Exactly. I can see a low end watch manufacturer like Casio living them up before the end of the year.
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Pebble Unfazed by Apple Watch, Plans New Hardware and Software in 2015
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Exactly. I can see a low end watch manufacturer like Casio living them up before the end of the year.
The watch is the one place where I think Jony obsession with thinness matters. I have yet to see a think Smart Watch. Pebble and Apple Watches included. When they become thinner with battery that last several days, then I think I may give wearing a watch again a try.
For now I wish both Apple and Pebble good luck -- hopefully they will push each other to build something really special.
For now I wish both Apple and Pebble good luck -- hopefully they will push each other to build something really special.
Well, what else can Pebble do, close up because of an unreleased product?
OTOH, there's a huge market of non-Apple device users that'll never be able to use an Apple watch. The question is if that market is sustainable or not.
I'd be curious to see how many pebble users use iOS.
OTOH, there's a huge market of non-Apple device users that'll never be able to use an Apple watch. The question is if that market is sustainable or not.
I'd be curious to see how many pebble users use iOS.
They're numbered. Face it.
So cheapskates who don't know or care about quality might still buy them.
And they might fool people who have never had a good user experience.
Is that a good business model? Is the low-end sucker market worth shooting for?
Funny post. People are automatically cheapskates because they don't want or need the functions of a smart watch that iOS/Android are going to provide? There's plenty of room in the marketplace for Pebble.
Totally.
I want a watch that will give me notifications, and let me personalize it. Being able to act as a pedometer os a bonus for me, and I'm just gonna say it-- I love the pixel look of the watch, and the ability to add skins to the bands.
While Apple's watch is pretty, the price is way too high for me to think about right now. I'm extremely excited to get my Pebble soon
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Good to hear you've had great luck with it!
I see Pebble's real value as a target for acquisition by a mainline watchmaker desperate to jump start an in house smartwatch program.
I don't see how they will survive the coming squeeze (the entry level Watch's price, with a more compelling feature set, is not that far above a Pebble that a person couldn't wait and save for it.
The risk is significant for this early mover in the space to for its rep and aura to change from an early leading edge product to a product for those that couldn't afford an Watch or for those that are kinda tech clueless.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out, but I'm not betting on pebble to survive more than a couple of years as an independent.
I don't see how they will survive the coming squeeze (the entry level Watch's price, with a more compelling feature set, is not that far above a Pebble that a person couldn't wait and save for it.
The risk is significant for this early mover in the space to for its rep and aura to change from an early leading edge product to a product for those that couldn't afford an Watch or for those that are kinda tech clueless.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out, but I'm not betting on pebble to survive more than a couple of years as an independent.
Funny spin. You mentioned "expense" in your first reply.
In case you hadn't noticed, Pebble sells low-cost "smart watches."
But of course there's plenty of room for yet lower prices (death spiral fire sale.)
The price-demand curve goes way up as the price declines. There are millions who can't afford a $300 watch no matter how much they want one, and the advent of the Apple Watch will only increase their desire to obtain the best approximation they can afford. So my guess is that, as already happened, as long as the price remains 3x lower, Apple will only help them, especially with the demographics who bought the iPhone 5c and similar lower-priced models.
Speaking for myself, I love my Pebble, though I don't care at all for the looks. Lucky for Pebble, I also hate the bulbous shape of the Apple Watch, so I just hope Pebble puts out some new hardware soon. But as long as you don't mind a little hackiness in your software, the Pebble is now quite nice: the Misfit activity tracker runs perfectly in the background, I can control my music with ease, Google directions are relayed nicely to the watch while biking using PebbGPS, and of course all the notifications work without fail. It's a great little package, and I hope they can hold on to the low end a bit longer -- a least until Apple starts selling the previous-generation Watch for cheap.
Speaking for myself, I love my Pebble, though I don't care at all for the looks. Lucky for Pebble, I also hate the bulbous shape of the Apple Watch, so I just hope Pebble puts out some new hardware soon. But as long as you don't mind a little hackiness in your software, the Pebble is now quite nice: the Misfit activity tracker runs perfectly in the background, I can control my music with ease, Google directions are relayed nicely to the watch while biking using PebbGPS, and of course all the notifications work without fail. It's a great little package, and I hope they can hold on to the low end a bit longer -- a least until Apple starts selling the previous-generation Watch for cheap.
I think the one of the rationale for pricing is if one can afford $650+ for a smartphone, then a $350+ for a smartwatch.
