PRACTICAL PEBBLE: Pebble has a more basic coloured e-ink screen that enables the watch to go for a whole week on a single battery charge.
Can the latest smartwatch from the company born out of a Kickstarter campaign compete against the Apple Watch and Android Wear?
The Pebble Time is now officially on sale, directly from the company's website, and at just US$199 (RM755) it's definitely priced to compete with Android Wear and Apple, but how does it stand up in terms of features and functionality?
With all the hype surrounding the Apple Watch, it's easy to forget that this growing excitement about smartwatches in general is pretty much down to one little company, Pebble, which started out life as a Kickstarter project in 2012.
But as well as putting crowdfunding on the map, Pebble is unique in the emerging smartwatch market in that it has grown its devices and market share organically. This approach has to date yielded sales of over one million smartwatches and an ecosystem of over 6,500 apps. But this way of doing things also means that everything that its latest device offers owners is there because of existing customer feedback.
So for example, while the Apple Watch and every Android Wear device from the Moto 360 to the LG Urbane offer gloriously pixel-rich touch screens, Pebble has gone with a much simpler coloured e-ink screen instead because it enables the watch to go for a whole week on a single battery charge rather than just 24 to 48 hours.
An e-ink display also has the advantage of being permanently illuminated and easy to see in direct sunlight. As a battery-saving feature, Android Wear and Apple watches need to be woken from an enforced slumber in order to view the display.
The Pebble Time's screen doesn't respond to touch either, interacting with the device is via buttons on either side of the bezel – just like a traditional timepiece. This also means that you don't need to see the screen in order to silence an alarm or activate a setting: simply feel for the button and press.
One of the biggest changes on the new watch is the inclusion of a microphone for dictation and voice responses to alerts but perhaps its most impressive feature is compatibility. It is designed to work equally well with an iPhone or an Android smartphone via a dedicated app.
Meanwhile, Pebble is planning to launch what it calls ‘smart straps' later this year which, when connected to the watch will add extra functionality, such as NFC for contactless payment.
The Pebble Time is available to order online in black, white and red now, and will be hitting real-world retailers in August. — AFP Relaxnews
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