[drgath]

While I do use my mobile's alarm app often, I've always been hesitant to use it as my -only- alarm. There are too many things that could go wrong when compared to a good ol' alarm clock.

When I need to catch those 6am flights, I set multiple alarms on my alarm clock, as well as my phone. Always have a backup.

[ams6110]

I have had so many problems with alarms and alerts not sounding on a variety of mobile devices, going back many years, that I don't rely on them for anything important. Hotel wake-up call service has always been my backup when traveling.

[pierrefar]

I've had hotel wake up calls NOT happen. For really-must-wake-up-on-time situations, you need to diversify: phone + hotel + a tiny clock.

[yardie]

I wonder if this is a bug in general? Hotel wakeup calls are done by automated services these days, atleast for every hotel I've stayed in for the last 10 years.

If you think hotel wakeup calls are unreliable and they all use the same wakeup call software then the problem may be in the code.

[cageyjames]

So true, I guess that is why there are still 800/900 number services that will perform the wake up call in 2011.

http://www.wakeupservice.com/ http://www.wakemeup.com/ etc...

[helmutgranda]

Excellent link. at $2 a call is well worth it.

[praptak]

If you have a landline then there's a chance that your telephone exchange has an automatic wake-up call service. You just dial something like * 55*HHMM# and it calls you back at HH:MM.

[mattwdelong]

Why not use twilio and create an alarm at fraction of the cost? I've been meaning to try them out, maybe i`ll write the script when I get some time.

[tomjen3]

There are ten times as many issues that can go wrong with twillio compared to your iphone alarm clock.

[InclinedPlane]

You can use google calendar to send you an SMS message at a specific date/time, assuming you're willing to trust that level of functionality of your phone.

[jonknee]

He did have a backup, but it was another iPhone. Lesson learned I suppose.

[CountHackulus]

This is a lot like data backups. Your data isn't really backed up unless it's on at least 2 different kinds of media, and also somewhere offsite.

Using another iPhone for the alarm is the equivalent of putting keeping your backups in the same server rack and having the data centre burn down.

[helmutgranda]

I hear you, ironically my "backup" was my wife's iPhone and mine is charging at night before trips so that it doesn't run out of juice.

[ANH]

It may be because I write (sometimes buggy) code for a living, but I always expect my iPhone alarm to fail. It never has, but the idea of having a second iPhone alarm as a backup is laughable.