The reason everyone is moving to smartphones is because of the endless possibilities made available to users thanks to the app world. There are 600,000+ apps available on the Google Play Store, enough to satisfy everybody's requirements. Anything you can think of, there's probably an app for it.

Yet, as consumers, we tend to ignore the person or team behind these apps. Most of the apps on the various app stores are created by third-party developers, who spend hours and works very hard to make our lives easier. Today, we give you a small glimpse into the thought process behind the design and creation of an app, with the Alarm clock app by DoubleTwist. If you thought making apps was easy, you're in for a surprise!

What is the Double Twist Alarm clock?

Double Twist is known for creating one of the best Android media players and has also released an alarm clock app, which, if integrated with the Double Twist player, lets you choose a song or playlist to wake up to. Other features of the DoubleTwist Alarm clock include:

• Two clock modes: flip clock and analog clock, includes nightstand dim mode.
• Set alarm through one of three modes: Time, Sleep Cycle, or Sunrise. Sleep Cycle helps pick optimal wake-up times to correspond with sleep cycles.
• Set multiple and recurring alarms.
• Set a custom label for your alarms.
• Choose from built-in alarm sounds and ringtones or your favorite song(requires free doubleTwist Player app).
• Alarm volume starts out quiet and gradually gets louder.
• View time pending until next scheduled alarm.
• Set snooze duration and alarm volume.
• Swiss Clock live wallpaper.

Let's take a look at the process behind the making of this alarm clock app.

Making of

DoubleTwist Alarm was developed by Sebastiaan De With, a creative director, design speaker, and consultant. He's put in a lot of time and effort into creating the app, and has posted a glimpse into the process on his blog. Here are some of the highlights:

• First and foremost, is the problem most Android application developers have. Developing for the Android platform is difficult, primarily because of the “fragmentation” issue we're all familiar with. Overcoming this problem requires a comprehensive testing process, to ensure that the app performs consistently across all devices.
• The next stage involved designing the clock, which is not as easy as it sounds. It's difficult to find the perfect balance to create something that will be well-liked across the board. Sebastiaan mentions that he worked through multiple designs that he discarded and started over from scratch, to arrive to the beautiful design we see today.
• Attention to detail, because it's the little things that make a difference. The non-clock alarm setting UI and the perfect snooze interface are just some of these minor details that go a long way in creating a good alarm clock app.
• Special features to make it stand apart from “just another” alarm clock. One nice feature of this app is the “Sleep Cycle” option. Research suggests that we go through several deep sleep cycles, and waking up in the middle of one leaves you tired and groggy. This feature lets you choose between four options to ensure you don't wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle, at the time of setting an alarm. On the flip-side, if you have a specific time when you have to wake up, the app recommends a time to go to bed.

These are just the highlights of a detailed explanation behind the creation of this app. You can find the full post on his blog here.

Wrap-up

 Our smartphones have become an essential part of our lives. The first thing we do when we wake up is check our phones, not only for missed calls or messages, but e-mail, Facebook updates, news, and anything else you use your phone for. I haven't worn a watch since I got my first cellphone, and I'm wholly, sometimes stupidly so, dependent on my phone. Suddenly, even some thing as simple as an alarm clock app becomes essential, and the Double Twist Alarm clock is one of the best ones available.

You can check out the alarm clock by DoubleTwist from the Google Play Store here for only $1.99.