When you think of personal weather stations, you probably think of the traditional kind: A hefty sensor suite and a large console display to match. WeatherAtPoint is different — it actually fits on your keychain.
New York City-based startup MindLab Solution has shrunk the weather station basics into a small package. When you need weather data, you simply pull out the sensor package from the bullet-shaped case, plug it into your device’s headphone port, and open the app.
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WeatherAtPoint measures temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. It also has an ambient light sensor that can also measure UV levels, making it useful for outdoor activities where sun exposure is a concern.
The device will retail for anywhere between $60 and $90 depending on desired case finish — aluminum or titanium — when it goes into mass production later this year.
This isn’t the first crowdfunding effort for the WeatherAtPoint device, however. MindLab Solution originally launched its effort on Kickstarter, raising $140,000 in the summer of 2015. The original version was beset by a host of problems, including issues where the device was failing to connect to some phones. The company announced its plans for a second version of WeatherAtPoint last year, and the Indegogo InDemand page is the company’s next step toward improving upon the original model.
The company expects to start shipping to its early backers in May, with another production run expecting to ship to customers sometime in October. At this time it appears the issues with the original model are gone, although iPhone 7 users won’t be able to use the new device without use of the Lighting-to-headphone jack adapter.
MindLab did say Apple’s adapter does work with WeatherAtPoint in a FAQ posted to its original Kickstarter page earlier this month. Kickstarter backers would also be eligible for an unspecified “special perk” for their loyalty, the company added.
