Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Pebble's next step

blog.getpebble.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

441–450 of 457 posts

Re: Pebble's next step

#441

Post by slantyyz »

RobotCaleb wrote: post #235
slantyyz wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> This is sad because I was just about to get a Pebble (had tried beefier watches but felt battery life was too limited). Yeah this is sad. I had a Pebble 2 on my short list as a fitness tracker but went with something else. I liked that their devices didn't try to be too much. They were good at a few things and had a battery life I could live with.

What did you go with? I have Pebble 2 HR on my Christmas list. I had taken it off when these rumors started, but I couldn't find anything I liked more. I'm interested in Google Fit integration as I'm using that to track my runs.

I went with a Xiaomi Mi Band 2. My main desire was for sleep tracking and Google Fit integration. It was dirt cheap and it's comfortable to wear while sleeping. The Xiaomi app integrates with Google Fit. I also have the Xiaomi smart scale, so I have been able to push all my info into Google Fit fairly seamlessly.

Re: Pebble's next step

#442

Post by this-dang-guy »

KallDrexx wrote: post #436
this-dang-guy wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is exactly the sort of watch I'm looking at. It's a watch first, a smartwatch second - those notifications look ideal. How does it hold up "out there" in the real world? Is it too focused on the suit/office crowd?

Not totally sure what you mean by "out there", but it holds up just fine for me. People comment that I have a good looking watch and only really notice that it's a smart watch when they try and see why I'm fiddling with buttons to read and dismiss notifications. My only complaint is they try and be clever and detect when you move your wrist up to look at it, so it auto-shows you notifications. This sucks because it's…

By "out there" I mean things like hiking, biking, travel, etc. Away from a sterile lab/work type environment. Things like scratches, rain, dust. Most smartwatches work ok only if really babied.

Interesting to know about the display of the notifications. I was wondering how cleverly they did that, and if it was a check box. Sounds like it needs to be a checkbox or something.

Re: Pebble's next step

#443

Post by Fnoord »

KallDrexx wrote: post #436
this-dang-guy wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is exactly the sort of watch I'm looking at. It's a watch first, a smartwatch second - those notifications look ideal. How does it hold up "out there" in the real world? Is it too focused on the suit/office crowd?

Not totally sure what you mean by "out there", but it holds up just fine for me. People comment that I have a good looking watch and only really notice that it's a smart watch when they try and see why I'm fiddling with buttons to read and dismiss notifications. My only complaint is they try and be clever and detect when you move your wrist up to look at it, so it auto-shows you notifications. This sucks because it's…

> My only complaint is they try and be clever and detect when you move your wrist up to look at it, so it auto-shows you notifications. This sucks because it's not totally reliable (so half the time I press the button to bring up notifications and it ends up dismissing them because they are already in view, and other times it triggers due to an incorrect motion). I wish you could turn that off but I haven't found a way yet.

The Pebble watchface Time Orbit by Spectre Collie has the very same problem. I love the watchface looks, but if you tilt it, it decides to show other info such as date. It is a usability problem.

There's a rather large difference between the Vector and Pebble though. I checked various Vector watches and saw most at 500 USD, with one at 400 USD. So the cheapest Vector appears to be about 4 times more expensive than a Pebble 2 Classic. I don't know, that just doesn't seem like a fair comparison.

Re: Pebble's next step

#444

Post by Fnoord »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #296
pfooti wrote: post #266

Well, this sucks. I really don't want a fitbit - I like the pebble formfactor and legit use it as a notifier. If I wanted a fitness tracker, I'd get a $15 pedometer. I backed and received a pebble2 to replace my pebble1. (as a Under some circumstances, I'd be fine just ignoring the acquisition and continuing to use my p2. The real problem is when the pebble integrations stop working. If that happens in a few months,…

Check out the Vector Watch: http://vectorwatch.com/ 1) displays full notifications (email, text, etc) Yes, although I'm not sure what you mean by "full" notifications. 2) handles navigation turn-by-turn directions I couldn't find anything about that, so it doesn't look like it supports that yet. But I assume that it is being developed. 3) controls my music stream Yes. 4) lasts for a week+ on one charge One charge las…

> but a lot of other Pebble users are pointing to this one as an alternative.

Yeah, that's all nice, but what about the price comparison? I had a look and the cheapest Vector I found was 400 USD. In contrast, the Pebble 2 via Kickstarter cost 100 USD (OK, with VAT and S&H it was 115 USD for me).

> I couldn't find anything about that, so it doesn't look like it supports that yet. But I assume that it is being developed.

You see, that's the problem. Pebble has been around for multiple years and had an ecosystem going. A lot of applications and watchfaces with functionality.

