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Introducing Pebble Time

kickstarter.com

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Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#321

Post by reitanqild »

ansible wrote: post #301
joosters wrote: post #163

What happened to 'Kickstarter is not a store' - https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store ? Offering multiple quantities of a reward is prohibited. Hardware and Product Design projects can only offer rewards in single quantities or a sensible set (some items only make sense as a pair or as a kit of several items, for instance). The development of new products can be especially complex for creators a…

I really don't see the point of ordering a Pebble from Kickstarter myself, even if I had a desire for such a watch. The nominal amount I might save by doing the pre-order is more than offset by the risk I'm assuming. I'd much rather wait until the product is released, and then read some independent reviews... especially ones where the reviewer has been wearing it for a month or so. I've only funded two crowd-sourced…

For others the price isn't the important point, being along on the kickstarter is merely about being first in the queue for a new toy.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#322

Post by TeMPOraL »

VLM wrote: post #320
TeMPOraL wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the correction is simpler and less distracting. I can backspace the word I misspelled and fix it without breaking my thought flow, whereas when I try that with dictation... well, it doesn't work that way. Especially that the whole point of dictation should be that you're not actually looking at the screen and double-checking if what's recognized is what you said.

"Especially that the whole point of dictation should be that you're not actually looking at the screen" I've noticed UIs always get "needier" over time. Call it VLM's Law. In the old days a dumbphone could be operated tactile in total darkness without looking at it at all. Then smartphones came along which needed occasional glances at the screen to verify the screen and touch screen position/orientation (portrait vs…

Yeah. What I loved about dumbphones and feature phones was not just keys - it was that they had firmware instead of a full-blown OS, and thus predictable timing. I could operate my K800i in total darkness without looking at it, because I knew that, say, "joy-click, wait for around half a second, left, joy-click, down, joy-click" would take me to my messages. If I tried something like that with my S4, I'd end up pretty much wherever, because the UI likes to hang for half a sec every now and then.

#nostalgia

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#323

Post by bboreham »

DenisM wrote: post #287

As I look at the total pledge amount climbing higher and higher, at $5.5m presently, I can't help but think that VCs and bankers got completely cut out of the "deal". It used to be that you had to please a whole bunch of finance guys to get anything done, but this time they weren't even invited to the table. It's a big change. I also keep thinking about other ways in which the financial sector can get disintermediate…

> bankers got completely cut out of the "deal"

Seems to me that Kickstarter are the banker, taking 5% of the funds. And their payment processors are taking another 3%.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#324

Post by wvenable »

Navarr wrote: post #254
wvenable wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fast animations are good. I have a jailbroken iPhone and the first thing I do is turn off a lot of the animations and the phone is super-snappy compared to stock. Whenever I use someone else's iPhone, it's just so painful to switch apps and navigate around. So I understand not wanting to watch some stupid animation over and over instead of just getting to the point. But some animations are helpful for seeing when thi…

It's just interesting seeing someone promote the precise opposite of the now ever so popular Material Design thought of basically using animations everywhere to convey motion, meaning, and hierarchy.

Everything can be overused. Microsoft pretty much invented the "flat" movement that has been happening but they're also guilty of making things so flat and undefined that you don't even know what to click on! The iPhone uses animation as filler to hide slow app loading in the first gen but it isn't necessary anymore. Even skeuomorphism is ok when it conveys meaning but most uses are garish effects that provide zero benefit.

Animations that are merely cool looking might be fun for the first dozen times but then it gets old.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#325

Post by Cub3 »

ntkachov wrote: post #165
samsnelling wrote: post #95

The killer feature here is something that no one is talking about! >We've included a soft silicone band with each Pebble Time, but all standard 22mm watch bands will fit. All new Pebble watch bands include a quick-release pin, letting you swap bands in under 10 seconds. Standard watch bands is something that most other wearables aren't embracing. This makes the Pebble significantly more enticing.

This is false. The Asus ZenWatch, moto360, LG G Watch, LG G watch R all use standard 22mm bands.

But not 'quick release'?

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#326

Post by myth_buster »

feld wrote: post #282
myth_buster wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have not tested it in the open. Inside home it stays connected when I'm in kitchen and the phone is in bedroom. It has also stayed connected when I went out to my car which was across my patio.

that's incredible; much better than I would have guessed.

