There have been several attempts to improve upon the basic umbrella in recent years – the Rain Shield, which offers shelter from the wind; the Air umbrella, which uses a fan to stop the rain; and Nubrella, which is worn like a space helmet. Now, we have the smartphone-connected Kisha.
Kisha connects to your mobile phone via Bluetooth, giving it a couple of "smart" features.
First of all, the Kisha app lets you know the weather forecast for the day ahead in your current location. This includes telling you the chance of precipitation, and subsequent advice as to whether you should take Kisha with you or leave it at home.
Like the Blunt + Tile umbrella, Kisha is also aware of its location, notifying you when your phone (and thus you) has moved too far away. The idea is to prevent you from leaving your umbrella on the bus or elsewhere, so locations such as your car, home, or office can be deemed safe, preventing you from receiving unwanted notifications.
Even without the smart functionality, Kisha is an impressive umbrella. It's built to be 100 percent windproof and corrosion-proof, with a "perfect" opening and closing mechanism, "perfect" stitching, and 16 polyurethane ribs.
Kisha is available to buy for £39 (US$59) with free shipping included. Each umbrella comes with a 3-year warranty.
Source: Kisha
