Ambient Devices Predict Weather 7-Days Ahead With Wireless Forecaster
Last month I was not so much scathing as bemused about Ambient Devices' MarketMaven, a palm-sized wireless gizmo that showed stock movements (albeit time-delayed by 15 minutes); now they're flaunting their new 7-Day Forecaster, which adds two extra days-worth of weather prediction to the existing 5-Day model.
Like all of the company's devices, the 7-Day Forecaster uses the Ambient Infocast Network - a radio system that has coverage across the US – to funnel current conditions and extended multi-day forecast to the 6 x 6-inch display. In an act of clever concept borrowing from the Orb, the backlight of the Forecaster changes from blue (indicating cold weather) to red (suggesting a swimsuit); you can also see UV index, wind speed/direction, pollen and air quality alerts.
Personally, I think this makes far more sense than the clever-but-flawed MarketMaven. At-a-glance weather forecasts are something many people log on to the internet for, and so having them in a dedicated wireless box is likely to make far more people happy than knowing what your portfolio was doing quarter of an hour ago.
The 7-Day Forecaster will be available Q4 2007, with a MRSP of $199.99; there are no ongoing subscription costs.