Apple and Google are making a lot of noise about their smartwatch offerings. Can a smaller company like Pebble still compete in this market? Let’s take a look!
Pebble Time One Month Review: Great Smartwatch or Greatest Smartwatch?
Geek Chic: Dressing Up a Smartwatch – Horween Leather Bands from Popov Leather
Just because we use geek gear like smartwatches, doesn’t mean we can’t dress them up a bit. I’m a big fan of products that help our gadgets blend into our individual style and fashion. The folks at Popov Leather in Canada helped us out with some hand stitched Horween leather watch bands to dress up our wearable gizmos. Let’s take a look!
Review: Toast Real Wood Skin for the Pebble Smartwatch
I’m a big fan of the covers made by Toast in Portland! They sent down a real wood skin for the Pebble smartwatch, so let’s take a look at the setup!
More info on Toast Products.
Galaxy S5 Toast Cover Review.
Galaxy Note Toast Cover Review.
The Problem With Android Wear Watch Screens
Wearable tech will be hot. The smartphone market is maturing and starting to plateau, so manufacturers are pushing into new territories to expand on our relationships with data and services. Google’s Android Wear platform is an excellent step in the right direction to legitimize this new market segment.
It does suffer from one fatal flaw however: Battery life.Â
Playing with several different solutions for wrist computing, my favorite so far are the watches that can best replicate the experience found on traditional time pieces. Namely a screen that can always be referenced for small pieces of information no matter what orientation it’s worn, not depending on any gestures to activate it. I mentioned as much in my last FFC VLOG.
Of course in technology land, compromises have to be made. If you want crazy new features, you have to accept some new limitations. Continue reading “The Problem With Android Wear Watch Screens”
Review: Slickwraps Glow in the Dark Cover for Pebble Smart Watches
I like my Pebble, but I’m paranoid about scratching it. Sure a Steel version is coming soon, but what about us folks using the plastic fantastics?
Not only does Slickwraps have a handy kit for protecting it, but we can have fun with some colors that Pebble doesn’t offer. Plus, this wrap has the unique feature of glowing in the dark. Who doesn’t love glow in the dark? Fascists. That’s who.
Let’s take a look at the Glow series Pebble cover from Slickwraps!
More info at: http://www.slickwraps.com/
1st Impressions: Hands on Pebble Smart Watch and Android App
We’ve played with the Martian. We’ve spent time with the Gear. We detailed the Toq.
Now it’s time to play with everyone’s favorite Kickstarter success sweetheart! Let’s take a look at Pebble, what the software looks like, how the screen responds to sunlight, and being soaked in water!
Is this the solution for wearing your notifications on your wrist?
Pebble App Review: Blockslide 2.0 (with Battery display)
We’re only a couple days into playing with the Pebble, and we have a full video hands on coming soon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a look at a few apps for this little wunder-watch.
With all the customization options available, the first thing you notice, a lot of the watch faces aren’t anything special. Mostly just static images with a clock pasted on top. Examining the wares at MyPebbleFaces can be a bit daunting when you first search through the site.
One of the first watch faces I stumbled upon, using the 2.0 BETA firmware on my Pebble, was Blockslide. It has a fun, almost Atari-retro look to the clock, with a date below the time. Instead of the time just updating, smooth animations slide blocks around to usher in new minutes and hours. It’s not only pleasant, but it’s smoother than I thought the Pebble capable of.
One of my pet peeves with Pebble s the lack of a stock battery indicator. Blockslide includes one via wrist flip. Twist your wrist over, and the time will morph into a battery readout for a couple seconds before sliding back to the clock. It looks cool. It looks really cool.
If you’re sporting a Pebble, this is a fun free watchface which has garnered a reaction from everyone I’ve shown it to.
Blockslide 2.0 (for SDK2) on MyPebbleFaces
#CES2014: UPDATED – Pebble Stepping up with Pebble Steel, Classier, Slimmer, Gorilla Glass
***Now with more pics of Pebble Steel!***
Wearables are hot at CES, and few have as much of a lead as the Pebble. With its quirky charm and developer support, there’s a lot of mind share for this little Kickstarter success story.
Now they’re refining their magic formula with Pebble Steel. Everything we’ve enjoyed is still on board, like the terrific ePaper display and app support. Now though we have a sexier, slimmer frame, in Black Matte or Brushed Stainless. Gorilla Glass will protect your display, and you’ll receive metal and leather straps in the box. It’ll also launch with Pebble
The price bumps up to $249, which even for the nicer premium experience, is still undercutting a lot of the smartwatch market. Â Full PR below.