While the Pebble smartwatch range may not compete with the more sophisticated Android Wear watches in terms of functionality or display quality, it can be a good option for those who want multi-day battery-life. Third-party company Powerstrap is now aiming to boost that life even further with a powered strap that claims to add a full week of power through a 250mAh battery, as well as an on-board GPS module.
When Pebble announced its new Pebble Time watches and (later on) the Pebble Time Round, it also released a brand new operating system for its popular wearable. This new Timeline was a drastic departure from its original user interface. Sadly, it was a UI only available to those with the new Time models, although the company did promise that the new OS would make its way to older devices too.
Android Wear smartwatches may not be as much of a “hot gift” this year as the Apple Watch is, but if you have friends without an iPhone, going with an Android-based smartwatch is pretty much your only option if you want to gift them a wearable. There are a lot of options to pick from across many different price points, but we’re here to help you pick out the perfect combo of fashion and tech for your loved one… Expand Expanding Close
The Pebble Time Round was announced in September, and now — just a bit over a month later — it’s about to finally be available at stores across the United States. Pebble says that the watch will be available at Best Buy and Target stores in the US on November 8th, and will also be available online at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com, and Pebble.com on the same day… Expand Expanding Close
Pebble is counting down for something on September 23rd. We’re not quite sure what the semi-smart watchmaker is up to and at this point we’re a little afraid to ask. Thankfully we’ll know in a few days.
Update: Oh this is interesting. Looks like Pebble could be launching a phone (thanks Marciplan) The current http://getpebble.com/pebble_phone URL redirects to an April 1st joke – get Pebblet.
Pebble has announced today an update to the firmware of the company’s smartwatch, bringing several features that the community has oft-requested. Most notably, the new firmware brings settings for adjusting font size, backlight, and vibration. Pebble also released an updated version of the Pebble Time’s Android app counterpart, bumping it to version 3.2.0, which brings a new search bar, preserved notification preferences, and other minor changes… Expand Expanding Close
If you’re not a huge fan of platform-segregated accessories, you’re probably also the kind of person that would go for a Pebble smartwatch over the likes of the Android-only Moto 360 or the iOS-only Apple Watch. And if you’re that kind of person and haven’t yet grabbed the new smartwatch-with-a-color-ePaper-display, you now have a couple more retail outlets to pick from. Expand Expanding Close
Pebble has a long-time friendship with Best Buy, and now the smartwatch maker is launching the first widespread availability of its new Pebble Time through the retailer. Available for $200, the standard 22mm non-steel version of the watch is now available for consumers to put their claim on red, black, and white models.
While the Kickstarter Edition just recently began shipping to those who backed the watch, those just now realizing that they would actually like a smartwatch that has a color e-paper display, more than 5 days of battery life, and cross-platform compatibility are in luck:
We recently reviewed the Pebble Time, saying that while it does have its upsides, it still feels stuck in the past compared to the currently-available Android Wear devices and the Apple Watch. Long battery life is nice, but the lack of a touch screen and sketchy compatibility with iOS hold the device back—especially at this price point.
Pebble Time is an interesting smartwatch. This is a bit different from anything else out there in the sense that it’s super low-tech. There’s absolutely nothing flashy about it. As far as smartwatches go, this is as barebones as it gets, but is that bad thing?
Pebble has updated its Kickstarter page, advising that the first batch of Pebble Time smartwatches will begin shipping on 27th May, and that all orders placed through Kickstarter will ship by mid-June.
Great news: the first batch of Pebble Time shipments are scheduled to go out Wednesday, May 27. With things moving along at this rate, we expect all Pebble Time Rewards to be manufactured by the end of the month […] Every backer with a Pebble Time included in their selected reward tier should receive a tracking number from us by mid-June.
Despite raising $20M from the Kickstarter campaign, however, TechCrunch is reporting that the company is having trouble raising additional funding “in order to stay afloat” …
The Galaxy S6 is undeniably one of the most powerful handheld computers ever created (and many of the other Android flagships this year fall into the same category). Samsung’s device packs the best chipset the South Korean company has made yet, the octo-core Exynos 7420, along with 3 GB of RAM, bringing processing power that supersedes the capabilities of desktop computers from not many years ago.
But just how powerful is the Galaxy S6? As you can see, it would take the power of five PlayStation 2s to match it, but keep reading for a more detailed comparison, pitting the handset against smartwatches and supercomputers alike. This infographic makes many other interesting comparisons, my favorite being the almost identical processing power between the original Pebble smartwatch and the Nintendo 64… Expand Expanding Close
A week after Pebble announced a color-screen version of its popular smartwatch, the Pebble Time, it has now announced a stainless steel model: the Pebble Time Steel. The metal version is available in silver, black and gold finishes.
The Time Steel will retail at $299–a hundred bucks more than the plastic original–but you can order one now on Kickstarter for an early bird price of $250 … Expand Expanding Close
Update: Less than 30 minutes after launching its Kickstarter campaign, the Pebble Time is fully funded.
