ALARM setting, in smaller numbers. You can always see both at a glance. You can always see how it's set and what it is going to do. --If the alarm is off, it displays the word "OFF." No surprises when you thought it was off but it was only snoozing. --Both the time and alarm settings show the AM or PM setting by showing the illuminated letters "AM" or "PM." No twelve-hour-off mistakes! No wondering if a little red dot means "AM, as in radio" or "AM, as in time." --In the morning, I usually want to shut the alarm off, and that's what the big raised button on top does. I don't have to remember which button is the "alarm off" or feel around for it. --the big button on top is also the knob for setting the alarm (and, if needed, time and date) and works very nicely. No "warp-speed overshoot" problem. Turning a knob is infinitely better than "+/-" buttons. It has a battery backup, which, bless them, uses two AAA batteries (not a hard-to-find button cell, and not an expensive 9V battery). It arrived with alkaline batteries installed. The product is apparently designed for hotels so it ought to be durable. That's hard to judge, but I noticed immediately the retaining screw for the battery cover screws into a threaded metal bushing, not plastic. Nitpick #1: the product I received came with no instructions at all. That's wrong. It didn't even give a URL for downloading them. Instructions for the similar CubieTime can be downloaded from the Brandstand website, under "Alarm clocks; CubieTime; Specs." Basic instructions are given on the bottom of the clock, and they're well written, but they aren't enough. Nitpick #2: to automatically adjust for daylight saving, you need to tell it the date. the instructions on the bottom on how to do it are clear enough. But the way the display shows "month" is puzzling, and I actually thought for an instant that the display had some dead segments. The display for the day looks like a "d," but the display for the month looks like "ni." It does don't look like an "m."" When I found and downloaded the manual I realized it's supposed to be that way and stopped worrying. It's not a big thing once you know. Nitpick #3: three little switches are hidden inside the battery compartment. Two are obvious: daylight savings on/off (preset "on") and 12- or 24-hour display (preset "12"). The third is a little weird and you probably need to know it's there because you'll probably want to change it. The third is called "single-day alarm" and is preset to "on." "On" means that the alarm time automatically resets to 6 a.m. after every activation of the alarm; "off" means it stays at the last setting. I haven't lived with it long enough to see it adjust for daylight time. I don't know yet how well it keeps time while it is on battery backup. I don't know how long the batteries last. the instruction manual doesn't say anything about any "low battery" warning and I don't know if there is one. I don't plan to use the two USB charging ports and can't tell you anything about them. the manual for the CubieTime model says that that model provides "5V/2400mA shared" Observation: Unlike the CubieTime, the CubieWink does not have AC outlets, and it has a regular plug which thus uses up one wall socket. Read more

Expensive for an alarm- but its value is its simplicity and ease of use. It is a good alarm if you need one! Read more

worth the $36. I just wanted a basic small alarm clock with good build quality and without unnecessary functions. Hard to find these days. Its 2022 and no one needs AM radio on their alarm clock stop it. Like some others have said the alarm setting is super user friendly. There's only one alarm setting and i prefer that- again simplicity! Click wheel is great to use in the dark. There's just 2 buttons on top- amazing! I use my phone alarm too like most people but i like to have a backup for those long nights and short mornings. The display is quite nice, i have it on maybe a medium setting, and i can see it during the day but its not at all too bright during the night. There is a switch inside the panel to override the default alarm setting of 6:00am. So basically it will remember your last alarm setting day after day Read more

I like the size as doesn't take up much room on nightstand. The brightness can be adjusted and easy to set alarm. Just remember if you want to wake up the same time to turn off the single setting or you will have to set to the time you want every evening. One thing I dislike is changing the time, if you miss the minute blinking you have to start over from the beginning. Read more

PROS: Compact size 4 brightness settings: Bright, Medium, Dim, Off Super simple to operate 2 USB ports on top for your cell phone or tablet CONS: Dim setting is still a little to bright for my light sensitive wife Display uses white light instead of red Requires Philips screw driver to access the backup battery compartment REVIEW: I discovered this brand in several of the hotels that I stay at regularly. The hotels all have the CubieTime model instead of this CubieWink. The difference is that the CubieTime, in addition to the two USB ports, also has two electrical outlets on top of the clock, which I did not need. I really like everything about this clock. It has a very small footprint, about 4" x 4", is super simple to set and use, and has two USB ports on top so you can plug your phone or tablet in at the same time, without taking up another electrical outlet next to your bed. In addition to the 3 display brightness settings you can also turn the display off completely, a feature my wife loves. The display brightness is perfect for me in the dim setting, but my wife wants absolutely no light whatsoever in the room at night. She used to make me cover my old alarm clock with a towel. Apparently, her eyelids have holes in 'em or maybe she has just seen enough of me during the day... I don't know. In any event, being able to turn the display off completely is great for her on the nights that I'm not home. A couple of things that might be considered short comings or just slightly inconvenient are... the backup battery compartment is held closed by one small Philips screw instead of a plastic tab, so you need to use a screwdriver to open it. Also, I wish the display illumination was red instead of white. Red is a lot less intrusive a color at night than white. All in all, I love this little clock and would definitely buy another one. I'd even buy one for my wife if the display was red. Read more