Waking up in style

Each week, it is my aim to ensure that Web Watch delivers an entertaining and informative insight into a diverse range of web offerings. Last week, however, I sent you to sleep! It was, I hasten to add, all quite intentional as you were encouraged to nod off to mark the onset of National Bed Month. This week, I hope to wake you up again. And, if my judgment is serving me well, you will be waking up in style.

With an elegance and, indeed, an eloquence that could only belong to the nation's favourite gentlemen's gentlemen, you can now experience the most refined wake-up call known to man. It is time to dispense with the alarming shrill of the mobile phone, discard your digital timepiece and make way for a far more dignified start to your day.

So, without further ado, please let me introduce you to Mr Stephen Fry and the Voco Clock.

Your morning will never be the same again. A gentle birdsong and a discreet but audible cough will begin rousing you from your slumber. As you slowly become aware that the world is requesting your presence, the dulcet tones of the inimitable Mr Fry will deliver a witty and wry invitation to start the morning with a smile on your face.

"Good morning, Sir. I'm so sorry to disturb you but it appears to be morning. Very inconvenient, I agree, Sir."

"I am delighted you have survived another night, Sir. May I add my own congratulations to the roar of the world's approval? Thank you, Sir."

"The rising and shining cannot be postponed indefinitely, Sir. Though the shining isn't compulsory in this intractable world, the rising eventually is."

Housed in a charming carriage clock style exterior, this elegant timepiece comes complete with roman numerals and the good old-fashioned hands of time. There's not a digital display in sight.

But don't be fooled by the traditional appearance of the Voco, it is concealing a considerable level of technology including the voice chips that allow the quality delivery of Mr Fry's many quips. There are 50 messages in total so you are sure of being greeted by a different one for a period of almost three months. No, my math isn't awry. I am assuming that, like me, not even a personal valet of Jeeve's caliber could wrench you from your bed early on a weekend morning!

If you are concerned that a courteous prompt, however amusing, will not be enough to rouse you, the witticisms are backed up by a series of beeps that should do the trick. The beeps continue until you hit the cancel button - an action that allows Mr Fry to complete your dignified awakening with an empathetic, "Ghastly noise, I agree, Sir."

The Voco Clock is, unfortunately, definitely aimed at the male of the species but I suppose this is inevitable considering the Jeeves and Wooster theme. This situation is to be rectified by the development of the Jeeves and Woostress version due later this year. Also promised is a cheaper model, although, at £25.95, I think the current version is pretty good value. The design is marred only slightly by a distinct lack of wood. If I were in charge of product development, I would be inclined to add a more expensive version to the range - one that gave Jeeves the home he deserves. One with a mahogany finish, perhaps?

Even with the absence of a little lumber, it is refreshing to find a product that has the decency to wake us in a civilized fashion. A timely reminder of a bygone age. A most acceptable approach, wouldn't you agree?

http://www.voco.uk.com

Jacqueline Alexander

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