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'Pebble Time' Debuts on Kickstarter With Slimmer Design and Color Display
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I must say, I find their arguments for simplicity in a smart watch very persuasive. That said, what they've mostly done is persuade me that my current Pebble is quite sufficient.
It's only serious drawback is the looks, which this version actually doesn't seem like a huge improvement on. For $20, it's worth waiting to see what the Apple Watch brings before buying retail.
It's only serious drawback is the looks, which this version actually doesn't seem like a huge improvement on. For $20, it's worth waiting to see what the Apple Watch brings before buying retail.
I think that is a bit far-fetched. I mean I remember when I wore a watch... in the 90s. Sure I thought what I bought looked ok but its primary purpose was to tell time. I'm sure there are plenty of people who buy watches even now days that buy them due to their function and don't really care what it looks like.
(and I think the Pebble Time looks cute, I'd totally wear that especially for fitness activities, at the gym and what not. I also think the apple watch looks ugly but that won't stop me from buying it)
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I agree with you. But there is a reason that Casio watch is gold and not plastic. It's not just about telling the time.
add at least 6 months to whatever 'estimated ship date' is on kickstarter. Their original pebble was 11 months late getting to me and I was an early bird backer. Some people waited over a year for theirs to ship. Now I only use it as a range finder when I play golf because I realized how big and ugly it was.
Besides the slightly awkward kick starter approach, I find the watch itself really disappointing after their first pebble which I didn't mind in it's "minimalistic" design where plastic totally worked. Didn't care for the steel as it looked too much like the lower end casio digital watches but the new "design" is awful. IMHO of course - and obviously there are quite a lot of potential buyers out there and some don't mind a bezel or two or a low-res non-touch screen and lack of other features if the battery life is better. Also the platform compatibility probably is a big advantage for some as well.
(and no, I can't compare the apple watch to this as it's not released, I like the polished look of the renders but the apple watch looks too rounded-cornery for me really to like it a lot)
(and no, I can't compare the apple watch to this as it's not released, I like the polished look of the renders but the apple watch looks too rounded-cornery for me really to like it a lot)
I wouldn't say it's negativity or being against Pebble, it's more sympathy towards those who buy them.
Hmm.. well I have pre-ordered one, just to get my foot in as I then have 31 day's to think about if I want one or not?
Kinda interested, but kinda not as I want to see what the Apple watch has to offer.
The Apple watch looks nicer and offers more with the heart rate monitor, but the Pebble has a cheeky charm about it and a decent battery life. Maybe I'll get both?
Hopefully we will find out more about the Apple watch over the next couple of weeks. I nearly got the first Pebble.
Nearly 6.5 million pledged now!
Kinda interested, but kinda not as I want to see what the Apple watch has to offer.
The Apple watch looks nicer and offers more with the heart rate monitor, but the Pebble has a cheeky charm about it and a decent battery life. Maybe I'll get both?
Hopefully we will find out more about the Apple watch over the next couple of weeks. I nearly got the first Pebble.
Nearly 6.5 million pledged now!
Ha - I agree. It's quite telling that this many people are willing to accept, even embrace, mediocre (at best) design.
It's also suggestive that Apple should sell millions of Watches, even if they're battery challenged and more expensive.
Exactly my thoughts on the iOS 7 design. But this watch looks much better than that POS design. Still love my iPhone though and my Pebble.
why would anyone invest into this kind of crap. Yu could by watch from 90's or invest intowatch.
Not to single you out, but neither of those are "investments", and if they are, they are bad ones that the buyer knows will depreciate, without fail. It's a purchase, nothing more, nothing less.
(I know all the case makers love to say protect your investment, but that is just playing in on the buyers fears.)
IMO they seem to have missed the mark on design. I actually prefer the design of the Pebble Steel as it looks sleek and stylish. I own a Kickstarter ed. of the Pebble and love it. Now it's design is simple and yes, not as stylish as the Steel, but it's a reliable piece of hardware. For some reason the look of this new design makes the screen look smaller. Is it me or does it look like it has 2 bezels (the steel bezel on the outside edge and the black screen margins)?
I was opting out of the Apple watch hype as a "day" battery life is ridiculous. And that "day" is based on Apple's creative math. This is what we criticized the Gear on and we simply can't accept the Apple watch just because it's Apple. It's got a lot of bells and whistles, but if you can't use it late in the day because it's out of juice, why bother? I really was hoping for an improvement on the Pebble, but keeping a sleeker style. Oh well I may have to now wait for the Apple Watch version 2 before I replace my Pebble.
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What... wait... where's the calculator?
I was opting out of the Apple watch hype as a "day" battery life is ridiculous. And that "day" is based on Apple's creative math. This is what we criticized the Gear on and we simply can't accept the Apple watch just because it's Apple. It's got a lot of bells and whistles, but if you can't use it late in the day because it's out of juice, why bother? I really was hoping for an improvement on the Pebble, but keeping a sleeker style. Oh well I may have to now wait for the Apple Watch version 2 before I replace my Pebble.
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What... wait... where's the calculator?
I'm liking it!
Funny how those who have seen just a few images can comment so negatively on the design. I think the design is good and I'm a designer. I love my original Pebble and would get this one in a heartbeat. Great battery life, thousands of apps and watch faces, simplicity of design, great new fitness apps. But...I would only use it until the Apple Watch works out the inevitable kinks and the price lowers to something not so ridiculous. That's Pebble's market and I think they know that.
Funny how those who have seen just a few images can comment so negatively on the design. I think the design is good and I'm a designer. I love my original Pebble and would get this one in a heartbeat. Great battery life, thousands of apps and watch faces, simplicity of design, great new fitness apps. But...I would only use it until the Apple Watch works out the inevitable kinks and the price lowers to something not so ridiculous. That's Pebble's market and I think they know that.
