Pebble smart watch. The first smart watch from Pebble with a unique display Smart watch pebble watch
Attempts to create a smart companion for a smartphone in the form of a wristwatch have been made repeatedly over the past ten years. The first experiments were not successful: the small size of the watch screen, high power consumption, and sometimes ugly design made them toys for a few - there was no mass market for such devices. With the advent of the iPod, which could be worn on a strap and used as a watch, interest in this topic increased, and many manufacturers appeared on the market. Some, like Burg, tried to squeeze a full-fledged phone into the wristwatch format, others created specialized watches for athletes, like MIO and their product Alpha. Sony SmartWatch has the best position in this area, since the company is purposefully developing this area, but the product remains not in great demand due to its short operating time.
So the appearance of the Pebble watch on Kickstarter should not have been a bombshell, but the right marketing and PR turned a rather ordinary product into a phenomenon that many people are seriously talking about, and the number of people who have already invested money in buying such a watch goes into the tens of thousands. Suffice it to say that the company expected to raise $100,000 in April 2012 for the development of the watch, but received just over $10 million in one month.
Let's figure out what all the fuss is about and why the idea of such a watch appealed to thousands of people.
Design as well as the watch screen
The main disadvantage of most smart and electronic watches is their energy consumption; they cannot be constantly turned on, as the operating time is sharply reduced. The solution could be found in using screens that do not consume as much energy, and Pebble, as the creators say, uses “electronic paper” technology, similar to what we see in e-readers.
The screen resolution is 144x168 pixels, and behind the word e-paper lies not eInk technology, as one might assume, but Memory LCD technology from Sharp. It outperforms traditional LCDs in terms of power consumption, but does not have such a flaw as refresh time - the screen changes the image almost imperceptibly to the eye, which allows you to create animations that do not look bad.
You can set the screen backlight to turn on by movement or by tapping on it, but for example, I left the backlight on all the time and did not experience any problems with it. You press a button or spin the watch - it lights up the screen. In the dark, the display is clearly visible and there are no defects.
It's time to talk about the battery - it is sealed into the case, the watch is completely sealed, you can swim, dive, play sports in it (up to 5 atmospheres). The kit includes a lanyard for charging them from a USB connector; charging time is about one hour. The stated operating time of the watch is up to 7 days. In life, everything depends solely on what phone you paired this watch with and how many reminders you set. During my experiments, the watch lasted about three to four days, but I turned off reminders from Facebook, mail, leaving only WhatsApp, SMS and calls. In general, we can say that the watch can easily work for about several days. And, by tradition, I advise you not to lose the charging strap; you cannot find it on the open market - you will have to buy the watch again.
Bluetooth version is both 2.1 and 4.0, while it supports work with both iOS and Android smartphones, in this aspect the solution turned out to be universal and quite working without any discounts.
From a design point of view, the watch does not look bad, but the rectangular shape is not suitable for everyone, nor is its size - on my hand it looks funny, if not ridiculous.
In general, the question remains open for me: how can you buy a watch without trying it on, since this is an accessory that should look good. Whatever the functionality of a smartwatch, if it doesn’t look good on your hand, then it’s stupid to use it.
There are currently three colors available for the watch – white, red and black. The strap is silicone, quite large and comfortable.
You can order the watch on getpebble.com for $150 (the price was slightly lower from Kickstarter).
Pebble Features and Capabilities
There are control buttons on the watch case, on the left there is one key, this is the exit to a higher level. On the right side there are three buttons, the outer ones are responsible for scrolling through lists, the key in the middle is to enter a menu or submenu. The buttons are quite hard, accidental presses are excluded.
You need to install the Pebble app on your smartphone, then you can control the watch and use it with your phone (you also need to pair the devices via Bluetooth).
There are not many features in the proprietary application - you can see the name of the caller and his phone number (you can reject the call from the watch), read the latest SMS (previous ones will not be shown, there is no navigation), see a calendar entry, and the like. You can also control the music, jump between tracks, press pause.
In principle, third-party programs are also connected to the watch; it turns out that the watch screen serves as an external display for data, for example, Runkeeper displays information about your run. The number of such programs will constantly grow, until there are not so many of them.
Using a proprietary program, you can install Watchfaces, these are various dials, they can be static or animated.
In my opinion, this is the strongest side of the watch - there are many different dial options, new ones are constantly appearing. By and large, the presence of such an opportunity at the same price as a simple electronic watch of this kind makes Pebble interesting. You don’t even have to use the “smart” functions, but only change the dials.
