It's sleep and relaxation week here at iMore for Mobile Nations fitness month, so we're going to take a look at an app that's related to both these topics: Rise Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPad.

Rise Alarm Clock for iPhone and iPad is a very elegantly designed alarm clock with a gesture-based interface and relaxing use of color. It's extremely easy, and even a little fun, to use.

To set an alarm, you simply hold your finger on the screen and swipe up and down until you reach the desired time (within 15 minutes). As you swipe along the screen, the background will change colors to reflect the time of day. To fine-tune the time, tap above or below the displayed time to move it by 5-minute increments. Once you've picked the correct time, just swipe left or right to set the alarm.

When the alarm is set the screen will go dark and the text will change to the color that the previous screen was for that time. A timer will also appear under the time that displays the amount of time until the alarm goes off. This makes Rise a great motivator to go to bed early so that you don't see a depressing "5 hours until rise" when you're heading to bed.

From this screen, you can also add or subtract time in 5-minute increments, create or select a playlist of music to fall asleep to, adjust the volume, and enable the repeating alarm.

After about 15 seconds of not doing anything on this screen, Rise switches to Clock Mode which displays the current time in the center and the amount of time left until the alarm goes off at the bottom. Taping the screen will take you out of Clock mode.

When the alarm goes off, the sound gently fades in so that it doesn't startle you awake. The displayed time also bounces on the screen and you are given the option to turn off the alarm by swiping left or right, or you can hit the snooze for more sleep. If you opt for the snooze, you can make it longer than 5 minutes by simply tapping the plus sign.

Although this is not a fault of the app, but rather the limitations that Apple has on the iOS 6 SDK, it's important to note that in order for Rise Alarm Clock to be fully functional, you must have it running in the foreground before locking the screen. If you exit the app by pressing the home screen, you will receive a notification at the time you set the alarm for, instead. The good news is that the notification will play the sound that you selected and Rise will continue to send you notifications until you clear it out. When you "slide to snooze", Rise will open and the 5 minute snooze will activate. If you'd rather turn off the alarm, just swipe left or right.

The good

  • Gesture-based
  • Beautiful and relaxing colors
  • Great selection of calming sounds, or use your own music
  • Sound fades in when alarm goes off
  • Snooze option
  • Ability to snooze or turn off the alarm from the lock screen with a shake (iPhone only)
  • Fall asleep to music
  • Set as repeating alarm
  • Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

  • Only one repeating alarm can be set at a time

The bottom line

Rise Alarm Clock is an excellent alternative to the alarm clock available in Apple's built-in Clock app. It features a gorgeous gesture-based interface that is easy to use. Rise also includes a great selection of calming sounds to wake up to so that you can begin your day in a great mood.