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Netatmo expands iOS-friendly Weather Station with Rain Gauge

Netatmo introduced its Weather Station (US$179) to the world in 2012, providing an easy way for iPhone owners to track indoor and outdoor temperatures and air quality at their homes or offices. Since that time, a vast number of users have enjoyed the ease of use of the free iOS app and the ability to see what's going on weather-wise not only in and around their own homes, but across the world through shared data. While I've used the Netatmo Weather Station for almost two years and have been impressed with how it just chugs along sending out data, I've regretted not having the ability to know how much precipitation has fallen at my home. The company has just released a new accessory for the Weather Station -- a $79 Rain Gauge that works with the base station to add precipitation measurement to the mix.

Specifications

• Dimensions: Funnel diameter: 5.0 in (12.7 cm), base diameter 3.5 in (8.89 cm), height 4.5 in (11.43 cm)


• Weight: 7.3 oz (206.95 gms)


• Type of rain gauge: tipping bucket


• Measuring range: .2 mm/hr to 900 mm/hr (.0078 inches/hr to 35.43 inches/hr)


• Accuracy: 1 mm/hr (.0394 inches/hr)


• Max. distance between base station and rain gauge: 100 m (328 feet)


• Power: Two AAA batteries (included)

Design Highlights

Netatmo's Weather Station is very stylish, with the interior base station being a sleek aluminum cylinder that does all of its work without being obtrusive. Likewise, the Rain Gauge is very attractive and would not be out of place on a patio or veranda.

On the bottom of the Rain Gauge is a common tripod screw mount, which means that it can be placed atop a number of widely available mounting options. For my tests, I just put the device on the ground -- not the best location, but it was for a temporary test.

The actual rain gauge is located within the body of the device under the funnel area. It uses a very common type of gauge called a "tipping bucket" -- there is a seesaw-like mechanism with two tiny buckets, one on each side of a counter. When a bucket fills with rain, it tips and empties itself while the other fills up. The back and forth motion of the mechanism is counted, which provides a highly accurate measure of just how much rain has fallen.

Functionality Highlights

The Rain Gauge was quite easy to add to the Netatmo Weather Station network, even without instructions (this was a pre-release unit). The process simply required pressing the top of the base station until the seldom-seen LED on the front of the unit glowed blue, at which point it restarted and added the gauge.

Once the Rain Gauge was added to the system, it was just a matter of waiting for rain. Here in dry Colorado, I was concerned that I might have to wait weeks until I'd be able to send the unit back to Netatmo, but fortunately we received a nice downpour last night that started at about 6 PM and dumped rain on and off for about four hours.

I own and operate a "professional" weather station, so I was able to make a comparison of the readings I got from both stations. Sure enough, both stations showed the rain starting and ending at about the same time. Looking at the hourly precipitation totals in the Netatmo app showed .06 inches in the first hour, .12 inches in the second hour, .09 inches in the third hour, and .13 inches in the fourth hour for a total of .40 inches. My other station showed .09 inches in the first hour, .15 inches in the second hour, .12 inches in the third hour, and .13 inches in the fourth hour for a total of .49 inches.

Upon retrieving the Netatmo Rain Gauge this morning I found out why it didn't measure as much precipitation as the other station -- it was located near some trees that are currently budding out and the funnel had a lot of "tree debris" that was blocking it. For the most part, though, I felt that the Netatmo gauge worked well and accurately measured as much of the rain as it could.

Conclusion

The Rain Gauge is a welcome addition to the Netatmo Weather Station ecosystem and adds another data point to any personal weather records you may wish to keep. Especially in drier climates, knowing exactly how much precipitation you received at your location can help save water used in keeping lawns and gardens thriving, and you'll always have that information on your iPhone with the Netatmo app. While the Rain Gauge is more pricy than a standard manual rain gauge, just think of it this way -- you don't have to empty the Netatmo Rain Gauge once a day.

Rating: 4 stars out of 4 stars possible

Today in the App Store -- the best free apps, new apps and app updates

Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.

Apps Now Free

Flowpaper [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Flowpaper is an interactive drawing tool that lets you make beautiful flowing paintings using your finger tip.

Video Touch - Musical Instruments [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Great 48 videos to entertain and educate your child!

Moves [iPhone; Now free, down from $2.99] Moves automatically tracks your everyday exercise, commuting and time spent in important places.

Nightfall [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] The sun has retreated from the earth, a week ago it shone its last, and now chaos has begun.

aTimeLogger 2 [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] Application for tracking your everyday activities. Spending only a few minutes a day on this app you will get daily, weekly and monthly statistics in the form of diagrams and graphs.

tempoTeacher [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $2.99] TempoTeacher has all of the features you'd expect from a traditional metronome and adds the missing piece: clear, real-time feedback to help you improve.

