Being able to sleep through the daily commute is one of the best benefits of using public transportation. However, the anxiety of missing our station keeps many of us from dozing off blissfully. Alarms based on duration of commute do not work well because the travel times vary based on traffic and other factors. WakeUp – a GPS-based reminder application solves this problem in a fun and interesting way. Not surprisingly, this application won the Best Utility Special Prize in Nokia’s 2010 Calling All Innovators contest.

Before you start using this application, you would need to define your destination using the Ovi Maps application on your Nokia device. The process is simple – Select Menu > Maps > Search. In the search box, you can find the destination either by typing the address or by using the ‘Browse Categories’ option. After locating your destination on the map, save the location using the ‘Save Place’ option as shown below. Now, you are all set to use the ‘WakeUp’ application.

Once you start the ‘WakeUp’ application, the destinations specified in the Ovi Maps show up on your home screen.

Before starting your commute, you would have to select your destination and hit ‘Go!’ from the ‘Options’ menu. The application now starts monitoring your location and your speed.

By clicking on the ‘Settings’ button on the bottom left corner of the above screen, you can modify your destination alerts. The application provides two types of alerts – ‘Distance to Destination’ alert and ‘Time to Destination’ alert. The ‘Distance to Destination’ alert is triggered when you are 100m away from the destination. The ‘Time to Destination’ is triggered when you are within some specified minutes from the destination. In the ‘Settings’ screen, you can also enable/disable vibration alerts and sound alerts.

Once you enable your alerts, you can relax without having to worry about missing your station. The application will alert you through sound and vibration as soon as your destination approaches. You can touch the screen or shake your phone to disable the alert. Please note that since this application relies on GPS signals, it may not work as expected in a subway train. From my experience, the ‘Distance to Destination’ alert is best for travel on a bus and the ‘Time to Destination’ alert works best for travel on a train.

In this short video made by the developer, you can see the application in action – Beware: The video is not for the faint of heart!

WakeUp is available for $0.99 (USD) in Ovi Store.

With ‘WakeUp’ on your Nokia, you can sit back and catch a few winks on your daily commute!