The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#1

Post by avsaro » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:09 PM UTC

The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive
arstechnica.com

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#2

Post by startuup » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:34 PM UTC

Seeing if anyone in HN community has been playing around with wearables by developing apps for them and whats your experience been like so far?

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#3

Post by lowglow » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:43 PM UTC

startuup wrote: post #2

Seeing if anyone in HN community has been playing around with wearables by developing apps for them and whats your experience been like so far?

I'm interested in this as well. If you're in SF come out to http://hackendo.techendo.co/

I'll be there building and figuring out how wearables fit into the future of tech.

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#4

Post by njharman » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:51 PM UTC

2.0? That falls fare short of what wearables were doing decades ago.

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#5

Post by mikestew » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:55 PM UTC

I find it interesting that the Android app update is being delayed, given that Android has thus far been the platform of choice if you own a Pebble. For the longest time you couldn't do that much with unjailbroken iOS due to limitations. SMS, phone calls, and music control, that was it. Email was unreliable at best (iOS-using Pebble owners know the notification settings "finger dance" all too well).

No worries now that an Android phone is my daily driver. The watch does what I expected it to do when I bought it, and I can wait. Because, frankly, Yelp and FourSquare on a watch display aren't going to have me swapping the SIM card back to an iPhone.

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#6

Post by aaronem » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:56 PM UTC

njharman wrote: post #4

2.0? That falls fare short of what wearables were doing decades ago.

Really? Which wearable, decades ago, had the ability to pair with a smartphone and access the Internet to retrieve information for display?

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#7

Post by mikestew » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 10:57 PM UTC

njharman wrote: post #4

2.0? That falls fare short of what wearables were doing decades ago.

What do you mean? A decade ago it was Microsoft SPOT, which could do Microsoft Messenger, weather, stocks and news. Is there something else you're thinking of?

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#8

Post by pkteison » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 11:05 PM UTC

I know 3 people with pebbles. All 3 have had the screens stop updating properly after several months. Plenty of other folks on the forums also have display problems. I feel like it was an ok level of satisfaction for a kickstarter and proof-of-concept, but nowhere near good enough for me to stick with the platform. I'm just hoping it inspires another company to do a great job of making an awesome e-ink watch now that the market has been demonstrated.

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#9

Post by lnanek2 » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 11:10 PM UTC

aaronem wrote: post #6

njharman wrote: post #4

2.0? That falls fare short of what wearables were doing decades ago.

Really? Which wearable, decades ago, had the ability to pair with a smartphone and access the Internet to retrieve information for display?

Wearables decades ago were generally big computer bricks on your waist or otherwise strapped to your body, then a separate display up at your head, and often a separate input in your hand like a Twiddler chorded keyboard. They did tend to range in power and capabilities up to matching laptops of the day, though.

Re: The Pebble Steel review: Wearables 2.0 arrive

#10

Post by sahaskatta » Tue, Jan 28, 2014, 11:16 PM UTC

startuup wrote: post #2

Seeing if anyone in HN community has been playing around with wearables by developing apps for them and whats your experience been like so far?

I think it's absolutely a hot space. I know a good number of people who work for Pebble and love their product, however I personally put that particular device aside once I got a Google Glass.

I have something in the works for Pebble coming very soon, however I actually launched GlassTesla last year. http://glasstesla.com There are currently ~200 folks who happen to have both Google Glass and a Tesla Model S using the app.