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Pebble 2, Time 2 + All-New Pebble Core
- zitterbewegung 10y agoI wonder why they are launching on Kickstarter and not just coming out with the product since they already are well established?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- goranb 10y agoTo get people like me to give them money in advance.
- mbreese 10y agoMarketing...
- svens_ 10y agoSeeing how fast backers are adding, they probably save a lot of headache by leaving the scaling to others. Kickstarter handles the traffic from user signup to charging the credit cards at the end. And Kickstarter already figured out how to do this on that scale.
- mbesto 10y ago1. Marketing 2. Kickstarter money is technically a donation, so you can spend the money right away if you need to. (taking a typical pre-order is little tricky from an accounting perspective if it's considered revenue)
- maxerickson 10y agoKickstarter money is technically a donation Says who? Here's what the terms of use say: https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use#section4 https://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use#section4
- adrusi 10y agoJust in terms of law: it's not an investment, it's not a purchase (since there's no guarantee of backers receiving their rewards), it's not a loan. It works exactly like when your local public radio station offers t-shirts to donors. IANAL but it seems pretty clear that kickstarter revenue would be a donation from a legal perspective.
- dragonwriter 10y agoI think the actual litigation that has already occurred -- e.g., the Washington State and FTC consumer protection suits -- have treated it mostly as a purchase (money exchange for a specific obligation), and certainly not as a donation. It's certainly not portrayed as a pure donation (money given with no specific reciprocal commitment) in Kickstarter's terms.
- maxerickson 10y agoAs a backer, I'd treat Kickstarter just like setting the money on fire. As a project, I'd be unlikely to offer a complicated physical device that I was not yet able to produce. I might put weaselly bullshit about a reward being a great sticker and up to 1 device.
- taylorwc 10y agoDonation is the wrong way to think of it from an accounting perspective (though perhaps not from a legal recourse perspective.) Preorders are not recognized as revenue. They are a debit (increase) to Cash and a credit (increase) to a liability that's usually Unearned Revenue. As you ship, you credit (increase) Revenue/Sales and then debit (decrease) the Unearned Revenue liability account. Edit: renamed 'Prepaid' to 'Unearned' -- had to brush up on my GAAP nomenclature
- ascorbic 10y agoAgreed. That's pretty much how my (UK) accountants treated my Kickstarter revenue.
- neves 10y agoThey are borrowing with almost zero interest rate. You can't find a better deal.
- tiles 10y agoThey've historically done all pre-orders on Kickstarter and were one of the first massively-successful projects to come out of it (and they shipped, too!). I'd assume it's entirely due to marketing and the ability to maximize pre-order sales.
- taylorwc 10y agoWorking capital on better terms than equity or debt. They have a proven track record, so it's not very risky to backers, and they get working capital at a very low cost. Edit: Other comments referencing marketing make a good point. PR value is big for a massively successful kickstarter.
- quinndupont 10y agoAlso, for the Core at least (the one I'm interested in) it's an early 2017 projected release date (and I have bought enough Kickstarters to know that this slips). Seems to me that a normal retail experience simply would not support this kind of anticipatory release (and it is a dealbreaker for me)
- nharada 10y agoIt's crazy to me that Pebble manages to crowdfund most of its operations like this. I assume that since the delivery dates are so close they've almost finished development on the products? So really this more of a pre-order than anything else.
- jtruk 10y agoIt makes a good platform for viral publicity. I presume that's worth the Kickstarter fees for them.
- svens_ 10y agoExactly. In addition they also don't have to care about scaling their webshop to now almost 4000 buyers in the first hours.
- spdy 10y agoWorked twice will work again. You can pay and know ahead of time how the demand will be. Should lower your purchasing prices as well if you can pay upfront. Its a smart move and they will do it again and again with every new product they develop. And they have filled order books which will help to raise money if there is a need for it.
- predakanga 10y agoTheir "Risks and Challenges" section spells it out: Pebble 2 and Time 2 is nearly complete. We’re currently ramping up at our factory and are ready to meet the estimated delivery times.
- ajoy39 10y agoYup, a preorder without the legal restrictions that come with preordering (in some US states you can't charge a credit card before the order ships). So this way they can use the money from their "preorders" to actually manufacturer the product that is being shipped, where traditional preorders are more about gauging market demand and possible using that as leverage to acquire funding to go to manufacturing.
- asadlionpk 10y agoI know Pebble has fans (me being one of them) but it seems they will reach their goal today. Which is crazy!
- delecti 10y agoThe first Pebble met their goal within 2 hours, the second within 1 hour, so it's not terribly surprising that this one met its goal within about 2 hours. Still definitely impressive though.
- lost_name 10y agoI assume if you wait a few weeks, you'll see an announcement for the Steel versions of these.
- comfydragon 10y agoThe Time 2 already is a Steel version, and the Pebble 2 is intentionally plastic ("sporty").
- lost_name 10y agoYou seem to be right -- other articles mention that the Time 2 has steel casing. I'm surprised they don't mention on the kickstarter page, it was a major selling point for me. Edit: Also interesting, the new Time 2 has an MSRP $50 cheaper than the Time Steel.
- kylec 10y agoThe Pebble 2 is beautifully, unapologetically plastic
- ccostes 10y agoI'm currently sporting a Steel (the original) and went in for the new Time 2. Agree with comfydragon that the Time looks like the new version of the Steel line. Wish they kept the leather strap, though, but maybe they will have different straps available down the road?
