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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

#271

Post by triyambakam »

anoonmoose wrote: post #19
emj wrote: post #12

I'm looking at buying readily available a cheap programmable smartwatch. PineTime was easy to write programs for and that Casio replacement board [0] discussed here earlier also hade a nice tool chain, but with shipping and taxes it's just too bothersome. [0] https://www.crowdsupply.com/oddly-specific-objects/sensor-wa...

I bought into the Bangle.js 2 Kickstarter and I have to say, I'm incredibly happy with it. Granted, I've done nothing with it besides design my own watch face and take advantage of the GPS to set the time occasionally, but I know it's capable of a lot more. It was very easy to write the watch face code, and I feel like it would be pretty easy to do whatever I wanted to do. Ecosystem for it is probably a bit more deve…

How easy is to write games for a Bangle.js 2? I want a hackable smart watch that I can make simple games for :)

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#272

Post by esel2k »

odiroot wrote: post #32

I'm one of them. Still love it. The built-in compass and the third-party app that integrates with Google Maps are priceless to me. Using physical buttons as opposed to touchscreen is another great feature. All these years, I haven't found a replacement.

How or what do you integrate with google maps? I only see notifications and it stops after a while.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#273

Post by drewzero1 »

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.

I've seen a lot of smartwatches that can match maybe 80-90% of the functionality of the Pebble, but miss something important. I occasionally wish my Pebble Time Steel had a slightly larger screen and a heart rate monitor (like the Time 2 would have) but other than that it's been nearly perfect. If/when something happens to it I'll probably give up on smartwatches and go back to wearing mechanical or solar analog watches again.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#274

Post by jackmott42 »

dont__panic wrote: post #265
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.

As long as you have a phone that's reasonably well designed, it's usually not too much trouble to replace the internal battery every 2-3 years. I think our culture is really wasteful with batteries. I can't believe that my iphone doesn't have a built-in setting to cap charging at 80%. Studies show that you can decrease battery wear to negligible levels by doing this. Yet my Android e-ink tablet, my iphone, my smartwa…

I believe the research would suggest 80% doesn't really make an especially good target. Its mostly a linear relationship between state of charge and speed of battery aging, other than a step change around 50-70% depending on the chemistry.

source (one of many): https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.0411609jes/pdf

I keep my EV charged to just 50% most days for this reason, get below that step change.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#275

Post by diego_moita »

esel2k wrote: post #259
diego_moita wrote: post #13

I use 5 of them! And I have one more with a wasted battery that I intend to replace. And I'll still buy some more, because I want to have them available for the rest of my life. There are things that only the Pebble does: - button only interface that you can handle in the dark without glasses - a screen that barcode scanners can easily read for authentication into the gym and library - a TOTP app (authentication toke…

Pebble user here as well! I moved from PTS to PTR (fall on the ground - dead) now back to PTR and it is amazing: long battery life, the apps on it are great. I use: Rain, Checklist, timer, LMS controller and alarm and torch. You?

- MultiTimer - for short naps, setting alarms when cooking, etc

- Authenticator - TOTP authorization tokens

- Skunk - barcodes

- Time Tracker - I work remotely as a contractor

- Pebble Controler - a remote control for my laptop

I also use a lot the standard apps on the Pebble:

- alarm, to wake me up by vibration, without waking up my wife

- canned messages - to answer phone calls when driving

- notifications, notifications

- hang up phone calls I don't want

- steps counter, when running

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#276

Post by edejong »

chaostheory wrote: post #167
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.

There still isn’t any watch that comes close to the quality and number of watch faces Pebble had right? Aside from battery life, that’s why I kept mine. It’s really cool to see Mario hit a block to update the time on mine.

The watch faces were something else indeed. Creative, funny and very geeky.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#277

Post by diego_moita »

FeistySkink wrote: post #181
diego_moita wrote: post #13

I use 5 of them! And I have one more with a wasted battery that I intend to replace. And I'll still buy some more, because I want to have them available for the rest of my life. There are things that only the Pebble does: - button only interface that you can handle in the dark without glasses - a screen that barcode scanners can easily read for authentication into the gym and library - a TOTP app (authentication toke…

Most Garmins (Fenix, Forerunner series) can do all of your "only Pebble" parts. In fact I replaced my touchscreen smartwatch with Fenix 6 precisely for not having one and relying on buttons instead.

> I replaced my touchscreen smartwatch with Fenix 6

Interesting. And it also has an sdk in C.

Although it costs almost 4 times what I'd pay for a Pebble on eBay.

But it is the best Pebble alternative I've seen so far.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#278

Post by dTal »

porcc wrote: post #225
tekchip wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned on this thread yet. Hardware wise the closest is probably the Pine Time from Pine64. Software and services wise this isn't on pebbles level though. https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/ As others mention hybrid watches are probably the closest alternative.

Pinetime can't hold a candle to the bangle.js: https://banglejs.com/ The bangle.js: - ships significantly faster - has an always-on display with similar 4 week maximum battery life - can be updated without flashing - has a thriving app ecosystem

I have a bangle.js. It's... alright. Does the job. Feels cheap. OS is nightmarishly slow. Only one physical button, so annoying and fiddly to set with a touchscreen (interacts badly with the slow OS). Has GPS, but doesn't really work. Has heart monitor, but doesn't really work. Not terribly stable.

My Pebble Time Steel was vastly superior.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#279

Post by detritus »

dont__panic wrote: post #265
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.

As long as you have a phone that's reasonably well designed, it's usually not too much trouble to replace the internal battery every 2-3 years. I think our culture is really wasteful with batteries. I can't believe that my iphone doesn't have a built-in setting to cap charging at 80%. Studies show that you can decrease battery wear to negligible levels by doing this. Yet my Android e-ink tablet, my iphone, my smartwa…

I had to bite my tongue seeing a young woman idly hoy one of those extremely wasteful ecigs in the bin on my way home earlier. I wa mentally working all the bits of complexity going to landfill.

Still, perhaps I should buy ex-landfill sites on the cheap, so my descendants can mine them.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#280

Post by rchaud »

bitwrangler wrote: post #216
zeppelin101 wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can still get those batteries replaced. It's just a lot more work.

There are many You-tube videos showing step by step. If you're slightly handy with small screws it's not hard. I've replaced my Samsung battery twice over the years. Look into it before you cast doubt and lose hope.

I might go to a shop, but I'm not going to fiddle around with a screwdriver and a YouTube video for something manufacturers themsleves let you do in 5 seconds.

However, that does not leave me with workable alternatives. I respect what Fairphone is trying to do, but €500 for a replaceable battery phone with internals several years old isn't the right choice for me.

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