[squidi]

I can see with my own habits that the snooze button is too soft on me, so this could help with some extra discipline :)

But in practice, can I just spin the phone around in the air whilst still lying in bed or is it detecting for a wider circumference of movement than that?

[dully]

No you can't, you need to keep 2 thumbs on the screen in the same position while you spin around. And you also need to keep the device flat. It's foolproof :)