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From my own experience and reading that of others, it's the device that no one can justify until they get one. Then it becomes the device that the vast majority

by vlozko 9y ago

From my own experience and reading that of others, it's the device that no one can justify until they get one. Then it becomes the device that the vast majority love and some can't live without.

archvile 9y ago
Can confirm, feel like I lost my left arm if I don't have my watch on.
- colordrops 9y ago
  That sounds horrible.
bigiain 9y ago
So I've been a serial Pebble smartwatch rather than Apple Watch owner - my original motivation was I thought it's be neat to be able to glance at my wrist while riding the bike and see who was calling/texting so I would know if I wanted to pull over and answer right then, or wait till I'd got to my destination. Turns out the answer was _always_ "No." whoever it was, it could always wait. I was either going to be at home/work in 5-10 minutes and I could call back then, or I was on a trip and wasn't going to stop till the bike needed more fuel in an hour or two and it could wait till then. (Or I could ignore it completely...) When Pebble sold out to Garmin* and refunded my pledge/order for the last version, I spent some of that money on a second hand mechanical watch - I really don't miss much from the "smart" features I'd gotten used to... (Probably the only thing I miss is the "silent vibration on my wrist when I've left my phone on my desk but am still nearby"...) Edit: * It was FitBit not Garmin, as pointed out in replies by dugfin and spike021. Thanks.
- spike021 9y ago
  >When Pebble sold out to Garmin They were acquired by Fitbit, not Garmin
- DugFin 9y ago
  >Turns out the answer was _always_ "No." My experience has been the opposite. I bought a Pebble so I could know whether I had to put down my tools, pull out my phone, and answer a call from my boss; or if I could just ignore yet another call from an idiot coworker. >When Pebble sold out to Garmin I wish. Garmin might have done something with it. They sold out to FitBit, whose major motivation was the elimination of a competitor.
- 333c 9y ago
  I'm a fellow Pebble user. Currently wearing a Pebble Time. My favorite feature of the watch is the screen, because it's always on, and, like traditional digital watches, ambient light increases visibility of the screen (unlike the Apple Watch, which is hindered by bright ambient light). At the moment, I plan to wear this watch until it stops working or can't hold a charge. After this, I don't know where I'll go. I might try the Apple Watch, but prices seem a bit steep for me. I might just go back to a non-smart watch. I wish Pebble had managed the business side of things better, because I like(d) the product.
  - bigiain 9y ago
    I'm _vaguely_ considering Dremel-ing open my original Pebble to see if replacing the battery is possible. The Googleable teardowns and xrays seem to suggest there's not a lot of hope though...
    - NotQuantum 9y ago
      You can just unscrew the back panel. I've looked for a replacement battery for my pebble but to no avail. It's actually a relatively serviceable device if you don't mind soldering. (Mines a gen1 pebble by the way)
rconti 9y ago
I dragged my heels on buying one for quite awhile. I didn't really "get" it, and didn't really see the use case. I liked wearing "normal" watches and didn't want a device that, if I liked it, would mean I could no longer wear a normal watch anymore. (or, worse, if I hated it, I wasted my money). I used a friend's for a few minutes and was even LESS enamored with it. It felt freeing, "great, now I don't need to bother buying one!" But then, something happened, and I stopped wearing watches regularly. I had a business trip coming up, the Apple Watch 2 was still in limited supply, and I wanted a toy to play with. Went to the store, couldn't find one in the US. But I found the last one one at an Apple Store in Germany, bought it as an impulse buy, and haven't looked back. It's absolutely something you can live without. There is no killer app. But I just LIKE it, and it's useful every day. It replaced my Fitbits that keep dying. I use ApplePay on it which is amazing, I just wish it was supported more places. I use it for boarding passes. I use it for notifications. I use it to ack PagerDuty and Okta 2factor alerts for SSO and VPN. I just think, because it's a new(ish) category, and it does many somewhat useful things but nothing you need, it doesn't drive people to lust after one. But once you have it, you really like it.
- macavity23 9y ago
  Acking PagerDuty alerts from your wrist during a show feels like a superpower.
rkuykendall-com 9y ago
From my own experience, it's the opposite. I've known several people who thought they would love an Apple watch, and all ended up selling it used after a few months.

