A little glimpse of the future - Smartwatch+ for Pebble

[sekker]

I invested in the Pebble Kickstarter campaign, with the goal of helping jumpstart an upstart company in its crazy quest to build something new.

I even got this very accurate watch that showed notifications I had to charge weekly, which was ok.

But recently, the smartwatch+ app was launched ($2.99):

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smartwat...57931?mt=8

This little app truly makes my Pebble a 'smartwatch'. My screen shows time, date, current weather, battery life, calendar and notifications. [As an aside, the author has an even better version, but it requires a jailbroken iPhone. Apple really should allow more flexibility in what developers can access in iOS.]

I know it's silly, but the easy access to instant weather info is really terrific. I use it every day, sometimes more than once. It's not that I couldn't log into my iPhone weather app, but it's just there. If the ol' Jobs' ad campaign was, 'It just works'. Pebble can go with, the info you need is 'Just there'. I didn't know I wanted such easy access until I had it (or when I lose that feature when my watch crashed the other day).

Anyway, I don't expect my post to change and have a bunch of people buy a Pebble at Best Buy. But if you wonder whether this is a market for more than early adopters, think again. My wife is definitely 'watching' - if she didn't think there was an iWatch coming in the near future, she'd buy a Pebble for herself. If the smartwatch+ developer gets the software bugs worked out (it's not as stable as I'd like), I might get a Pebble for my wife anyway. Just to keep the company that is really making the first viable smartwatch (and yes, I'm talking to you, Samsung, for your failed and cludgy first attempt that isn't nearly as good as my Pebble made from a startup of 10 people. And you, Apple - with your vaporware iWatch).

Whoever gets this REALLY right is going to make a lot of money.

[silvarios]

You got my all excited. Went to order one, and all models are...wait for it...wait for it...wait for it backordered. Darn! I'd love better access to glanceable info, without first having to fish my phone out of my bag/pocket/car console. A watch seems like a nice compromise.

[silvarios]

Okay, dug around a bit. Looks like you are right, Best Buy has stock for red and black models.

[macphanatic]

Thanks.

This will make my Pebble better until I get my Kreyos.

[RAMd®d]

but it's just there.

Exactly.


I'd love better access to glanceable info, without first having to fish my phone out of my bag/pocket/car console. A watch seems like a nice compromise.

More exactly.

Even with the 'Phone sitting in my pants' pocket, glancing at a watch would be much more natural and convenient.

I thought the Pebble was pretty interesting when I first saw it and don't think I was cognizant of a possible Apple smartwatch at the time. I knew there were wristband for the little nano.

Now that there are rumors of an Apple product, I'm waiting... ... ...

It's great to see that Pebble isn't put off by the aforementioned rumors. I won't lie... I'm slightly tempted to get a Pebble while I'm waiting... ... ...

Does Smartwatch+ have a display other than what we see in the iTunes screen shots? That is, is it a "Settings" app or can it be used as an app when you're not wearing your Pebble?

Another question-- does the display remain on all the time or do you have to push a button to see it? I'm hoping for a "one-handed" watch. Maybe with an accelerometer that activates the screen.

[RAMd®d]

Ok, I went to Pebble's site and answered my questions.

At $150, it's cheaper than I thought.

[sekker]

And the screen is 'always on'. Contrast is not bad, but my vision is getting bad enough that it's hard to read all of the smaller fonts.