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Pebble goes off wrist with Core, dedicated running gadget
- jey 10y agoWho's the target audience for this? Doesn't nearly everyone have a smartphone with an accelerometer, or will very soon?
- sz4kerto 10y agoI don't fancy running with my 5.7" phone, to be honest.
- montecarl 10y agoI didn't until I bought a running belt (flipbelt). Its a tight spandex belt that you wear around the top of your shorts. My phone stays pressed flat against my back and I forget it is there. The belt is hidden by your shirt so it doesn't even look like you are wearing it.
- jrowley 10y agoIf you don't want to bring your big expensive smart phone with you while running, this could be an alternative. But as a runner I love having my pace on my wrist watch - it has fundamentally changed how I run. So I think they missed the boat on this (because it doesn't apply to me) but in reality there are a lot of runners who don't care about pace and might love such a device. And additionally I don't like taking my phone with me - not because it is big but because after a few miles I can't directly interact with it via the touch screen because my fingers are too sweaty. So they might be on to something if the UX of the device turns out to be nice.
- jamesxwatkins 10y agoI agree. It seems like they are close, but not quite there yet. I don't bring my phone on my runs (6 plus), but there have been times (few) where i really could have used it. I don't see this replacing my Garmin watch anytime soon.
- jadyoyster 10y agoThe Core is made to be combined with the watch, so you should be able to have pace on your wrist without having to carry your phone.
- dougmany 10y ago>Core provides real-time stats via audio cues while exercising So you might be able to get pace through audio.
- brianwawok 10y agoI mean I run with my garmin 735, which cost $450.. not that much cheaper than my smartphone.
- jrowley 10y agoBut really, who is going to run a triathlon with a pebble. I doubt it's battery could even last an entire race if it was playing music and using GPS. Also, I imagine you can do HRM with the core but it didn't mention it.
- angus-g 10y agoAccording to the page they're aiming for 9 hours battery life with location tracking and offline music. Although it doesn't seem waterproof so a triathlon might be out of the question.
- lost_name 10y agoI actually wanted exactly this, because my gigantic smartphone would probably be uncomfortable to run with strapped to my arm. However, my SO introduced me to the Flipbelt, and that kind of solved all the problems.
- usrusr 10y agoMany runners don't like carrying a heavy smartphone during exercise. The iPod shuffle form factor does have a certain appeal to those. The bad news (for pebble) is that runners have been using wrist mounted gadgets literally for decades (HRM watches go back to the 1980ies), so they are trying to leave the wrist in the single market where wrist-worn computers are actually established.
- sp332 10y agoI don't think they're leaving the wrist. The Core only has 2 buttons, so all the UI is on the Pebble on your wrist. (Or on your phone.)
- usrusr 10y agoTrue. The pebble core should probably be seen as an alternative "server backend" that can stand in for the smartphone whenever one of the "fat client" smartwatches would be used in standalone mode. As that, it makes a lot of sense, literally filling a gap in the pebble lineup. And yet it may still find a market amongst non-smartwatch wearers as the "spotify shuffle".
- 27182818284 10y agoI was looking at Pebbel the other day as sort of an entry into the smartwatch world for one. Running and sleep tracking were secondary reasons. I'm glad I chose not to buy as I would have remorse with the "new version" of sorts being presented on Kickstarter.
- JustSomeNobody 10y agoNobody wants to run with a phone on them. It's not comfortable at all.
- caractacus 10y agoAs a runner, I really don't see the point. I have a gps watch (Garmin) that records distance, time, pace, cadence, etc etc and shows it all to me on my wrist. Sure, there are people out there who just want to track a run but the use case for this - particularly with no display - seems very very limited.
- eitally 10y agoYour Garmin can't play mp3s.
- kingosticks 10y agoMy TomTom Cardio can: https://www.tomtom.com/en_us/sports/fitness-watches/gps-watch-music-cardio-spark/sky-captain-scuba-blue-large/ https://www.tomtom.com/en_us/sports/fitness-watches/gps-watc... But I wish it could play music from Spotify, specifically Spotify in offline mode... which this can! I'm sold.
- dominotw 10y ago>As a runner, I really don't see the point. You can send a SOS and listen to spotify.
- JustSomeNobody 10y agoI don't like anything on my wrist or arms when I run. Maybe I can clip this somewhere on me that is not noticeable.
- brianwawok 10y agoNothing stops you from clipping a garmin to a belt loop.
- JustSomeNobody 10y agoI might as well spend less money on this then, yes?
