Almost two weeks ago I had the opportunity to test one SmartWatch Pebble for a weekend, this being considered one of the best (if not the best) smartwatches on the market today. Originally started as a project that wanted funding through Kickstarter, Pebble squeezed 10 million dollars from users willing to own this product and it was officially launched on the market just a few months ago, its production company currently having problems to meet the existing demand on the market, an order paid now being delivered in a few weeks.
Pebble- has a 1.26 inch screen with 144 x 168 resolution and is controlled by means of side buttons, its interface being extremely simple, intuitive, perfect for a smart watch that you don't expect to allow you to control a house . However, it's not the system settings or the interchangeable "faces" that are "magical" about Pebble, but the ability to interconnect it with your iDevice to receive information. Using a SmartWatch Pebble you can view directly on your screen:
- emails received in the Mail application;
- messages received in the Messages application;
- any kind of alerts received on Facebook Twitter;
- alerts issued by other applications that are capable of displaying such information;
- you can accept/reject phone calls;
- allows you to control the music available in the iTunes library of iOS;
- allows you to control third-party applications that provide you with audio content;
- you can view weather information;
- you can view information about traffic directions;
- basically you can view any kind of push notifications that are issued in iOS in the form of alerts.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/ZgI4dJxL7ww[/youtube]
Despite the functionality, the design of the Pebble does not impress from any point of view, it has a rubber strap that does not inspire much confidence, but this does not matter much because the "magic" is in the way you use it. I can say that in three days of using the Pebble I made a "mechanical" gesture of looking at my wrist every time the smartphone vibrated, all with the idea of seeing what new information I received through through it, without taking it out of your pocket. If you have a car, I can tell you that while driving, a watch like this will be your best friend, because you just have to turn your wrist and quickly read the information, without having to take your phone out of your pocket, or bend your head towards him.
Despite the benefits, the Pebble also has weaknesses, the control system being one of them. The buttons positioned on its sides are not so easy to use in certain cases, especially when you have a long email to read, or you have 10 unread emails and you want to go through them all. I don't know to what extent it would be useful in a touch screen for such a product, considering that we are talking about a diagonal of 1.26 inches, but the way to handle the smartwatch is a big enough problem for me.
Separate from the physical problem, there is the software problem, the Pebble not being able to interact with any kind of applications, not being able to provide weather information except with the installation of some hacks, not being able to control anything other than the telephony function and everything for that Apple doesn't want. The interaction with Android smartphones offers many more possibilities, it gives users the option to control many applications or even other gadgets, and similar things you can get even with a jailbreak, but not natively in iOS.
Despite these inconveniences, Pebble won me over, it has a good battery life, it can work between 4-7 days without charging, depending on use, it allows you to modify its "faces" as you like, Apple offers support for it in iOS 7 and allows it to display a lot of app alerts, and things will get even better in the future. For me, a smartwatch is a natural evolution of things, a solution to the problem of frantic use of smartphones in everyday life, a method to quickly view information and forget about it, and I can only say that I- I "infected" with the "virus" of smartwatches.
Pebble proved to me that the idea of a smartwatch is underestimated by mobile terminal manufacturers, it proved to me that there is a fairly large market that has not yet been accessed, but Pebble is not that revolutionary product with which a company can "give the shot", he is just a solid foundation on which something truly great can be built.
Pebble has a starting price of $150 in the US, but if you include shipping, customs, and in the end you reach an amount close to $200, quite a lot for a product of this kind, but I for one say that it is worth it without discussion, especially if you are a fan of gadgets.
