The Nintendo Alarmo is a charming toy clock for kids and Nintendo diehards, but you can get much better alarm clocks for the money.

I have always had an adversarial relationship with alarm clocks. They are gadgets designed to ruin my most precious time, and in order to work effectively, they must be as annoying as possible. Which is why I was intrigued by Nintendo’s surprise reveal of Alarmo.

The Alarmo connects to the internet to update its firmware, download new themes, and sync with your Nintendo account for vague purposes (Nintendo requires you to have a paid Switch Online account if you want to pre-order the clock ahead of its November launch, which might be the only reason).

The Alarmo — officially, the “Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo” — is available to purchase in “early access” for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers and at the Nintendo NY store. We’ve actually already picked one up, and we’ve published some initial impressions and a bunch of photos. Here’s all of our coverage of Nintendo’s Alarmo clock.

If you're dying to know more about the Alarmo, Nintendo's oddball clock, we've got more details and a much closer look at its design.

Nintendo announces that the Alarmo alarm clock, which plays a variety of nostalgic music, has sold out a day after the device's initial reveal.

The Verge’s senior entertainment editor Andrew Webster will have a full review of Alarmo coming up, but I wanted to check it out for myself. Mostly, I was curious about the audio quality. If the speaker in this relatively tiny clock sound tinny or shrill, that would ruin the whole concept for me.