Why do I need Google Play store to see the temperature?

The widget needs to know where it is.

Originally that was done using Android's LocationManager API, but since Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) it doesn't work any more, and it doesn't look like it's going to get fixed any time soon:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=57707

In my case, I choose to use the Google Play Services location API instead, which works around the problem by using more than one location source:
http://developer.android.com/google/play-services/location.html

For this to work though, the Google Play Services API needs to be be installed on the phone, and it needs to be at least a certain version.

And the Google Play store is what I use to make sure that is the case.

The best thing would of course be if the Android LocationManager API started working again, but until that happens I need to do something else, and this is it.

Suggestions for better solutions are welcome.