Pebble 2 versions also have a HRM. A Core would have a GPS. You wouldn't even need a phone w/that. My Pebble 2 sync with Google Fit as well. That's a big plus for sports like running and hiking (running with a phone sucks, esp as phones become larger and larger).

Vector looks classy, like a Pebble Round I guess, and it has a huge benefit in 30 days battery. Even if your battery is starting to wear out you'll still be able to use it for a long time, unlike the one day flies like Samsung and Apple. What Samsung and Apple have going for it, is research into usability. I'm not saying they're there yet but their products are iterations on usability R&D. The usability isn't quite there yet. That's why smartwatches aren't there yet. People know this. They read reviews. They speak to people who got the watch.

I saw someone with a Vector saying they had a scratch on their screen. I'm worried about the same on my Pebble 2. Previously, I'd just buy a new one (a new official screen for my phone would cost 85 EUR; which is a lot less than the average SGS or iPhone). I really wouldn't want that on a 400 USD product without knowing beforehand how much a fix would be.

One thing I still miss with my Pebble is a simple shop list on my watch. I end up grabbing my phone while in the grocery store for Google Keep just waiting for that day a kid runs into me and oops, it falls, ca-ching 85 EUR new screen.

Re: Pebble's next step

#445

Post by elkos »

FireBeyond wrote: post #422
elkos wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could such a pledge provide enough assurance? If the company folds its IP is up for grubs, this might include their products source code. Right? If that's the case I would prefer to purchase devices that are actually already running free software or there is free software available to flash on them. Person

That would be a pre-existing contract that the future IP holder would (or should, if written 'securely') be obligated to uphold.

Thanks hmm... that indeed sounds legit. Would definitely like to see that. If I have no open source alternative for a connected hardware device that seems to me like the next best thing.

Re: Pebble's next step

#446

Post by manigandham »

captainmuon wrote: post #64

I'm quite angry. This sucks so bad. I "ordered" a Time 2 via Kickstarter. I'm glad they are refunding me, but that makes me think... WTF, did they not produce any Time 2's? Or are they all going to the landfill? How long have they been knowing that they are going to be insolvent? This doesn't happen overnight! Was the last Kickstarter a gamble? Why does everybody have to aim for total market dominance to be successfu…

> Why does everybody have to aim for total market dominance to be successful?

Because they want money, and it's very hard to be sustainably profitable when it comes to hardware without major scale.

If you can do different/better, then go do it. Be the change you want to see.

Re: Pebble's next step

#447

Post by kobeya »

kobeya wrote: post #246
codemac wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How bad / hard is it to put our own software on a pebble? I think that would promote longevity more than looking for another "unicorn of Kickstarter"

And when the current generation of pebbles die from planned obsolescence?

I'm not understanding the downvotes. Pebble devices, as well built as they are, are using components that have definite lifetimes. They are not designed to last forever or be fully user serviceable. What do you do when the components fail?

Re: Pebble's next step

#448

Post by grzm »

kobeya wrote: post #447
kobeya wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And when the current generation of pebbles die from planned obsolescence?

I'm not understanding the downvotes. Pebble devices, as well built as they are, are using components that have definite lifetimes. They are not designed to last forever or be fully user serviceable. What do you do when the components fail?

Components having definite lifetimes and planned obsolescence are two different things, the latter implying artificially limiting the useful life of a product. If that's what you meant, others may be down-voting you because they don't think Pebble in fact did that, especially as you haven't provided any evidence to that effect.

Re: Pebble's next step

#449

Post by minner1234 »

benley wrote: post #411
TeMPOraL wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I remember, Fitbit has ~30M customers, and Pebble has ~1M. That's just 3% of Fitbit's userbase, so pretty much a rounding error. I don't believe they will care.

I'm pretty sure the pebble cloud services are going to be up and running for the foreseeable future. source: I do infrastructure stuff at fitbit. Also they explicitly said this in the developer.pebble.com blog post.

fogive my ignorance but what is pebble cloud service exactly? same as cloudpebble? i just can't figure out and can't find useful info. i would be much appreciated for help. thanks.

Re: Pebble's next step

#450

Post by iamatworknow »

PascLeRasc wrote: post #423
iamatworknow wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Making battery life a priority in a world of WiFi-enabled pressure cookers. I literally wear my Time Steel for 23 hours and 45 minutes per day. The only time it's charging and not on my wrist is when I'm in the shower, and over the course of a regular day it never drops below 80%. If I'm going away for a weekend I don't even have to bother with the charger.

Do you really sleep comfortable with it on? I can't imagine wearing my (analog) watch to sleep.

Took a little while to get used to but yeah, I don't even notice it now. I have a third party silicone strap on it, which may help.
Post reply on HN