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Amazon Alexa Comes to Pebble Core
- ricksplat 10y agoApple should be starting to get worried. They had a good lead in innovation but it looks like "everyone else" is catching up again. If apple isn't bleeding edge anymore, is it relevant?
- dsugarman 10y agoto me it felt like Samsung had a much better product until Apple caught up with the iPhone 6, it feels like a long time since Apple was "bleeding edge".
- ricksplat 10y agoThey still just inch it IMHO - but fading fast
- ricksplat 10y agonot a few Apple shills on here I see.
- ricksplat 10y agoJust so ye know - PR, managing expectations and policing discussions boards aren't a good way to promote a high end devices company. Developing high end devices is, and useful services to go with them is "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - a quote I'm sure Jobs was familiar with.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago> "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." If XXI century is proving anything it's that while Nature cannot be fooled, humans can, and rather trivially so. More and more businesses have discovered that spending money on marketing has much better ROI than spending it on making a useful, valuable product. Want a quick proof in a tech sphere? Just look at the IoT market.
- ricksplat 10y agoI don't think that's any proof - like you say it's "burgeoning" and complaints abound on security and reliability. I doubt it makes a huge amount of money at this stage. I don't believe the 21st century has shown that at all - it wasn't marketing that made apple the behoemeth that it is ("it just works" was more than just a slogan). Look at the declining fortunes of IBM & HP?? Yeah individuals can be fooled, but en mass things revert to a nature state. "you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time" as true in this century as the last
- mikestew 10y agoAnyone relying on "notifications" to define their wrist-worn device is in big trouble. I just bought a Garmin Fenix after debating to: wait and see what Apple has at WWDC, or wait for the Pebble to ship. I ended up with the Fenix, and commented to the wife: "notifications is the baseline, hell, just about everything in Garmin's lineup can do that, and that's not their main business." So we see Pebble trying to define themselves with something other than just "you have mail!", only on your wrist. To me, Apple seems to be trying to do to much to not just be "notifications on your wrist", but not doing any of it all that well. I ended up with the Fenix because after two versions of Pebbles it seems my main use case for a wrist-worn device is fitness stuff, which Garmin does really well. Pebble looks to be trying in this next iteration. But do I wait on Pebble and take a chance they get fitness right, or do I get the watch from the company I've been buying from for years and have been happy with, now with wrist notifications? Apple's a non-starter, given that I have to bring a phone on runs (umm...no). In summary, when buying a thing that goes on my wrist, notifications are a given. What else do you have to offer? And that differentiation is what will decide winners and losers, IMO.
- ricksplat 10y ago>we see Pebble trying to define themselves with something other than just "you have mail!" In fairness with the Pebble Core, we have just that. I love the idea and I can't think of anybody that's tried anything like it. A cross between a iPod shuffle, a wireless modem and a keyfob. I really like the concept as a personal area network focus besides my phone. Oh, and as regards "just" being a notifications device - bear in mind Pebble were the first, it's simple, and they're cheap. Three areas the Apple Watch just can't compete on. They've gone all wrong - it wasn't glamour that made Apple - it was solid quality engineering-led product development.
- mikestew 10y agoOh, I'm trying to be fair, and I see Pebble's branching out as a good thing for them. I just don't see them sticking around otherwise. But I wasn't going to pre-order (oh, sorry, "back") the next Pebble in the hopes that it can match Garmin by September. As I also told my wife, "getting notifications to a Bluetooth-enabled device is a (mostly) solved problem. Getting the fitness aspects right is a much tougher problem". Pebble has shown evidence of figuring things out after a few iterations, so they can pull it off. Yes, Pebble's big selling point is price. But they also show their inexpensive price. My Pebble Time Steel is a scratch and scuff magnet. The bezel is huge. But you get what you pay for, and I still feel the Pebbles are a good value. Hell, the Fenix is a $600 device. Sure, it has sapphire glass and hardy exterior, alitimeter/compass/barometer, but still...$600. I can put the Fenix to good use and get my money out of it (big runner and hiker), but I'm guessing I'm not the mass market. Apple, though, I dunno. Sure, they've sold bazillions of Apple Watches, but I'm not sure where they go from there to justify the price. Ours is an Apple household, but the Watch was never on the radar for us. No GPS in the device was the deal-breaker for me (see: fitness features), because I'm not going to carry a phone while running. Other aspects didn't work for me, but if the Watch were just a bit more money than the Pebble I might have gotten one. But it's a lot more money. Again, maybe I'm outside their intended demographic, and not well-qualified to say what the future holds for Apple's device, but I just didn't see the value.
