Rise: Newest app that makes waking up simplistic
Rise is a brand new app for IOS devices that makes setting alarms simple. Apps have been around for awhile, but until now have we not moved toward simplicity when designing apps. Rise is easy to use, and does everything you want on one screen using a few simple gestures. One app that has a very similar design is Clear, an app that uses different gestures to add and delete things from a very simple easy to use to-do-list. Rise makes sure that you wake up to do those things on your list.
Rise also is an alarm clock that allows you to set a wake-up time, turn on and off the alarm, dim the screen and much more. Below are several pros and cons that I found while using the app for a few nights:
Pros:
User Friendly: Apps like rise are very simple and become very intuitive after the brief introduction to the app. It is designed for both iPhone and iPad.
Music Integration: Rise allows you to pick what music you want to wake up to, or you can chose from several of the ringtones built into the app.
Fall To Sleep Playlist: I like many love to fall asleep to music and this was one of the big things that the Apple stock app does not have. Rise allows you to chose a playlist that you have created on your iPhone and use it to fall asleep to. The amount of time that the music keeps playing is how long your playlist is (15 minutes works great for me).
Cons:
Price: It is sad to say but $1.99 for a app seems like a lot for an app that only does very few things.
Only one alarm at a time: If you are like me (lazy) and getting up everyday at 7:00 a.m. is hard to do, then you probably set more than one alarm clock (I set three). For this reason this app takes a lot of getting used to, but in the long run one alarm is probably better for my sleeping habits.
Another Repetitive App: I still wonder why Apple will never let us delete the stock apps. Plenty of apps can do a better job, like notes, weather, and more. So when I have the Apple stock alarm clock app and Rise on my iPhone, it takes up quite a bit of real estate on my iPhone.
Recommendation: Rise’s pros outweigh the cons and I feel that my $1.99 was well spent on an app that I am sure I will use for a long time. This is the new way of designing apps, no more buttons, just easy to remember gestures. If you are looking for an app that will make setting your alarm simple day after day, even if your wake-up time changes a lot, then Rise is the perfect app for you.
Erik Hoffman is a web designer and computer consultant. He has run a computer consulting company for the past four years where he enhanced businesses by designing and developing user-friendly websites that have helped companies reach targeted revenues.