June by netatmo
(Sorry for the kitchen counter picture, still haven't figured out photos in this place)
The June by netatmo seemed to be the perfect solution to a problem I've frequently had; how, exactly, am I supposed to know how much UV I've been exposed to? How am I supposed to remember when I'm out how long I've actually been in the sun? How much UV am I getting in the shade?
I was very excited to see this under the shiny wrapping paper in December. Unfortunately, I had to make sure and take some photos today instead of working out a prettier photo set-up because this is headed right back to Amazon (an authorized seller, which will become important later in this post) so that we can (belatedly) choose something else for my holiday gift.
The concept is sound - a UV monitor that syncs with your iOS device via Bluetooth and will keep you updated with alerts and reminders when you've reached certain UV exposure levels. The app for your iOS device provides a forecast for the day, including sunrise and sunset times, as well as recommendations for what to carry in your bag for the day for sun safety. The forecast is just about the only part of this that reliably worked well.
(Screenshot taken after I had given up on my June and turned Bluetooth off.)
As far as looks are concerned, the June is still very much clearly a piece of wearable tech. Certainly prettier than my spouse's Fitbit but still something people would point out and ask "what does it do?" The included leather strap is of reasonable quality but doesn't do the best job of holding on to the June - the device slides around on the band and while I was out doing some light shopping nearly came off of the band, as it is only clipped on. I'd much rather see a slide-on-to-strap set up so as to prevent loss of the hundred dollar gadget I'm wearing.
There are no actual printed instructions in the booklet that comes with the device, it seems that you're supposed to divine that you need to download the iOS application and it will walk you through set up. Pay attention and keep that charger handy - you're going to need to go through the set-up process every few hours. My June kept claiming that it wasn't connected, that Bluetooth wasn't on, that there was no data coming from the June, and that on a bright, sunny day there was no measurable UV.
Screenshot taken after I had given up and boxed up my June for return. "No Data" is when it convinced it wasn't connected. Conveniently when my phone and I were away from home and outside.
I was asked every few hours to re-setup my June - a process which requires the little USB charging cable in the photo at the top of this post. When it did work for a few hours at a time, it was neat to watch the minutes of UV exposure rack up but if it couldn't take a UV reading at all on a sunny day, who knows how accurate that reading was.
Netatmo's website claims that the battery life for the June is one month. Mine made it two days and then told me through the application that the battery was running low and needed to be charged. This repeated two days after I let it charge for twelve hours. Of course, charging it means you have to re-sync it through the set-up process if you'd like to use it again.
Netatmo's website also claims that the $99 price of the June gives you "Lifetime Support." I learned exactly what that meant when I emailed Netatmo to ask for support (the only contact method provided) for my apparently malfunctioning June. The first response was an automated email that let me know that netatmo only worked Monday through Friday and would only help me if I could respond to the automated message with a copy of my receipt for the June, which I did. A week later, the response from Breiuc at Netatmo's customer support to my detailed question regarding the issues I was having with my June simply gave me instructions on how to sync my June to my iPhone (a process I was very familiar with by the end of my first day of owning the device) and a request that if syncing it didn't fix the issue, I was to contact my retailer (Amazon) to arrange a return if that did not work. So not only was I not going to get support, the representative clearly hadn't bothered to even read my message where I outlined that one of the issues was needing to constantly sync the device.
That is in no way to me "lifetime support." What happens when you're out of the return window for a retailer's policy? What if, like me, you received the June as a gift? Thankfully, my gift was from my spouse so we can simply return the June and hope that Apple or Fitbit adds UV monitoring to one of their wearable devices soon.
A sound idea, thoroughly wasted. If you read reviews on Amazon it seems that these have a hit-and-miss production and that customers either get one that works well and love it or get one that does exactly what mine did (require constant syncing, refuse to take UV readings, lose charge ridiculously quickly) and have their enthusiasm for the device dampened.
Not recommended, someone tell Fitbit and Apple to get on UV monitoring!
June by netatmo - purchased from Amazon
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