Pebble has this morning announced the next generation of its smartwatch, called Pebble Time. The device, as we reported last week, sports a color e-paper display, a thinner design, a microphone on board, and a completely revamped ‘timeline’ interface. Pebble Time is launching on Kickstarter with early bird pricing tiers at $159 and $179, but the device will retail for $199.
Update: The image has been removed and replaced with the below image of an actual pebble… Oops?
We told you last week that Pebble is likely about to announce the next-generation of its smartwatch, featuring a thinner design, a color e-paper-like display, and a revamped OS. Now, thanks to an image hosted on Pebble’s own servers, we have a look at a device with a physical appearance matching the device we described. The device looks to have a larger bezel, as well as buttons that are smaller compared to its predecessor.
Pebble hasn’t introduced new hardware (besides some pretty new colors) since it launched the Pebble Steel in January of last year, but now it appears that the company is about to introduce what’s next in the pipeline. Rather than just iterating on the device’s current hardware with a black-and-white epaper display, we’re hearing the next Pebble might be getting a brand new color display and an overall design that’s a bit thinner…
Pebble announced in December that it would be launching a new update for its smartwatch software that would enable actionable notifications and compatibility with Android Wear-supported apps. By updating to the latest version of the Pebble app for Android and the lastest device software, users can take advantage of any Android Wear action right from their Pebble.
Pebble users have been left in the dust this year as Android Wear has taken hold over the smartwatch market–and offered some functionality that Pebble and other companies haven’t yet implemented. Today, Pebble has announced that they’re taking a step toward bringing their smartwatch offerings up to par with Wear, showing off a new upcoming software update that’s going to add actionable notifications and slew of other great features.
Pebble has launched version 2.5 of its smartwatch firmware, packing a bunch of great new features. The company says that the firmware brings the ability for the Pebble and Pebble Steel smartwatches to display Emoji, replacing the previous small white boxes that are all too familiar across platforms without Emoji support. The company is also launching the Compass app that they promised long ago, which can be picked up on the Pebble appstore.
Additionally, the app includes some interesting new abilities for users who have recently upgraded to iOS 8. Notably, the update now allows iOS users to dismiss notifications by clicking the X button to dismiss one, and holding it down to dismiss all. Pebble also says that the app should stay live in the background more often on iOS, but the company says that users should make sure not to disable “Smartwatch Proximity.”
The smartwatch should have improved Bluetooth and notification reliability compared to previous firmware versions, and Pebble says that 2.5 also fixes a plethora of bugs.
When you put the word “smart” in front of anything, most people tend to think that it’s going to be some kind of advanced product. Most smartwatches on the market have a display and offer a simplified (or detailed) look at information from your smartphone along with access to third-party apps and services.
CONNECTEDEVICE is the company that’s trying to put the “watch” back in smartwatch. What if your smartwatch was created with the primary purpose of showing the time? Well, that’s exactly what the Cogito Pop does. It offers style and functionality, but don’t expect anything fancy here. The Cogito Pop puts notifications on the back burner and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Motorola has just wrapped up a 25 minute Google Hangout where it showed off its recently announced Moto 360 wearable device and answered some frequently asked questions. During the event, Motorola discussed some of the inspiration behind the watch’s design, as well as revealing some more details about the device as a whole.
One instance in which Motorola’s Moto 360 is unique is its rounded design. Many other smart watches, including the Pebble and Gear are rectangular or square. Motorola says the decision to round its device was due to the iconic shape people associate watches with. The company also notes that 80 percent of watches sold today are still round. Another detail regarding the design is that the straps will be interchangeable, although Motorola says there will only be “several different options” the the bands. Ultimately, we’d love to see it use the common 22mm strap like the Pebble, but that’s unclear at this point.
There wasn’t much else revealed during the Q&A. Motorola says the device will work equally as well with left handers as it does with right handers. The device is also “aimed at women” too, which seems rather obvious. Motorola also confirmed that there is no camera in the device. As far as technical details go, the company said the Moto 360 will require Android 4.3 and BlueTooth 4.0 to be functional. In terms of size, the device is about 46 mm in diameter, which is rather large for a watch. But Motorola notes that the rounded design makes it seem a lot smaller than it really is.
Pebble announced today that it has updated its Pebble app for Android the smartwatch app store feature that it first rolled out for iOS users last month. The app now lets Android users browse and install apps and watch faces for Pebble: Expand Expanding Close
When a whole new category of technology arrives, you can usually rely on tech-heads to get excited about them even if the mass-market doesn’t. So far, though, smartwatches don’t seem to have made as much headway as many expected. When a confirmed gadget addict like me is left wondering why I’d want one, something somewhere is wrong.
But where functionality hasn’t persuaded many of us, perhaps price will. Archos is planning to launch a basic smartwatch in the summer for just $50, a price it may be hoping will lead people to stop asking ‘Why?’ and instead ask ‘Why not?’ … Expand Expanding Close