What value it brings to someone is based on the individual usage and needs. I for one see a lot of promise in a smartwatch... and 7 years ago, I wouldn't imagine paying $800-900 for a phone, now it's hard to imagine getting through the day without one.
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I like the competition out there, but unless Pebble has better apps or app extensions it will limit them greatly in what price they can charge. The Apple Watch might start out at $349, but figure in price drops when they release new versions. In time, these deals will bring in people that buy at a lower price point like on the iPads.
So I mentioned expense. That doesn't mean I equate not wanting to spend X dollars to a person being a cheapskate. If you can't tell the difference...
Never argued with the rationale. But everyone's use case is different as use said. Lots of people these days don't really pay $800-900 for their phone as they are subsidized. On paper - many people will look at spending more on this watch than they did on their phone purchase. Psychology is an interesting thing...
I am in no way saying the Apple watch isn't a great device or that it won't sell, etc. I just think it's premature to ring Pebble's death knell.
I've owned a Pebble Watch for several months now. Bought it on a whim when the price dropped below $100. I'm guessing most the the naysayers here have never used one.
I was actually surprised at the number of apps and watch faces that are available. The app used to load them onto the watch is pretty well done.
One of the biggest problems people are having with the Apple Watch is the supposed battery life of hours. I recently installed a watch face app on my Pebble called Cyborg which keeps track of how long I've gone since a full charge. I just managed to squeak out 7 days, including 2 battery consuming runs (me physically running using the watch to monitor my pace)! Having to charge an Apple Watch daily will be annoying at the least.
Biggest problem I have with the Pebble is that, due to iOS limitations, you can't have more than one third party app supplying data to the watch, and those apps always have to be running in the background to work. I would love for my watch to make my phone less "hands on" but I still have to go to my phone and restart apps from time to time. I'm sure the Apple Watch won't be so fiddly since it will have deeper access in the operating system. And for this very reason, no 3rd party smart watch will ever be able to match Apple's watch in terms of smoothly coexisting with the iPhone.
So yeah, I'll probably get an Apple Watch for the extra bells and whistles, but for now the Pebble is a great day-to-day smart watch.
I was actually surprised at the number of apps and watch faces that are available. The app used to load them onto the watch is pretty well done.
One of the biggest problems people are having with the Apple Watch is the supposed battery life of hours. I recently installed a watch face app on my Pebble called Cyborg which keeps track of how long I've gone since a full charge. I just managed to squeak out 7 days, including 2 battery consuming runs (me physically running using the watch to monitor my pace)! Having to charge an Apple Watch daily will be annoying at the least.
Biggest problem I have with the Pebble is that, due to iOS limitations, you can't have more than one third party app supplying data to the watch, and those apps always have to be running in the background to work. I would love for my watch to make my phone less "hands on" but I still have to go to my phone and restart apps from time to time. I'm sure the Apple Watch won't be so fiddly since it will have deeper access in the operating system. And for this very reason, no 3rd party smart watch will ever be able to match Apple's watch in terms of smoothly coexisting with the iPhone.
So yeah, I'll probably get an Apple Watch for the extra bells and whistles, but for now the Pebble is a great day-to-day smart watch.
Not Surprised Due to Price
I'm not surprised that the Pebble is selling as well as it is.
The Apple Watch is cool, but it's $250 more. Most people just aren't going to spend $350 on a watch. Most people don't even want to spend that much on a smartphone, much less a watch. Generally, people want to spend $20-$50 on a watch and leave it at that.
The Pebble is priced a lot more reasonably(and affordably) at $100. It's a lot easier to see spending $100 on a smartwatch than $350. Even though the $100 Pebble looks a little cheap, it serves the purpose of a smartwatch without being too expensive.
At $350, the Apple Watch just isn't priced to sell. It'll sell, but most people won't buy one because it's far too expensive for its purpose.
And don't get me wrong, I'm a big Apple guy; I realize I don't sound like it, complaining about the price. i just can't see spending $350 on a watch.
I'm not surprised that the Pebble is selling as well as it is.
The Apple Watch is cool, but it's $250 more. Most people just aren't going to spend $350 on a watch. Most people don't even want to spend that much on a smartphone, much less a watch. Generally, people want to spend $20-$50 on a watch and leave it at that.
The Pebble is priced a lot more reasonably(and affordably) at $100. It's a lot easier to see spending $100 on a smartwatch than $350. Even though the $100 Pebble looks a little cheap, it serves the purpose of a smartwatch without being too expensive.
