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Test of the “Masqott Air Report” weather station key for iPhone

iPhone accessories connected to
applications are more and more numerous and varied. We were able to
discover a certain numberin articles on
iPhone accessories here. French societyMasqott
offers a wholesmall connector to plug into the iPhone, iPad or
the iPod touch in order to equip it with additional sensors.

These make it possible to measurethe temperatureambient, the
atmospheric pressure, l’humidityet
l’altitude, a real miniaturized weather station, which
communicates with two applications available in the App Store.

Let's discover this unique "appcessory" on the market
iOS :

Premier contact

The accessory is minimalist in its appearance, since it is a whole
small plug to plug into the sync port on your iDevice. She
is small and light, the biggest risk? that of the
lose !

The packaging displays an important notice since the “key” is labeled
“Made for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch” which is the official Apple label indicating
perfect compatibility with iDevices and the current OS but also
upcoming releases.

Upon connection, the iPhone displays a message displaying the information according to
which there is no app allowing you to communicate with, you are then
suggested downloading the official and free app allowing you to use the
data provided by the weather key.

Apps to use it

It's called "Air Report" and
is available here for free on the App Store

Once installed, you can take advantage of the sensors integrated into the
key.

You will find several screens there:

  • the altitude displayed in meters, a calibration can be carried out for a
    better precision, it will require knowing your precise altitude
  • a barometer will tell you the atmospheric pressure
  • the third screen shows the ambient temperature
  • Hygrometry is the subject of the last specific screen

The last section of the application allows you to display the evolution of these
four parameters over time in graph form. You will be able to
display two simultaneously, those of your choice.

The app is pleasant in terms of presentation, with a small retro dial which
goes well for this type of measurement, on the other hand, we quickly note a real
limit is that the measurement is not possible in the background. This is
particularly annoying for those who would like to record variations in
temperatures during the night for example.

Another application taking advantage of this sensor is offered in the App
Store,her name is
“AirComfort” and is sold for 0.79 euros here.

It allows you to display the different parameters from a health perspective.
or comfort, with graphs and information on the impact of
temperature and humidity on our level of comfort and
felt:

Of course, the sensor being located on the iPhone and not being able to measure and
store values ​​autonomously, care must be taken tonot
interfere with the hand(holding it raises the temperature).
For this, it is advisable toturn the iPhone over to get the sensor
up, it is not a problem with the rotation of
the screen.

In use the whole works rather well, even if sometimes the key is not
recognized when launching one of the apps, requiring you to kill the app and
relaunch.

The measurements appear accurate and are quick.

We nevertheless regret the absence of measurements and storage of information in a manner
autonomous which we could then have viewed on the iPhone (but this would have
necessity of an internal power supply to the module) as well as the absence of measurement in
background stain.

Another concern in use, the applications of this type of sensor seem quite
limited because we don't want to leave the iPhone in the conditions
exterior in order to measure them (even when hiking, you should have
the iPhone outside the pocket or bag so as not to interfere with the measurement
temperature for example). Its use will therefore be reserved for interiors,
for those who need it!

Conclusion

The implementation (compactness, operation) is generally successful and we
appreciates a first which consists of equipping the iPhone with numerous sensors
additional. This offers it great potential (a real weather station in
a few cm 3) regarding the use of environmental parameters, but
In the end, it's a bit like a Ferrari engine without the wheels. In fact, it is missing
need more sophisticated applications to really take advantage of
these sensors. Developers, it’s your turn!

As a reminder, two other keys are offered by the Masqott brand,
know :

The most

  • compatibility ensured via the Apple “Made for..” label
  • compactness

The least

  • compatible apps limited in number (2) and possibilities
  • no measurement in the background
  • no independent measurement

And on the same subject, find:

i-nfo.fr - Official iPhon.fr app

By : Keleops AG

founder of the site. Computer engineer and Internet specialist where he has held various positions of responsibility, Laurent has been passionate about mobility since the arrival of "PDAs" in the 90s. Journalist for 4 years for the magazine Team Palmtops (Posse Presse) and author of several books on the iPad published by Pearson.

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