You encounter the first drawback almost instantly: the watch was developed for the US market, and therefore only supports the Latin alphabet; any messages in other languages are displayed in squares. When making incoming calls, if the subscriber's name is written in Cyrillic, you see those same squares. Unpleasant, but not fatal - craftsmen have already written a program for Android with which you can defeat this scourge.
Pros:
Inexpensive smart watch or fitness tracker.
The battery lasts much longer than almost any other smartwatch on the market.
Minuses:
The heart rate sensor is very sophisticated.
Not much different from the previous version of Pebble Time.
The first samples of Pepple 2, from Pebble's most recent Kickstarter campaign, recently began shipping to backers.
On September 30, after successfully funding their third Kickstarter campaign, smartwatch pioneer Pebble began shipping the first wave of Pebble 2 watches to backers. 
This model includes a completely new watch feature, a heart rate sensor, which the company uses in its devices for the first time, as well as all the features of Pebble OS, which have been significantly improved since the introduction of the Pebble Time line in early 2015. 
Other than the heart rate sensor, the Pebble 2 doesn't add much functionality over previous versions, so I had to find reasons to recommend it myself.
Specifications:
Battery: up to 7 days;
Sensors: heart rate sensor, three-component accelerometer, photodetector;
Screen: 1.26 inches, liquid crystal, electronic paper, LED backlight;
Compatibility: 4.3 and higher; iOS 8 and above;
Dimensions: 39.5mm x 30.2mm x 9.8mm, plus a 1.4mm protrusion on the back that houses the heart rate sensor.
In May 2016, I met with Pebble CEO Eric Migicovski at his company's Redwood City, California office. We were sitting across from each other in the conference room when Eric pulled one device out of a black Pelican container and handed it to me. 
I remember he told me something like “This is Pebble 2,” but I didn’t immediately accept his words. Despite this statement, I initially thought that I was holding in my hands the first smart watch from Pebble. It was only a few seconds later that I began to notice slight differences.
The side buttons on the Pebble 2 didn't stick out as much and were closer together. This watch was also thinner than the previous ones. It was impossible not to notice the heartbeat sensor located on the reverse side. It emitted intense green light and searched for a pulse. 
I wore them for the next week and the nostalgia never left me. It's a very comfortable watch, quite lightweight, so much so that I sometimes forgot it was on my wrist until it was time for the next alert and a slight buzzing sound reminded me that it was still there. You also still have the option to replace the standard Pebble 2 straps with your own 22mm straps.
The direct disadvantage of the fact that the creators improved the old design instead of completely redesigning it was the 1.25-inch Pebble display
2. Before that, I wore a 42mm Apple Watch with a 1.65-inch screen for several weeks, and after that the screen on the Pebble 2 looks very small. 
It's all about the heart
The more competition between smartwatch manufacturers became tougher, the more often Pebble was criticized for not rushing to expand the functionality of its products. Together with the Pebble Time line, the company launched Pebble Health, designed to count steps and track sleep quality. But these devices still did not have a heartbeat monitoring function. 
The situation changed with the release of Pebble 2. In the development of this watch, the company used an optical sensor similar to that used in Fitbit and even in .
The user can select an option directly on the watch display that displays a regular reading of the number of heartbeats, or view a graph of readings through the Pebble application, available for devices running on iOS. 
I tried comparing the Pebble 2 heart rate sensor to the Samsung Gear IconX earbuds and the Apple Watch Series 2, and all three devices performed nearly identically in controlled tests. The gist of the test: I sat still with Workout mode activated on all three devices to ensure continuous heart rate recordings. 
In addition to these few tests, I found a couple of anecdotal reports that while I was wearing the Pebble 2, my heart rate increased to 150 beats per minute and then dropped back down to my normal 70-80 beats. And one report showed that my heart rate once increased to 197 beats per minute in the middle of the night while I was sleeping. I believe I would have woken up if my heart had actually been beating that fast in the middle of the night. 
Looking through previous heart rate recordings on the Apple Watch and an older device, I never found a record of such high results, especially during sleep. 
Here's another case. I took off my Pebble 2 watch in the middle of the day and left it on the table. Later, after lunch, I put them on again and noticed that they had recorded the period that they had been on the table like a dream. Except I didn't sleep. I didn't even wear a watch.
When I raised this issue with Pebble, a representative informed me that the watch cannot automatically detect whether a person is wearing it or not. And to prevent erroneous sleep data from being recorded, the watch should be charged when you take it off.
It's the ultimate Pebble, but is it good enough?