- shogun21 10y ago
- NDizzle 10y agoI really love my Time 1. The battery life is outstanding and while most apps are not pretty, there is a lot of functionality here. Even if you limit it to text/email notifications it's pretty great. I just went on a 6 day vacation and didn't even bring my charger. Worked like a champ.
- antouank 10y agoSame here. Happy overall. If only they supported more unicode chars...
- teekert 10y agoSame same, yeah, seeing a lot of squares for emoticons, but getting 12 days of bat life easily (just avoid often updating watch faces like with a seconds-hand.) My lower button does start to feel a bit mushy... It still clicks but not as nice as the upper one. If it stays like this, no problem, I'm just a bit afraid I will stop working exactly after the warranty runs out, and I can't see how I would be able to fix that myself. I'm hoping to get at least 4 years of usage out of this watch.
- fredley 10y agoI'd disagree over the prettiness, I think given the hardware they're working with the UI is generally fantastic!
- NDizzle 10y agoI think the UI is solid. Pretty is subjective. I agree with you overall.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- odiroot 10y agoFunnily enough I just bought mine a few days ago. What apps do you use and can recommend?
- svens_ 10y agoNever noticed that Kickstarter has live updates for money and backers.. It's crazy how fast they sell (probably in part due to the earlybird specials), almost 1k USD / second. That being said, it almost feels like an abuse of the platform. It's their third generation of smartwatches after all. I really like the new models with heart monitor though and now they've also added a pure fitness tracker-like device.
- andars 10y agoThe question of whether Pebble is abusing kickstarter came up last time around as well. I think it's ultimately up to kickstarter and I would guess they are okay with it given their 5% take ($35k in the last 45 minutes, ~$1M last time)
- cglace 10y agoI would think pebble would be able to negotiate a better rate than 5%.
- wmeredith 10y agoI feel the same way. Pebble isn't kick starting anything at this point. They're just crowdfunding interest free R&D loans with pre-sales, which is fine, but the use of the Kickstarter platform for the THIRD time seems disingenuous.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoI don't know. I like them using it much better than the usual use - VCs checking product-to-market fit prior to deciding whether to invest in a startup. Kickstarter is long past being used to actually kickstart anything, at least in tech projects.
- dragonwriter 10y agoHow is it an abuse of the platform? From the beginning, Kickstarter had often been used to fund individual product launches that were not company or product-line launches.
- howlingfantods 10y agoIf this works as well as advertised, I'm definitely tossing my Fitbit Charge HR. What a colossal waste of money that was.
- tedd4u 10y agoCould you elaborate? I've been looking at the FBCHR as an Apple Watch that I don't have to charge every night and thus could take advantage of sleep tracking. Also unlike WATCH I understand the FBCHR automatically detects runs/workouts without having to start a workout app. Thanks.
- howlingfantods 10y ago- They advertise 5 days charge but I get maybe 3 days. 4 at best. - The heartrate reader is only accurate when you're at rest. Any sort of sweat or physical activity and the reading becomes wildly inaccurate or just stops working. - The app takes like 5-10 minutes to sync every time and it won't sync in the background. So when syncing, I have to move my finger around on the phone so my phone doesn't lock and mess up the sync. I live in China so that might be the issue here. YMMV - It does auto detect but I have a Vespa scooter so everytime I ride my scooter, it counts it as me walking a shitton of steps and I have to manually go on the website to delete those activities. This is also occasionally an issue in cars. Overall, just dissatisfied with how this product works.
- xd1936 10y agoI love my Charge HR, but when turned off "All-Day Sync" I got the promised battery life. Give that a try.
- Rezo 10y agoThe Charge HR sync is garbage in the US as well. It never syncs for me unless I explicitly open the app, and even then it takes forever. "All day sync" is enabled, I've tried resets etc. no dice. I'm OK with the HR accuracy, but the sync issues make it more trouble than it's worth. I still wear the thing, but only bother to sync and look at the app perhaps once a week at most since it's so damn slow.
- emsy 10y agoI love the concept of the Core, because I often leave my phone at home. Unfortunately it requires a country whith a mature and affordable mobile internet infrastructure, neither of which applies to Germany.
- Kihashi 10y agoYou don't need an internet connection to use it. It has 4GB of storage and can do offline syncing over WiFi > You can also use Core’s 4GB of built-in storage to access your favorite playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks. > Core also works without a SIM card or cellular plan, using WiFi to sync offline music and workouts.
- emsy 10y agoOpen Hotspots in Germany are incredibly rare (due to a just recently lifted law that made Hotspot providers liable for criminal activities commited over their connection). The use cases you described can be covered with an iPod Shuffle or similar MP3 player. The interesting part is really the mobile internet connection, which is hard/pricy to come by in Germany and probably other countries. Especially in rural areas you won't get a good enough connection for Spotify. Another useful use case would be an emergency button for elderly people. Current devices are rather expensive and/or only work at home.
- SyneRyder 10y agoI don't think you need to use open hotspots - assuming you have your own WiFi at home, you can just do your syncing once you're back at home after your run. Also the core has GPS, which the iPod Shuffle doesn't. I didn't find Germany's mobile internet too expensive, I was quite happy with Congstar prepaid when I was last over there. Certainly comparable with Australian mobile internet pricing. On the other hand, Australia now has free mobile Spotify streaming (on Optus), not sure if Congstar does.
