Pebble Steel

calendar Aug 30, 2014 · 3 min read  ·
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Endlich lieferbar!

I was very happy when I heard a couple of weeks ago that the coveted Pebble smartwatch can now also be ordered in Germany after a long time. Until now this was a problem due to duty difficulties. It seems like this difficulties have now been solved - ordering the watch in the Netherlands is now possible. After I've been waiting for a long time for this update I really had to order it instantly. The delivery time was quite short in spite of the huge demand. 🙂

Why Pebble?

But why did I choose the Pebble and not yet another smartwatch like the Samsung Galaxy Gear? Quite simple - I prefer the design concept of the smartwatch financed by Kickstarter for several reasons.

Pebble Steel

Other smartwatches try to combine smartphone technology with a compact clock case. As a result you're wearing more or less powerful ARM devices with the Android operating system and color displays on your wrist. Disadvantages of this are short battery lifes and - in my opinion - overloaded operating systems.

The Pebbler watch is here more minimalist and only offers what I expect from a intelligent watch: displaying the time and establishing a connect to my smartphone. Color displays, a camera, a big memory and WLAN are missing. This might sound counterproductive but results in better battery life (up to 7 days). The pebble provides:

  • STM32F205RE Cortex M3 CPU with 120 Mhz
  • 128 KB memory
  • 4 MB memory for apps and watchfaces (clock face)
  • 4 buttons
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • 144x168 Sharp e-paper LCD
  • 3 axis accelerometer
  • PeebleOS operating system, a minimalistic FreeRTOS derivate
  • Selectively a plastic (Pebble) or metal case (Pebble Steel) which is waterproof in up to 50 meters
  • Plastic, leather or aluminium bracelet (alternatively you can mount the most 22mm wristbands)

The smartwatch is connected to your iOS or Android device using the official Pebble app. After installation you can use the following functions:

  • Show notifications (E-Mail, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.)
  • Download apps and watchfaces
  • Control music

Developers will like the Pebble Software Development Kits (SDK) because it enables you to develop your own JavaScript and C applications for the smartwatch.

Pebble Apps

Using the Pebble App Store it is possible to sell and download applications. You can find a lot of useful apps - I'm using the following ones:

  • K9ToPebble - Mails received by Kaiten / K9 can be displayed as notifications (incl. text details), the Inbox can also be browsed using the menu
  • Multi Timer - stopwatch, countdown and lap counter, very useful to keep remaining time in mind during presentations

Watchfaces

Red Hat Watchface (Watchface-Generator)

It is also very nice to have alternative clock faces. The offer is also very big here - I'm using the following watchfaces:

The Pebble Watchface-Generator is a very useful web application that can easily create clock faces for you - without having programming knowledge. After creating a clock face it can be downloaded by scanning a QR code. The watchface is installed on your watch using the official Pebble app.

Conclusion

After roughly 2 months I'm still very satisfied with the Pebble Steel - I can highly recommend having a look at the Pebble if you're looking for a "unbloaty" smartwatch with a decent and timeless design without. 🙂

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