by vlozko 9y ago

From my own experience and reading that of others, it's the device that no one can justify until they get one. Then it becomes the device that the vast majority love and some can't live without.

archvile 9y ago

Can confirm, feel like I lost my left arm if I don't have my watch on.

colordrops 9y ago
That sounds horrible.

bigiain 9y ago

So I've been a serial Pebble smartwatch rather than Apple Watch owner - my original motivation was I thought it's be neat to be able to glance at my wrist while riding the bike and see who was calling/texting so I would know if I wanted to pull over and answer right then, or wait till I'd got to my destination. Turns out the answer was _always_ "No." whoever it was, it could always wait. I was either going to be at home/work in 5-10 minutes and I could call back then, or I was on a trip and wasn't going to stop till the bike needed more fuel in an hour or two and it could wait till then. (Or I could ignore it completely...) When Pebble sold out to Garmin* and refunded my pledge/order for the last version, I spent some of that money on a second hand mechanical watch - I really don't miss much from the "smart" features I'd gotten used to... (Probably the only thing I miss is the "silent vibration on my wrist when I've left my phone on my desk but am still nearby"...) Edit: * It was FitBit not Garmin, as pointed out in replies by dugfin and spike021. Thanks.

spike021 9y ago
>When Pebble sold out to Garmin They were acquired by Fitbit, not Garmin
DugFin 9y ago
>Turns out the answer was _always_ "No." My experience has been the opposite. I bought a Pebble so I could know whether I had to put down my tools, pull out my phone, and answer a call from my boss; or if I could just ignore yet another call from an idiot coworker. >When Pebble sold out to Garmin I wish. Garmin might have done something with it. They sold out to FitBit, whose major motivation was the elimination of a competitor.
333c 9y ago
I'm a fellow Pebble user. Currently wearing a Pebble Time. My favorite feature of the watch is the screen, because it's always on, and, like traditional digital watches, ambient light increases visibility of the screen (unlike the Apple Watch, which is hindered by bright ambient light). At the moment, I plan to wear this watch until it stops working or can't hold a charge. After this, I don't know where I'll go. I might try the Apple Watch, but prices seem a bit steep for me. I might just go back to a non-smart watch. I wish Pebble had managed the business side of things better, because I like(d) the product.
- bigiain 9y ago
  I'm _vaguely_ considering Dremel-ing open my original Pebble to see if replacing the battery is possible. The Googleable teardowns and xrays seem to suggest there's not a lot of hope though...
  - NotQuantum 9y ago
    You can just unscrew the back panel. I've looked for a replacement battery for my pebble but to no avail. It's actually a relatively serviceable device if you don't mind soldering. (Mines a gen1 pebble by the way)

rconti 9y ago

I dragged my heels on buying one for quite awhile. I didn't really "get" it, and didn't really see the use case. I liked wearing "normal" watches and didn't want a device that, if I liked it, would mean I could no longer wear a normal watch anymore. (or, worse, if I hated it, I wasted my money). I used a friend's for a few minutes and was even LESS enamored with it. It felt freeing, "great, now I don't need to bother buying one!" But then, something happened, and I stopped wearing watches regularly. I had a business trip coming up, the Apple Watch 2 was still in limited supply, and I wanted a toy to play with. Went to the store, couldn't find one in the US. But I found the last one one at an Apple Store in Germany, bought it as an impulse buy, and haven't looked back. It's absolutely something you can live without. There is no killer app. But I just LIKE it, and it's useful every day. It replaced my Fitbits that keep dying. I use ApplePay on it which is amazing, I just wish it was supported more places. I use it for boarding passes. I use it for notifications. I use it to ack PagerDuty and Okta 2factor alerts for SSO and VPN. I just think, because it's a new(ish) category, and it does many somewhat useful things but nothing you need, it doesn't drive people to lust after one. But once you have it, you really like it.

macavity23 9y ago
Acking PagerDuty alerts from your wrist during a show feels like a superpower.

rkuykendall-com 9y ago

From my own experience, it's the opposite. I've known several people who thought they would love an Apple watch, and all ended up selling it used after a few months.