- hauget 10y agoI recently switched to 1&1 here in DE. They offer 1.5gb for 17eur with unlimited calls (without contract). You can get better/cheaper plans with a tarif though https://mobile.1und1.de/ https://mobile.1und1.de/
- epmatsw 10y agoThe Core is pretty intriguing. Love the idea of a little cheap hackable piece of hardware that also hits the iPod Shuffle niche.
- tlrobinson 10y agoAgreed. 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, 4GB storage, wireless charging, buttons + expansion port, runs Android... for $70. Not bad. I love that they're marketing it as hackable. I wish more companies would do that. I wonder what kind of interface the expansion port is.
- fudgy73 10y agoIs it free 3G? I wonder what the (if any) catch is, and I don't see any place to pop in a sim card. Looks awesome. Pebble is so underrated. I've tried out so many smartwatches and activity trackers and always come back to the Pebble Time. It just keeps getting better and better! Kudos!
- tlrobinson 10y ago> 3G Connection: Streaming over 3G, sending emergency SOS messages over 3G, or any other 3G-enabled features will require a data-enabled SIM card from a supported cellular carrier.
- piquadrat 10y agoAs somebody who doesn't use Spotify, I wonder how open the Core will be, e.g. for other audio providers like PocketCast. If I could just tell it to play the latest podcasts from my PocketCast, this would be the perfect fitness tracker for me.
- teekert 10y agoI can do next/previous, play/pause, and change the volume when using PocketCast on Android from my pebble time 1. When PocketCasts was the last used audio app, it opens and start playing when I go to music and hit play on the pts. Oops, now I see what exactly the core is... Maybe a bit different.
- asadlionpk 10y agoI assume it will run standard pebble apps in headless mode.
- jamstruth 10y agoThey state in the Kickstarter that the Core runs Android. So basically it runs the Spotify android app. Chances are that support could be added easily for other apps.
- predakanga 10y agoThe Kickstarter claims that it has 4GB of internal storage that you can load podcasts/audiobooks on. Besides that they say the Core runs "unlocked" Android 5.0, so I'd imagine you can load it up with whatever you like.
- vvvv 10y agoQuestion: I've been deliberating getting a smartwatch so this is good timing. However, I've been trying to cut down on screen time and distractions. Is getting a smartwatch a good idea?
- programmer_man 10y agoI use mine solely to make sure I don't miss calls texts, and appointments. But you know yourself. Would you be tempted to load flappy bird onto it right away? Would you forward your facebook notifications to it? Fortunately, there isn't enough screen real estate and input methods to get a lot of gaming going.
- marricks 10y agoI have a time and whenever I get a email or text I can read it on my watch first and determine if it's worth getting out my phone for. Before, whenever I got a notification I'd have to take out my phone and could get drawn into other things on it. It depends on how you use it, but I find it really good for that exact purpose.
- rtpg 10y agoPebble Time owner here: The watch has reduced my "take out the smartphone and fiddle" occurences from 40+ to maybe 4 or 5 times a day. Notifications are no longer an excuse to glue the phone to my body, so I just put my phone somewhere in the house/on my desk most of the time.
- kbd 10y ago> I've been trying to cut down on screen time and distractions. Is getting a smartwatch a good idea? You make it sound like those desires are at odds, when in fact a smartwatch supports your goal. Thanks to my Pebble, I only take my phone out of my pocket when I intend to use it. I don't even take my phone out of my pocket to reply to text messages sometimes now, since I can do it from my Pebble. Ditto for changing/pausing the song on Spotify, or of course checking the time, which I used to use my phone for before I got my Pebble (first first gen, then Time). Not to mention it's great to be able to send calls to voicemail if I don't want to answer them or don't recognize the number, and I can do that without stopping walking. I'm sure I'd frequently fire up Twitter or Hacker News if I had my phone in my hands after replying to a text, so I think my Pebble saves me from a lot of distractions.
- RijilV 10y agoCore is super cool, but I feel there's a big miss for tracking heart rate. I suppose you could cobble it together with Wahoo Fintness TICKR X and merge the data after the run, but it would be awesome to combine those two products. Also would be great to see it tie into other devices like cadence / speed sensors for bike rides. Does show that these types of devices are just around the corner, which is exciting. For me, I'll keep on trucking my phone with me until I get full integration with tracking heart rate and cycling metrics.
- dlgeek 10y agoIt pairs with the watch, which is tracking heart rate. Think of Core as a phone replacement to run the watch, not a watch replacement.
- xyzzy_plugh 10y agoDoes it? That wasn't remotely obvious from the kickstarter page. I understood it to be a headless Pebble.
- kingosticks 10y ago"Pair with Pebble Core can take your Pebble watch to the next level. When paired, Core provides a network connection for internet-enabled Pebble apps. "
- sp332 10y ago"Leave your phone at home -- We all love our phones. But when you’re out for a run, strapping a big phone to your arm isn’t much fun. We built Core for a better running experience, to give you the benefits of your phone with none of the inconvenience."
- make3 10y agoHR trackers need to touch your skin or be wrapped around your torso. This would severely impede on the devices ease of wearing/ease of use/lightness, which is it's main focus.
- headgasket 10y agoI think core should be marketed to the elderly, as an emergency button in case of theft or medical emergency. They would sell millions in Florida.
- criddell 10y agoProbably won't because of battery life. An emergency button should be able to go years between charges.
