Take weather with you – but at hefty price
UP IN THE AIR: WILL NEW DEVICE BE A HIT? Technology for forecasting gets up close and personal and users can even measure carbon dioxide levels.
hen Crowded House – one of the rock sensations of the late 20th century – sang the lyrics “Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you”, they weren’t referring to a gadget.
But their song about the effect of one’s attitude on one’s environment is an apt metaphor in a world of smartphones, apps and gadgets that can monitor every element of the human and natural elements.
For a few years, we’ve had a semblance of carrying the weather with us, thanks to apps like AccuWeather, which have become a standard feature on smartphones.
Two years ago, a company called Netatmo took the concept a step further when they launched a personal weather station at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It comprised two tubular devices, one for indoor and a weatherproof one for outdoor monitoring, with the two connecting to each other and to a smartphone or computer via Wi-Fi.
It’s surprising that, for a weather-obsessed country like SA, it has taken so long for the device to arrive here. It’s now being distributed locally by the Core Group – meaning it will be available in all iStores. Eventually, all electronics outlets should stock it.
The big question will be whether it does much more than AccuWeather.
Will consumers be able to justify a gadget costing more than R2 500 when they can, instead, have a free app that does the job reasonably well?
The answer lies in how much more Netatmo offers, and how easily it does so.
We ran it through the five-question user test to answer these and other questions consumers will have before reaching for their wallets.