Quick Look – Pebble 2.0 Smart Watch
Recently; thanks to a friend who bought one and did not want it anymore, I have acquired a Pebble watch. My thought on smart-watches has been that I would not personally use them, I typically don’t wear watches. It’s been 1 week since I’ve had my Pebble and I only take it off to sleep. Battery is great, connectivity is great, notifications work, apps are limited but useful, and, here’s the kicker, it tells me the time!
One week Later…
I have had the Pebble for a little while now. I still wear it everywhere I go. Recently the music functionality of the Pebble has become very important to me. I can change tracks without touching my phone or my car stereo. I find this to be safe and less distracting when I am driving, it’s also great in the shower too! I’ve had some issues with the aesthetics of the Pebble, due to its’ clunky nature it gets caught in clothing quite easily and also becomes difficult to take my hand out of my jean pockets. That is a minor issue for me but worth mentioning in a review.
Overall the Pebble is great for an early ‘smart watch’ device. Being Pebble 2.0 I am a little disappointed that it carries almost identical features to the Pebble 1.0. It seems Pebble 2.0 was introduced to make you buy a metal band watch for $200+. I find that price silly and would rather buy a Fossil or Diesel watch for that price. The watch faces are great and allow you to customize the look of the Pebble to suit you. Apps on the other hand are very hard to come by, and the ones that are available are either very limited in functionality or something that I personally do not use. From the apps available I have found myself only really using two of them; Leaf (Nest Thermostat Control) and Package Tracker. These two apps work flawlessly and are great for a quick glance or for me to turn my Nest on before I get home.
Notifications are what have enticed me to keep this watch on. It has become increasingly convenient to just glance at my watch to see who has text/called/emailed. This means that unless it’s something that needs my attention there’s no need to pull out my phone. It’s also great in meetings when your phone is going off but you can’t check it, a quick glance at your Pebble will enable you to see what is going on. If it’s a phone call and you cannot take it, you can reject the call from your watch without anyone even realizing that your attention has been drawn away.
In summation, the Pebble is a good product but not a must-buy. It’s still early days in the wearable tech war and I expect to see competitors emerge with a much more polished product. Over to you Apple…