- jamstruth 10y agoAnd here I just bought a Pebble Time. Guess I know why it seemed so cheap. Hopefully this won't fragment the app marketplace and it will maintain universal app coverage across all the Pebble watches. I wonder if it would be possible for an Android Wear watch to do something similar to the Pebble: Long battery life, no touch screen, e-paper display and run alright. I imagine the colour space differences between e-paper and LCD would cause issues though.
- xyzzy_plugh 10y agoAndroid is a much beefier OS than Pebble, which is an RTOS and doesn't scale down nearly as well. Pebble can produce products at such low prices and high-battery costs because they squeeze every drop out of their low cost hardware. Most Android apps require more system resources than the entirety of a Pebble watch. Aside, I'm continually impressed with Pebble, and disappointed with Android Wear products. Taking a phone OS and cramming it on a watch seems lazy, not innovative, and the experience has never felt great. What Pebble has done feels really innovative and polished -- they've come a long way.
- jamstruth 10y agoI agree, every Android Wear watch I've seen has the same issues of lag, screen time-out time and battery life. They feel like they're trying to be something that can't exist yet because of power limitations, whereas the Pebble watches embrace their limits and don't try to be more.
- maxerickson 10y agoThe $100 Pebble Core is advertised at the link as an Android device.
- predakanga 10y agoThe Core is also advertised as lasting through "5 days of 45 minute workouts" - I imagine that 3:45 battery life isn't too tough to achieve
- untog 10y agoSad they haven't announced a new Pebble Time Round - I got one after giving up on smartwatches for a long time and it's fantastic. I get compliments on it as a watch before anyone even knows it has smart functionality built into it. At the end of the day, smartwatches are still fashion accessories and the PTR is the only one so far that doesn't look supremely awkward to me.
- wvenable 10y agoThey will likely announce a new round before the end of this kickstarter -- similar to how they announced the Time Steel. There's a video of Eric wearing a round watch with a smaller bezel.
- unwiredben 10y agoThat was explained on the Pebble Dev slack as a pre-production Pebble Time Round. They originally had a smaller bezel for that, but had to expand the size due to manufacturability issues.
- organsnyder 10y agoThat's plausible, but it could also be a convenient explanation to keep a new design under wraps until a big announcement. I currently have an original Pebble Steel. I pre-ordered a Time 2 today, but I'd love to be able to upgrade my order to a Round 2. That watch is, by far, the nicest looking smartwatch so far, from any manufacturer.
- mevile 10y ago> I pre-ordered a Time 2 today Backing a Kickstarter is not "pre-ordering". Kickstarter is not a store. Maybe you feel more confident because this is Pebble, but the distinction remains. Buying something from Kickstarter is not placing an order for something. It's investing in an idea.
- 10y ago
- blackoil 10y agoThey have reached the goal. This is crazy fast.
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- taytus 10y agoMaybe Apple watch should do a kickstarter campaign.
- guelo 10y agoWhy?
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- margaritax 10y agoBubble 2
- atjoslin 10y agoSo Kickstarter money is counted as donations, right? Does that mean that they don't have to pay sales tax on any of these preorders?
- svens_ 10y agoNo, that's not how taxes work. At all.
- giarc 10y agoKickstarter takes between 8%-10% [0]. 0 - https://www.kickstarter.com/help/fees?country=US https://www.kickstarter.com/help/fees?country=US
- joosters 10y agoSurely Pebble have cut a better deal with Kickstarter...
- giarc 10y agoKickstarter takes 5%, so that piece is likely negotiable. The 3-5% is for payment processing and it seems like it is through Stripe or Braintree. Both start at 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction but bulk pricing is available at $80,000/month (which Kickstarter definitely meets). So there is some wiggle room on both side, but this is Kickstarters profits so likely won't cut a ton of percentage points.
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- ethbro 10y agoIt's funny seeing how many people are missing the cheaper "Early Bird" tiers that are still available. "$79 or more Limited (14991 of 15000 remaining) ONE Pebble Core in your choice of white or black."
- merpnderp 10y agoThere is a $10 shipping fee in the US, and likely higher shipping fees elsewhere. I believe this is jacking up the tiers.
- julian55 10y agoI like gadgets as much as anyone but I'm still struggling to find a use case for a smart watch. My preferred mode of exercise is cycling and I already have a GPS bike computer & HRM. I know I could see notifications from my phone on my wrist but that just isn't enough to tempt me. Having said that if I did get one the Pebble looks like the best option.
- digi_owl 10y agoFrankly it seems that focusing on fitness is a distraction. The core is apparently a smartphone without the touch screen, or perhaps a mobile router with extra smarts. Anyways, i am really not a fan of this timeline thing they have been going with on their recent watch models.
- headgasket 10y agojust pledged for both core and time 2. I think this is an exiting development.
- bambax 10y agoTried Pebble, liked Garmin Fenix 3 MUCH better: it's round, it has GPS (inside, not with an additional gadget), has superb battery life and feels indestructible -- it may not be, it's just how it feels. It's more expensive but well worth the extra money IMHO.
- buremba 10y agoMaybe because it's way more expensive than Pebble?
- loxs 10y agoAbsolutely the same impressions with Garmin Forerunner 235. Pebble is way way behind.
- oevi 10y agoI also have a Forerunner 235 and I think it's the most underrated smart watch out there. It has superb battery life (up to 11 days), always on display and heart rate monitor as well as a tight integration with iOS (notifications, apple health).