Pebble Timeline, quick access to your favorite apps, and instant launch are all preset features of Pebble 2.
According to Pebble, the battery lasts seven days. My experience has shown that it lasts for five days.
The screen is easy to read in sunlight, as expected from e-paper. The buttons are elastic, and at the same time, they are not difficult to press. Voice commands work reliably.
Thus, on all points related to performance, the Pebble 2 can be given high scores, but, on the other hand, the same can be said about the Pebble Time watch. Same notifications, apps, display quality (plus color!), battery life, voice control and overall experience. Well, except that there is no heart rate sensor.
Buy right now or wait?
The longer I used the Pebble 2, the more I doubted what to ultimately recommend. At $129, the Pebble 2 is a bargain whether you're considering it as a fitness tracker or a smartwatch.
This is the conclusion I came to: Pebble 2 is suitable for those who are not yet sure whether they need a smart watch or a fitness tracker. It has all the basic features and won't break your budget.
At the same time, in November, Pebble is going to start shipping Pebble Time 2, with a set of functions almost identical to Pebble 2. But Pebble Time 2 will have a color display 53 percent larger than the current version of Pebble Time (which means that it will be as big as the Pebble 2 display). 
So for all those who want a bigger battery and an improved display, you should wait for the Time 2, as this will be the Pebble smartwatch you've been looking for.
Thanks for liking the site! Be a happy, sporty and active person always! Write what you think about this, what gadgets do you use and why?
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Advantages: 1. unlike most smart watches, they work for 2 weeks with active use and a month in just watch mode 2. always show the time. the screen does not go dark. 3. price. Pebbles are one and a half times cheaper than most other smartwatches. 4. large community. a huge number of programs, games and watch faces. 5. buttons. they are large and move smoothly. in my opinion, much more convenient than poking something on a touch screen. 6. waterproof. You can take them to the shower, to the pool, or to the river. 7. alarm clock. I forgot what a squealing alarm clock on a smartphone is. The watch wakes you up with vibration, and this is not so annoying. 8. The creators do not forget about their brainchild and periodically release firmware updates with new features. 9. The eink screen is perfectly readable in the sun. 10. Having configured Tasker, you can assign any commands to your watch to control your smartphone, from launching applications to clearing memory and changing processor modes. Disadvantages: 1. there are no fake whistles. Because of this, the watch only complements the smartphone, but does not expand its functionality. The same weights from Samsung have a pulse sensor. 2. quite large sizes. but this is a disease of all smartwatches. 3. Some people may be put off by the black and white screen. 4. The entry threshold is too high. even avid geeks will have to spend an evening or two to figure everything out and set up normal synchronization with a smartphone. 5. There is no Russian language by default. is not a big problem, since the watch is flashed in 1 minute with custom firmware. 6. 8 slots for watches and applications. no other way. applications are installed and uninstalled in 5 seconds, but sometimes you don’t want to go into the application on your smartphone again and reconfigure something. By the way, all downloaded applications and watchfaces remain available in the smartphone application and to install them you do not need to go and download them from the store. 7. If the Android is below 4.3, then you will have to confuse a little with synchronization. 8. There are a great many applications and watchfaces, but there are no more than a hundred that are really useful and beautiful. 9. You will most often use it to check the time or set an alarm, since after a couple of weeks all these minute-by-minute notifications will start to get boring. Well, you can also use it as a note-taker, a cycling computer, an organizer with a calendar, a timer and a calculator, and also to check the weather. 10. poor (at the moment) native application for a smartphone. it's terribly dull. and this is the main reason to set everything up at once, so as not to mess with it anymore. Comment: more of a toy for geeks than a vital thing. Yes, Pebbles are probably one of the best smartwatches at the moment, but the importance of the smartwatch itself is clearly exaggerated. Unlike most of its competitors, the Pebble is a watch with advanced functionality, and not the other way around - a smart thing with the ability to show the time. I highly recommend it to all geeks, but I don’t recommend it to ordinary “mortals”.
Among the classic smartwatches, Pebble Smartwatch occupies a special place. This stylish and functional device is preferred by those who lead an active lifestyle, strive for complete self-organization and want to constantly be in the flow of events. The watch is easily compatible with many mobile devices and is quickly customized to suit the actual daily needs and interests of its owners. This product, created with the help of a huge number of caring people, is gradually becoming a popular device.
Pebble Smartwatch - economical and very smart watch
When Pebble professionals were just thinking through the project of their “smart watch”, they, of course, counted on the success of their brainchild, but did not imagine that it would be so rapid. Money for the implementation of this project was collected “from all over the world” through the well-known Kickstarter resource. The plan was to raise several hundred thousand, but unexpectedly investors raised more than $10 million in a month.
