Pebble – the watch that connects to your phone

Pebble   the watch that connects to your phone

I think I’ve had my Pebble for at least a week now and I can say I really do like it. It’s not massive on the wrist, which was my initial concern, my wife tried hers and said it was just acceptable for her to wear too. I guess this just goes to show I have girly wrists!

Like I said in my first impressions post, it’s a watch which has a strap and a face that tells the time. 😉

It will not take or receive calls for you, it is not touch enabled, it’s simply an extension of the notification bar on your phone, but isn’t that cool!

Hardware
I have a screen protector on the ‘lense’ since I got it so I can not comment on the scratch resistance (or lack of) on the screen. The strap, although just plain black rubber, seems pretty hard wearing and the fastener is of a good quality too.

Being an Android owner I’m used to charging my devices daily so it’s a bit odd not having charged it for four or five days. In the latest firmware there is a battery indicator that shows when the battery needs charging again – handy. I noticed it in the morning when I was at work and it made it through the whole day. But, if you think about it, theres not really much to power. The manufacturer’s claims of 7+ days I’d say are valid.

The actual watch is a good size on the wrist that I have had little to no problems adjusting to it from my previous watch, which was a lot heavier.

Software
Navigation around the watch is really intuitive. There’s a”Back” button on the left hand side of the watch and, on the right, “Up”, “In/Select” and “Down”.

After the 1.8.2-224 firmware update the UI was a lot easier to navigate around, with functions like music and watch faces grouped rather than just one root/flat folder structure where everything was grouped on one level.

I have noticed that the battery last a lot longer on the 1.9 firmware than it did on the earlier ones, this may be in part due to the battery settling in after a few cycles

Pros
You don’t have to get your phone out of your pocket to decide if you want to answer the phone to someone, check a text or email that has just been received. Best of all; play snake whilst you are in meetings!

Cons
Wheres the SDK?! No RunKeeper integration yet!!!

Summary
Apart from my little rant there in the cons I can think of no reason if you are considering getting a Pebble as to why you shouldn’t. If you are in the market for an ePaper watch compatible with iPhone and Android smartphones then this is what you’re after.

As yet I have not been charged any import taxes but there is still a chance. I have read on Google+ you can get an invoice up to six weeks after taking receipt of your parcel before getting charged tax.

It cost $180 for a “his and hers”, which works out to around £120 for two. £60 for the watch, worth it? Well I think the most I’ve paid for a watch previously is around £120 and that didn’t vibrate when I got a text message

You can find all the photos of the watch you could possibly want by taking a trip back to the un-boxing!

Comments (3)

  1. Anonymous
    • Lee Marshall
  2. Zainab Malik