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- yurisagalov 10y agoI posted this on Twitter, but re-posting on HN for further discussion... A lot of people are going to be talking about how Core is a wearable for runners, but if that's all, we (and _especially_ we at HN) are missing the bigger point. The Pebble Core is what the Raspberry Pi should be - a fully functional computer so small it fits on a keychain. One way of thinking about the Pebble Core is as the new CPU at the heart of a new motherboard. If you're building an internet connected piece of hardware, the Core is at the heart of it.
- diego_moita 10y agoThat's what I thought, an upgraded and packaged version of Photon & Electron[1]. But Pebble needs to get serious about openness if they want this thing to catch on. There are already dozens of companies trying this on Ali-Express, Indie-Gogo, Kickstarter, etc. It is not enough to be "developer friendly", they need an API that gives open access to all the hardware, including Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS controllers. They promised an Bluetooth LE API on Pebble for the end of 2015 and we have nothing so far. https://www.particle.io/ https://www.particle.io/
- erohead 10y agoCore runs Android 5.0 AOSP, will be easy to root and has an unlocked SIM. Pretty open, lots more to come!
- diego_moita 10y agoThis is just fantastic! Now I do want one, can't live without it! Thank you Eric!
- bambax 10y ago> The Pebble Core is what the Raspberry Pi should be - a fully functional computer so small it fits on a keychain. Oh... wow... that's very exciting if this is what it is... but then why not market it as such (a competitor to the Pi) instead of a very limited/specialized accessory to a not super exciting watch? I have plenty of Pis (well, 4) and always wish they were smaller, and had wifi / bluetooth / 3g out of the box; I would buy what you just described in an instant. (As it's currently described by Pebble, though, it's not that enticing. Maybe we just need to wait.) Edit: it is actually described as a micro computer on the KS campaign, but buried way down into the page; it's not even immediately clear one can buy the Core without the watch; doesn't it deserve to be marketed independently?
- downer72 10y agoThe worst thing about Pebble and all of Pebble's products is that, out-of-the-box, they require an internet connection before you can set the time on the watch, and even try to wear the watch so that you can tell time. That's great, Pebble. You value user registration and analytics more than your user's ability to actually use the product.
- digi_owl 10y agoSeems Pebble has lost their direction. Their original product was excellent. A information UI on your wrist. But then came their update, and it was all about "timelines" (thanks but no thanks, i know where this is going having dealt with Facebook and Twitter "timelines"). And now this, whiskey tango foxtrot...
- sp332 10y agoThis has nothing in common with Facebook or Twitter timelines.
- knowaveragejoe 10y agoFirst, pebble's timelines has nothing at all to do with Facebook or Twitter's concept of timelines in terms of what content appears there. Second, this is just one thing they've released today. You should check out the new watches. I'm not sure why that isn't on the front page. They are a much larger leap forward and a significant price drop to boot.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago> Seems Pebble has lost their direction. Their original product was excellent. A information UI on your wrist. Yeah, I agree. Mind you - I still love Pebbles; I'm a happy owner of Time, upgrading from the Classic. But I liked them much better when they were about "information UI on your wrist" - i.e. a tool. Now it seems to be marketed as a toy for people obsessed with sports. I don't like that direction personally (and I sadly accept I'm probably not the target audience anymore).
- a_small_island 10y ago>"I ask him this question while we are sitting in a conference room in Pebble’s spacious new Redwood City headquarters, offices that became more spacious than intended because of the layoffs. (Instead of spreading over two floors, Migicovsky decided to squeeze the workforce into one.)" Just another submarine piece, also I wonder if it's an open office?
- magicbeanss 10y agoHow is this a submarine piece when the author is emphasizing layoffs?
- fit2rule 10y agoIts a little obnoxious to see Apples' white headphones being used in the pr0n shots of the Core prototype. I wonder if there weren't better phones available, or if its intentional..
- heynk 10y ago> "Pebble’s first impulse was to supercharge the smart watch, building in GPS and accelerometers and cellular antennas and earphone plugs, so it could combine the virtues of an always-connected smart watch, fitness tracker and music player." Maybe I'm wrong, but as a runner this is what I think I want. I never run with a phone, just my GPS/HR watch. Lots of them already have MP3 storage with bluetooth headphone capability. I don't really know any that have 3g functionality and can play Spotify, which is where all my music is organized currently. I don't really want a full smartwatch (or maybe I do), but I would like to be able to send pre-composed texts to a few contacts, for example. And a full Strava app. And a camera :) This market is referred to as 'Standalone Smartwatches', but I haven't found one that really excites me. I'm sure it has to do with the limited space and high cost of that kind of device.
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- 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...