- orillian 10y agoOne of the biggest issues for me with the Forerunner is the fact that it seems to have a rather laggy heart rate monitor. Looking at my friend heart rate tracking with the watch, shows rather abrupt increases and decreases in the heart rate, most notable at the beginning and end of a run. Based on the cost of the Forerunner, if the new Pebble Time 2 is as accurate or better, the cost alone might have me buying it. That said I'm on Android so I would get all the benefits unlike the iOS crowd.
- xirdstl 10y agoAre there other devices with wrist HR measuring that are appreciably better? My understanding is that if you want very precise monitoring, you're going to need a chest strap.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoWell. And I just got my Time last week... :). Anyway, I love Pebble, I like their approach with always-on e-paper-like screens. I do am however a bit disappointed they jumped completely on the fitness bandwagon. Is there nothing more interesting to do with wearables than sports?
- neuronexmachina 10y agoI suspect that heart rate/movement tracking are increasingly becoming something that wearables are pretty much assumed to have, like GPS or cameras have become in phones.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoI don't mind the heart rate / movement tracking per se, but look at the marketing done here. It's targetting pretty much only people who are obsessed with fitness / sports.
- teekert 10y agoWell there are a lot of apps, Google Maps navigation, I have an app that tells me from where and at what time my next train leaves, I use the timer a lot and a snowboarding tracker. It's my music remote control (inc Sonos and PocketCasts). But I agree... there still is no killer feature that really gives it a lot of value... Wouldn't know what it would be (if only...)
- aladine 10y agoJust less than 1 day and Pebble already reach their goal
- rince 10y agoI was using a FitBit Charge HR but eventually just grew fed up with having to charge it - the cable is (afaik) proprietary and the one they included in the box is hilariously short. So I would often forget to grab it in the morning since it wasn't by my bedside (rather bed-floor). But I did like one thing about it - having the time on my wrist. So I just bought a cheap Casio and couldn't be happier. I'm intrigued with the Pebble 2 and Time 2 - like that it's always on, and can go a long time between charges. But how does it work with iOS? From The Wirecutter, it looks like it's not a pleasant experience http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-smartwatch-iphone/#pebble http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-smartwatch-iphone/#peb... Any other opinions?
- macjohnmcc 10y agoI had the original Pebble watch and my experience was that it is a second class citizen on iOS. If you are on Android your experience would be better.
- silveira 10y agoThey just recently (a few weeks ago) released new version of the companion software for Android/iOS.
- fudged71 10y agoWell is it better?
- wlesieutre 10y agoAlso curious about this. I'm considering a switch from Android back to iOS, and a cursory googling couldn't find whether Pebble's iOS integration will let me archive gmail messages directly from the watch notification.
- eddiecalzone 10y agoMy Charge HR lasts 4-5 days between charges. I assume the charger is proprietary because the watch is water resistant, so I'm ok with that. I keep the cable at work, and set a vibrate alarm to remind me to plug it in Friday afternoons. If you do need a spare charger, they're $5-$10 on Amazon. Cheaper than your Casio watch I bet ;) Looking fwd to the Pebble2 though. IMO all smartwatches should be eInk and hackable.
- mobiuscog 10y agoUnfortunately, no Windows (mobile) support. That's a shame.
- Twirrim 10y agoWindows mobile sales have dropped to less than 1% of the market (http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-phone-market-share-falls-below-one-percent/ http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-phone-market-share-falls-be...). Not sure there is enough value in supporting it, compared to the outlay on development.
- mobiuscog 10y agoIt's obviously up to them if they want to omit even 2 million potential customers. Personally I don't get the 'not enough value in supporting it' considering the other phone systems obviously had to gain support at some point - now, more than ever considering the universal platform, Windows development makes a lot of sense. Still, it's their choice - I'll just spend my money elsewhere.
- silveira 10y agoAlthough I'm happy with my Pebble Time using watchface ForecasWatch by RCY, I pledged to the Pebble Time 2. It's pretty much the same product with bigger screen, heart rate, and more battery life. I was planning to buy another Pebble to give as gift this year, then I'm just upgrading mine and I'll give my older one as a gift.
- johnatwork 10y agoJust a warning to fellow Canadians. I went in on the Pebble Steel in the past, and while I expected a Duty charge, I didn't expect it to be around 100$ Canadian. EDIT: Sorry I meant Pebble Time Steel
- manulp 10y agoThat's almost 50% of the price of the watch with shipping, it's crazy. I'll change the shipping address to a friend in the US I guess.
- johnatwork 10y agoWell the Pebble Time Steel is 250$, but yeah the point stands.
- digi_owl 10y agoReminds me of how here in Norway the postal service demand a flat fee for these things. Thus you risk paying more for the fee than the duty if the item is price just right.
- orillian 10y agoI didn't pay anything extra for duty? I bought my wife a "Round" back in January, and while the Canadian dollar was crappy, I only payed 25% in CDN dollars over the websites listed price. So, not sure if I got lucky or you just didn't. :( On a side note Canadian shoppers can find the watches at their local Best Buy... at least the current ones anyway. You might not get the style you want though, as they seem to be a bit limited that way. Pricing is usually close to the US price. I paid the extra to get the style I wanted for the wife.
- johnatwork 10y agoYeah I checked online, and the duty charged to people was all over the place, some correlation with provinces, but not strictly.
