Brookstone Weathercast Wireless 5-day Forecaster

by Brookstone

Product Details

• ASIN: B001G6PC6Y
• Item model number: 532929
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,903 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 5, 2003

Product Description

Displays current temperature plus forecasted highs and lows. Built in, self setting clock connects wrelessly to the AccuWeather network to provide amazingly accurate tiem.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this type of product - the coverage may change, May 11, 2008

By 

John Kitchen "jfk9999" (Westborough, Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I bought the previous version of the 5 day weather forecaster from Brookstone via Amazon and 17 months later it is now useless. This device relies on weather data broadcast by Ambient Devices. The Ambient Devices coverage area has been changed so that I can no longer receive the weather data.

I contacted Ambient who apologized for the change, and suggested I contact Brookstone for a return. Brookstone said it was Amazon's problem since I shopped via Amazon. Amazon said "I see that you will not be eligible for a refund under the terms of our A-to-z Guarantee because your order was made more than 90 days ago."

If you check other customer feedback on such devices, you will find that this is a fairly common result.

If you are OK with a 90 day useful life, then go ahead and buy it!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible Product by Distributed by Horrible Company, November 16, 2008

By 

-L (Great Neck, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brookstone Weathercast Wireless 5-day Forecaster

Bought this a year ago - we live on Long Island and have moved three times - this thing doesn't work anywhere - even though the Ambient Devices website says there is coverage. Not only doesn't this work, but Brookstone didn't stand behind it and refused to take it back because I didn't have a receipt (IT SAYS BROOKSTONE ON THE FRONT OF IT!!!!!)....

Don't buy this.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing but Problems, June 26, 2009

By 

P. Scott Pope "Scott Pope" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brookstone Weathercast Wireless 5-day Forecaster

Being an early adopter and gadget enthusiast, I generally expect a few glitches with products like this. However, the Brookstone Weather station is basically worthless. In short, it displays incorrect cities (not where I live) half the time and the data it does display is frequently inaccurate. Note also the user has no control over the location other than having the ability to scroll through the five cities automatically listed on the device, all of which can be incorrect.

As I work on the investment side of the wireless industry, I have had the opportunity to meet people at Ambient, the company who makes this for Brookstone. So, I was familiar with the technology before I purchased this product. Ambient has been a disappointment in that they have not been able to address the issues with this weather forecaster. Furthermore, when pushing them on a resolution, the customer reps attempt to steer me to "registering" my device. This is effectively a sales pitch as the registration encourages the user to sign up for additional, fee-based services.

This particular product had an important purpose for me in that I am a bicycle commuter who needs very accurate weather information. Additionally, I like to turn my computer off at night to save electricity. It is a hassle to boot it up just to get the weather and then shut down. So I thought this would be a convenient alternative.

Currently, the device is displaying cities hundreds of miles from where I live. When it does display Chicago, the weather information is often totally inaccurate (> 10 degree difference). I mentioned this to the customer service rep who told me Ambient uses data from Accuweather and, hence, Ambient doesn't control the accuracy. However, one can clearly see the data differs from what Accuweather shows on its website for my location.

Given my experience with the Brookstone Weather Forecaster, I would suggest that everyone avoid Ambient until the company can prove their products actually work.

Cons
*Cities for which weather is displayed are wrong and can't be controlled
*The weather listed, even when the city is correct, is erroneous
*Ambient's customer service is weak

Pros
*Small footprint
*Uses less electricity than a computer
*Requires no wires or external power supply