There’s a good chance you hate your alarm clock. It’s loud. It’s annoying. And it’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. Which is why the new Hewlett-Packard DreamScreen 100 ($249) is, well, such a dream. Designed to be a companion to your PC, the DreamScreen connects to your wireless network seamlessly and, in many ways, does everything your computer already does. Equipped with a large 10.2-inch widescreen display and a small remote control, it’s loaded with two gigabytes of built-in memory to store photos, music and movies. Because it’s connected to the Net, it links up with a Facebook app, provides Pandora radio and can also access HP SmartRadio, a new service that brings together more than 10,000 radio stations from around the globe. Best of all, it’s got a built-in alarm clock and digital display (complete with customized controls that allow you to choose tones or music for the alarm), access to five-day weather forecasts and a daily calendar, which makes it the perfect companion for your nightstand. So while Monday mornings won’t be getting better anytime soon—it’ll sure seem like it when you’re waking up next to one of these.
Chris Yuscavage is the former lifestyle editor at VIBE and lives in Jersey City, N.J.