At the beginning of 2013, the first copies of innovative “smart watches” were delivered to customers, and since then the gadgets have been actively spreading throughout the world, delighting a huge number of people with their beauty, apparent simplicity and versatility.
Pebble Smartwatch communicates with a mobile device via a regular Bluetooth connection. It's nice that they are not limited to the ability to reunite with any one mobile platform, working with both Android smartphones and Apple iPhones. The operating system is called Pebble OS. You can answer calls, read messages, control your media player without removing your base device from your bag or pocket.
Of particular note is the high-quality black and white display, created using ePaper technology from Sharp and consuming very little energy. Pebble Smartwatch can last five to seven days without recharging. The smartwatch case is made of high-quality plastic, and the comfortable and durable strap is made of Soft Touch rubber. A big plus is the water resistance of the Pebble Smartwatch - the watch will remain intact even if it lies at the bottom of the pool for some time.
It is worth noting that smart watches are constantly being improved, and we will probably see more than one generation of these unique devices.
Where to buy original Pebble Smartwatch
A unique Pebble Smartwatch device could very well be yours! To buy this smart watch in Moscow, you just need to place an order on our website. We strive to ensure that our service is worthy of the quality of our excellent products. Our managers are ready to answer all questions and help with choosing a Smartwatch or any other device. Our online store is open to everyone!
The current situation in the smartwatch market is in many ways reminiscent of the years and months before the start of sales of the very first iPhone. To date, not a single manufacturer has managed to release a truly breakthrough device that can instantly reshape consumer expectations. , and others have so far gotten away with niche models, and are now feeding consumers with prototypes and demonstrations - but not finished products. There are compromises to be made.
If you were looking for a smart bracelet, the choice among the best options would be limited to only two models - and. But if you just want a smartwatch that makes it easier to use your smartphone and have a constant stream of incoming messages and alerts, you only have one option. It hasn't had a single competitor for two years, and there doesn't seem to be any time before the release of the iWatch.
This Pebble.
Many gadgets seem interesting on paper and in pictures, but in real use they turn out to be inconvenient, ill-conceived, and too narrowly focused. "Smart watch" Pebble– an example of a rare, strictly opposite situation. This is a thing that is ideal for everyone who has so far looked askance at the entire market of wearable devices. For example, I didn’t see any benefit in using them. Or was upset by typical shortcomings and limitations.
No. 1. Huge selection of software and watch faces
With its tiny size and light weight, Pebble has own App Store. In the official application for iOS and Android, owners of the above-mentioned smartwatches can download and install any of tens of thousands of watch faces. Today, no other similar device has such a choice: from countless stylizations of analog watches down to the second hands to the most informative digital watches displaying the current weather, wind force and lunar cycle.
Pebble supports up to eight simultaneously installed watch faces (or programs). Switching between them is instantaneous, just press one of the side buttons in standby mode. The remaining “clocks” are added to your personal storage - in the memory of the Pebble iOS application. This system allows you to select a couple of dozen dials to your liking and change them at your discretion at any time.
Want something modern to go with your sportswear? Or maybe in the style of a famous artist or video game? How about something tailored to a real watch manufacturer? All this and much more is available in the Pebble store. I almost forgot: everything in this store is free.
No. 2. Down with useless notifications from iPhone
Push notifications on iOS are sometimes as annoying as email spam. Alerts about incoming SMS, messages from social networks and installed applications today pour almost non-stop into the ears of smartphone owners. And every time they have to take the device out of their pocket - and put it back in disappointment. The ratio of information noise that distracts from business becomes alarmingly high.
Pebble owners make it simple. They just look at watch and move on.
Game notifications appear on the watch screen
All notifications(SMS, WhatsApp, games, reminders, etc.) received on the iPhone are instantly displayed on the Pebble screen, accompanied by a vibration signal. One glance is enough to understand who or what bothered you. It seems like such a small thing, but the convenience is simply incredible. After all, now you don’t need to check your smartphone at all. Everything important that happens in your social networks and instant messengers will always be in sight - without unnecessary movements. Why do you need Google Glass when you can see everything on your own watch?
To display Cyrillic on the Pebble screen, spend 5 minutes updating the clock.
No. 3. Music playback control
I don’t know about you, but I use headphones without a control unit. Until now, many models of vacuum plugs, interesting from an audiophile point of view, are not equipped with such a simple thing - or cost twice as much just because of the presence of a remote control on the cable. It would seem, what does Pebble have to do with it?
