Best weather apps [2015]
When smartphones first hit the market, it seemed like one of the “core” apps every smartphone got was a weather app. Part of this was probably due to the graphic nature of weather information and forecasts that could benefit from a smartphone screen. Add in the mobile nature so users could always have up to date weather no matter where they were and it makes absolute sense. The fact that weather apps came pre-installed did not stop developers from working on third-party weather apps, especially if they could be tied into an existing service on other platforms like the ubiquitous Weather Channel on virtually every cable and satellite service lineup and appearing in every hotel lobby.
Like the constantly changing weather, apps to keep up with the weather frequently change as well, so we are taking a look at some of the top weather apps this summer.
WeatherBug
Heading up the list is the popular WeatherBug app. Compared to some other apps and despite attempts to incorporate some Material Design guidelines, WeatherBug tends to be one of the “busier” looking apps in terms of the user interface. That is not necessarily a bad thing as WeatherBug packs a lot of information and features into the app and, despite this, the app is easy to navigate and gets to the information you are looking for.
On the main page when starting up the app users get basic, current weather conditions with a small radar inset. Tapping on the radar opens it full screen where it can be zoomed, panned, animated and other layers turned on or off. Back on the main screen you can slide to the right to access weather details like wind data, sunrise and moonrise information, pollen counts, precipitation, hourly forecasts; and a 10-day forecast.
WeatherBug also includes a variety of activity forecasts for 13 different lifestyles like a Fitness forecast, Golf forecast, Lawn Care, or a Beauty forecast. Users can also access news, photos and live weather cams.
One feature that sets WeatherBug apart is their Spark lightning detection system. Not only can you open a map display to see where lightning strikes have been recorded, you can set the app to alert you if any come within the danger zone.
AccuWeather
The next top weather app in our guide is AccuWeather. The developers of AccuWeather have put in some work to produce a clean, Material Design-inspired user interface. However, that comes at the expense of some features as the AccuWeather app tends to stick to the basics. From the main screen when you open the app you get current conditions. This goes beyond the temperature and any current weather activity like rain to include some other weather data like pressure, humidity and wind speed/direction data.
AccuWeather tries to set itself apart by providing MinuteCast, an attempt to provide a detailed precipitation forecast for the next 120 minutes. This can be displayed using a circular graph or as a list.
Joining MinuteCast are traditional hourly and daily forecasts, radar maps, and some AccuWeather-produced videos and news stories. All of these make good use of screen real estate and drill downs are available for things like daily and hourly forecast details.
Yahoo! Weather
The Yahoo Weather app joins AccuWeather in going for an app that may not have the most features, but presents weather data in a super clean user interface. Unlike other weather apps that make use of right and left swipes to get to a variety of information, Yahoo Weather presents everything in one long scrolling screen.
Besides current conditions, users will find they can access hourly forecasts and 5- or 10-day forecasts along with a detailed narrative forecast for the next day or evening. Users also have access to a map that can show radar, satellite, temp or wind data. Unlike most of the weather apps, the Yahoo Weather radar map can not be animated to show the movement of storms over time.
Yahoo also included links to several of their other platforms like Yahoo Sports, News Digest, Mail or Finance to name a few. This could be useful for users who still use the Yahoo! platform.
The Weather Channel
Similar to Yahoo! Weather, The Weather Channel uses a single vertically scrolling screen to present information to the user. The app starts out with basic weather conditions following by more detailed data and then hourly and 10-day forecasts. Scrolling on down past some video options, users will find that radar screen which can be tapped to open to take up the whole app screen.
The radar function is quite robust with several alert layers that can be selected like severe storm warning, floods, or winter weather. Users can also choose from data layers like radar, clouds, temps, wind and others. For animation, The Weather Channel offers both past and future options.
The Weather Channel also incorporates some functions like news, pollen count data, a flu report, and airport data. Users may also notice that they encourage users to report weather data in an effort to make the app more “social” along the lines of WeatherBug. The Weather Channel also offers an option to be warned of lightning strikes.
