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Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

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Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#241

Post by jerlam »

edejong wrote: post #163

There still is no good replacement for these properties of the Pebble 2 smartwatch: - > 7 days battery life - HR monitor (useful as a sports watch) - - toned down to fit different clothing styles - hackable - high-contrast, always-on screen - buttons I am currently wearing a Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire sportswatch, which comes close.

Another Garmin Fenix user here - the screen is what separates it from being a Pebble replacement the most. Most Garmin watches use a screen that is roughly on par with the Pebble Time, not the superior high-contrast Pebble 2. And if you get a higher-end Garmin with sapphire, the screen gets even more washed out.

Never tried the Garmin Instinct though - its monochrome screen looks better, but the rest of the watch has a distinctly downmarket feel.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#242

Post by huehehue »

rchaud wrote: post #209
helsinkiandrew wrote: post #202

I've got a friend who still uses a Palm Pilot (circa 1998) as a daily calendar manager/notepad. Works at Google and delights in telling younger colleagues it's a Pixel 8 prototype.

I'm sad that tech did away with replaceable batteries. I would love to use my 5-inch 16:9 Samsung phone from 2016. It still works fine, but the battery barely lasts an hour. Instead I have to use one of their gigantic replacement phones with a ridiculous 21:9 ratio.

I have fond memories of rooting early Android devices, and having to constantly rip the battery out when the phone would inevitably lock up.

I have less fond memories of waiting all day for a newer phone to run out of battery when the same thing happened.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#243

Post by mrcwinn »

solarkraft wrote: post #27

That few? I wasn't a huge fan of Pebble, the company - they didn't sell replacement parts, for instance (the watch for geeks? yeah, sure). For some crazy reason, though, to this day, this watch is still almost the only one that gets such a basic thing right: Telling the damn time. The formula is as simple as it is unreplicated: - Always telling the time - Good battery life - Buttons Why nobody else makes such a watch…

"That few?"

"Why nobody else makes such a watch is a mystery to me."

There ya go.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#245

Post by MBCook »

mrcwinn wrote: post #243
solarkraft wrote: post #27

That few? I wasn't a huge fan of Pebble, the company - they didn't sell replacement parts, for instance (the watch for geeks? yeah, sure). For some crazy reason, though, to this day, this watch is still almost the only one that gets such a basic thing right: Telling the damn time. The formula is as simple as it is unreplicated: - Always telling the time - Good battery life - Buttons Why nobody else makes such a watch…

"That few?" "Why nobody else makes such a watch is a mystery to me." There ya go.

Right. Apple sold 46.1 million Apple Watches last year alone.

There are always people who mourn the Pebble and I understand why. But the market has clearly shown you don’t need a week of battery life to be successful.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#246

Post by krono »

rekoil wrote: post #120

Every time Pebble is brought up it brings a tear to my eye, and I wonder what would have happened to the brand if they had accepted the offer from Citizen, who were obviously interested in continuing the line. The Pebble Time 2 was so far ahead of its time, I promise you I would still be rocking it (or whatever came after it from Pebble) if they had shipped it to me.

Never got my Pebble Time 2 either and I'm still sad about it today.

The continuous trickle of articles about how great these second generation Pebbles turned out, and my ongoing wait for an alternative that comes even close certainly haven't helped me forget!

Just noticed the Kickstarter page is still up https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/getpebble/pebble-2-time...

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#247

Post by brewdad »

Watchwatcher wrote: post #244

I basically want an old school style mp3 player with bluetooth and a GPS tracker that I can just plug into a computer and grab the gpx data, and copy mp3s to its disk. No apps, no locked down ecosystems. If it tells the time and shows a calendar, great.

I used to run with a Sansa Clip. It was perfect for that use case. Tiny, practically weightless, and could store many hours of music. My computer treated it like any USB drive, so it was easy to update. One of mine (I think I burned through 3 of them over the years even had an FM radio.

Today, when I run, I just carry my phone. It ends up doing everything the old clip did but in a much larger and more cumbersome package.

I'd probably carry my phone anyway these days after having a run, years ago, where my IT band told me I was done NOW but I was 8 miles from home. It was early Sunday morning and I ended up walking 2 miles on country roads and then through an empty office park before I found some place with a phone to call for a ride. That sucked.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#248

Post by unsafecast »

huehehue wrote: post #242
rchaud wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sad that tech did away with replaceable batteries. I would love to use my 5-inch 16:9 Samsung phone from 2016. It still works fine, but the battery barely lasts an hour. Instead I have to use one of their gigantic replacement phones with a ridiculous 21:9 ratio.

I have fond memories of rooting early Android devices, and having to constantly rip the battery out when the phone would inevitably lock up. I have less fond memories of waiting all day for a newer phone to run out of battery when the same thing happened.

I've never ever ran into a situation where holding the power button for ~15 seconds didn't reset the phone. This stuff runs at a _way_ lower level than the software you can mess with.

Non-removable batteries are still stupid though.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#249

Post by jbj »

capitainenemo wrote: post #221
rchaud wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sad that tech did away with replaceable batteries. I would love to use my 5-inch 16:9 Samsung phone from 2016. It still works fine, but the battery barely lasts an hour. Instead I have to use one of their gigantic replacement phones with a ridiculous 21:9 ratio.

The Samsung XCover6 Pro has an easily replaceable battery (and water resistance and physical buttons and dedication to 5 years of patching). In fact, I think it uses the same battery as the XCover from a couple of years ago. I just ordered mine yesterday actually. Kinda excited.

sadly it does not have support for /e/, graphene or similar.

My 3 last phones have been samsung, and after using /e/ I have no intent of getting an original samsung software again

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#250

Post by brewdad »

emsimot wrote: post #4

I am one of those people! I'm scared of the day my pebble stops working, it's honestly the best peiece of electronics I've ever owned.

I had an original Pebble that I handed down to my son years ago when it stopped getting official support and I bought a smaller faced Garmin smartwatch to replace it.

He still wears it most days today. Not sure if this is the software he's using today or not. I'll have to find out if he's one of the 16,000.

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