In the age of the smartphone we've pretty much stopped asking, "What will they think of next?" because somebody is always thinking of something novel. Here's a fascinating new gadget from Sporty's that's as much a conversation starter as a handy tool for when you need to know what the wind's doing. It's a hemispherical cup anemometer that plugs into the headset jack of your smartphone for displaying real-time wind readings. Really.
The smartphone anemometer works with all iPads and iPhones running iOS 6 or 7 as well as Samsung's Galaxy S2, S3 and S4 phones. Download the free app and you'll be able to display average, actual and maximum wind speeds in numerical value and graph form, and you can switch between readouts in meters per second, kilometers per hour, miles per hour, knots, or even the Beaufort wind force scale, which measures wind speeds from calm to hurricane force.
Sporty's says the wind meter itself is a one-piece molded rotor with low-friction Teflon bearings that are designed for durability. We don't know what will happen if you stick it out the window in flight (Sporty's recommends against it), but somebody is bound to try it — once.
The wind meter sells for $49.95 at Sportys.com.
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