HotelChatter || HOWTO :: Succesfully Set the Hotel Room's iHome Alarm Clock

The ghetto 4-button alarm clock with the red visible-from-space LCD display is on the way out, and the iPod-compatible iHome has taken its place on hotel nightstands everywhere.

So far, we've woken up next to these babies in both big-box hotel chains and boutique hotels alike. In fact, we even awarded it our Must-Have Hotel Amenity Award for 2007.

While it's great to be able to wake up to our iPods, frankly, the damn thing has a whole hell of a lot of buttons. Don't get us wrong -- we are young, tech-savvy folks and all -- but even we had to say a little prayer that the shiny little beast would function as planned the first few times we used it.

Thus, after many close encounters with hotel iHomes and a comfortably intimate relationship with the consumer version (they're a smidge different), we present to you: How to Successfully Set the Hotel Room's #%$@ing iHome Alarm Clock.

Some hotel iHome survival tips after the jump.

You may notice there are directions printed directly onto the hotel version of the iHome. They are fairly straightforward, and yet, they are not very detailed and you will inevitably find a way to screw up. Remember, there are wheels and buttons involved in this endeavor.

TIP #1: The blue screen is super, super bright. If you turn off the lights and the iHome screen illuminates the room (which it tends to do on the highest setting), dim the screen by tapping the big snooze button until you're satisfied.

TIP #2: Some more in-depth directions for setting the basic buzzer alarm:

Hold down the "alm set" button until it beeps (approximately 3 Mississippi).
Turn the wheel on the right until you reach your desired wakeup time -- the time on the LCD should be flashing.
Hit the "alm set" button again -- no need to hold it down. As soon as you touch it, it will beep two quick beeps and then the current time will reappear on the screen.
Hit the wake-to button until you see "buzzer."

TIP #3: To wake up to your iPod:

Go to play the song you want to wake up to and hit pause, then place your iPod in the dock. Otherwise, you'll be shaken from sleep by ABBA or whatever is near the top of your library. You won't be in the mood. Trust us.
Follow the same steps as setting the buzzer, except press the "wake to" button until a silhouette of an iPod comes up on the screen.

TIP #3: Speaking of iPods, the iHome will charge yours (!) so check on the iHome situation with your hotel before your trip; you may be able save a tiny bit of room in your bag and leave your charger at home.

TIP #4: Also, if you happen to be one of the 11 people on earth without an iPod and you prefer to wake up to your CD player blasting the sweet sounds of 1996, you can hook your Discman up using the patch cord (usually in the first drawer of the nightstand).

Sometimes you'll have to call the front desk to get the cable -- but in most cases if you have a portable device with a headphone jack, you should be able to hook it up to the iHome.

TIP #5: You can use the iHome to play your music, but maybe you don't trust it to wake you up on time. That's fine: we never, ever travel without a tiny travel alarm clock. We love the ShakeAwake -- it's easy to take with us because it's no bigger than our cell phones.

We stick it inside our pillow, and in the morning it vibrates like crazy to scare us out of our slumber on time.

And remember, there's totally no shame in calling down to the front desk for a backup wakeup call.

Got more hotel tech tips or some input on the iHome? BECOME A HOTELCHATTER MEMBER AND COMMENT AWAY.

[Photo: Wadeferd]

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