In standby mode, the Pebble user can control music playback at a distance of one click. The screen displays the artist, album and title of each track. Using the side buttons you can instantly scroll through songs, and using a simple combination you can adjust the playback volume. Nothing else is needed for complete happiness of a music lover.
Controlling music playback on your iDevice via Pebble can be convenient in other scenarios. For example, when connecting an iPhone to home speakers: you can change tracks on the go, without going near the speaker or smartphone. Smart watches act as a mobile control panel and do their job flawlessly.
No. 4. A week of real battery life
Very often, future iWatch owners complain: they say that the battery life of the new Apple gadget is unlikely to be long. The idea is logical: fitting a capacious battery inside a portable watch is not an easy task. The creators of Pebble solved it very simply, eliminating not the consequence of the problem, but its very cause.
Pebble has a small black and white screen. This fact scares off a good half of potential buyers. And in vain. Specially designed display from Sharp solves a lot of important problems that owners of future smart watches will definitely face. For example, the visibility of information in direct sunlight. Everything Pebble shows you is perfectly visible in almost any situation. And in the dark you can activate the screen backlight.
So, thanks to the energy-efficient display, Pebble can work for a week. With active use of this watch, including a constant connection via Bluetooth, auto-backlight turned on, and regular installation and removal of new programs, the Pebble will work longer three days. There is nothing else like it on the market. And it is unlikely to happen in the near future.
No. 5. Silent vibration alarm clock
Bachelors and single people don't need to worry about others. In particular, you can set screaming alarm clocks on your phone at least for four o’clock in the morning. If other people sleep lightly next to you and don’t need to wake up at the same time as you, you desperately need a Pebble.
The clock memory stores up to 4 alarms at any time. Since the watch has no speakers at all, the signal is transmitted exclusively through vibration. I've never slept while relying on Pebble. They are a great awakening - but only for the one who is wearing them. Everyone else continues to sleep as if nothing had happened.
No. 6. Water protection
Partial protection from water will not interfere with any gadget. Especially the iPhone. The creators of Pebble thought in advance about those who would not want to take off their favorite watch in bad weather. The official water protection level is 5 atmospheres. Basically, this means that you can shower in the Pebble without much fanaticism or getting caught in the rain.
However, numerous examples from the lives of Pebble owners prove: you can easily swim in them both in the pool and in the sea - with the watch completely submerged. This summer I sank the first generation Pebble in the Black Sea for a whole week, and nothing bad happened to them. Even the company's official social media accounts confirm the safety of swimming in their smartwatches. You can dive into them to a depth of 40 meters. In general, there is no need to remove them at all :)
Pebble Classic or Pebble Steel?
Thanks to luck and good management, a successful Kickstarter project turned into a thriving business capable of generating new products on its own. Therefore, at the beginning of 2014, a new version of Pebble entered the market. However, it doesn't have to be better. Rather, it is an alternative. Pebble Steel– these are the same watches, but in high-quality packaging. Including in the literal sense.
If you've avoided Pebble simply because of their sporty, somewhat youthful design, you'll instantly like the Steel. These watches were originally made for those who wear long-sleeved shirts, jackets and generally follow their dress code. A more traditional, rectangular shape, real glass instead of clear plastic, high-quality metal buttons and body.
Clickable
The Pebble Steel comes with two different straps - black leather and steel, as well as a tool for replacing them. Then it depends on the preferences of the individual. Personally, I think leather looks better. Perhaps because the excess of metal along with the digital display evokes parallels with a cheap calculator watch :) I’m sure many Steel owners will disagree with me, and that’s absolutely normal. That is why we are given choice.
In technical terms, regular Pebble and Steel are almost no different from each other. If you're being picky, the display contrast in metal models is still higher than in the classic series. In other words, the white color is a little whiter there, and the black color - well, you get the idea. Plus, the manufacturer has solved the problem with “gasoline” stains on the displays of regular Pebble. At least there was nothing like that on our Steel. Due to flat glass rather than convex plastic, the watch looks twice as good in the light and does not give wavy, distorted reflections.
The advantages of Pebble Steel over the regular model are obvious. One of the disadvantages is that the first ones do not come with a rubber bracelet. This means that playing sports in Steel will be inconvenient. Also, you should not get carried away with swimming with a leather strap, as well as running. In general, the model is not at all sporty and not for everyday use - more for work and meetings. The vibration motor in Steel is slightly weaker than in the first version, and at the same time louder. That's basically it.
