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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

#61

Post by cianmm »

Chris2048 wrote: post #52
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…

Other than battery life, how does this compare to iwatch?

It has more buttons than an Apple Watch and is a lot simpler with less functionality, which for many is a draw.

I had two Pebbles and was very sad when it shut down - my Pebble devices are no longer functioning but I've been using an Apple Watch for maybe 6 years now and am very happy with it. Sometimes I miss the battery life, but I never feel like it's a restriction and the UI on the Apple Watch is really very good.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#62

Post by keraf »

dcormier wrote: post #41
keraf wrote: post #26

As a big Pebble fan, I was really sad to see the company go without any similar alternatives in the market (at the time). My watches ended up having various hardware issues over the years, so I switched to something else. The efforts Rebble has put in to keep these devices alive is amazing. If they grow bigger, I'd love to see them do hardware. In the meantime, I'm wearing a Withings ScanWatch [0]. Not as extendable…

Are there any comparable alternatives to Pebble even now? I’ve yet to see one, but I haven’t followed the market very closely since I stopped using one.

The "closest" I found that filled the void Pebble left are these hybrid watches like the ScanWatch I mentioned. All fully digital ones just go overboard with features, I find them too gimmicky and they come with an awful battery life. I don't want another smartphone on my wrist that I need to charge every night...

I miss the simplicity, yet the huge amount possibilities (via their store and SDK) and watch faces the Pebble had. They still managed to keep the device distraction free along with a good battery life. I'm all ears for any good Pebble-like smartwatch if anyone knows one.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#63

Post by automatic6131 »

aliqot wrote: post #51
darau1 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a guy that bought every new Samsung flagship device as soon as they hit stores. He said he just has to upgrade.

I wonder sometimes how can people reconcile buying a new X every Y and still be concerned about human rights and the environment, etc.

You tell yourself you're allowing someone else to enjoy (nth-)last years X and Y at a lower price point, being subsidised by your use first.

Everyone can reconcile almost anything, practically humanity's superpower. It's rare the person that fails to - on any issue. I think we all do it all the time for most issues.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#64

Post by blueblob »

falcolas wrote: post #53
dcormier wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any comparable alternatives to Pebble even now? I’ve yet to see one, but I haven’t followed the market very closely since I stopped using one.

Not in my opinion. The closest I’ve found are hybrid watches which will forward alerts (but generally with no text), but certainly nothing with the screen, battery life, and OSS vibe.

You guys seem to be more informed than me since I didn't use the pebble. Do you know how the pinetime compares?

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#65

Post by benj111 »

yonaguska wrote: post #37
Gigachad wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pebble was a bit of a gimmick. It was the start of the future but on its own it was kind of worse than a regular watch. It looked ugly, had a terrible screen, didn’t have any of the stuff you mostly do with a smartwatch now. And half the features no longer work.

And it had an insanely long battery life, I could respond to, and read text messages without opening my phone. It didn't have unnecessary stuff- it was simple and met my watch needs. I don't have a smartwatch now, because I'm not interested in having yet another computer on my wrist. I guess I've just decided to settle for a gimmicky automatic watch, it doesn't even have an alarm! And it dies if I stop using it for a…

>And it had an insanely long battery life.

Is there a term for complementing something that is objectively much worse than what came before only because it's better than what we have now.

Stockholm syndrome?

Watch batteries used to last month's/ years / didn't need batteries at all.

It's the same with phones, they used to last a week easily, now we get excited when they last 2 days.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#67

Post by rypskar »

capableweb wrote: post #34
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…

Basically the only reason I got the smartwatch I got, is because it always displays the time, even if it runs out of battery, that it can vibrate when I receive phone calls, it keeps track of my heart rate and sleeping activity. The battery also lasts days rather than hours, which is pretty nice. I don't exactly know which model it is, but it's a Garmin watch with the traditional hour/minute arms and a tiny little sc…

Maybe a Garmin vivomove HR, I got mine for the same reasons

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#68

Post by ccouzens »

andrepd wrote: post #11
ghaff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s interesting to me that when the Apple Watch was coming out (and maybe more broadly when fitness bands etc. were becoming available) there was a pretty widespread sentiment that younger people didn’t want watches because why would they? They always had their phones.

Honestly, I still don't see the value in a smartwatch. Paying with nfc with your wrist? That's probably the only use case I can see. But then it's not worth it having to charge yet another device daily

I don't get it either.

I do own a smart watch, but I don't use it in the typical manner.

I don't ever want to see notifications on my wrist. People seem to think it's ok to read notifications in situations where looking at a phone would be rude, such as at dinner or whilst having a conversation.

I wear mine when doing sport. I like that I can play music and track my activity without my phone.

And I wear mine when navigating cities. I like that I can pay for public transport and check map directions without making myself a target by getting my phone out.

Other than that, I don't wear mine. I don't see the point of wearing it day to day.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#69

Post by bunderbunder »

benj111 wrote: post #57
aliqot wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder sometimes how can people reconcile buying a new X every Y and still be concerned about human rights and the environment, etc.

Human rights? That's kind of a tenuous link at best. You could make the case that buying more increases the opportunities for those at the bottom. I'm not even necessarily making a factual statement here, but personally I don't feel that there's anything to reconcile.

A lot of raw materials that go into modern electronics are produced using slave labor, and the “recycled” devices tend to end up poisoning the environments of people in similarly disadvantaged communities.

I don’t know enough about these things to know whether buying more or less of these devices directly helps enslaved people, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to observe that rampant consumerism does fuel the postcolonial economic machine that perpetrates that kind of exploitation. And I think that those of us who stand to benefit the most from this system would do well to be extremely cautious about how we are incentivized toward motivated reasoning.

Re: Over 16k people still use a Pebble smartwatch

#70

Post by darau1 »

guerrilla wrote: post #40
darau1 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know a guy that bought every new Samsung flagship device as soon as they hit stores. He said he just has to upgrade.

I would hate it if everyone (or even many people) did this, but it's nice to know someone outside of Samsung has tried them all, but then again, I guess you wouldn't ncessarily get very neutral reviews from such a person.

Well, I doubt he's had a bad experience because I don't think he ever has one long enough for it to start showing signs of age.
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