- rdl 10y agoI'm an (unhappy) Apple Watch owner, but this is one thing which has gotten me to back the new Pebble on kickstarter -- Alexa is the most useful audio platform I've encountered so far.
- alttab 10y agoYou won't be dissapointed, although you may want to get an android phone. The benefits outweigh the costs.
- hauget 10y agoI thought Pebble Core didn't need a phone? Or am I mistaken?
- yurisagalov 10y agoIt doesn't. The Pebble Core is a completely standalone computer with GSM/WiFi/Bluetooth.
- untog 10y agoThe OP's post is ambiguous - replacing an Apple Watch with a Pebble Core doesn't make much sense, but replacing it with a Pebble watch doesn't make sense in this context either as it doesn't have Alexa.
- alttab 10y agoMy thought was the OP has an Apple Watch, thus obviously an iPhone. If they want to buy into the Pebble ecosystem, it'd be a better experience with an Android phone, not to mention you get amazing features like an external battery and an actual choice in software.
- untog 10y agoThe Pebble Core seems like a very different proposition to a Pebble Watch though - it runs Android itself and doesn't depend on a phone. So much more viable if you have an iPhone, though obviously a totally different form factor. Not sure what you mean by "external battery" - both Android and iPhone have external batteries available.
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- street 10y agoBecause having an always-on microphone in your house wasn't enough, let's now put one on your wrist.
- alttab 10y agoPretty sure the core isn't always on. On top of that, the Core is probably less capable than your cell phone - which could already be listening to you 24/7. You'll trust Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Apple in your pocket everyday but not Amazon? Get real, if someone wanted to spy on you, they wouldn't wait for you to buy a core.
- milesokeefe 10y agoThis is specific to the Pebble Core, which is not a smartwatch and isn't worn on the wrist.
- awesomerobot 10y agoYou don't have to if you don't want to.
- tlrobinson 10y agoBetter leave that Internet-connected microphone that's in your pocket at home in the freezer...
- unwiredben 10y agoThe Pebble Core doesn't have a built-in microphone or built-in speaker. You need to either plug in a headset with a microphone or use a Bluetooth Headset with microphone. If you used a wired headset with no mic, it can't listen to you.
- bjorn2404 10y agoI wonder if Amazon has ever considered buying Pebble.
- vannevar 10y agoIt seems like they would want Alexa on every platform, so owning a platform (other than the Echo, which they needed to launch it) may not be advantageous. Though you might say the same for the Kindle, and that didn't stop them from making their own.
- bryanlarsen 10y agoYou'd think so, but Amazon doesn't think that way. They don't sell chromecasts or Apple TV's in their store, when they'd make far more money selling them and getting buyers to subscribe to Amazon Video...
- codeisawesome 10y agoIs there a confirmed analysis of this? Just curious because I'm sure Amazon probably has an army of excel analyst warlocks (and chief warlocks) + a board to answer to...
- vvanders 10y agoDumb question maybe but why not bring this to other pebbles? There's a mic and you have a network connection via smartphone.
- fnordo 10y agoMy first guess would be that it was just easier to right it directly for the Core as it's running Android.
