Hands-on with Temp Pal, a kid-friendly connected thermometer

Everything is trying to connect to our phones in one way or another. For over a year now, medical tech has been high on that list. Specifically, household staples like thermometers have been "upgraded" several times over to try and be a tool you can wield with your phone. The truth is, your trusty thermometer probably doesn't need Bluetooth. If you're going to take someone's temperature in most environments, it's usually a one-off and really doesn't need to involve your phone.

On the off chance that you need to use a household thermometer for more than that one-off situation, though, the folks at Temp Pal have a compelling, persistent alternative that even works with kids.

Temp Pal

Temp Pal starts out as a small, flexible square that sits in a charging pod until you need it. When you take the square from its case and apply it to the underarm of the person you want to monitor, it connects to your phone via Bluetooth and stays connected as long as you're in the same room as the person you're monitoring. When you open the app, it constantly polls the pad for temperature information, and offers that information back to your phone.

Out of the box, it's clear this is designed for monitoring temperature over an extended period. This is great for monitoring basal body temperature and planning ahead, but there's a lot more to it than that. What isn't on out of the box is the ability to set temperature warnings on your phone. This is where Temp Pal can be especially useful with kids, especially if you've got a sick little one whose medicine is wearing off in the middle of the night. You get a notification when Temp Pal records above or below the thresholds, and you can act immediately.

Temp Pal

The most impressive thing about Temp Pal, even in the brief time spent with it, is how this unassuming little square seems to work exactly as advertised. It's light and flexible enough to not be uncomfortable when used for extended periods, accurate enough to be used as a home thermometer, and the battery won't die on you in the middle of the night. It's not flashy, it's not pretty, and it's gets the job done — kinda like regular thermometers.

If you want to get your hands on a Temp Pal, you've got a bit of a wait ahead of you. There's an IndieGoGo campaign to see this idea come to life in a larger way, with plans to ship in August for $69. While that's noticeably more expensive than your average thermometer, the ease of use if you're either planning to have a child or trying to raise one you already made is significant. All it really needs is to be here right now.

See at IndieGoGo

Russell Holly

Russell is a Contributing Editor at iMore. He's a passionate futurist whose trusty iPad mini is never far from reach. You can usually find him chasing the next tech trend, much to the pain of his wallet. Reach out on Twitter!

4 Comments
  • Technology, you are fascinating every day.
    It really is, I love the idea of this.
  • I was interested until I thought about it further. Luckily we have our bodies to monitor the temperature so the "middle of the night my fever is rising" alert for your kids - well it is coming anyway, usually in the form of crying. In addition, it is only guaranteed for 500 recharge cycles so you have to wonder how good the battery quality really is and what impact sitting on the shelf for months at a time will have on it. Lastly, why the heck is it cloud connected and what happens if the company goes out of business - oh right, your thermometer stops working. Not everything is better when connected.
  • As a mother of a child who has had a febrile seizure in the middle of the night after a sudden spike, they don't always wake up and cry. Sometimes you just randomly check on them and find them stiff as a board in the crib, burning like a furnace, and you pick them up, run fully clothed into the shower, and sit in there with them while screaming for your spouse to call an ambulance. If they want to use my info from the cloud and use it to try to predict patterns, IDGAF, so long as no parent ever has to endure that. Sent from the iMore App
  • There are fairly accurate non touch infrared temp readers out there. That will only improve. Tri Corder will be real. A MRI will be the size of a smartphone. Science fiction will be science fact. Sent from the iMore App