the weather smart health connected cube that does not keep its promises smart health innovation

Have you ever looked at the weather forecast, prepared for it, and realized that the weather is completely different from what was forecast? This is very frustrating and yet quite common. The solution ? Have your own weather station. This is what Hector offers, the 100% French multifunction smart health connected cube.

A smart health connected cube that can predict the weatheris the main idea behind the Hector. In theory, this little machine should allow you to avoid the usual inconveniences when we organize an outing. A blue sky is announced? You can be sure it will rain. Thus, this product aims to take care of the forecast itself. If he sometimes manages to surprise, we can say that he does not keep all his promises, far from there.

Mark : HectorCategory : weather station, hydrometer and thermometerSign in : BluetoothCompatibility : iOS and AndroidPrice : 49 € 90Tested with : iPadBuy the Hector :

Hector Unboxing:

This unboxing is meant to be temporary. Indeed, we were able to meet the creators of the smart health connected little cube: Morgan Lavaux and Valentin Roy. They told us that they were rethinking the communication around their product. Indeed, rather than selling it as a weather station, they now plan to call it: multifunction smart health connected cube.

The difference ? The object is not only used to give weather forecasts, but also to manage places where the temperature is important like a cellar, a fridge or a baby room for example.

As a result, the packaging will change, we had exclusive access to the visuals of the next packaging.

For this Review, we will unbox the current product packaging. It is a transparent plastic box through which we can distinguish the cardboard box that contains the Hector. On the plastic box, information about product functionality is displayed on two sides.

Cardboard packaging, on the other hand, summarizes its content, as well as the available connections and product compatibility. It contains the Hector, the suction cup that allows you to attach it where you intend to use it, a flat battery to operate it, and the user manual.

It is a very classic packaging for a product which is placed in an average price range. We will have to see how the next packaging transforms the identity of the product and what quality it offers.

Hector design and ergonomics:

The Hector offers a very efficient design, which stands out from the competition. It is a black and white cube pierced right through on its white faces. The name of the product is written in white on one of the black faces with the typography of the product, which imitates handwriting.

It is a beautiful product that will find its place perfectly in any interior. It is also very ergonomic. Its small size, coupled with the hole which crosses it, makes it easy to handle. In addition, it allows to intelligently hide the hatch that contains the battery.

The suction cup allows you to place the product exactly as you want (as long as the surface lends itself, of course). It will fit perfectly, even on the side. So if you don't have a place to put the Hector, you can always put it horizontally on a fridge or glass.

These few good points are unfortunately not worth much when faced with a major problem: long-term use. And when we say “long term”, we are actually talking about some months, or in any case less than a year old. Indeed the device is deteriorates quickly and changing the battery does not solve the problem. So we end up very quickly with a non-functional machine, which already does not withstand rain well. So, despite the promise of "being able to install it where you want", we do not find no waterproof protection. A downpour is enough for the cube to be completely unusable.

Application of Hector:

The Hector app offers functions that are simple to understand and use. When you activate it for the first time with iOS, the launch will be immediate. You won't even need to pair your device with Bluetooth, you will be taken directly to the configuration screen of your Hector.

If you have a device with Android, things will be a little more complicated. In addition to having to connect the Hector manually to your phone's WiFi, you will also need to authorize the smart health connected cube to use your geolocation (essential for the cube to work).To do so, go to your application manager in the settings menu, choose Hector, then permissions. You just have to check “authorization” and everything will work normally.

The application then offers you to configure the Hector. You can choose what type of data you want to collect: temperature, humidity, etc. Warning ! The weather forecast is not available before 24h. It is regrettable that this is not indicated anywhere on the packaging or the manual.

All this is however tainted by a real difficulty when trying to link your smartphone to the device. The Bluetooth connection tends to drop out quickly as soon as you move away from a few meters. It will take several attempts before you can finally use the application.

Using the Hector:

Once the product is configured, it will provide you with three types of information: temperature, humidity and weather forecast.. It is possible to set up alerts when the temperature or humidity rises or falls too much in order to better manage the atmosphere of a sensitive place like your fridge for example.

The weather forecast was very accurate during our tests. These are then stored in the history and allow you to follow the evolution of temperature and humidity over a long period. All this is possible thanks to the atmospheric pressure readings that the cube makes every hour.

You can know the exact pressure in hectopascals, hour after hour, for each day of the week. This allows you not to depend on weather forecasts which are often too broad in terms of territory covered to be precise enough. If you use the Hector primarily as a weather station, you can track the exact weather in your neighborhood.If you use Hector to manage the temperature and humidity of a room, efficiency will also be there. The data is precise, readable and easily accessible. Thanks to the alerts, everything is automated and you know when the monitored room becomes too humid or hot, for example.

We still regret that the software is so slow, which makes its far from pleasant to use. We will also remember a large number of untimely closings of the application, resulting in real frustration. It's a shame, because the application and use of such an object has potential. But you still have to be able to use them.

The Hector facing the competition:

The main weather station on the market is that of Netatmo. This offers the same functionality as the Hector, that is to say atmospheric readings to predict the weather it will be thanks to pressure, as well as temperature and humidity readings.

Conclusion:

The Hector has no shortage of ideas: a small cube for forecasting the weather is a useful gadget. His application is easy to access and its minimalist design is quite pleasing to the eye. In practice, however, the product fails to convince. Her construction is very unreliable and the device breaks down less than a year after purchase. Far from resisting water, it deteriorates very quickly. There are in addition to real connection issues and usage that taint the experience a little more. Finally, the application, which offers little content, to a annoying tendency to close regularly without reason. All these problems make an attractive price at the base become too high, adding another black point to the Hector.

Good points

• Simple and readable application

• Almost fully automated with Apple

Negative points

• Does not resist water well

• Very unreliable construction (less than a year before the sentence)

• The unstable connection

• Too high a price considering the problems of the object

Design and ergonomics – 3

Application – 5

Use / handling – 5

Value for money – 4

4.3

Design and ergonomics: The object is quite pretty, but unfortunately full of design problems. While it is supposed to be placed anywhere, it is not water resistant. In addition, it degrades very quickly: in less than a year, it becomes unusable.

Use / handling: Linked to a smartphone, this small cube is easy to use and instinctive. The numerous bugs and loss of connections play against it, however, as it becomes unpleasant to try to use the Hector.

Application : If the application offers features whose simplicity will please those allergic to technology, it suffers from a certain lack of content. The connection between the machine and the smartphone is also very difficult. Difficult to appreciate an application if it is impossible to access it when desired.

Value for money: While its price makes it very active at first, it is in fact nothing. On the contrary, its lack of overall quality, and especially the fact that it operates for less than a year, prevents its price from being seen as a positive point.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW