Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by wuunderbar on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @05:03PM
(#21985508)
Don't forget about first cool smartwatch.
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Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by Fnoord on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @05:15PM
(#21985666)
The Pebble? Still no decent replacement for it.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by ramses0 on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @05:44PM
(#21985981)
1) always-on, sunlight-visible screen
2) week-long (plus) battery life
3) good, simple notification + calendar support
4) ecosystem of apps (developer mindshare)
Heart Rate, Sleep Tracking, Mic/Phone, Payments are all wonderful, but the drawbacks of "machine-learning-shake-to-wake", one-day battery life, and trying to fiddle with a tiny touch screen make the Apple watch less of a watch and more of "everything but a watch".
Long Live Pebble / Rest in Peace.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by amatecha on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @07:10PM
(#21986746)
Don't forget also: tangible buttons for user input, so you can change music tracks without having to look at or tap on a specific spot on a touch screen! Probably the #1 thing I miss from my Pebble OG :(
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by Fnoord on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @07:18PM
(#21986812)
The value of hardware buttons without having to look on your screen is underrated. You can put a Pebble alarm off in your sleep. You can change a track without even seeing your watch.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by fenwick67 on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @03:58AM
(#21989678)
Pebble was such a cool platform, and it is a damn shame that FitBit was allowed to purchase the company and immediately shut it down. Predatory competitor-purchasing like this should be illegal.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by brlewis on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @08:29AM
(#21991202)
> Pebble was such a cool platform
The only true part of this sentence
> it is a damn shame that FitBit was allowed to purchase the company
Pebble failed financially and put its assets up for sale, some of which were bought by Fitbit.
> and immediately shut it down
Fitbit kept servers running for years that supported Pebble devices.
I'm a Fitbit employee but don't speak for Fitbit. An official response wouldn't be so terse; I'm just annoyed that this falsehood keeps going years later.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by fenwick67 on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @10:46AM
(#21992393)
Sincere thanks for clearing this up, I only saw the big optics on this (pebble 2 successfully crowdfunded, then later Pebble is shutting down while FitBit acquires it).
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by jonny_eh on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @05:33PM
(#21985854)
I loved my Pebble, but it was certainly not cool. Also didn't work as well as my Apple Watch, which I waited until my beloved Pebble finally died before buying.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by Fnoord on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @05:36PM
(#21985886)
Apple Watch is 4+ times the price. It still can't do some of the things a Pebble can. For starters, a Pebble can run a week without requiring recharge.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by sfkdjf9j3j on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @06:09PM
(#21986250)
And yet it's still way cooler than the Pebble. Funny how that works.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by jonny_eh on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @02:20PM
(#21994762)
And the Pebble couldn't reliably tell me the weather outside, for a whole week.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by Shivetya on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @06:58PM
(#21986658)
I don't own either but I do know this, I can tell when someone has an Apple Watch at a glance without having owned one and only seen pictures, I cannot say the same for any other smart watch.
Re:Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?
by NetOpWibby on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @05:06PM
(#21985546)
Dick Tracy, eat your heart out!