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Hey word on the street is Fitbit didn't take many of the hardware people from Pebble. (Not sure why?) But if you're a hardware person from pebble reading this t

by lowglow 10y ago

Hey word on the street is Fitbit didn't take many of the hardware people from Pebble. (Not sure why?) But if you're a hardware person from pebble reading this then reach out to me, I'd love to take you out for coffee and have a chat! :)

revelation 10y ago
There is only so many hardware people you need, FitBit already has a bunch of different watch models that all seem to do the same thing. They could do with less. Meanwhile all of the smartwatch companies are desperately looking to move from a commodity hardware model to services with recurring revenue, i.e. software.
- taneq 10y ago
  > Meanwhile all of the smartwatch companies are desperately looking to move from a commodity hardware model to services with recurring revenue, i.e. software. Which is funny, because turning my watch into a subscription service that won't work without an always-on internet connection is precisely what I don't want. This industry-wide trend from products to everything-as-a-subscription-service may be nice for developers craving job security but it's awful for end users.
Kipters 10y ago
IMHO they were mostly interested in the OS and the development platform
mratzloff 10y ago
Perhaps they should; Fitbit's hardware is terrible. I bought two Fitbit watches, one after the other, and after they both fell apart within 6 months I forswore them altogether. Their software is bad, too, but the hardware was the killer.
- staticelf 10y ago
  And I bought my fitbit when it came out and it still looks brand new. I wear it everyday. What sucks is not the hardware, it's their software. Thousands of people have had syncing issues for a long time, seems like they've fixed most of it now but I guess there is reason to believe it could happen again.
  - mratzloff 10y ago
    The glue on the Charge and Charge HR kept breaking down and the thing would gradually peel away from the plastic until it literally fell apart.

by lowglow 10y ago

revelation 10y ago

There is only so many hardware people you need, FitBit already has a bunch of different watch models that all seem to do the same thing. They could do with less. Meanwhile all of the smartwatch companies are desperately looking to move from a commodity hardware model to services with recurring revenue, i.e. software.

taneq 10y ago
> Meanwhile all of the smartwatch companies are desperately looking to move from a commodity hardware model to services with recurring revenue, i.e. software. Which is funny, because turning my watch into a subscription service that won't work without an always-on internet connection is precisely what I don't want. This industry-wide trend from products to everything-as-a-subscription-service may be nice for developers craving job security but it's awful for end users.

Kipters 10y ago

IMHO they were mostly interested in the OS and the development platform

mratzloff 10y ago

Perhaps they should; Fitbit's hardware is terrible. I bought two Fitbit watches, one after the other, and after they both fell apart within 6 months I forswore them altogether. Their software is bad, too, but the hardware was the killer.

staticelf 10y ago
And I bought my fitbit when it came out and it still looks brand new. I wear it everyday. What sucks is not the hardware, it's their software. Thousands of people have had syncing issues for a long time, seems like they've fixed most of it now but I guess there is reason to believe it could happen again.
- mratzloff 10y ago
  The glue on the Charge and Charge HR kept breaking down and the thing would gradually peel away from the plastic until it literally fell apart.