Thermos gets into the connected hydration game with Smart Lid

Everyday things continue to get smarter and smarter. One of those things is the water bottle. We've seen several different hydration-tracking bottles from startups like HidrateMe and OleoApps Inc (BluFit Bottle). A much more established player is also putting some skin in the game. Thermos is set to launch the Smart Lid Hydration Bottle, which connects with the user's smartphone to keep tabs on his or her daily hydration.

Judging by the reaction that our past articles on smart water bottles have received, plenty of people question whether the average Joe really needs help in tracking hydration. After all, isn't it more a matter of ... drinking? In the time you spend checking your hydration read-out, you could have taken a full swig of water.

Still, it appears there are a whole lot of other folks that like the idea. The Hidrate Bottle raised close to US$630,000 on a $35,000 Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, and while the 2013 BluFit campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, it did raise $75,000. So it's not too surprising to see a bigger name moving into the space.

Thermos, whose brand is essentially synonymous with the portable hot beverage vessel, also does cold beverage containers like water bottles. And now it does smart water bottles. It's teamed up with training, nutrition and physical therapy company EXOS in designing the Smart Lid Hydration Bottle.

Just like other smart bottles, the Smart Lid bottle syncs up with your iOS smartphone and prompts you to enter in personal information like age, weight and activity level. It develops a hydration goal based on that information and allows you to track your hydration on your phone and set up alerts to ensure you keep drinking. The bottle tracks how much you're drinking by way of its capacity-sensing tube that also reads cold liquid temperature.

The 24-oz (710-ml) Smart Lid bottle uses Bluetooth Smart to provide connectivity to phones within 75 feet (23 m). It's powered by a USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery designed to last for 12 days. With an estimated 500 charge/recharge cycles, the non-replaceable battery's lifespan will be close to 10 years, assuming you charge it once a week.

Thermos first revealed the Smart Lid bottle at the International Home + Housewares Show in March, and is showing it at this week's Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. It plans to get it to market in Northern Hemisphere Fall for a price of $59.99.

For those that might balk at the idea of paying $60 for a water bottle, Thermos also offers a simpler, less smart hydration-tracking solution: the Hydration Bottle with Rotating Meter. The $11 24-oz bottle's dial lets you manually keep track of how much you're drinking.

Source: Thermos