I initially just started poking around looking for an alarm application that would allow me to assign ringtones (Moto Droid) that I created to be used for my morning alarm. Luckily I stumbled on Gentle Alarm and I’ve been using it ever since. Gentle Alarm not only allows you to assign any sound file on your phone to be used as an alarm, but it also has the most comprehensive list of features of any alarm program that I’ve found. You can set up multiple alarms and profiles, but one of the things that I thought was a cool feature is what they refer to as pre-alarm.
You can have a pre-alarm go off a set interval ahead of your normal alarm. Another great feature is that you can have the alarm gradually increase in volume to a desired maximum volume. There is also a safe alarm function that will have a blaring buzzer alarm go off a set interval after your normal alarm at full phone volume just in case you sleep through it. You can also set the number of snoozes, and the interval between them for a totally custom setup. The developer is also extremely responsive in communication and editing the program based on the users experience. No more abrupt annoying alarms in my morning ritual any more. Just a nice soothing gradual way to wake up and start my day.