Banpresto’s new GONG! alarm clocks look like those bells that they have by the side of the fighting ring. The difference here is that these ones are designed to wake you up. When it’s time to get up, a referee’s voice starts to count down from 10. If you don’t get out of bed within the 10 count the “round” is over, and the bell rings. An internal vibration sensor detects if you’ve actually gotten out of bed of if you’re still lying there like a lump.

For now, the clocks are only available in Japan, so if you want one of these you’ll want to Google “ゴング！目覚まし時計“. Good luck with all that. If you can be patient, I’m sure the guys over at StrapyaWorld will eventually sell these worldwide.

This extra-loud alarm clock gets its power from a couple of 140-decibel electric horns. A relay, a 12-volt laptop power supply and a whiff of solder later, and this cheap alarm clock was transformed into the most ear-shattering alarm clock you’ll ever hear.

Here, have a listen:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As an added bonus, it’s guaranteed to wake all members of your immediate family and each neighbor on your block.

[via MoHacks]

Hours display in the left eyeball, and minutes display in the right one (when facing Vader, of course). In addition to telling time and letting you listen to its built-in radio, the Dark Lord can also play tunes from your iPod or other external audio device, thanks to an AUX jack. Heck, the Death Star didn’t even include an AUX jack!

Of course, the best part is that you can set the alarm to wake you with digitized sound-bites of Vader himself. What does he say? We’ll have to wait until the clock ships this August to find out. But I’d like to think he’ll say something like “Today will be a day long remembered. It has seen the death of Kenobi, and will soon see the end of the Rebellion. But first, it’s time for some Crunch Berries.” or maybe “I sense something. A presence I’ve not felt since… you went to bed last night.”

You can pre-order the Darth Vader alarm clock radio over at the Star Wars Shop for $32 (USD).

[photo credit: Official Star Wars Blog]

Look at that demented frog’s face. He’s called Rap Frog by the way. There are four other pets available – House Dog, Jazz Panda, Classical Bear (who is pink), and Rock Lion. If Brando made this they’d have clams and anglerfish and centipedes as well.

The iMini Pet is equipped with a pair of 3-watt amps and also a pair of 4-watt drivers. As you can see it also has a backlit 64 mm LCD screen. The digital alarm clock also has a snooze feature as well as auto sleep. The FM radio has auto scan and can save up to 6 preset stations, while the dock can charge an iPod and play music at the same time. And the pets can move their mouth, hands and head. Except for Jazz Panda, who for some reason can’t move his head. I’m not kidding. Look at the spec sheet if you don’t believe me.

There’s a video of the iMini Pets moving awkwardly and mouthing along to the tune of Don’t Worry Be Happy, and I guess they’ve got that Sesame Street vibe goin’ on. I don’t know if it’s just me but the video is freakin tiny. Another touch of weirdness I guess?

Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge says that the iMini Pets will sell for $99 USD, but he didn’t say when or where will they be available.

Verdict: Cute. Until you make it dance to Lamb of God or Children of Bodom, that is.

Poor guy; he’s already expecting to be hurt. Some of you may recognize Mr. Bump, the accident-prone character from Roger Hargreaves’ Mr. Men series of children’s books way back in the 70’s. I am proud to say that I do not recognize him, which means I am not that old. Finally, something that’s too retro for me to know.

The Mr. Bump alarm clock sells for £10 ($15 USD) at Play.com.

Wait. If you think about it, any alarm clock will stop alarming if you throw it against a wall hard enough. Hmmm.

[via Nerd Approved]

Designed to look like a curvy retro television, complete with rabbit ear antennae, the QTV frame shows your digital images on its doll-house-sized 3.5″ LCD screen.

Just plug in your USB thumb drive or your SD/SDHC memory card, and you can view your media in a snap. Of course, with an underwhelming 320×234 pixel screen resolution, image quality should be just about as good as that old 1960s Zenith you have sitting in the basement.

What the QTV lacks in image resolution, it certainly tries to make up for it in features. Not only does it let you view your JPEG images, it offers MP3 playback, an alarm clock, a calendar, and an FM radio. It even includes AVI/MP4/DIVX video playback, so you can watch all your favorite (pre-recorded) TV programs on the teensy weensy screen. About the only thing the QTV doesn’t do is tune actual TV broadcasts. Go figure.

You can find the QTV digital photo frame in pink and yellow versions over at Brando for $89 USD. The only thing missing is a tiny little remote control.

The CVT i3101 media center alarm clock is slim enough to hang next to your bed, and is especially nice if you have a narrow room without space for a table. The clock offers a bright 3.5″ blue LED display and sleek touch controls for changing channels and controlling your media player. And when your significant other walks off with your media player, you can always listen to the built-in FM radio or any tunes you’ve got saved on an SD memory card.

And if you do happen to have some table or counter space to spare, a kickstand lets you use it without wall-mounting. It looks like the clock’s Hong Kong manufacturer, CVT is also working on another version with an LCD video screen, but I haven’t found anyone retailing these yet. For now, you’ll have to settle for the version shown above, which is available from 100milligrams for $99.95 USD.

The clock is portable and runs on 3 AAA batteries. If you get tired of the same ol’ same ol’ generic calls like robin, mockingbird, rooster, and so forth, you can buy several different bird call cards that go with the clock for $10.50 each.

You can even buy a card with frog calls. Now birds seemed reasonable, but come on people, seriously, frogs? I just can’t picture it. I’m going to stand behind my theory that waking up to guttural ribbiting noises would not be the most auspicious start to your day.

I don’t know about you but in my neighborhood there are a bunch of annoying loud chirpy birds that wake me up with their cacophonous tweeting, without fail, almost every single day. So for me this item would be completely gratuitous as I get the service it provides absolutely free. Still, if you prefer to wake to a chorus of dark-eyed junco calls, or the throaty warble of a spring peeper frog, feel free to purchase the clock for $39.95 at The Nature Store.

[via cribcandy]

The clock automatically illuminates when picked up, then turns off when placed back on a surface. It looks like these are probably one-of-a-kind pieces for now, but if Cheng decides to produce them for resale, I’d buy one.

[via mocoloco]

For thematic consistency, alarm sounds are from Super Mario Brothers and the clock features a built in mini-game with an unlockable extra alarm sound. Dimensions are 5″(w) x 2″(h) x 0.8″(d), and it runs on 2 AAA batteries. It’s just $24.99 and a perfect gift for any Nintendo maniac.