- sundvor 10y ago
- yalogin 10y agoWhy does Pebble have to go to Kickstarter? Is it because they get money without any strings attached? They are a very well established company at this point. Its a good strategy though.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoBesides marketing benefit and having ordering&payments basically handled for them, I think it's a sort of tradition. Pebble was always on Kickstarter. I'd be disappointed if the new ones weren't on it too.
- unwiredben 10y agoThey didn't KS the Pebble Time Round, but that was explained because it was being marketed outside their core market; they did make a deal for PT Steel Kickstarter users to get one at a discounted price.
- BrooklynRage 10y agoDo these new models still support SmartStraps? Couldn't find anything about it on the Kickstarter page.
- timdorr 10y agohttps://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/496/450/ef433d2391d654aa37817295ce10f4a0_original.png?w=680&fit=max&v=1464084071&auto=format&lossless=true&s=057eca4e119d9b9e854a135dc8b4e94a https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/496/450/ef433d2391d654a... Looking at the back, it appears so. I think they've sort of backed off on the Smart Strap strategy after nothing has really materialized out of it.
- frio 10y agoOne thing did (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/800343142/tylt-vu-pulse-for-pebble-timetm https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/800343142/tylt-vu-pulse...), and unfortunately Pebble just kind of screwed them over. I can't imagine there's any malice involved; integrating HR was an obvious step forward for the product. Backers got an update today advising us that Pebble and Tylt have collaborated such that the Pulse will be able to feed HR data to Pebble Health, so it looks like Pebble have probably been good to deal with. Still, I imagine it leaves a sour taste in the mouth of anyone else looking at making "Smart Straps".
- sp332 10y agoIt took some digging, but yes these will support smartstraps. https://developer.pebble.com/blog/2016/05/24/Kickstarter-3/ https://developer.pebble.com/blog/2016/05/24/Kickstarter-3/
- kylec 10y agoMy only complaint is that the buttons are all merged into one on both the Pebble 2 and Time 2, like they are on the Pebble Time. One of the things I liked about my original Pebble compared to my Time was that the buttons were separate, making it easy to press one without accidentally pressing another one.
- mikestew 10y agoI bought the original Pebble on Kickstarter. I jumped on the Time on Kickstarter when it was announced. I changed my order to the Time Steel when it was made available. I bought an original one for the wife, I bought her a Time as well. And I'm going to wait on this one. If they're going to delve into the fitness category, I'll be looking at Garmins (of which I have several, albeit older ones with no smart watchy stuff) which are more durable (my $DEITY, does the Pebble get scratched up), go forever on a charge, and I'm willing to bet just plain do the job better because Garmin has been at it for a while. Given the hurdles on iOS that Pebble can't seem to overcome (for which they are not entirely, if at all, to blame), I'll also wait and see what Apple has on tap. Apple has some shortcomings to eliminate, maybe they'll do that next round. It's not because I'm unhappy with my Pebbles, I love my current Time Steel. But if I'm going to spend money on a watch that does what Pebble is currently advertising, my options open up to include established competitors in that space. I'm not willing to bet real money that Pebble can outdo those competitors right out of the gate. So I'll wait until it hits retail, see what it really does and what the experiences of others are. Maybe I'll get one, but it's not guaranteed like it was for previous versions.
- jdeibele 10y agoMy wife bought a Garmin Vivofit because it was water-proof and runs for months on a battery. I ended up buying the Vivofit 2 which has a better clasp, a backlight, and is supposed to sync automatically with my phone. When I wore a watch, I would take it off as soon as I could because it got in the way. I'm really happy with the Vivofit 2 - I haven't taken it off in (literally) months because it doesn't need to be charged and does just fine in the shower or swimming. I've been disappointed with the automatic syncing not working. Other than that, it's a great product. PS: my parents-in-law were given Fitbit devices with HR monitors which they had me set up for them. I'd like the HR monitoring but not at the cost of having a thicker device and having to deal with a proprietary charge connection (one end is standard USB).
- LeifCarrotson 10y agoHeart rate and GPS take significant amounts of power, unlike MEMS accelerometers, Bluetooth low-energy, and watch displays. A thin, non-rechargeable battery is a possibility for watches without these features. For watches with these features, it needs a rechargeable battery and a very thin water-proof connection to that battery.
- tsieling 10y agoI love that they announced a couple weeks ahead of an expected Apple Watch 2 announcement. Excellent marketing.
- darklajid 10y agoI was a Pebble fan, but recent changes are bad. They stuff more and more into their Pebble Health cloud offering. Just today I opened a support call to figure out what data they transmit to their servers and how long they store it. I'm also currently unconvinced that you can use the Pebble to track steps/your sleep without uploading your data (i.e. it seems that you either opt into Pebble Health and Pebble gets your data or .. you don't get it either). Depending on the reaction of the support call I will either dispose of this thing or use it offline - new products from Pebble aren't exactly interesting for me at this point..
- fra 10y agoPebble engineer here. You can absolutely disable data upload and continue using pebble health. The support team will guide you though it. In the future, we hope to make the settings options to do so more explicit. The only feature that currently requires analytics to work is voice transcription.
- ryukafalz 10y agoIs this the "Usage logs" option in the settings? That disables sending health data to Pebble servers as well? Personally, if it were an option, I would like to disable sending health data but still send voice data for transcription. I can understand if you're using Google's voice recognition APIs, but IMO there's no reason the two have to be linked.