- erohead 10y agoAlexa only has an audio output at this time. We'd love to bring Alexa to all Pebble watches! Tell amazon to add the api :)
- ewindisch 10y agoThe API doesn't provide access to cards? Anyway, even if it didn't, the watch could still just display a speaker/microphone image and a graphic indicating audio playback. Honestly, this is my personal hold-up on buying a smart watch. I'm pretty set on getting one with Alexa built-in.
- adyus 10y agoWould you not be able to proxy that audio through Nuance and display text on the Pebbble screen?
- untog 10y agoCore runs Android, while Pebble watches don't. That said, it would be a great partnership for Amazon to connect with the Pebble app on people's smartphones to allow for this. As another poster has suggested, Amazon could even buy Pebble at some point. While as a Pebble owner I'd be sad to see them lose their independence, some solid financial backing wouldn't be a bad thing.
- vvanders 10y agoAh ha, that's the context I was missing.
- didsomeonesay 10y agoSlightly OT question: Would the Pebble 2 be useful as a privacy-respecting health tracker? I am looking for a device for long-term heart-rate tracking (additional included gimmicks appreciated). But I am worried about things like: Does the health app upload to cloud services? If so, can it be turned off? Is the Bluetooth synchronization protocol documented to support open-source app implementations?
- fra 10y agoPebble engineer here > Does the health app upload to cloud services? If so, can it be turned off? It does by default, but you can disable it. I'm actually working on making those options more user friendly :). > Is the Bluetooth synchronization protocol documented to support open-source app implementations? Not officially, but we've published open source implementations of at least part of the protocol (see libpebble). Several unofficial implementations followed (e.g. a Blackberry app, among others).
- dave2000 10y agoBlackberry, eh? Good choice! How's the Psion Revo support coming along?
- chinathrow 10y agoHealth data per default uploaded, are you honestly nuts?
- TeMPOraL 10y agoThey're not nuts. It's the standard default everywhere. Remind me, who else does allow to disable that upload?
- crumpled 10y agoAlexa is already in the app store. What's the story?
- niroze 10y agoThank you! People all caught up in the buzz. Granted, I'll participate in the Kickstarter, but this isn't truly news once you realize Core will be running Android. I don't think that is common knowledge.
- vhold 10y agoDoes the Alexa app actually let you use voice to ask questions and issue commands, or is it just an app to configure your Alexa devices?
- crumpled 10y agoOh. It's a companion app. I didn't check closely enough. I only checked to see if there was an Alexa app. When I read the announcement the thing I really wondered was: If Amazon has an Android port for Alexa, what's the motivation for making an exclusive deal with Pebble? Why is that preferable to offering it on the app store to everyone?
- sekou 10y agoMicrosoft introduced the tablet PC in 2001, nine years before the first iPad. As with Apple's watch now, the experience wasn't worth the cost. Clues about what the future will look like are already all around us and I think this is one of them.
- azinman2 10y agoIf you have a phone on you, a screen and direct manipulation will always win out. There's too high a perceived psychological barrier compared to being able to 'do it yourself' with your hands. The echo works because you don't have any device to manipulate, and often you're using it while shouting at it or are busy with your hands in the kitchen (and even then the majority of its current usage is timers and music -- the easier stuff that works decently well with voice). If the watch itself has data (cellular or otherwise) and you don't have your phone, that's when there's some advantage to being able to do this. However it's unclear when that's better than having a phone -- if its about going on a run then dedicated fitness trackers might be all you need compared to a watch that has to solve all problems with a terrible and tiny UI. There are many reasons smartwatches (not just apple's) have been doing poorly on the market -- it's a demand from industry rather than consumers, and the advantages have not been clearly communicated at all (the most personal device ever? compare that to the iPhone's you can email/web anywhere anytime -- clear value).