I don't consider it 'creative math'.
Early cell phones were marketed with stats like '2 hours talk time, 36 hours standby time'. Did people complain that the 'phone can't last a whole day'? No. People understood that you're not going to use the phone all day talking. You'll make 10-15 minute calls throughout the day.
This is the same with the watch. You won't be using it all day. It's a COMPANION to your phone - you'll use your phone a lot more. It's simply to see the time, get alerts, etc. It's not meant for games or anything like that. It's NOT 'creative math' - it's an estimate on how use your watch.
I was an early backer of the original Pebble. While the company had some support issues early on, they have hit their stride and are generally thought to be well run now.
The product itself is great, and does exactly what it should do at its price point. It's not a "...and the kitchen sink" smart watch, it's the "does exactly what I need, and no more" smart watch. Each software update has made it even better, to the point that the interface is ultra fast, and it's easy to do what you want quickly. I've been wearing mine daily for nearly two years now. Yes, I would LIKE some more functionality. Basic color screen is one of them. I don't need to play games (although an occasional round of Flappy Birds is a distraction during boring meetings,) or watch videos. But color can convey more information more succinctly. Hopefully it is as good as the demo videos make it look.
But, as others have pointed out, the original Pebble is kind of ugly. I have a third party band on mine, which helps, but it's still on par with a cheap plastic watch. The Pebble Steel is great looking, but without feature improvements, it wasn't worth the 'upgrade' cost to me. This is ALMOST as good looking as the Steel, way better than the original. (I've owned quite a few watches, but style has never been a huge driver for me. I just want a "basically aesthetically pleasing" look. And I've never spent more than $150 on a watch.)
Between the color screen and the improved aesthetics, this has sold me on it. Plus, getting the early bird pricing, it's not outrageously priced.
The last intangible is the new "smart port." It will be interesting to see what people come up with for this. I can imagine a band that has an optical heart rate sensor in it, for a start.
The product itself is great, and does exactly what it should do at its price point. It's not a "...and the kitchen sink" smart watch, it's the "does exactly what I need, and no more" smart watch. Each software update has made it even better, to the point that the interface is ultra fast, and it's easy to do what you want quickly. I've been wearing mine daily for nearly two years now. Yes, I would LIKE some more functionality. Basic color screen is one of them. I don't need to play games (although an occasional round of Flappy Birds is a distraction during boring meetings,) or watch videos. But color can convey more information more succinctly. Hopefully it is as good as the demo videos make it look.
But, as others have pointed out, the original Pebble is kind of ugly. I have a third party band on mine, which helps, but it's still on par with a cheap plastic watch. The Pebble Steel is great looking, but without feature improvements, it wasn't worth the 'upgrade' cost to me. This is ALMOST as good looking as the Steel, way better than the original. (I've owned quite a few watches, but style has never been a huge driver for me. I just want a "basically aesthetically pleasing" look. And I've never spent more than $150 on a watch.)
Between the color screen and the improved aesthetics, this has sold me on it. Plus, getting the early bird pricing, it's not outrageously priced.
The last intangible is the new "smart port." It will be interesting to see what people come up with for this. I can imagine a band that has an optical heart rate sensor in it, for a start.
You use your phone ALL DAY for browsing the net, email, SMS, photos, and phone calls.
It is very narrow to simply claim you only use your phone to take or make calls only and then compare that usage to the Apple Watch, it's like saying you ONLY use the Apple Watch to check the time.
And more and more people are using only a mobile phone these days and have no home landline phone. So they are used more than ever.
And the Apple Watch is trying to do a lot more the be a companion to your watch. You seem to have had an awful lot of negative posts towards the Pebble watch in this thread? Why are you worried so much?
Negative posts? I don't know who you're reading....
I said that _I_ prefer the Apple Watch over the Pebble and explained why. I also explained why some people may like the Pebble (namely the better battery life). I have no agenda - I think that BOTH watches will succeed in their own niches.
Why am I worried? How do you get that from anything I said? I KNOW the Apple Watch will outsell ALL the last few years of the Pebble Watch over the first weekend. It's pretty much a given. So there's no worrying. I'm simply posting a lot today because I'm home sick (woo hoo me), and have lots of free time.
I don't really care if the Apple Watch fails. Who cares? It will fail if something out there is better, and I'll snatch up that 'something better' if it does. My money isn't funneled directly to Apple in any way, shape or form.
Your posts seem a bit defensive? And it won't be hard for Apple to sell more than a million watches will it now! But it WILL be interesting to see how many it sells, guess it all depends on the pricing, weather it fails or not only Apple can really answer I guess?
I like both watches.. hmm, don't need them really though haha. But the Pebble is a good price for a punt.
I like the smaller watch designs which both watches seem to offer, Android square designs seem pretty big. Oh and the interface isn't slow:
You're not allowed to 'defend' your opinion? That's pretty much what you're SUPPOSED to do on message boards.
Pebble is the most successful smartwatch manufacturer to date. They have sold over one million watches, as against 720K for the combined Android collection. The fact that they probably will not sell as many as Apple is no shame on them.
Long run (three years or so) I expect the company to go under --- they're just too small to compete against the giants. But I ALSO expect their personnel individually to do just fine, easily finding jobs at Apple and Google. They can be justifiably proud of what they've done so far --- Pebble is a solid product that works well, with an attractive design aesthetic. I'm not sure about their new UI, but it would be absurd to criticize it on the basis of a few screen shots.
Point is --- you can be realistic about their business chances without being as dismissive as you are about the value of what they have done.