- darklajid 10y agoThank you, that's awesome and reassuring - although you might take away that it's near impossible to figure out in the settings right now. You even got a reply on this random board from another pebble customer who's still confused (and usage log doesn't seem likely to me, that sounds like telemetry? "User likes to access feature A" vs "All the sensor data"). In short: I'm looking forward to the support reply. Initial reply was 'forwarding to tech, might need more time'. Please consider making this more explicit, if you're in a position to bring this issue up. Edit: In fact, this comment of yours convinced me that Pebble (vs all the other watches) IS the right choice - I just backed the campaign for a Time 2 / Core combo). Thanks.
- rufugee 10y agoI'm a runner, but I generally listen to tech podcasts or audible books while doing so. When someone gives me a watch with the ability to listen to these, combined with built-in GPS, I'm on board. Until then, I'll begrudgingly continue to lug around this phone...
- bdcs 10y agoWhat you describe is almost exactly what Pebble is offering: one of their new watches + the Pebble Core (GPS + Cellular + headphones jack)
- rufugee 10y agoFrom what I've read it supports streaming music... To stream podcasts it'll have to have an app for that, and for using Audible it'll have to support, well, Audible. Add to that the fact that it requires its own 3g connection, which will add a monthly cost. I'd much rather have built-in storage sufficient to store audiobooks and podcasts...
- Kihashi 10y agoIt has 4GB of storage. > You can also use Core’s 4GB of built-in storage to access your favorite playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks. Not sure if it will work with Audible specifically, but it should work with normal audiobook files. You do not have to have a 3G connection to use it. It has WiFi for offline syncing.
- rufugee 10y agoAh, didn't catch that. If it works with Audible, it'll be a win. Thanks.
- spoinkaroo 10y agoMaybe go for a watch with GPS and bluetooth headphones that can store audio? Someting like the bragi dash or one of the many alternatives?
- hudo 10y agoI had Pebble 1, then switched to Moto 360, and after about 1y tried Pebble again (don't like droid notifications). And on pebble nothing changed! No new apps, some existing apps didn't work any more, everything looked like dying platform. Compared to droid, where i could find hundreds of watchfaces and apps, pebble app store looks like a joke. Very sad about that, since imho smartwatch OS concert on pebble is better than droid.
- dlevine 10y agoThis seems like a pretty interesting device. I'm an avid runner, and my option is either to wear a clunky GPS device or to carry my smartphone and pair it to a lighter-weight and sleeker device. This basically enables both use cases without having to lug the phone, plus it adds some interesting features with the built-in storage and streaming 3G. I think that a lot of people will buy if Pebble can price this competitively. Their closest competition is the $250 TomTom Spark Cardio + Music, and it seems like they will undercut that. With that said, 6 months is a long time, and I wouldn't be surprised if new and better devices come out before this ships.
- fencepost 10y agoI don't see a lot of folks mentioning it, but what jumped out at me in reading it is that the Core will act as a PAN (Personal Area Network) Internet gateway to provide 3G connectivity to other devices via Bluetooth tethering. That could be a really nice touch for "always-connected" devices without having to tie them to a phone.
- ncr100 10y agoGood spot! I wonder whether Google Project Fi will support this. Fi is already very reasonably priced and recently began offering data-only SIM cards extending a base plan with a pay-as-you-go rate.
- LeicaLatte 10y agoThe Pebble reminds me of "mp3 players" that used to flood the market during the iPod era.
- baby 10y agoI bought a Pebble Time yesterday for around a 100$, I was suspecting the uber low price to be the sign of a new pebble watch :)
- emptybits 10y agoPebble CEO, Migicovsky, says about the Core, "Look, when you go for a run you can take this instead of taking your phone." I think the Core is really interesting but his hopeful "instead of" vision might be naive, based on the Core's capabilities. Leaving a smartphone at home when it only weighs as much as a gulp of water (e.g. a 4 oz iPhone) seems like a step 20 years backwards in convenience and peace of mind when you can't call or message from a Core.
- codq 10y agoUnless you're a marathoner or involved in serious training, a run is usually going to last 45m-60m tops. Many people, myself included, consider that time to be sacred and personal, in which getting calls or messages is the last thing one would want to be involved with. I have never in my life taken my phone with me on a jog, and I would never want to. I put my Fitbit Charge HR in exercise mode, and if I want music (which I usually don't), I'll take an iPod shuffle. Connectivity to the wider world web is not on my agenda, and something like the Core is likely the extent of technology that I'd want on my person. It's the coolest product I've seen lately in the fitness sphere. ...on a side note, one of the reasons I enjoy jogging without music is that it gives me a chance to let my thoughts flow, and I find myself coming up with all sorts of neat ideas while my heart rate is high and I'm out and about with zero distractions. I've long wanted a voice memo recorder while out on a run, and the fact that the Core includes that makes it even more enticing!
- Trufa 10y agoOne thing I didn't understand though, do you need the watch for the Core to work?
- unwiredben 10y agoNope, it can be controlled by the watch, but you should also be able to use voice control, headset buttons, and the two on-device buttons.
- yincrash 10y agoThe only reason I have my phone on me while I'm exercising is for fitness tracking. It's a pain in the ass to have it while running unless it's strapped to your body because it bounces around if it's not strapped down. The core can just clip on exactly how I currently clip a bt headset when I run. And I'm not going to take phone calls or send messages while I'm running.
