Moshi Voice Activated Alarm Clock

Pros: First, I want to say, once set, it's great for someone who just wants to say "Time" and hear it, and the unit looks great. Cons:1) SETTING THE TIME WAS DIFFICULT. (I bought the regular full-size Moshi.) I speak clearly and distinctly, and there were no other sounds in the room. I said "10:20 a.m." and Moshi kept setting various times, like "6:04" which sounds nothing like 10:20. On the 12th try, Moshi set the correct time, and I said well, at least now that the time is set, it'll be a long time before I have to go through that again...but as I pushed it back further on the table, the plug fell out again, and had to re-set the time; but this time, I put the BATTERIES IN FIRST, and after another 15 tries, and 6 plug fall-outs, the time was set, and no matter how many times the back plug fell out, the batteries kept the time. Hallelujah! 2)THE LITTLE PLUG IN THE BACK FALLS OUT CONSTANTLY, it just doesn't click in and hold in place. This led to the discovery of a 3rd problem: 3) THE VOICE RECOGNITION DOESN'T WORK AT ALL IF IT'S ON BATTERY ALONE. I noticed that each time the cord fell out so easily, Moshi said "Voice Trigger Mode has been DISABLED." And when plugged back in, Moshi immediately announces, "Voice Trigger Mode is ENABLED." Apparently, when the plug is out, it still keeps the time with the batteries, but it can't operate the voice recognition. Sure enough, the directions confirm this. So, if you have the plug-falling-out problem, you better duct-tape it into the back like I did if you want to use the voice trigger mode.

(note: there is a Mini-Moshi travel size that works on battery onlyso I guess it operates on Touch-Trigger only). 4) TOUCH TRIGGER IS NOT SENSITIVE The Touch mode on the center top of the display sometimes works after a series of light touches (waiting for response after each touch), but most times you have to keep pressing it rather strongly, (again waiting for response after each press); ... usually only a hard press works, but since I figure this would break it fairly quickly, I opt to keep it plugged in and use the voice trigger mode only.

I bought this for my mother age 90 who can't see clocks (macular degeneration), and so after explaining she should just say "Hello Moshi" and when it lights up green and says "Command Please" all she has to do is say "Time" and the voice is loud and clear with the time. Works great this way, so I'm happy with it. Since the touch mode really doesn't really work well, I didn't even tell her about it. (Can't comment on Alarm function, we don't need it).

So, Tips: Put Batteries in First before setting time, etc.

Moshi can only hear you when it is green (when it's dark, it's only listening for "Hello, Moshi"; You must say `Hello Moshi" before asking it anything. You can stop Moshi from talking and go back to rest by saying "Cancel." To stop the night light from cycling colors and stay on one, there's a switch in the back for "Multi" or "single" color. When it's plugged in and set to IVR on the back, the unit will accept both Voice (IVR) or Touch triggers, but voice-command trigger only works when plugged in.

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I apologize for the quality of this video--I worked on it for over four hours to shrink it and edit it to fit Amazon's requirements...I did everything I knew how to do to improve it while keeping it short enough!

Still, I think it does a good job in showing you more about how the Moshi alarm clock works. This is a great clock if you want to take the time to work with it. It's really, really easy to set up, but using it takes a bit of finagling. In this video, I demonstrate some of the features of the Moshi clock. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get Moshi to understand. Also, in order to turn off the alarm with your voice, you must speak the command in between the alarm sounds. This is really hard to do when you're half asleep. It is easier to just use the alternative buttons, which are on the back in an awkward place and impossible to see without a flashlight. It's a great little clock, but does have some problems.

The reason for the variability in the reviews is that not all clocks work well; there are apparently quality control issues. You may have to return your clock and exchange it for another. One of our functions didn't work but we didn't need it so we kept the clock anyway.

Even though I give Moshi only three stars (because it is new technology and not what an alarm clock should be--you need to be able to turn it off easily, for example) I still enjoy it and am glad I bought it.

Recommended for people who can work with a temperamental alarm clock in exchange for the voice technology.

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Cripes.... I bought this clock for my BF because he is obsessive about triple and quadruple checking his alarm set (drives me NUTS).. so a clock you could talk to and that actually SAYS the time to you seemed perfect. And it was... at first. Look, this product is a fantastic idea but it really, really, really needs to go back to the drawing board.

1. The touch sensitivity of this thing is iffy, at best. Sometimes it will say the desired "Command Please" so that you can go about your business of setting the clock, but all too often it squawks (quite loudly) the date, time, and temperature at you instead. Then you sigh and try again... often several more times. Sure, you can say "Hello Moshi".... but sometimes you don't feel like saying "Hello" to an inanimate object and just want the touch feature to frigging work!

2. The clock is not illuminated unless you turn on the "nightlight". Yea... that light is as subtle as a brick in the face. I am someone that NEEDS a light on at night and I cannot sleep with the Moshi light on. So someone suggested to just "turn it around"... yea well, that defeats the purpose doesn't it? Still can't see the clock. And believe me you DON'T want that clock talking to you in the wee hours of the night. Which leads me directly to....

3. This thing is frigging LOUD. Fantastically loud. The voice is cool and fun at first because, hey, you have a talking alarm clock! How cool is that?! It isn't. The thing practically shouts at you in a decidedly UNsoothing voice. You'd think they would have taken it down a couple of notches and had a Buddhist monk do the voice in a kind and soothing manner. Instead they get a slightly impatient sounding woman to shout things. All right, that's a bit of an exaggeration... but it IS loud.

4. Don't get me started on the alarm sounds. They are all precisely programmed to infuriate. Sure, all alarm clocks suck because they are doing a job you don't want them to do... wake you up. However, the Moshi somehow makes me angry when it goes off in the morning no matter which alarm sound we choose (there are three of them). To add insult to injury, when you smack the clock to make it snooze it actually says (in its shouty voice) "SNOOZE TIME SET FOR 9 MINUTES!" Well, that just about ruins my snooze time doesn't it? You can do this three times before it deigns to actually turn the alarm off. I guess for those of you trying to drop your snooze habit this might be good. I, for one, LIKE my snooze habit!

5. You actually have to slide a tiny button on the back to disable the alarm... if you forget to do this and go to bed on a Friday night with plans to sleep in... guess what? Your alarm is still set and will proceed to shout at you in the morning. Of course, the alternative to that is forgetting to slide the button on Sunday night... oh, you can still talk to the bloody thing and set your alarm but if the button isn't in the correct position..well... you're late for work on Monday.

In short, this thing is beyond annoying when it does what you want it to and when it glitches out you'll want to take it out into a field and smash it with a bat.

This morning my boyfriend looked at me and said, "Honey, I love you. But I HATE this alarm clock!". Meaning, he felt bad because it was a present from me. I gave him permission to terminate Moshi.

We are both relieved.

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I really think this is a great clock and it is amazing how well it works. I agree with others, it should be enhanced to control the night light colors and volume, but it is a very good buy and I am happy with my purchase.

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My husband bought one of these. Moshi "confirmed" all the information, current time and wake up at 6:30 am. The alarm went off at midnight and we had to unplug it to turn it off. This is some designers idea of a nasty joke on consumers.