Weather Underground
Our final weather app to check out is Weather Underground, or Wunderground. Weather Underground is based on a single vertically scrolling screen, but the developers use a simple white background, giving the app a more Material Design feel. The main screen does present current condition data, but also has a small radar inset that can be tapped to open the radar screen. A couple other data points are available on the main screen like winds data and the precipitation forecast, both of which are joined by a short narrative forecast.
Moving on down users are presented with a forecast table that can be toggled between daily and hourly, some health measures like air quality, pollen and UV, and sunrise/sunset information. A separate radar panel is available. No matter how the radar is opened, it provides extensive options for data to be displayed on the map. If you are in a storm prone area, be sure to check out the option to display the storm track.
The Weather Underground app helps users prioritize and access information by putting all of this different data on their own panels that can be dragged and dropped into a different order. Just hit the two horizontal lines in the upper right corner and hold to highlight panel. As it is moved, other panels will move out of the way.
Finally, the main menu gives users access to features like live weather radio stations, hurricane updates, and ski reports. For the hardcore weather nerds out there, you can also access Dr. Master’s blog as well as the detailed scientific discussions published by the weather service.
Closing
If you are a weather watcher, then a third-party weather app is a must have compared to the stock weather apps provided on smartphones. Even if you are not that interested in the nuances of the weather, one of these apps may be helpful for the notifications and warnings they can provide when bad weather is headed your way.
Do you have a favorite weather app that did not make our list? Let us know in the comments.
Come comment on this article: Best weather apps [2015]
Apple Store Goes Down Ahead of Expected iPod Refresh
The Apple Online Store was taken offline momentarily ago ahead of an expected refresh to the iPod touch, iPod nano and iPod shuffle lineup of portable media players. The sixth-generation iPod touch will likely feature a 64-bit processor, new colors and other hardware improvements, while the iPod nano and iPod shuffle are expected to be released in new colors only.
iPods discovered in unreleased colors (left) and Apple Store down (right)
iPods in unreleased colors were first spotted in iTunes 12.2 earlier this month, including a darker blue for the iPod touch, a new gold color for the iPod nano and a brighter pink color for the iPod shuffle. MacRumors subsequently discovered a full lineup of six new colors for the iPod touch, nano and shuffle hidden within iTunes resource files, including silver, space gray, red, bright pink, deep blue and light gold.
Top Amazon UK Prime Day Deals
Amazon is today celebrating 20 years since it was formed and revolutionised online shopping and what better way to celebrate than with a sale offering sweet discounts to members of its Prime delivery service.
Today is Amazon Prime Day and below, we’re going to highlight the best deals throughout the rest of the day. We’ve already looked at the top US Prime Day deals and now we turn to the UK Prime Day sale. First, here’s what you need to know.
You will need Amazon Prime!
Yep, the Prime Day deals are exclusive to Amazon’s Prime customers, who spend £79 per year to get free next day delivery amongst other benefits. Luckily, if you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free trial and still get access to the savings on offer.
Try Amazon Prime with a 30-day FREE trial
If you’re a student, the trial is even sweeter, with 6 months’ Prime for free and then 50% off the regular price.
Try Amazon Prime for Students with a 6-month free trial and 50% off after
Now you’ve got Prime, let’s take a look at some of the best Prime Day deals:
What to expect:
Amazon has promised it would offer more Prime Day deals than on Black Friday, with more than 450 products to be discounted in the electronics category.
Here’s how things are going down: some deals will be available throughout the day (or while supplies last). But the bulk of the promos will be lighting deals, valid for 2-4 hours or even less.
Discounts vary from 70% on smaller items like microSD cards to 15% on bigger purchases. Definitely worthwhile so stay tuned to this page for updates as Amazon’s Prime Day sale continues!
Prime Day deals as they happen…
You can find all of Amazon’s Prime Day deals here:
Throughout the rest of the day, we’ll add our top picks of the UK deals here so stay tuned
- Kindle Fire TV stick: £19.00 – 46% saving
- Amazon Kindle: £49.99 – 29% saving
- Kindle Fire HD 7 8GB without promo screensaver: £69.00 – 47% saving
- Transcend 32GB Class 10 Premium SDHC Memory Card: £8.49 – 23% saving
- SanDisk Ultra microSDHC 32GB Class 10 memory card + SD Card Adapter: £7.99 – 27% saving
- EE Osprey 2 Mini Mobile Wi-Fi with 6GB 4G data included: £24.99 – 50% saving
- Oppo R5 16GB 4G smartphone: £199.00 – 26% off
- Oppo Find 7 5.5-inch 32GB 4G UK smartphone white: £249.00 – 17% off
Remember to bookmark this page and stay tuned for more deals as they happen throughout the day. Found any other deals? Let us know in the comments below!
