Again with the overly large bezel. Looks terrible.
I like Pebble’s watches and have backed them twice, but the company is completely inept when it comes to PR. The first Kickstarter campaign was plagued with long periods of zero communication from the company. Not just “We don’t have anything new to tell you,” but absolute silence. Unbelievably, they did the same thing during the second campaign for the Time and Time Steel. I’m not one to pester the company for updates, but I could see why it was so frustrating for people to have core questions ignored over and over again.
And now, the Time Round. Sure, it’s a little annoying that it comes so close on the heels of the other new releases, but I understand why they would want to capitalize on the holiday season. I’d probably be more miffed if it had similar specs to the Time or Time Steel, but it’s clearly positioned as a distinctive third choice favoring aesthetics over function (with the Pebble’s two biggest advantages–battery life and waterproofing–significantly curtailed).
But then they offer a $50 price break on the Time Round to Time Steel owners, but not to Time owners. The Time was available less than two months before the Time Steel. It’s like they’re trying to piss off the Pebble faithful. I just don’t get it.
I’m actually thinking of picking up one of the original Pebble Steels. Any particular reason not to? I far prefer the style (with the exception of proprietary lugs) to the new version and I’m really liking the price. I thought we might get a sale between now and Christmas so if someone sees one please bump this thread.
No real reason not to… They’re going to port the new OS over to it eventually. That said, I really love the color screen on the Pebble Time Steel.
My Pebble Time and iOS 9 seemed to continue to vibrate despite me picking up a call already. Very irritating. Did it happen to anyone?
Annnnnnnnnnnd now they’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest by offering a $50 discount on the Pebble Time, putting it at $30 less than the standard backer’s price.
Granted, the backers have been able to use their Times for 4-5 months longer than anyone buying at that price today, but given the continued delays on delivering everything to backers and the tone deafness of the Time Round discount, you would think they would at least try to head the backlash off with some sort of communication with the community. But, of course, no, they didn’t. They just let it hit everyone the wrong way.
I really, really don’t get it.
OMG technology dropped in price!
It’s been five months. Whiners.
(I say this as an owner of both a Pebble Time and a Pebble Time Steel.)
Yeah, didn’t bother me as much. And I think they do need to reduce price or face extinction.
It’s supposedly just a sale, but I’ll guess we’ll see if it’s the Xbox One’s version of a “limited time offer.”
I picked up a Gear S2 Classic to go with my new Note 5. I am coming from an iPhone watch/iPhone 6+ combo. The Gear S2 Classic looks much better (IMHO) and does everything I need to do except link to Google Maps. There is a connection between the watch and the Here Maps app, but I much prefer Google Maps (one of the reasons I am not on an iPhone anymore). It has an always on face that doesn’t reduce battery life too much. Has all of the integration that I need, including Outlook for Android. If it had Google Maps it would be perfect. Haven’t really looked at the heart rate monitor and steps accuracy because I am more interested in the alerts for meetings, emails, messages, to-dos, etc.
It’s just an android wear watch though, right?
How can it not have maps? Every android wear device has google maps integration, where directions and stuff show up on the watch.
Maybe I don’t understand what type of integration you want though. What is it that you’re hoping to do? View maps and stuff on the watch face?
EDIT:
Ah, I see… It’s running Samsung’s Tizen OS instead of android. Weird. Dunno why Samsung is doing that.
I’m waiting for a price drop on the original Pebble Steel but maybe that’s not in the cards. There seem to be quite a few complaints about the scratch resistance of the screen/stainless steel and the top and middle buttons no longer working. Has anyone else experienced this?
I see Tag Heur has released their smartwatch. $1500 and after two years you can trade it in (and pay another $1500) for a real Tag.
initial review: works great, am loving it so far.
got the latest firmware and paired with moto x 2014.
used it since 5am, so 13 hours ~15% watch charge used, and this was a fairly active day. texts were nice and readable, call from mom was identified so i knew to fish the phone out of my pocket.
the little static cling it came with makes a great watchface protector, i used a tiny bit of soapy water to make it stick on smoothly. the only issue i can think of is the extended tip micro usb for the cord. but amazon sells cords with 8mm tips for under ten bucks, which is amazing given i only paid $34 for this thing.
lost bluetooth connection once when i went to the bathroom and closed door, it reacquired after a minute when i came out.
It’s even worse than that. If you download Here Maps from Google Play, it does not work with the Gear S2. You have to download Here Maps through the Samsung app store. It really is sad because Google Maps integration is the only thing holding it back (and it works with Google Mail!).
Update - I returned my Gear S2 and will receive an LG Watch Urbane 2 from AT&T today. It is cheaper than the S2 (at least through AT&T), has an actual LTE connection, and I can use Google Maps with it. Will post more after I’ve had a chance to play with it.
Martian? Is that a legit brand? Those look like those sketchy gray market off-brands BestBuy had in their wearables section before the Apple Watch came out.
The LG Watch Urbane 2 is a keeper. It is larger than the Gear S2 and is MUCH more difficult to setup. Not sure if that is just an Android Wear issue, but I had no problem setting up the Gear S2. There’s no user manual so eventually I had to go to what turned out to be a useful AT&T site that explains how to set the watch up. It has all of the functionality that I need, looks very nice, and has a great screen. I guess some people might miss the rotating bezel on the Gear S2, but I do not. There are quite a few interesting Android Wear watch faces that you can purchase. The Urbane 2 is even waterproof. A function that I do not see myself using a whole lot is the ability to call from the watch independently from my cel phone. This really is a Dick Tracy watch, but I doubt I will use it much. Seemed to work fine when I did my test call.
The only significantly weaker portion of the watch is how it re-charges. The Gear S2 uses a magnetic charger that you just place the watch on. The Urbane 2 requires the alignment of magnetically charged pins on the watch and it is a bit more awkward to use.
Edit - I forgot to mention that the ambient watch face is much better on the Urbane 2. The Gear S2 just has the watch hands visible during ambient mode (always on face). The Urbane 2 dims the full watch face, so you actually see the entire face whenever you look at the watch. Battery life is pretty good for both in always-on mode (seems much better than my Apple watch with fewer functions and non ambient mode).
Another thing I forgot to mention about Android Wear vs. Gear Wear is that Outlook for Android integration is MUCH better in Gear Wear. I was getting full access to my calendar, events, and mail through Gear Wear. I got limited email access and no calendar access in Android Wear. I switched to the email app Nine and this provided full exchange access to everything via Android Wear.
So my phone fell out of my pocket today and I didn’t realize it until I was halfway to work on the train. Fortunately I was able to find it (find my android phone on Google is amazing) and my wife went to pick it up. That was pretty scary as hell and pretty much makes me want a smartwatch right away. Is it possible for the Pebble watch to notify you when your phone goes out of range? I know it originally couldn’t do that so I was hoping things would change. I guess it would cause a huge battery hit? I’ve got a Pebble Steel in my online shopping basket right now and I’d just like confirmation of that before I hit the buy button.
Yep, there are many Pebble watchfaces that will buzz the watch if you go out of Bluetooth range. My watch just did it a few minutes ago when I went out to get something from the car and had the phone charging in my office.