Vaavud iPhone Anemometer

Application: Phone 4, 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, iPad 2 and above,  Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and HTC One
Function: Wind anemometer speed indication
Rating: *****
Cost: App is free, cup anemometer $49.99

As a sailor and sailboat racer it is always important to know the wind speed.  There are many different options out there to help determine accurate wind speed. You could spend thousands of dollars and install a dedicated wind speed and direction system on your masthead. On the other end of the spectrum are the hand held wind instruments costing $20-$100 that I have written about in the past. The Vaavud pricing comes in on the lower end at $49.99.

The ingenious folks at Vaavud have developed an anemometer attachment for your mobile device to magically transform it into a very accurate wind meter. This was originally a Kickstarter project that received funding to develop the device.

The Vaavud attachment is easy, economical and handy. A complete list of compatible devices can be found on their website.

The companion Vaavud app is available in AppStore and the Google Play store. It uses the phones magnetic field sensor to detect the spinning magnets in the anemometer and convert that to wind speed. The design contains no electronics which could cause a failure. The simple and elegant design insures years of trouble free use. It comes in three great colors of white, red and green.

The app has been developed for both the iPhone, iPad and Android devices.  It supports the following units of measure including mph, kt, m/s and km/h. Simply tap the units display to change between the unit settings.

Features:

• Current, average, and maximum wind speed
• Graph with current and average wind speed
• Ability to scroll and zoom on the graph
• Ability to choose unit (m/s, knots, mph, km/h, bft)
• Wind range: 2- 25 m/s
• Resolution: 0.1 m/s
• Accuracy: +/- 4% or +/- 0.25 m/s
• Live map of wind measurements

If you rely on knowing what the wind speed is for your outdoor activities this app and device might be for you. I like it because I do not have to carry around another device to determine the wind speed.  Some of the hand held wind meters are a little cheaper but are not as handy.

I would like to see the addition of wind direction if that was possible.  I am a sailor so wind speed and direction would be a bonus.  If other apps on my device could use the data from the Vaavud app I would have a complete wind solution at a bargain price.



~~~ Sail On ~~~ /)
Mark