Pebble watch review: The only smartwatch worth buying

Smartwatches are often pegged as the next big thing in personal technology, especially when it comes to wearables.

Watches like the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R are decent attempts at creating a smartwatch that in some ways duplicates exactly what your smartphone does, but they still don’t embody what a smartwatch should really be used for.

The mistake many manufacturers make is trying to build a smartwatch that’s basically a small smartphone strapped to your wrist. Smartwatches should simply just allow users to have instant, at-a-glance access to notifications like email, text, phone calls and of course, also let you check the time.

Pebble’s inexpensive $99 smartwatch does all of this and nothing more. The Pebble was released back in 2013 after an extremely successful $10.3-million Kickstarter Campaign

The lightweight device reads text, lets users skip music tracks on their phone, displays the time and also works with a variety of third-party developed applications available in Pebble’s ever-growing store. Also, if you sign up for Pebble’s beta program, you’ll get access to the watch’s version 2.3 operating system, allowing users to quick-respond to emails or texts and also mark notifications as “read” on your phone. This can also be done through third-party Pebble marketplace apps like Awear.

This is because the Pebble takes a different approach to the idea of a smartwatch. Rather than taking advantage of Google’s recently released Android Wear operating system, that heavily relies on automatically delivering users’ information via Google Now, Pebble has created their own simple notification-focused OS.

In terms of the Pebble’s build, you pretty much get what you pay for. The smartwatch’s rubber strap and plastic body feel solid enough, but I was able to accidentally crack my grey Pebble smartwatch’s body slightly after using the watch for only a few weeks. However, Pebble did send me a new replacement watch in less than a week.

The watch’s four buttons also feel wobbly (they were more solid on my replacement watch). It’s important to keep in mind that this is a $99 device, so build quality issues should be expected. People looking for a more premium product should take a look at Pebble’s higher-end offering, the $150 Pebble Steel. The original Pebble isn’t going to win any style awards, but it’s far from an ugly device, especially if you attach a custom stick-on cover and purchase a custom strap.

The Pebble’s tiny 1.26 inch (3.2 cm) is an e-ink display, giving the smartwatch its impressive multi-day battery life. However, in my experience the Pebble lasts about three to four days with moderate use and not the advertised week-long battery life. This is significantly longer than the Moto 360’s disappointing one-day battery. Thankfully the Pebble’s screen dimly lights up when navigating the watch’s UI, allowing you to still see its screen in dark places. It’s also easily viewable in direct sunlight and despite being e-ink, it’s crisp and clear.

The Pebble’s buttons can be a little wobbly at times. Patrick O’Rourke/Postmedia

Unlike competing smartwatches, the Pebble doesn’t feature a touch screen and instead navigation is performed by button presses. While some users will have an issue with this, navigating via physical buttons is perfect for a device like a smartwatch, and Apple’s upcoming Apple Watch is set to feature a similar navigation technique via its “Digital Crown” knob. The buttons also require a firm press to use properly, which means you won’t accidentally activate the Pebble’s controls.

When it comes to connectivity, the Pebble works with Apple devices running iOS 5 and any device on Android 2.3 or above. Pebble’s iOS and Android app are both simple and easy to navigate, although the watch’s Android app has the built-in ability to set which apps will send notifications.

• Moto 360 review: Even the best smartwatch isn’t good enough yet

With iOS devices, users have to enter the operating system’s notification centre to enable third-party applications, and this is a bit of a hassle, especially if you don’t want all the notifications you receive on your phone sent your Pebble.

I set my Pebble to receive texts, phone calls, emails and messages via WhatsApp, since receiving notifications every five minutes from Google Hangouts or Facebook Messenger is unnecessary and annoying. Smartwatches aren’t meant to replace your smartphone and instead should be used to save you time and make checking notifications more convenient.

I purchased a brushed metal skin from GadgetWraps for my Pebble. It gives the watch a unique look. Patrick O’Rourke/Postmedia

Theoretically you’re supposed to be able to shake your wrist to dismiss a notification with the Pebble, although I was only able to make this work a handful of times. Instead I typically opted to just press a button to dismiss notifications. Unfortunately Pebble only shows the last message you received and pushes past notifications to a screen buried in the watch’s settings. While this is a minor issue, the ability to scroll through multiple notifications would have been a welcome feature with the Pebble. This means you’ll still have to check your smartphone if you receive multiple notifications at once or forget to check one.

The best part of the Pebble is users can customize its watch face. Basic options like a text watch, classic analog watch, or even third-party notification-focused faces can be downloaded with the touch of a screen and up to six can be installed at one time. The analog watch with built-in weather, digital time and a digital date, is by far one of Pebble’s best watch faces (it’s called Modern and is developed by Lucasz Zalewski).

Still, despite being the most affordable and arguably the best smartwatch around, wearable tech like this isn’t necessary to the average person’s life like a smartphone is.

But at $99 – down from its launch price of $150 – the Pebble is certainly worth picking up if you want to get a head start on the latest technology craze.

Follow @Patrick_ORourke.

Source:: canada.com