The world of connected things keeps growing. The AcuRite Pro Weather condition Center with AcuLink Remote Monitoring and App (United states of america$199.99) is an Internet-connected weather condition station that only and so happens to have its own iPhone app for keeping an eye on your habitation weather atmospheric condition even when y'all're away. This review is aimed more than at the app and connectivity features of this device, but you'll learn a fleck about the bodily weather station besides.

Design

I accept to admit that this is about the most unique item I've ever written a review nigh for TUAW, but the Pro Weather Center is truly an Apple-uniform accessory. The device is really fabricated up of three major components: a 5-in-1 sensor that is mounted outside, an Internet span, and an LCD display that provides a constant readout of conditions and forecasts.

The sensor features many of the things you'd associate with a atmospheric condition station -- a cup anemometer, a rainfall sensor, a thermometer, a wind direction vane, and a hygrometer for measuring humidity. It's constructed of a solid polycarbonate and should last for years. The station is powered by four AA batteries augmented by a small photovoltaic panel during daylight hours.

Inside the house and up to 300 feet away is the Internet bridge, a modest Wi-Fi radio device operating on the 433 MHz spectrum that is plugged into your router. The span is set to one of three channels (A, B, or C) selected on the sensor likewise, and literally requires no setup other than being plugged into power and Ethernet, and so pushing a "Register" push for three seconds.

The final piece is really the icing on the cake if you lot're using the iPhone app for monitoring -- it is the "tabletop display console," an attractive battery-powered, Wi-Fi connected backlit LCD console that displays all the various atmospheric condition readings.

Functionality

The Pro Weather Center does crave some setup work, equally the sensor must be mounted in a location that's non blocked from free exposure to current of air and pelting. For about $20, I purchased galvanized metal pipe pieces that worked perfectly to course a sturdy mount placing the sensor well-nigh 7 feet above ground level. The sensor must be aligned and so that information technology points due south, both for air current direction accuracy and to receive the maximum sunlight on the photovoltaic console.

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Once all the parts are in place, you can tell if the Pro Weather Center is working by checking the LCD panel. If readings for temperature, humidity, and wind direction and velocity are starting to show upwardly, things are working fine. At this signal, you lot can set a free business relationship on the AcuRite website for the AcuLink service, which is the eye of the iPhone app. I did have one result with the Internet bridge device -- when it's working properly, the twin blue lights blink like mad constantly. I ended upwards roofing them with electrical tape.

If you're wondering if a $200 atmospheric condition station can exist accurate, the answer is "yep". I accept some additional weather gear installed and was able to verify that the readings were almost identical in all cases.

There are a number of ways yous can read your weather data remotely. Offset, by logging into AcuLink.com and calling up your account, you come across a dashboard displaying widgets for the diverse instruments on your station. Each widget contains a button for setting upwards an warning, so if you wish to be notified via text or email bulletin whenever measurable rain occurs or a temperature limit (loftier or low) is reached, that'due south quite easy to reach.

The free AcuLink app displays the same information, but in an iPhone-friendly manner. To be honest with you lot, I was a bit confused well-nigh what to phone call the app. The company calls it Acu-Link in the App Shop, simply then calls it the "My Lawn Weather" app in the description. On the company's website, the service is called AcuLink. Sounds like there's a bit of a branding problem there...

The app could use some work. First, it's not sized properly for the iPhone 5 screen, so there are big black gaps at the meridian and bottom when viewed in portrait mode. Next, the tabbed pages -- at that place are six, one each for temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall, pressure and forecast -- require a physical tap on an oddly-placed refresh button that'southward on each page. Information technology would make much more sense to either have the pages automatically refresh when opened or use the iPhone-standard "pull to refresh" gesture.

Each one of the tabbed pages includes three split buttons for current conditions, records (such as record cold or hot temperatures for your station), and settings. As with the website, When the iPhone is changed from portrait to mural orientation, the app displays a "dashboard" that can contain upwardly to five widgets. However, I never was exactly sure just how to add together some other widget to the dashboard -- that type of action needs to either exist explained in a congenital-in help file or just made so obvious that any user can figure it out.

One final note -- if you're a fan of Weather Underground and want to add your station to their growing network of personal weather stations, it'due south a snap to practice so. Once everything'due south working with your site, you just need to create a personal weather station on Weather Hole-and-corner, so put the station identification (mine is KCOHIGHL29) into the proper spot in the AcuLink website settings. Literally seconds later, your station appears on the Weather Clandestine maps with current temperature and wind direction marked, and your station's readings are captured for posterity -- and science.

Decision

AcuRite has developed a personal conditions station that'south not only affordable and easy to install, but incredibly well-connected with the world. The AcuLink iPhone app could definitely use some work, particularly in both bringing it into the world of the iPhone 5 and newer models, only besides in terms of making the user interface more amenable to iOS users.

Pros

  • Low cost, accurate, and easy to install personal weather station
  • Internet bridge device makes connecting the weather sensors to the earth equally elementary as pushing ane button and changing a few settings
  • iPhone app is perfect for catching upwards on habitation weather condition conditions when you're abroad

Cons

  • iPhone app could use some work to update it for newer devices, make UI more iOS-like, and brand information technology universal (iPhone and iPad)

Who is it for?

  • The weather condition buff who wants abiding access to home weather atmospheric condition from anywhere there's an Internet connection and would like to keep automated, detailed records of the weather