MocaDeco - Visual Creator [iPhone; Now free, down from $1.99] Create beautiful visuals that make people take notice!

BoneBox™ - Hand [OS X; Now free, down from $1.99] The BoneBox™ - Hand is a real-time 3D medical education and patient communication tool, featuring incredibly detailed anatomical models of the bones of the human hand.

New and Notable Apps

Sell on Etsy [iPhone; Free] Take your Etsy shop to new places with Sell on Etsy, our iPhone app built just for sellers!

Dance Machine [iOS Universal; Free] Turn any video into a dance video!

Third Eye Crime [iOS Universal; $2.99] Third Eye Crime is a stealth puzzle game featuring Rothko, a smooth-talking criminal who can telepathically predict where enemies will move to attempt to thwart his heists.

Horde of Heroes [iOS Universal; Free] Hordes of Heroes is a Free To Play Match-3 RPG placing the player in the role of a medieval Hero whose quest is to set out and save the kingdom from evil doers, ne'er-do-wells and generally unsavory characters.

Updates you don't want to miss

Squarespace Metrics [iOS Universal; Free] Squarespace Metrics is a quick, easy and beautiful way for Squarespace customers to monitor key performance indicators for their sites and connected social accounts, all from their iOS device. Version 1.1.0 brings the following changes:

• Support for iPad with Auto play and Multi-column layouts.


• Stability improvements.

Duolingo - Learn Languages for Free [iOS Universal; Free] Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English. Totally fun. Totally free. Version 4.0 brings the following changes:

• Winning. You can now strengthen your skills by challenging your friends or other learners around the world to a Duel.


• Feng Shui. A new navigation bar, fancy course selectors with national monuments, and cleaner design put the app in harmony with the stars.


• Nerdy. The new lesson end screens are packed with more stats that will keep you coming back for more.


• Worldwide, like Pitbull. We've added English courses for Chinese, Japanese and Hindi speakers, as well as German for Russian speakers and French for German speakers.

eBay [iPhone; Free] Tap into the world's largest marketplace with the Official eBay for iPhone app! Version 3.3.0 brings the following changes:

• Updated Home page includes Watched items, Feed and eBay Deals!


• Larger photos on search and item pages


• Product reviews now included for many items in the eBay catalog


• You can now attach photos to messages


• Selling support added for Austria and Netherlands


• Save your in-store pick up order details to iPhone's Passbook


• Brazilian Portuguese language support


• Speed improvements and Bug fixes

eBay for iPad [iPad; Free] The eBay for iPad app lets you sell, search, bid, buy, browse, and pay in an interface optimized for the iPad. Version 3.3.0 brings the following changes:

• Buy Online and Pickup Locally


• Speed and Stability Improvements


• More Search Results


• AirDrop Sharing


• Improved Shipment Tracking

The Weather Channel App [iPhone; Free] Enjoy the best day possible with the most accurate forecast available. Version 6.0.0 brings the following changes:

• Introducing our beautiful new scroll down iOS 7 redesign.


• Social Weather-Share your weather conditions with us!


• Radar maps-Faster than ever


• Design-Beautiful and easy to use. Perfectly aligned to the iOS7 aesthetic.


• Improved navigation


• App Icon

Daily App: Dance Machine turns your videos into funky dance moves

Dance Machine-The Fun Editor is a new app that lets you take a video clip and turn it into a dance video in just a few minutes. The app falls into photo & video category, but when you pair the right video with some upbeat music, there is a healthy dose of entertainment built right into the app.

When it launches, Dance Machine prompts you to import a video from your Camera Roll. Once you select a video to import, you can select a section of it for your dance clip. The app applies a reverse filter, allowing you to pick a motion that will be repeated in time with the music. You can add multiple video clips if you wish to create a longer compilation.

Once you haven chosen your slice of video, you then can add music from the apps built-in library or from your own music library. Using your own music is a paid option that requires an in-app purchase of US$1.99. The app ships with six music tracks that span a variety of music categories. You also can change the speed of the video and the number of repetitions you wish to include. You can preview the video and either ho back into the editor to make tweaks or save the clip for sharing.

The dance video is automatically saved to your Camera Roll and you also can share it via Message, email, Facebook or Vimeo. Dance Machine is free and watermarks each video you compile, but you can remove the watermark via a $1.99 in-app purchase. This purchase also unlocks your iTunes music library and allows you to import your own music for your dance video clips.

Dance Machine is a quick and easy way to add music to your video, and you can produce some fun results. The over experience is positive, but there are a few features that could use some polishing. Selecting the correct start and end points of a video is a challenge as the controls don't zoom into the clip like they do when you trim video in iOS. You'd be better off editing the clip in iOS and then importing into the Dance Machine app. Also, I could not trim the audio to select my favorite section and was forced to use the song from its opening notes.

Dance Machine-The Fun Editor is available for free from the iOS App Store.