At $350, the Apple Watch just isn't priced to sell. It'll sell, but most people won't buy one because it's far too expensive for its purpose.
And don't get me wrong, I'm a big Apple guy; I realize I don't sound like it, complaining about the price. i just can't see spending $350 on a watch.
well, pebbles have batteries that last a week, and are waterproof.
both things are *very* important to me, and I bet for others as well.
it's said apple's will last a day and won't be waterproof.
don't care about fancy stuff on
watch, just need notifications and the ability to change tracks.
pebble is a very interesting device. if only they got their act together in the QC, both my steel and plastic have screen glitches
both things are *very* important to me, and I bet for others as well.
it's said apple's will last a day and won't be waterproof.
don't care about fancy stuff on
watch, just need notifications and the ability to change tracks.pebble is a very interesting device. if only they got their act together in the QC, both my steel and plastic have screen glitches
I have owned a Pebble since they came out. I do enjoy the battery that lasts a week. It does what I want, in that I know I get a text message in the car and I can get SIRI to read it to me. My watch does have the hardware issue where the screen scrambles, but it has been happening less lately.
I will more than likely get an Apple Watch, but since I have a Pebble, R2 will probably be my watch.
I will more than likely get an Apple Watch, but since I have a Pebble, R2 will probably be my watch.
If history can give us any kind of road map to predict what will happen, Watch will not only crush existing competition for a couple years until the competition adapts, but it will define the category. I predict in a couple months that the days of simple entry-level "smart watches" will be forgotten as old pieces of junk that barely did what was required. The new era will be like the smartphone was: all the extra stuff u may or may not want will come whether you want it or not but you will forget there were two options. The old smart watches will be replaced because of consistency and reliability. That alone will beat Apples competition, at least for this year. But it could flop. At least apple is breaking this market wide open. Even if they flop its gotten people talking.
The only reason they feel okay for now is the crappy battery life of the Apple Watch. Once Apple figures that one out, it's over for the Pebble watch. I'm waiting for the 2nd gen. Apple Watch with significantly improved battery life.
Pebble is excellent
I haven't worn a watch in ages... until I got my Pebble about a year ago. The experience is absolutely addictive. The killer feature everyone seems to be missing is the screen visibility. Living in a country with about 320 days of sun per year I can't stress enough how important it is. My phone screen is borderline useless until I find some shadow. Pebble though - perfect readability always. I can't see how would Apple make their watch screen any better than their phones in direct sunlight. So despite being Apple 'fanboy' this is a product I'm not really interested in. I think Pebble is a perfect balance of features vs cost vs usability. It has (almost) everything I want in a smartwatch but nothing I couldn't care less about - all these bells and whistles that drain battery life in other devices. Storage space for music? Who's going to listen to the music from their watch that requires a phone to really work anyways?
I haven't worn a watch in ages... until I got my Pebble about a year ago. The experience is absolutely addictive. The killer feature everyone seems to be missing is the screen visibility. Living in a country with about 320 days of sun per year I can't stress enough how important it is. My phone screen is borderline useless until I find some shadow. Pebble though - perfect readability always. I can't see how would Apple make their watch screen any better than their phones in direct sunlight. So despite being Apple 'fanboy' this is a product I'm not really interested in. I think Pebble is a perfect balance of features vs cost vs usability. It has (almost) everything I want in a smartwatch but nothing I couldn't care less about - all these bells and whistles that drain battery life in other devices. Storage space for music? Who's going to listen to the music from their watch that requires a phone to really work anyways?
I own a Kickstarter edition Pebble. I love the watch as it hasn't failed me in terms of use nor battery life. And that's the key between Pebble and the other watches, battery life. My Pebble will last me at least 3 days of constant use before needing to be recharged. Having to recharge your watch on a daily basis can be a hassle so I appreciate the battery life on the Pebble. In terms of use I love the vibration part as I can't hear my ringtone many times as the phone is in my side pocket and the volume turned down low. I have no regrets buying it and I plan to get the new version later this year if they announce it. As for the Apple watch it's still too early for me to get one. I'd rather wait for version 2 before committing to one. I will definitely get one, but a version later down the line when there's more features and all the kinks ironed out.
The Pebble is still in the $200 range if you want one that looks better than the basic model, but even that one still looks horrible compared to the Moto 360 and Apple Watches.
Remember the watches aren't just about what they do and the price it's a fashion statement for many.