Wednesday 18 December 2013

My watch is smarter than yours - why Pebble got my vote

2013 was suggested to be the year for wearable tech, especially smart watches. So has it live up to expectation? In short they are still far from being mass market products, but they have surely attracted some attention.

Samsung Galaxy Gear, Sony SmartWatch 2, Pebble (retail version), Qualcomm Toq, were among the more prominent releases this year. Despite several rumors earlier, Google and Apple have not joined the party, which only tell us that the market is not yet ripe for harvest.

The answer to whether to get one now, really depends on one’s desire to toy with the concept. The watch part of it is still not ready for prime time in my opinion, mainly due to the balance that is required between battery life and features. While it is all good to have as many Dick Tracy tricks on your wrist, it will be a useless strap of rubber if it runs out of juice easily.

As for me, I am always game for new toy, and Pebble is my choice.


Although it only becomes available in retail this year, Pebble has made its name in early 2012 as the most backed Kickstarter project, which raised an astonishing funds of over $10 mio. I missed the Kickstarter version, and did not get the preorder delivery although I waited patiently for almost a year, until finally gotten mine from the Pebble online store directly in October. I have quickly forgotten the frustration of getting the watch, and have been wearing it daily instead of my pricey conventional watch since then.

During the time I have been wearing it, I find that Pebble delivers a good balance in providing the smart features without sacrificing its fundamental function as a watch.

I want to be able to see the time anytime.

Pebble is equipped with a monochrome e-paper screen that is always on and perfectly viewable at all angles even in direct sunlight. The screen is also assisted with backlight, which can be triggered with a simple twist action.

While the idea of a b&w pixelated screen may sound 1990 in 2013 context, it is a good sacrifice that improves its usability as a watch. The low resolution screen may even stands out, when you turn on that pixelated Mario watch face. It will be challenging to read an essay style email on Pebble, but short messages or notifications display just fine on its 1.26’ screen.


The idea of charging a watch is dreadful.

Mobile phone, tablet, laptop, power bank, shaver, you name it. These are the things that one may need to charge, some even on a daily basis. But watch is not in that category, at least not to most people.

One may argues that smartwatch is a new category, and empathizes that extra juice is needed for its features. But how willing is one to charge his/ her watch, and how frequent? Personally I find it hard to manage if I need to charge it daily.

With Pebble, I need to get it plugged in once a week. Of course I hope for a longer battery life, but at the moment it is as good as you can get, and it is way better than what the others are offering. Pebble makes the process connecting the power cord less painful, by making the charging contact points magnetic. It also serves as a water proof measure, so there is no hole exposed to the internal.


My $20 watch provides certain level of water resistant, and I expect nothing less when I spend 10 times more.

Says it all.

I can wear my Pebble at all times without any worry - when I wash my hands, take a shower, or even swim.

Watch should look like a watch.

Being geeky doesn’t necessarily mean that I want to look like a nerd. Aside of telling time, watch is also an accessory that complements how one looks.

While Pebble is not designer watch, its slim design is in line with conventional watches' dimension, hence making it less ‘special’ in a good way. If its design or its plastic builds start to become boring, the watch strap is exchangeable with any standard 22mm strap, and there are some third party decals that help to make it fancier.



Is it smart enough?

There are 2 types of smartwatches, one that acts as an active and self-sufficient device, and one that acts as a companion to assist a primary device. Pebble is more of the latter.

What Pebble doesn't have are hardware like camera, mic/ speaker, colored touch screen, and software wise may be comparatively less smart than say a Galaxy Gear. The area where it shines is its delivery of simple task in simple manner, primarily in notification. By default, I can receive notification from the more common applications like calendar, email, messaging, etc. With Android and the help of certain notification apps (e.g. Notification Center), one can get notification from almost every applications.

Pebble CAN be very smart, with the help of Tasker. The Pebble Tasker app allows Pebble to instruct the primary device to perform scripted tasks. On my Pebble for example, I have programmed actions e.g. taking photo (front or rear), find my phone, voice recording, lock my phone, trigger ring mode, etc. among others. The most useful feature I scripted is such that when I am around wearing Pebble, my phone will not ask me for pass code when unlocking the phone, the requirement will only be activated when I (and Pebble) am away from the phone.



At US$150 with shipping, Pebble is value for money if you compare it to some expensive dress watches that do nothing more than tell time. It will definitely make a good Christmas gift, whether he/ she is techy or not.