Yes it is. Although, I believe it depends on the bluetooth's strength which may be device specific. Mine is a SGS4.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#327

Post by Infinitesimus »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #314
O____________O wrote: post #227

I think animated transitions are the skeuomorphism of 2015. Mind you, I'm technically impressed that an E-Ink display can now be animated, but I can't wait for the end of the animated UI boom.

Well, thank marketing for you being impressed. It's actually the only issue I have with Pebble. They are all amazing and unicorns, but why on Earth intentionally confuse people to think they're buying an e-ink display? It's not e-ink, it's e-paper, a fancy name for something that is not the thing that uses zero energy when not updating.

The site in the OP explicitly states that it is an e-paper display, and so does the video....

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#328

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

kmfrk wrote: post #279
joosters wrote: post #163

What happened to 'Kickstarter is not a store' - https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store ? Offering multiple quantities of a reward is prohibited. Hardware and Product Design projects can only offer rewards in single quantities or a sensible set (some items only make sense as a pair or as a kit of several items, for instance). The development of new products can be especially complex for creators a…

The upside of this is that Pebble get to rake in people's money for pre-orders - not a finished product - which means they manage to pre-empt Apple Watch stealing the show. The drive is going to run until ultimo March, with Apple Watch being ready in April. The downside is that you eat a lot of fees by using Kickstarter, when you might have been able to run your own drive independently like Lockitron, so it's interes…

Kickstarter has other advantages. For one, everyone who backed the original Pebble watch already has a Kickstarter account.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#330

Post by bigiain »

fragmede wrote: post #304
DenisM wrote: post #287

As I look at the total pledge amount climbing higher and higher, at $5.5m presently, I can't help but think that VCs and bankers got completely cut out of the "deal". It used to be that you had to please a whole bunch of finance guys to get anything done, but this time they weren't even invited to the table. It's a big change. I also keep thinking about other ways in which the financial sector can get disintermediate…

That's a cute viewpoint, but the mere mortals get screwed, same as always. Let's say a VC invests $2.4 million dollars in a company. Let's assume the company does well and sells out to Facebook for $2.3 billion. The VC, being wise in the ways of finance, profits handsomely from that $2.3 billion. What if, instead of a VC investing $2.4 million dollars, it was a large collection of mortals each investing a small sum,…

I see that slightly differently.

I, as a "mere mortal", have already _given_ $200 to Pebble, and $400 to ZPM Espresso.

I got exactly the return I wanted and was entitled to from Pebble, I've had a smart watch on my wrist for ~2 years now and _their_ company has thrived (and they are not under any legal, moral, or even politeness related obligation to offer me anything more except perhaps an opportunity to participate in their next big idea. I certainly don't expect a cut of their eventual acquisition payday).

I got an outcome that, while not my most desirable one, was certainly one of the outcomes I was prepared for from ZPM - a bunch of updates indicating they were working furiously trying ti achieve their dream - and finally a message says "sorry people, didn't work out". And I'm perfectly fine with that too.

I know not everyone views Kickstarter that way (and the "blame" for that falls firmly on both project creators and Kickstarter themselves), but if you expect it to work like a shop - buy your stuff from a shop - they'll ship it with close to 100% certainty, you'll be covered by consumer protection laws and credit card fraud policies and other similar well know remedies. "Kickstarter" even implies in it's name they're not like that. You're often funding pre-manufacturing ideas - along with all the risk associated with the assumptions of getting things finalised and manufactured, and hopefully benefiting by getting your trinket well before the general public and probably at a discounted price for assuming some of that risk.

I've _never_ been "screwed" by Kickstarter - even though I've funded several failed projects. That's part of the Kickstarter game. The same as all those non 1000x exits the VCs fund - they're not getting screwed there, they're playing the risk/reward number game. If they didn't want to get "screwed" by the 99.5% of the companies they invest in failing to return 1000x, they'd be investing in government bonds or blue chip stocks.

You only "get screwed" by a successful (or failed) Kickstarter project/company if you choose to view yourself as a victim (or have a tremendously overactive sense of entitlement).

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