I got the Pebble 2 from Kickstarter, having also ordered the Time 2, and was blown away by how sharp the P2 screen is -monochrome and all. Very sad I won't get the new Time 2, as I felt the Pebble Time Steel display was a step backwards from the OG Steel in terms of readability.

My first reaction to the news was to locate a white P2 on Amazon to replace my wife's Pebble Time. Hope to get it just in time for Christmas.

I'm still very sad about how it all panned out, for the team and all the loyal fans, and selfishly so mostly because I won't see the Time 2 - not only would the display be a massive improvement, but CPU and memory also.

Even if the battery life wasn't that good, is it really that hard to take your watch off before bed and set it on a magnetic charger? I've worn watches my whole life and have never slept with them on.

But as long as it lasts for more than a day, and if it charges fast enough, you could always charge it in the car on the way to work. Or charge it while in morning while in the shower.

I've also noticed on the odd occasion where i sleep with my apple watch on, the screen lights up too frequently as i roll over. The fitbit does that too, but isn't as bright.

Anyway, if you can barely/hopefully survive 2 days with it, it means you really need to charge it daily. Again, something I'd rather do while sleeping than at my desk.

In all likelihood I would charge it at work, not at home. But I get what you're saying, that's interesting.

The (colour-screen) Pebble Time and Time Steel have been on the market for about 1.5-2 years now, and also included a microphone for relaying voice commands to your phone. The Pebble 2 would've included all of this, plus a larger screen. It managed to preserve a battery life of (easily) the better part of a week.

RE your question: the FitBit isn't a smartwatch. It's designed around a single function (fitness monitoring).

While that is true of most FitBit models, the FitBit Charge 2 has some smartwatch features like notifications.

I would, which is why I wear a Garmin now despite having backed two Pebble Kickstarters. AFAIK, a FitBit does everything the original Pebble did, which was mainly put notifications on your wrist. I know my Garmin does everything that the original Pebble did (mainly notifications), and I can use it when I go running without having to bring my phone.

So, yeah, in comparison the original Pebble, FitBit is a smartwatch as defined by the smartwatch market in its current state. That doesn't mean that I don't think it's early days, just as you with your laptop comparison.

Fenix HR specifically because trail runner (need the extra battery for those really long runs), hiker (alt/bar/compass is nice), and all-around outdoorsy guy (device signals my outdoorsiness), in case that was the nature of your question.

It looks like the Samsung Gear S3 comes pretty close -- it runs Tizen (which is derived from Nokia's Maemo), so it looks like it should be easy to develop for. Also has an always-on screen, and "up to" a 3-day battery life.

I just wish they could make a screen that looks as good as AMOLED, but was passively illuminated during the daytime.

- battery life is very good compared to apple/android. I can usually get 2-3 full days of regular use with the ambient display on.

- It looks way more like a regular watch, most people don't notice unless you start using it. It also fits a lot better on my smaller wrist.

- The screen is amazing indoors, meh outdoors. Kind of the opposite of what I experienced with the pebble.

- Very limited app selection. I don't actually use any apps besides what it came with, and even then I think all I use is just the calendar and weather. I mostly have it for the notifications, which work extremely well, so I don't really care about that. Might be a bigger deal for you.

It can potentially be more expensive than a Pebble, but competitive with an Apple watch, if not cheaper (depending on model). As a fitness tracker and notification machine I'd say it's superior to an Apple Watch - I haven't had an Apple Watch but have had android wear devices which seem to be about the same in terms of battery life and functionality.

Everyone else is just in a drunken random walk. So now there are watches that waste lots of battery on recording rough HR all day but totally fail reliably capturing HR during sport activities. I have no clue what they think that is doing, utterly useless.

* Telling the time

* Tracking my activity level

* Tracking my sleep

* Timer and occasionally a smart Alarm

* Letting me see my motivations without pulling my phone out.

* changing volume/track on spotify.

The fitbit charge 2 has most of those features, the main thing it's lacking are timer, smart alarm, spotify control and the more advanced alerts (apparently it only does text/calls and calendar). All those missing features are software features rather than hardware features, I kind of expect fitbit acquired pebble so it could get some of that technology.

Alas, nothing can replace it (yet)

My Pebble Classic (!) can do:

* Time/Date (with many watchfaces) * Calendar * Weather * Stepcounter * Sleep tracker * Alarms, Timers, and Stopwatch (smart alarm for sleep, other ones useful in the kitchen) * HRM (via SimplyHRM or Strava) * Running/bike tracking (native or e.g. w/Strava) * Music control (Spotify, awesome during sports) * Google Maps support (also with navigation) * 2FA HOTP * Oh, and notifications (w/filters) * With recharging once a week. Which also means the battery is gonna last, unlike those watches who recharge daily. * Works under shower, too. * And all this, for the price of ~100 EUR (a few EUR for some of the above apps).

My Pebble had the dreaded graphics issue. Pebble 2 has build-in HRM, but it isn't as accurate as my Polar H7. Pebble 2 has a crystal clear screen, the design looks more professional, and the wristband is better than the previous iteration.

The only thing I've never quite been able to set up, is managing a shopping list for in the grocery store (just with the ability to flag what is done). I miss such a feature so much! Using my smartphone for this is a ticking timebomb. One day, a kid is just gonna bump into me and poof its gonna drop on the floor. Won't happen with a smartwatch. And that is a use case right there, one no other device than a smartwatch can fulfill.

I admit, smartwatch use cases right now are niches, but that doesn't mean they're irrelevant. Plus, in The Netherlands it is going to be illegal to use a smartphone on the bike. A smartphone is far more safe, and it won't drop. Being attached on the wrist has a clear advantage for use cases like these.

One disadvantage is information leaking. Although smartphones are also vulnerable to that.

But I'm not sure how they manage to claim a 5 day with a color LCD display, I guess I should add the "always on display" to the list of pebble features I used.

I wouldn't get a full smart watch, probably ever. I don't need a full screen on my wrist. For me, the killer features are: Tracks my steps/motion, tells time, vibration alerts and alarms.

If they can keep making it smaller / more like a wrist band, I'll buy each new version that comes out.

I want something small/subtle, not packed with features.

True. But the color is very nice. It's a bit washed out when the backlight is on, but ok.

The only use I found for the ones I've tried was glancing at text messages rather than taking out the phone, but even that let's people more easily interrupt me...