Withings Smart Kid Scale tracks your baby's weight
Withings makes a popular line of wireless body scale products that let users record and track their weight on their iOS devices. Recently, the company has brought another product to market that targets parents. The Withings Smart Kid Scale is a child-sized body scale that sends weight readings to the Baby Companion app via WiFi or Bluetooth. The app allows you to track your child's weight progress, see where your child fits with the average weight of children his or her age and allows you to track the child's nutrition as well.
I found the Baby Companion app lacking on several fronts. First, it took more than a dozen tries to get the scale to pair with the app and even then, a connection was hit or miss. The app's UI seems too convoluted as well. It's trying to be too many things and those that just want an easy way to see their baby's weight data might be put off by all the bell and whistles.
The scale itself was little better. I'm a fan of Withings' body scales because their design is top-notch and the company uses sturdy, high-quality materials. The Smart Kid Scale, on the other hand, is mainly plastic and feels cheap. A nice thing about it, though, is that the scale comes with a detachable tray, so you can lay you infant down in it to take a weight reading, but as your baby grows, you can continue to use the scale as a stand-on unit until your child reaches the ages of between 6 and 8 -- when they typically go over the 25kg / 55lb scale max.
So is this scale something parents should buy? I brought the scale over to friend's house who has children and I let them use it. While they said it was nice, when I told them the price was US$249, they told me the value-to-cost ratio wasn't worth it. I would agree -- the scale prices most parents out. It's too much money for something that doesn't offer much more than a normal scale does. After all, once your child outgrows the baby tray, why not just have them stand on a regular bathroom scale?
