Tuesday 28 January 2014

Pebble Steel - Pebble undergone steel surgery


Same but different - a mere change of look on the same brain and muscle prove to be just enough to get some people to click that "Order Now" button. At least it got me.

The original Pebble is still great. One of its advantage over the competitors is that it looks more like a watch. But there's no denial that it lacks the premium feel in the exterior department. Certainly it does not go very well with say shirt, tie and pant.

That's where Pebble Steel comes in. It is not the so called gen 2 of Pebble, and more like iPhone 5c and 5s which coexist. The cool steel body (and additional leather strap) can be yours for US$ 100 more than the original Pebble. I thought it will be a hot seller if it was priced at US$ 199 instead, since some less smart watches like G-Shock may cost more than that. But at US$ 249, it make it harder for someone to justify getting something that's just nice to have. Nevertheless I suspect there is still a big group of people like me who just can't resist the "Order Now" button....

Can't wait till mid Feb.


Sunday 26 January 2014

Sugru - Playdough for adults that fixes things

So my MINIX NT-1 broke. I still can't determine who was the culprit, whether it was my oversize head or my 3 year old son. The headphone was still functioning as per normal, just that the plastic headband was broken into two. I did not try, but I suspected it would be hard to find a replacement part from MINIX.

I decided to fix it DIY, and something which I have long wanted to try came to mind - Sugru. For those who is not familiar with it, Sugru is a product which is able to transform its state from playdough to hard rubber. It is marketed to "form and fix the stuff you love", and that's in essence what Sugru is. You use it to mold on thing to make it works better for you, or simply use it to fix something.


I got myself a 8 pieces pack from their website, and patiently waited for it to reach me from UK to Singapore. It took almost 2 weeks from the day I placed my order till I received it. I couldn't wait any longer and proceeded with the operation on the same night. All I needed were - 1 piece of Sugru, 1 paper clip, and the disassemble tools. After tearing the headphone apart, Sugru played the important role to gel the broken headband together. I also added a paper clip before applying Sugru, to reinforce it with a more sturdy structure. It was the first time I played with Sugru, it felt like... playdough. Forming it and gelling it to the headband was easy. Once done, I left them overnight until the Sugru harden on the next day. The headband is in one piece again, and after putting the parts together, I now have my working NT-1 back!



I love how handy and easy to use Sugru is. One thing that stopped me from getting it before, was the price and its availability. The 8 pieces pack costed me 14.43 pounds, and 2 weeks waiting time. While I definitely think highly of this product, and glad that it fixed my problem, I have doubt whether more people will adopt it. At almost S$4 a piece, you will probably only use it to fix valuable stuff, and Sugru may not give you a commercial grade finishing. The end product look, well DIY. Another thing to note is that Sugru only stay fresh for six months, though it can last longer if kept in the fridge.

Sugru need to keep its price lower and make it more available, like the superglue one can easily find in the hardware store. If they can do that, I am sure people will love to keep several Sugrus at home in case they need to fix a few things.