The Pebble Smart-Watch Review

 
The Pebble Smart-Watch

 
a Kick starter-borne Bluetooth-enabled smart-watch that pairs with your smartphone to display notifications, manage apps, and even control song playback. The Pebble is priced at $150, which may sound like a lot, but many popular timepieces cost as much or more — and all they do is tell time. The Pebble, on the other hand, pairs with any Android and iOS devices running version 2.3 Gingerbread or iOS 5 and above to provide at-a-glance access to many of its functions. Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Palm users are currently out of luck.

 As futuristic as it might sound, the underlying process is actually incredibly simple. The Pebble pairs with your device over Bluetooth and displays the notification that is simultaneously appearing on your phone. it's compatible with any iOS or Android app that supports notifications. What's more, its side-mounted buttons can be used to pause, play, or change tracks when you're listening to music, and you can answer or reject a call with a simple press.

 The Pebble's potential far exceeds its current manifestation. As time goes on, developers can build deeper integration into their apps, such as exercise apps that use its built-in accelerometer to detect how many steps you've taken or the distance you've traveled. At its core are the Pebble's native iOS and Android apps, which serve as the gateway to new firmware updates, downloadable watchfaces, and apps. There are currently 10 unique watch-faces, as well as Snake - The Famous game from smart phones of decades past. The Snake is near-impossible to play with the Pebble's tiny built-in controls. For iPhone, the Pebble relies on iOS' built-in notification control panel.

 The Pebble is otherwise well-constructed and designed, though it lacks any striking visual flair; especially in the case of the stock black version. The main interface is similarly straight-forward, navigable through the up, down, and enter button. The battery life is fantastic, delivering upon the company's promise of up to 7 days per charge. Each Pebble ships with a custom-built USB charging cable, which snaps to the left side using magnetized contacts. The back-lighting of the 167x144 resolution ePaper display is fairly dull, but it's more than sufficient for low-light use.

 This is great overall, the future of the Pebble is going to get bigger and bigger. Rumors of Apple's entry into the market and Samsung confirming development of a new smart-watch of its own, the Pebble could find itself with some stiff competition. It has the energy efficiency, low cost and early momentum that will make it big. The Smart-Watch has a category all its own. I would rate it 5 out of 5 Stars