CES 2008: Oregon Scientific Weather Center and InstaForecast, for when looking out the window and guessing won't do.
Oregon Scientific – the people responsible for making me look like a geographical moron – are at CES to launch a clutch of new products, including some weather monitors that are perfect for weather-obsessed Brits (go on, you know you love talking about the rain). Right now we only have US prices, but we’ll keep you updated on UK releases.
The Professional Weather Center ($419.99) was honoured in the Innovations Design and Engineering Awards here at CES. The swish looking touch-panel device apparently “gives you all the weather data you’ll need from your backyard”. It captures more than 10 weather measurements (wind chill, rainfall data, current indoor and outdoor temperature etc) from up to 300 feet away. So if you want to know if it’s raining at the bottom of your road without actually walking there, now you know what to do.
The InstaForecast (from $89.99) takes a more global look at the climate, and brings you weather news from up to 5 worldwide locations, automatically updating every 15 minutes during the day. You’ll need to install software on your PC, which then connects to the National Weather Service and feeds data to the device. It also monitors local weather using a wireless temperature sensor (and, in the pricier model, a humidity sensor).
Available at www2.OregonScientific.com.