- andrewmunsell 10y agoI was an original Pebble backer, but since moved to an Apple Watch. Though it's not Pebble's fault, the lack of proper iOS integration (iMessage, HealthKit, etc.) is really a bummer after using Apple's complete package. I wish my Apple Watch had some of the features that Pebble does (water resistance, long battery life), but the Apple ecosystem lock-in is a powerful force... I wish Eric & the rest of Pebble the best of luck-- they really are one of only three viable smartwatch platforms, which is pretty incredible for such a small company. It'll be interesting to see how they can fit the core into the activity monitor space as well.
- fredsir 10y agoAlthough Apple doesn't, the Internet claims Apple Watch is water resistant even for swimming.
- andrewmunsell 10y agoYeah, it's more of a peace of mind thing. The new Pebble is water resistant to 30m, which is really, really deep water. Though I could probably swim with my Apple Watch, it's not something I particularly want to risk since it's not an advertised "feature".
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- iaw 10y agoI wear analog mechanical watches, I really wish Pebble would release a band with a small screen. I'd like to be able to check my meeting schedule without grabbing my phone or computer. There's one absurdly overpriced smart band on the market currently and it doesn't function well. Right now if I want one I'll need to build it myself :/
- BinaryIdiot 10y agoI enjoyed my original Pebble but I stopped using it quite a while ago and while I would love to pick up a new one they just don't look stylish enough. I mean sure they're getting better and yes this is very subjective...but why do they always have to do a double bezel? It drives me nuts! I'm glad they have improved upon it but most of their marketing shots are with a black screen next to the first, black bezel seems really misleading to me (just like they did with the original Time launch). Anyway I'm not surprised they'd go back to kickstarter. Tons of promotion and I bet they get a special rate compared to most other users of kickstarter.
- hwang89 10y agoAnyone doing serious training should check out DC Rainmaker's take: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/05/initial-thoughts-on-pebbles-new-optical-hr-time-2-and-3g-gps-connected-core.html http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/05/initial-thoughts-on-pebbl...
- Fej 10y agoHas Pebble's build quality gotten better? I havw the original, it wasn't made very well. Had the sticky button issue, they replaced it. Then the vibration motor died in the replacement, basically making it useless as far as a smartwatch goes (since I mainly use it for notifications). They wouldn't replace it, since the replacement only had a 90 day warranty. Of course I don't wear it anymore, I would have tried to repair it but it's impossible to open. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence if a company doesn't stand behind its products. Even Google does a better job.
- phlyingpenguin 10y agoThey had a few really common problems with the original, notably screen tearing due to a bad connection inside of the device. They replaced my original twice with no questions asked. I upgraded to a Time not that long ago and it's been solid. I haven't heard of a whole lot of problems with anything but the originals.
- Daneel_ 10y agoI had the tearing issue with my original. I upgraded to a pebble steel rather than replace it (international shipping isn't worth it), and the quality has been second to none. A year and a half on, the leather band is slightly scuffed, but otherwise it feels and looks completely new. The vibrate motor is much quieter and smoother compared to the original one as well.
- dave2000 10y ago90 days? Wow. With stuff getting more and more cheaply made these days it doesn't make sense to assume that anything will last longer than the very minimum duration they're legally responsible for it. I'd be unwilling to spend very much on something that will only last 90 days.
- freshrap6 10y agoAre the voice reply capabilities for iOS still limited to certain carriers?
- feld 10y agoYes. I still don't have it on T-Mobile.
- ansgri 10y agoTime 2 Gold (with color display!) + Core. Fantastic. If only did they ship to my country.
- bpchaps 10y agoNeat. A few months ago (before I had to watch money extra carefully), I was looking to make something similar to the Core by removing the strap of the pebble and dremmeling a hole into the mount and making it into a keychain. It seemed like the perfect thing if paired with a bluetooth dumb phone. Everyone called me crazy for wanting to do it, but it looks like that market actually exists - without a screen, even.
- chowder 10y agoWhat is the most affordable way to get GSM service for the Pebble Core? It looks like it would cost $20 per month to add a "tablet line" to my current mobile plan which is way too much for me.
- zolokar 10y agohttps://ting.com https://ting.com has a $6/month charge for a SIM card and then $3 for 100MB/month. It's $12 for 500MB/month.
- bdcs 10y agoIf you have Google Fi for your main phone (20$/mo + 10$/GB) you can add up to 9 data-only SIMs for 0$/mo + 10$/GB. The per GB is really fair (I think it rounds to the nearest MB and everything left over rolls over to the next month). https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6330195?hl=en https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6330195?hl=en
- quinndupont 10y agoAnyone have any suggestions for a Pebble Core competitor that exists today? (I don't want to wait until deep into 2017 for the Core) I'm basically looking for: iPod shuffle, but with BT audio and ideally compatible with a streaming service.
- andars 10y ago> deep into 2017 Are you anticipating major delays? January isn't very deep.
- kkarakk 10y agopebble's are only immediately available in the US, takes quite some time for them to trickle elsewhere
- quinndupont 10y agoJanuary isn't very deep into 2017, but I've backed a good half dozen Kickstarters and they rarely hit their targets (then again, Pebble is pretty solidly established at this point). But, even if they ship in January that is still a long ways away, and plenty of changes and new products will be launched before (in my opinion, that's the real risk with these long announcement/pay times for this kind of presale).