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Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

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Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#341

Post by Tempest1981 »

maest wrote: post #330
pedalpete wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We regularly get contacted by people in Europe who want to buy our product, but we haven't been providing support due to the cost of certs, and other regulatory needs (medical/wellness device). We want to help people in the EU, but with laws like replaceable batteries, it's going to push us further and further away from being able to do that. Our product is designed to be refurbished, but not user-replaceable. At the…

> Our product is designed to be refurbished, but not user-replaceable. Why?

Design inherently involves trade-offs. Size, weight, cost, water resistance, etc.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#342

Post by kristianp »

I'd be more worried that a replacement product wouldn't be available after 2 years of use. 2 years seems quite good for a small product.

As a tangential question, how do people find the new pebbles? I prefer a smartwatch that lasts more than a couple of days between charges. And want one with a screen that stays on. The Fitbit Charge 3 I had never detected raising my arm.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#343

Post by Tempest1981 »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #255
cxr wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different people have different lives. I myself can't imagine the type of life where at any given moment during the day I'm in a position to "immediately pull out my phone" when I want to create a record of something. I'm not a Pebble customer, past or present, and I have owned exactly zero smartwatches. Excluding portrayals of futuristic wrist-mounted computers I saw during childhood that seemed cool just because th…

I'm not a watch person, and the only reason I occasionally wear one is because it's a Garmin and I'm recording an outdoor activity with it. But while cycling, when the phone in my backpack makes a notification noise, it is kind of handy to just be able to look at the watch to see what kind of notification it is - the kind hardly worth looking at or the kind worth stopping and pulling out the phone to reply to. This p…

> if there was a single button audio recording app

Would the watch require 1 or 2 hands to record audio?

The ring seems easier to use while biking. Or driving.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#344

Post by greenwallnorway »

I've written many variations of my own "quick, take a note!" app, and they all succumb to the same problem: I can't safely write a note when I'm in a car.

Driving by myself and listening to podcasts is when I have so many thoughts I want to write down.

I'll give this a serious consider.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#345

Post by Tempest1981 »

PunchyHamster wrote: post #189
Aurornis wrote: post #163

> How long does the battery last? > Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording. On average, I use it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. That’s up to 2 years of usage. I feel like I’m usually good about being able to imagine a market for different devices even when I’m not the target audience, but I’m having a hard time with this one. Having 20 different 3-second thoughts transcribed to notes that I have to p…

I mean on one side I can see using it for to-do lists, but on other, why would I want another device in addition to smartphone and smartwatch ? Especially that talking to your smartwatch looks slightly less crazy in public than to your finger

Au contraire, you'll look like a Secret Service agent talking into your wrist.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#346

Post by daenney »

pedalpete wrote: post #321
rendx wrote: post #269

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries Article 11 Removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries 1. Any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries shall ensure that those batteries are readily removable and replaceable by the end-user at any time during th…

We regularly get contacted by people in Europe who want to buy our product, but we haven't been providing support due to the cost of certs, and other regulatory needs (medical/wellness device). We want to help people in the EU, but with laws like replaceable batteries, it's going to push us further and further away from being able to do that. Our product is designed to be refurbished, but not user-replaceable. At the…

> We want to help people in the EU, but with laws like replaceable batteries, it's going to push us further and further away from being able to do that.

We want to help people, but only if and when it’s profitable for us to do so on terms we decide for you.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#347

Post by bigiain »

maest wrote: post #330
pedalpete wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We regularly get contacted by people in Europe who want to buy our product, but we haven't been providing support due to the cost of certs, and other regulatory needs (medical/wellness device). We want to help people in the EU, but with laws like replaceable batteries, it's going to push us further and further away from being able to do that. Our product is designed to be refurbished, but not user-replaceable. At the…

> Our product is designed to be refurbished, but not user-replaceable. Why?

I'm not who you asked that question, but I'd guess it's because it requires "proprietary tools, thermal energy, or solvents to disassemble the product."

It'd be hard to design/manufacture a device that reliably remains waterproof after a typical not-specially-skilled owner opens it up to replace a battery. It's really common to hear of people damaging watches due to water ingress after battery replacements, getting seals or orings seated just right isn't something every user is going to be able to do.

I can imagine some medical devices have similar sealing requirements, perhaps even more robust sealing methods since they might need to be exposed to regular disinfection grade cleaning with chemicals harsher then just water. I could easily understand why a company may design a medical device that its heat-glued together for sealing purposes in a way that can only reasonably be done (and redone) at the factory.

I killed an original Pebble when I Dremelled it open to replace the battery, and failed to hot glue seal it well enough and it got wet inside.

Having said that - I dislike this design choice for the Index 01. I can see myself becoming reliant on this right before they sell out to Garmin or whoever and tell all their customers to FOAD again. Trust is very hard to win back.

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#348

Post by [deleted] »

jeremyjh wrote: post #333
ddoeth wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, i hate that I would have to throw out a fully functioning device if the battery dies.

I understand that sentiment but I think its arbitrary. People buy lots of products that don't have a useful life exceeding two years. For example, every pet toy ever sold. Some will have higher impact for manufacturing and disposal than this ring.

[deleted]

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#349

Post by widowlark »

daenney wrote: post #346
pedalpete wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We regularly get contacted by people in Europe who want to buy our product, but we haven't been providing support due to the cost of certs, and other regulatory needs (medical/wellness device). We want to help people in the EU, but with laws like replaceable batteries, it's going to push us further and further away from being able to do that. Our product is designed to be refurbished, but not user-replaceable. At the…

> We want to help people in the EU, but with laws like replaceable batteries, it's going to push us further and further away from being able to do that. We want to help people, but only if and when it’s profitable for us to do so on terms we decide for you.

This is, I believe, the definition of a free market choice

Re: Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain

#350

Post by 47282847 »

jeremyjh wrote: post #333
ddoeth wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, i hate that I would have to throw out a fully functioning device if the battery dies.

I understand that sentiment but I think its arbitrary. People buy lots of products that don't have a useful life exceeding two years. For example, every pet toy ever sold. Some will have higher impact for manufacturing and disposal than this ring.

1. Arbitrary it may be. You have to start somewhere. In that sense, anything we do is “arbitrary“. Straw man. (see also: ban of plastic straws)

2. I would expect pet toys to be regulated as well and to contain less environmental toxins and hard to recycle elements than batteries, so I doubt the claim about impact per item sold.

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