There used to be high-quality German radio controlled alarm clocks from brands like JUNGHANS, using frog design. Which didn't fall over when you touched it.
Why is there not one quality product with great design on the market anymore, just super cheap looking products imported from Asia and sold by companies that are not well known household brands?
Today the only radio controlled alarm clocks seem to come from Asia, probably designed there as well. Sold under no or dead brands.
Actually there is the BRAUN BNC016 (not that cheap actually - about the same price as the original JUNGHANS MEGA alarm 1 in the 1990s) but coming from Zeon Ltd./Mebus, companies that are engaging in the cheapest of the cheap. And is it even DCF77 radio controlled at all?
Hong Kong company (what a shame that the once reputable German brand BRAUN is slapped onto cheap imports from Asia these days)
Who is the OEM?
The same cheap Asian imports are sold by different companies under different names, yet the product looks the same all the time.
- Zeon https://zeonltd.com/products/zeon-digital-bedside-analogue-alarm-clock-black-1 (Made in China) (Doesn't mention "radio controlled")
- TFA Dostmann Digitaler Funk-Wecker 60.2545 https://www.tfa-dostmann.de/produkt/digitaler-funk-wecker-60-2545/ - looks identical (apart from colors)
- PEARL Bestell-Nr. NX-9241-680, identical again
- Hama Funkwecker Piccolo, identical again
- Technoline WT265, identical again. By TechnoTrade Import-Export GmbH. With "Import-Export" in the name, this company does not even pretend to design and/or manufacture anything. Everything super cheap looking. Seems to have a monopoly for alarm clocks in Media Markt and Saturn (ceconomy). Worse than in the GDR. Only one "brand" of alarm clocks! A whole shelf. All cheap Asian imports. Not one other, real, brand.
Also everything super cheap looking. Starting with the logo. Probably all imports from Asia. The company has/had some ties to Zeon Ltd. as well, since the "Braun" branded products were/are? distributed by Mebus in Germany.
- 25801, identical again https://www.mebus-group.de/produkt/25801-funkwecker/
- 51460 Funk-Wecker, Digital - Sold at the cheapest of the cheap stores, Woolworths. The white model sometimes has a cold white, sometimes a warm white housing. Screams cheap!
Where is the contemporary radio controlled alarm clock that fits the pattern?
https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1793508066757165202
https://www.tfa-dostmann.de/produkt/digitaler-funk-wecker-icon-60-2543/ Digitaler Funk-Wecker ICON 60.2543, according to https://www.tfa-dostmann.de/unternehmen/ueber-tfa-dostmann/ designed by Christian Jung at https://jungformdesign.de/: "Während der jahrelangen Zusammenarbeit mit TFA Dostmann wurden gemeinsam zahlreiche Produkte entwickelt. Sein darunter persönliches bisheriges Produkthighlight ist „ICON“. Ein innovativer, digitaler Wecker, der durch klare Ästhetik und Purismus überzeugt. Während die Form die Standfestigkeit in der Bedienung gewährleistet, unterstützt die haptische Vertiefung die intuitive Bedienung der Touch-Sensorik. Das formintegrierte Display rundet den minimalistischen, klaren Designansatz ab.". "Made for TFA Germany in PRC" is a nice way to say "Made in China". But at least it seems to be designed by an European designer. I doubt its usability is good though. First of all, do we really want to see the time in the night all the time? I am not convinced that a permanently illuminated display is the way to go. (Better would be some non-touch sensor that would switch on the illumination when needed.) Buttons are hidden on the back side, and for "24h off" you need to operate a sliding switch. You cannot operate this by just looking at the front of it! (The Junghans MEGA alarm 1 also had a sliding switch, but you never had to use it if all you wanted was to switch off the alarm until the next day.). And the whole thing seems to be a fingerprint magnet. Good design is when the pieces you touch have enough haze as to not collect fingerprints.
Design and the overall usability (e.g., when you want to press a button the whole device moves/falls over, etc.).