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- ajford 10y agoWell, don't forget that the article talks about the Pebble Core, which is the screen-less processing module on the new Pebble Kickstarter. There is no direct manipulation (other than the two buttons on the device) or feedback. It is intended for development or things like run tracking. If you are running, it may be considerably easier (and safer) to use a voice interface like Alexa than it would be to use a screen. Which is probably why they focused on Alexa for the Core and not the watches.
- hosh 10y agoI remember reading the article about Pebble and how smartwatch growth had not panned out. With a capable voice interface though, I can see the possibility of that magic combination / killer app. I wonder if the Pebble Core will be as competent as the Echo in filtering voice. Is this going to be a passive-listening device, or do you press a button?
- adyus 10y agoI'd assume push-button, since passive listening would drain the battery pretty fast. Come to think of it, there's no battery-powered passive listening solution currently. Hmm...
- jeeva 10y agoSorry for the late response, but I apparently left it open over the weekend. I believe that the Core has no inbuilt microphone, instead relying on a bluetooth headset / 3.5mm jack for sound in/out.
- mrep 10y agoNormally i dismiss most people who are wary of using a lot of services on AWS/GCE... due to concerns of lock in since I think the benefits of more rapid development outweigh the costs. However, this seems like a terrible strategy. Are they really outsourcing all of the core service and voice integration to Amazon? This totally reminds of windows. Microsoft built the core operating system which became the defacto OS to build programs on. Hardware manufacturers then had to compete with each other almost entirely on hardware specs and price since most programs would only run on windows giving microsoft an almost complete monopoly. Microsoft makes $$$ as monopoly, hardware manufacturers make hardly since they are all competing on specs and price. Amazon is probably laughing their way to the bank on this one.
- sp332 10y agoAre they really outsourcing all of the core service and voice integration to Amazon? No. It's an Android device and the Echo integration is totally optional.
- randomsearch 10y agoWhy Apple Watch sucks: - ugly design - overpriced - no clear killer app Why smart watches are inevitable: - payments - swiping through subways, doors, hotels, airports - effortless exchanges between individuals (replacing business cards and cash transactions) - absorbing the fitness market Fitbit etc Recently I've been getting very annoyed at Apple's terrible software quality. I've also had an opportunity to use Android, and I've found it a far _inferior_ experience (unfortunately). I want to leave Apple but it's still the best option, even after a year of tanking quality. Conclusion: we need a new Apple.
- hauget 10y agoI was actually doubting Pebble would survive given the last product (Pebble Round) and the way they were marketing themselves (like a kid's toy) BUT then they pulled these new products out of nowhere and now I'm left with my jaw on the floor. And not just because of how quick they recovered and improved on the last product flaws, but also at the GENIUS and potential of what Core could be. Have to hand it to Eric and the rest of the Pebble team. They're doing great work. Also, how cool is it that Pebble stems from that Steve Jobs story about him polishing pebbles? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Yv-UdsmSo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Yv-UdsmSo
- jtolj 10y agoCurious, what do you see as the major flaws of the Pebble Round? My brother bought me one for my birthday a few months ago, and it's been fantastic. For me it's the perfect size (no larger than a normal watch), amount of functionality (get/dismiss phone notifications, control music, track steps) and battery life (days).
- hauget 10y agoIMHO, the HUGE bezzle. It detracts in all manner of way to the appeal and of course, surface visibility of the device.
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- zwilliamson 10y agoI was a happy user of the Pebble Time. However, I recently decided to switch to the Fitbit Blaze to participate in some physical activity challenges with friends and family. So far the experience with the Fitbit Blaze has been bad. * Music control intergration with Android is flaky and rarely work * Face of the watch is hard to see outdoors * Minimal Android phone notification integrations / settings * Watch face selection is minimal * No third party app market My Pebble felt like a very well crafted device, with solid software backing it. It wasn't perfect but when compared to the Fitbit Blaze it is far superior. I am really looking forward to coming back to Pebble Time 2 at this point.
- jamespo 10y agoHow about "Amazon Alexa comes to countries outside the US"? That would be nice.