Deal: WiFi Protector VPN lifetime subscription only $49!
It’s dangerous to go online! Take this.
Seriously, though. The internet is no joke. It’s full of privacy threats and hackers, so you best make sure you are well-protected; especially if you are one to often use public networks. A VPN (virtual private network) allows you to surf the web with confidence, scrambling your data and deeming it useless to potential attacks. Such services are also helpful for unlocking websites with geographical restrictions, such as Netflix, Hulu and other sites (so long as you choose a VPN from the right country – in this case the USA).
Ready to protect your privacy and unlock all the fun the internet has to offer? The AA Deals Store has the right offer for you. You can now get a WiFi Protector VPN lifetime subscription for only $49, an 83% discount over the $295 original price point.
This is a great price, all things considered. And not only when you compare it to the original price, but also when you look at the prices at the WiFi Protector website, which only sells you yearly subscriptions… and for a higher price, I might add.
WiFi Protector VPN is compatible with both Windows (XP or higher) and Android (4.0 or higher), so most of us will be covered. I use VPNs very often when I travel abroad. I can tell you my tab goes well above $49 on VPN services. I am definitely going to be signing up for this one. Are you? If you are, make sure to do it quickly, as this deal will be ending in 4 days.
Buy WiFi Protector VPN lifetime subscription for only $49
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LG G4 reportedly under-performing in South Korea
The rather impressive LG G4 has had three months on the market in South Korea in which to win over consumers, but the smartphone does not appear to be living up to its sales expectations. The latest report from Korea states that just over 240,000 units have sold in the country since launch.
While not a terrible figure itself, it falls well short of industry estimates and comes at a time when LG had been hoping to boost yearly smartphone sales. The company set itself a lofty target of 70 million smartphones for 2015, which is now in doubt if the company is struggling with domestic sales. For comparison, Samsung has sold over 1.3 million Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge handsets in South Korea so far. LG wasn’t aiming for quite these levels, but this is a rather large gap between the two.
This is not the first time that we have heard mutterings about an underwhelming G4 performance. Last month analysts cut LG’s Q2 earnings expectations because second quarter shipments were set to come in at just under 2.5 million units, again missing its target. You can’t help but wonder if the G4 is suffering from a lack of demand worldwide.
LG G4 in video
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Given the high quality of LG’s latest flagship, the exact cause of the disappointing sales figures is difficult to pinpoint. Some have suggested that the impressive and more unique looking Galaxy S6 Edge is pinching much of the high-end demand. It is also possible that some customers are waiting to see what LG had planned for its second flagship later in the year or that some simply don’t see the G4 as a big enough upgrade over the G3.
Of course, this is not to say that LG’s wider smartphone range is suffering from the same problems. But without its flagship putting in a big performance, it is looking increasingly unlikely that LG will miss its 70 million smartphones target this year.
LG G4 reportedly under-performing in South Korea
The rather impressive LG G4 has had three months on the market in South Korea in which to win over consumers, but the smartphone does not appear to be living up to its sales expectations. The latest report from Korea states that just over 240,000 units have sold in the country since launch.
While not a terrible figure itself, it falls well short of industry estimates and comes at a time when LG had been hoping to boost yearly smartphone sales. The company set itself a lofty target of 70 million smartphones for 2015, which is now in doubt if the company is struggling with domestic sales. For comparison, Samsung has sold over 1.3 million Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge handsets in South Korea so far. LG wasn’t aiming for quite these levels, but this is a rather large gap between the two.
This is not the first time that we have heard mutterings about an underwhelming G4 performance. Last month analysts cut LG’s Q2 earnings expectations because second quarter shipments were set to come in at just under 2.5 million units, again missing its target. You can’t help but wonder if the G4 is suffering from a lack of demand worldwide.
