3 ms·

I bought an LG G Watch when they first launched 2+ years ago and used it for a year every day. I tried the Moto 360 (great looks, awful battery), and LG Urbane

by 51Cards 10y ago

I bought an LG G Watch when they first launched 2+ years ago and used it for a year every day. I tried the Moto 360 (great looks, awful battery), and LG Urbane, and now I think I have come full circle. I'm using a Pebble Time daily, and waiting for my Pebble Time 2 to arrive. The gadget appeal has worn off but I still enjoy the functional benefits which (to me) Pebble has hit the sweet spot. A vibe motor you can feel, 8-10 days of battery life, a screen that's good under all conditions (especially sunshine), water proof, tactile buttons to interact with it, great voice translation, not too bulky, etc. Sure it's not as fancy but it just does the critical things I want it to do. The Time 2 fixes a couple desires (heart rate and larger screen) and that should be about it. I think I've found the smart watch I am going to enjoy living with. Edit: have to add that GPS would be nice too but I am willing to not have it for the battery life.

tra3 10y ago
Hey, thanks for mentioning pebble time. Is 8-10 days a realistic time frame? I got the original pebble off ebay to play with, and it really only lasted 4 days between charges, even with very light usage. For me, personally, it was too much work. That's why I'm curious to see how realistic a week between charges is on the new pebbles.
- ramses0 10y ago
  New pebbles (time) tend to run 6-7 days pretty easy, and I think pebble time steel shoots for 10-day battery life, many people report easy 7 days. https://www.reddit.com/r/pebble/comments/3j46zs/whats_your_pebble_time_steel_realworld_battery/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pebble/comments/3j46zs/whats_your_p... ... I hate to say wait for the Pebble Time 2 (coming end of year) but they'll be adding heart-rate monitor and keeping ~10 day battery life supposedly.
- 51Cards 10y ago
  I go a solid week on mine with no real issues. That said I don't push it too often. It's more about not NEEDING to charge it daily. So I forget for 3 or 4 days then I go "Oh, right..." and plug it in. In no time it's good for another week of my bad memory. I would often leave the others home sometimes when I left it in the kitchen over night.
sk8ingdom 10y ago
Has anyone developed GPS for the Pebble? A quick google search reveals this Kickstarter [1], but is anyone aware of something more mature or a future Pebble design which will include it. I'm into trail running and backpacking so battery life and GPS are the two most important features to me. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655382546/pal-strap-gps-and-extended-battery-strap-for-pebbl https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655382546/pal-strap-gps...
- valine 10y ago
  Pebble core comes to mind: http://help.getpebble.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2439926-pebble-core?b_id=8309 http://help.getpebble.com/customer/en/portal/articles/243992...
  - sk8ingdom 10y ago
    Nice, I didn't realize they were working on that--I'll have to do some feature comparisons, but this seems like it might be a better fit.
- wazoox 10y ago
  Garmin makes GPS smart watches with a battery life of 5 to 10 days. I would never dream of downgrading to an apple watch or android gear.
drzaiusapelord 10y ago
I might go this route too. I love my urbane, it has great looks and, well, great everything, but charging a watch once every two days is getting old. I'm starting to suspect that OLED is a dead-end and that consumers don't want these watches mainly because of the charging hassle. Pebble seems to be the only company taking e-paper watches seriously. I understand you can't have smooth animations and video and such with e-paper, but its a watch, not a mini-phone. Too much of Android Wear relies on the concept of a mini-phone. Same SoC as a phone, same type of screen, etc.
- 51Cards 10y ago
  That's where I've ended up too. Were the others cool? No doubt. But realistically I RARELY opened the other fun apps that benefited from the touch screen. 99% of the time it was Reminders, Notifications, Email previews, Voice Text replies, step counting, and of course... the time. All of which the Pebble does like a charm. And not having to squint at it in the sun is just pure joy.

by 51Cards 10y ago

tra3 10y ago

Hey, thanks for mentioning pebble time. Is 8-10 days a realistic time frame? I got the original pebble off ebay to play with, and it really only lasted 4 days between charges, even with very light usage. For me, personally, it was too much work. That's why I'm curious to see how realistic a week between charges is on the new pebbles.

ramses0 10y ago
New pebbles (time) tend to run 6-7 days pretty easy, and I think pebble time steel shoots for 10-day battery life, many people report easy 7 days. https://www.reddit.com/r/pebble/comments/3j46zs/whats_your_pebble_time_steel_realworld_battery/ https://www.reddit.com/r/pebble/comments/3j46zs/whats_your_p... ... I hate to say wait for the Pebble Time 2 (coming end of year) but they'll be adding heart-rate monitor and keeping ~10 day battery life supposedly.
51Cards 10y ago
I go a solid week on mine with no real issues. That said I don't push it too often. It's more about not NEEDING to charge it daily. So I forget for 3 or 4 days then I go "Oh, right..." and plug it in. In no time it's good for another week of my bad memory. I would often leave the others home sometimes when I left it in the kitchen over night.

sk8ingdom 10y ago

Has anyone developed GPS for the Pebble? A quick google search reveals this Kickstarter [1], but is anyone aware of something more mature or a future Pebble design which will include it. I'm into trail running and backpacking so battery life and GPS are the two most important features to me. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655382546/pal-strap-gps-and-extended-battery-strap-for-pebbl https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655382546/pal-strap-gps...

valine 10y ago
Pebble core comes to mind: http://help.getpebble.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2439926-pebble-core?b_id=8309 http://help.getpebble.com/customer/en/portal/articles/243992...
- sk8ingdom 10y ago
  Nice, I didn't realize they were working on that--I'll have to do some feature comparisons, but this seems like it might be a better fit.
wazoox 10y ago
Garmin makes GPS smart watches with a battery life of 5 to 10 days. I would never dream of downgrading to an apple watch or android gear.

drzaiusapelord 10y ago

I might go this route too. I love my urbane, it has great looks and, well, great everything, but charging a watch once every two days is getting old. I'm starting to suspect that OLED is a dead-end and that consumers don't want these watches mainly because of the charging hassle. Pebble seems to be the only company taking e-paper watches seriously. I understand you can't have smooth animations and video and such with e-paper, but its a watch, not a mini-phone. Too much of Android Wear relies on the concept of a mini-phone. Same SoC as a phone, same type of screen, etc.

51Cards 10y ago
That's where I've ended up too. Were the others cool? No doubt. But realistically I RARELY opened the other fun apps that benefited from the touch screen. 99% of the time it was Reminders, Notifications, Email previews, Voice Text replies, step counting, and of course... the time. All of which the Pebble does like a charm. And not having to squint at it in the sun is just pure joy.