As we’re assimilating to the BlackBerry 10 transition and getting used to a fresh OS on the Z10, an all-touch device I decided to break down another native application – the Clock. From our first Berry its safe to say the native Clock App has played a big role in how we use our smartphone and can be applied to our everyday lives as we set alarms and reminders for work and tasks. After all, isn’t that what a smartphone is for? Not to say any previous versions of the BlackBerry Clock App have been bad but as we get a new OS, new device, we also get a new clock which deserves its respective attention. Continue Reading for more.
As in previous BlackBerry Clocks once you open the clock an analog clock will display. Looking at the upper right tile in the photo above you can see a glimpse of what the analog clock will look like. It looks great on the Z10. Its large display on a white background with legible markers and numbers is easy to read. I have no problem seeing the clock without my glasses and you can ask Michael, I’m pretty blind without my glasses. Also, in previous BlackBerry Clocks the ability to switch to a digital clock was also available. To toggle between a digital and analog clock:
>Perform a top down swipe
>Look to the 3rd icon, Clock Settings
>Clock Face – toggle between and Digital and Analog
Within the Clock Settings you have the ability to access the date & time options as well as the option to allow phone calls in bedside mode.
Upon opening the Clock app we are by default in the alarm as this is probably the second most used feature you’ll be using next to checking the time. There is a toggle option to turn the alarm “ON” or “OFF” so getting to this option is very easy to perform. To set your alarm click where it says Alarm Options to access the alarm time. If your alarm is already set simply click on the alarm time that is set to edit the alarm time. Once you are in the Alarm Settings you will be prompted to set the alarm time, toggle between recurrence alarm time and snooze.
The recurrence feature enables your alarm to have no recurrence which will ring daily or recurre the designated alarm time to ring on certain days of the week. For instance if you work weedays it would be good to only have Monday-Friday checked with Saturday and Sunday unchecked, disabling the alarm for these days. One feature I really wish BlackBerry would bake in on a future OS would be to add a multiple alarms feature but I’ll leave that for a post if its own.
In previous BlackBerry OS versions the alarms tone library was hefty. Well as BlackBery 10 and its options menu have been simplified, so are the number of alarm tones to choose from, 3 to be specific. However, the ability to add your own song or downloaded mp3 alarm tones is available.
Good ‘ol snooze is always nice to use for those extra minutes of sleep that sometimes feel like a huge difference maker in how your morning goes. Chose between no snooze, 5,10,15, and 30 minute snooze options on BlackBerry 10.
Next we get the ability to add world clocks. I have contacts all across the globe so being able to set world clocks is handy and is something you might find useful more than often if you have friends in other time zones. The ability to add, search and delete world clocks is very straight forward as you can see from the image above.
One workaround for adding multiple alarms on the PlayBook tablet is adding your time zone on a new world clock and setting an alarm for that specific clock. Unfortunately that feature is NOT available in BlackBerry 10, yet. For now, you cannot add an alarm to a world clock.
A clock feature that is neat is the stopwatch. Whether you’re using it for work, athletics or education the stopwatch feature can never hurt. The stopwatch flows with BlackBerry 10. Starting, stopping and reading time is legible. The image above is what you get with the native stopwatch.
The last feature in the native clock app is the timer. The Start and Reset button is about all what you get here. The timer also allows you to toggle through a timer tone. Use the native tone or add your own through your file library. The stopwatch and timer are simple but effective.
Overall, the native clock upgrade in BlackBerry 10 isn’t bad. Its straightforward and easy to navigate through. My only gripe is the lack of support for multiple alarms but hopefully this gets baked into future OS updates.
Let us know your favorite clock tricks and features!!