Open Source Smartwatch • Hacker News Board

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#171

Post by deadw3ight » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 8:23 PM UTC

After reading what others have said and feedback on PineTime and what a good hackable watch should have, it seems like Pebble should resurrect from the grave as a hackable watch. I mean the pebble time had 128kb ram (this only has 64k ram), an color epaper display, 150mAh battery (over a week battery life), heart rate sensors, etc. Heck its even being supported by the open source community AFTER it was discontinued.

Maybe Fitbit can be petitioned to make the Pebble's hardware fully open source too.

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#172

Post by dariosalvi78 » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 8:25 PM UTC

aryamaan wrote: post #62

I'll buy one in a heartbeat which tracks Sp02 throughout and viberates/beeps when it goes below a threshold.

Withings has one certified as medical device (the only one I know of that got such certification)

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#173

Post by snvzz » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 8:38 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #160

snvzz wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The target customer does not care.

Ask N900 owners how they don't care about having a replacement.

False analogy. The N900 was an end user product. This is not.

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#174

Post by Fnoord » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:21 PM UTC

ohthehugemanate wrote: post #116

newman8r wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I moved from smart watches back to an old Casio sgw-100. Battery life is the main reason. It's nice just to always have a watch that works, and be able to go on camping trips and really be able to rely on the device. I've changed the battery once in 2 years (and that was simply preventative). The fact that it just keeps on working for years at a time is a nice contrast to basically every other modern device.

Highly recommend the so-called "hybrid" smart watches from Fossil, Withings, etc. The're analog watches with a minimal digital display and all the basic functionality of a smart watch. But since they don't waste power on a big color screen, wifi, or other extravagance, battery life is on the order of a month. I love mine. I get my notifications, pulse, step, and sleep tracking, in a classy looking package with a grow…

I got one (Fossil) as well. I love to have the e-ink off, that way it looks like a classic watch. Disadvantage is you cannot put Bluetooth off. I really don't want it on, unless when I specifically turn it on. I probably want a kill switch for it. Which Pebble had.

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#175

Post by EvRev » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:23 PM UTC

pistoriusp wrote: post #14

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out the Amazfit Bip (S) watch. Cheap, sleek, waterproof, gorilla glass always-on display, battery lasts a month, does GPS tracking without smartphone connection and you can sync it via Gadgetbridge to keep all your data private without any account/cloud services.

Unfortunately they no longer make them. Or at least I could not find any to be bought.

Ebay has tons. They run $25 to $40.

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#176

Post by Fnoord » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:25 PM UTC

ryukafalz wrote: post #93

BlueTemplar wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weirdly enough, I prefer the more "toy-like" Pebble buttons to the more "solid-looking" Pebble Time ones : they are easier to find without looking, and easier to press.

Having had both, the Pebble buttons got a bit gummy over time whereas the Pebble Time buttons are still very solid. The latter seem more well put-together, IMO.

The Pebble 2 SE buttons are known to fade off eventually. There's a hardware mod (3D printer) which requires orig. Pebble Classic buttons to fix it. Unfortunately, I broke my Pebble 2 SE in the process. Its very delicate hardware.

I ended up buying a Fossil Hybrid HR instead. Its a decent watch, just a tad expensive.

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#177

Post by lambda_obrien » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:26 PM UTC

deadw3ight wrote: post #170

lambda_obrien wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would pay so much for a hackable watch like this with a 3 or 4 color epaper display, I'd almost pay as much as an apple watch if it was high quality hardware and had a great open API and toolchain.

Go on ebay and purchase a Pebble Time. Color epaper display, fully hackable even after being discontinued thanks to the dev community who continues to update it with "Rebble" the open source version of the OS it ran on.

Thanks!

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#178

Post by f430 » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:29 PM UTC

Does anybody actively use smartwatch? I remember I bought the first Google pay smartwatch Mobvi Ticwatch Pro.

Used it once to pay for dinner and jogging a few times and found it to be not useful as I keep going back to my smartphone which I am not keen to carry while exercising.

I'm hoping that Smartglasses won't be a flop but can't help but feel we are no in a plateau of really incremental innovations moving the screen from desktop to our pockets now to our wrists, our glasses and perhaps if Elon gets his way our brains in the future.

Still would want one tho as it appears it is very light unlike many major brand ones that seem so bulky and large on my tiny wrists

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#179

Post by EvRev » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:32 PM UTC

I have been using a Amaze Bipfit with Gadget bridge for the past few months. It helped me get my sleep back on track and my fitness levels back to a baseline. Previously I had a Basis and I really miss the galvanic skin response sensor and the temperature sensor. There are not any devices that work with Gadgetbridge, let alone anything on the market I trust using that has these two additional sensors, which allows be to see triggers in stress beyond the heart rate.

Hats off to the Pine folks for having a smartwatch, but for God's sake if they are going to develop their own devices from the ground up please include a temp sensor at the least.

Re: Open Source Smartwatch

#180

Post by chrsw » Sat, Jan 02, 2021, 9:36 PM UTC

Cool project. I'm starting to become a fan of dual core BLE SoCs though. One small M0 to handle the BLE stack (which typically has to be high priority) and one M4 for the application.