The irony doesn't escape me for the morning the Neverlate Executive Alarm Clock (NLE) arrived, I woke up late. Mornings to me are treasured times. I am invariably an early riser and the preciousness of a little 'me' time before all the World kicks off is beyond words.
So running contrary to this is my absolute horror and frustration if I awake late because that peace, quiet and solitude is lost. My entire equilibrium takes a bruising.

So bring on an alarm clock that pretty much promises that won't ever happen!
It does a great deal more besides. In fact so function loaded was this device that I did sit down and read the instructions!
Firstly however a note of appreciation for its size - it's dinky. Take a standard sized tissue box, turn it on its side and cut it in half. That is the height and width of the NLE. It is a bit deeper than that - move the half a tissue box behind and you've got it.
Why is this such a bonus? My bedside table is stacked with books galore and a bedside lamp. There's not much room for an alarm clock too but the NLE fits perfectly.
Added to this is the fabulous size of the display - it's huge!
Ta muchly, dear designers.

Now to the functionality...

Imagine this - you and partner both have totally different schedules.
You like to get up early - but with slight variations each day and your partner is a bed hog who snuffles under the duvet for as long as possible but needs to be up at 8am on a Monday, 9am on a Tuesday and ha, never on a Wednesday.
You like to be awoken by the gentle melodies of Classic FM and the only thing that will raise your partner is a fog horn.
Oh and when it's time to go to bed you like the radio on but your partner goes nuts if you don't wake up to turn it off. Do'ah.
Think any one product can take care of the lot? And more besides?
The NLE does so, brilliantly.

So, we've already established that it can set a separate alarm every day of the week for two people with completely different sound options - 14 combinations easily.

• • You can have radio or buzzer ... or connect a USB device ... or a AUX jac!
• • If both yourself and partner like to awake to the radio but have a preference for different stations, the NLE copes with that too, automatically.
• • You can adjust the volume for each person. Hell you can even make further volume adjustments so that it plays the radio quietly in the evening and louder in the morning - or increases volume in the morning gradually!
• • You can set how long the alarm sounds for.
• • You can adjust the Snooze function so that it halves in time every time you clonk it one.
• • You can even adjust the glow of the display.
• • You can skip an individual alarm but it will automatically pick it up next time around.
• • There's a NAP timer - wanna take a quick nap, set how long and settle back with complete peace of mind.
• • Of course if there's a power cut back-up battery is supplied
• • Ohh, and wait ... you can plug in a USB device and charge it up too (great for my phone, personally - thank you)

So, what is the problem if there is one? There is only one bug-bear and it is the instructions. They are a reasonable size for all the clock can do but the reasonable size has been badly considered. The text is tiny! The compromise on space and font size has ensured that aspects of the instructions are damnably hard to figure out and / or read. Some steps just aren't clear at all. However on the upside there is a fabulous column of Tips that run alongside each page - and it is these that on numerous function settings has helped me no-end figure out what the hell to do.

This alarm clock's RRP is £39.99 and my view is that if you need even 25% of the functions available, it is wholly worth it. I am enormously impressed.

Available at www.bbtradesales.com - a site worth looking at for a fabulous range of gadgets generally - watch out for more of them featuring here.