When summer comes around, it’s tempting to kick
back in a deckchair and spurn all technology—but
some devices are best enjoyed al frescoOlly Mann presents
Four Thought for
BBC Radio 4, and
the award-winning
podcasts The Modern
Mann and Answer
Me This!...You Wanna Take
This Outside?
SWIPE AND SPRINKLE
While you bake on the beach, you can
still keep your garden green, with the
Gardena Smart Sensor Control Set
(£449). With a swipe of the app you
can see the temperature and soil
conditions back home, and automate
your sprinkler (pleasingly, visitors to
your garden can also control the tap
manually without dismantling the
smart system). The kit includes a
“gateway” box, roughly the size of an
internet router, which needs to be
constantly plugged in; a little
cumbersome perhaps, but certainly
preferable to cramming a load of
computer parts inside a hose.KING OF
GRILLING
Tons of smart products
promise to help you
barbecue, from
Weber’s iGrill range of
connected meat thermometers (from
£59) to the bells-and-whistles
Everdure by Heston Blumenthal 4K
(£1800), a web-connected charcoal
grill with internal air probes as
standard. But, really: if you want to
avoid burning your meat, all you need
is a timer. The GrillTime app (£1.99)
is simple to use, even with greasy
fingers. Just select your meat, its
weight and how you’d like it cooked,
and it’ll tell you the optimal cooking
temperature and how many minutes
to grill for, and set a timer accordingly.
128 • JULY 2019