LG G4 in video
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Given the high quality of LG’s latest flagship, the exact cause of the disappointing sales figures is difficult to pinpoint. Some have suggested that the impressive and more unique looking Galaxy S6 Edge is pinching much of the high-end demand. It is also possible that some customers are waiting to see what LG had planned for its second flagship later in the year or that some simply don’t see the G4 as a big enough upgrade over the G3.
Of course, this is not to say that LG’s wider smartphone range is suffering from the same problems. But without its flagship putting in a big performance, it is looking increasingly unlikely that LG will miss its 70 million smartphones target this year.
Gett tweaks its UK taxi app to help visually-impaired users
Thanks to smartphone apps, hailing a taxi no longer requires memorising the phone number of the local cab company or gesturing at a passing driver in the street. However, none of these options are particularly useful if someone is visually impaired. Gett, the black taxi app formerly known as GetTaxi, agreed more could be done to help its blind or partially-sighted users, so it acted on a suggestion by an Israeli teenager to overhaul its iOS and Android apps.
The company has built upon the stellar accessibility features already included in Apple and Android smartphones to guide visually-impaired users through its app using voice prompts. Customers in the UK, New York, Russia and Israel will be the first to enjoy the new functionality, which can also be found in other taxi apps like Uber. The app update is also backed by The Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB), giving riders more peace of mind when navigating around Gett’s 18 new supported cities.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Software, Mobile
Source: Gett (App Store), (Android)
Freesat’s latest set-top box can store up to 2TB of TV
While there are plenty of TVs available with built-in Freesat, the satellite-based alternative to Freeview, set-top boxes aren’t going anywhere soon. Freesat and hardware partner Humax haven’t released a new model in several years, though, so it’s time for a fresh box to attract new, subscription-phobic customers to the service. The Humax HDR-1100S isn’t a huge improvement over previous models, but it’s almost a third smaller than the popular HDR-1000S and comes with WiFi as standard (most other boxes require a dongle to make them WiFi-compatible).
Humax hasn’t included a front display on this new box, opting instead for LED under-lighting that changes colour to convey basic status info, which is thought to be less distracting. The HDR-1100S comes in black and white colour options and in three configurations, with 500GB, 1TB or a whopping 2TB of storage for recording movies and TV. Otherwise, the box has all the advanced features found on certain other models, including the Freetime EPG, on-demand section for streaming services, and the ability to access your own videos, pictures and music from network-attached or USB storage.
The HDR-1100S is available today from Freesat and Humax directly, as well as at numerous other retailers including Amazon, Argos, Tesco, John Lewis, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Dixons and more. The 500GB model is priced at £190, the 1TB version £220, and the generous 2TB configuration will set you back £270.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Freesat (pdf)
Rare Enigma machine sells for $233,000
An unnamed buyer has purchased an ultra-rare three-rotor German Enigma machine for the better part of $233,000. It was sold by an equally-secretive “European museum foundation” by the auctioneers Sotheby’s in London for almost twice the expected price. During the Second World War, German troops were instructed to destroy their Enigma machines to prevent them falling into enemy hands, with only a handful surviving. While tainted as a piece of Nazi memorabilia, the item is also a valuable artifact in the history of modern computing. The Allied effort to break the code and Alan Turing’s involvement would pave the way for the devices we use today and interest has been renewed since the release of The Imitation Game.
Filed under: Misc
Via: NBC News
Source: Sotheby’s
ICYMI: Pot breathalyzer, VR for pharaoh’s tomb and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: A prototype marijuana breathalyzer came out and oh lord, the glory days are over. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft got the best ever photos of Pluto and these scientists are adorably jacked up about it. And a Swiss motion capture company wants to put sensors and VR headsets together in museum settings to let people explore an ancient Egyptian tomb.
Today’s bonus had the video team cracking model car jokes and marveling in awe at the same time: A 3D-printed walking robot tank that someone with a lot of time on their hands assembled.
If you come across any interesting videos, we’d love to see them! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd.
Filed under: Misc, Robots, Transportation, Science, Internet
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