Mobile attachment trend: Portable wind meters

Did you notice a strange feeling in the air suggesting the approach of a massive storm? No? No matter, because the Danish company Vaavud has developed a clever little wind meter that attaches to smartphones to provide an accurate gauge of current wind conditions. The attachment is part of a larger trend of ingenious smartphone add-ons that do everything from read your blood alcohol breathalyser style, to emit scents that turn your phone into a "smellevision." Vaavud's wind meter was designed with windsurfers and kite surfers in mind, but the creators also imagine sailors, farmers and regular Joes making use of it as well. Or you could walk around a public park reading out the wind numbers to anyone who will listen. When combined with other weather data, the meter can provide a reliable local forecast that is more reliable than an app. Best of all, you no longer have to rely on grandpa’s joints aching to know that a storm is brewing. The Vaavud wind meter is part of a growing list of smartphone attachments that point to the unlimited amount of ingenuity released when almost everyone has a personal computer in their pocket.