Fitbit is close to buying Pebble (and possibly killing the brand) - Polidicks

A big part of the appeal for pebble was the weekly battery life but whelp android wear seems to give a day at most.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51493896]You're in luck! That happens to be more than an LG G Watch costs.[/QUOTE] I fail to see how the current price of a watch retroactively allows me to buy that watch instead of this one. [editline]7th December 2016[/editline] Especially when that watch would've been a downgrade in what I used this one for

This is my first time hearing about this product. What a damn shame, I would have actually bought one since the price is right.

[QUOTE=Dr.C;51494785]This is my first time hearing about this product. What a damn shame, I would have actually bought one since the price is right.[/QUOTE] I'm surprised you haven't of Pebble if you've heard of Kickstarter. It's literally the most successful Kickstarter project ever. Which now doesn't mean much with Pebble going belly up.

what the fuck... I thought pebble were doing really good for themselves??! [editline]8th December 2016[/editline] although I probably wasn't their best customer. I still use the original pebble from their first kickstarter

[QUOTE=Sumap;51494092]The loss of Pebble means we haven't had a single technology focused project from Kickstarter that's raised a ton of money and hasn't failed in some way (Pebble, Coolest Cooler, Ouya).[/QUOTE] Oculus? 2m$ is still quite a lot of money and the impact it had on the industry is huge.

[QUOTE=gk99;51494758] Especially when that watch would've been a downgrade in what I used this one for[/QUOTE] What are you using your (now failed) glorified e-book reader for that any Android Wear watch couldn't do better? I don't understand. Pebble has always been dirt-cheap barely-passable smartwatch tech for an emerging market. You got exactly what you paid for. The way crowdfunding usually goes is someone has a good idea, it gets funded, and then a larger more professional company sees how popular that item is and does the exact same thing but better in every way and cheaper from a value perspective. [editline]8th December 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Lambeth;51494320]A big part of the appeal for pebble was the weekly battery life but whelp android wear seems to give a day at most.[/QUOTE] I've never understood this argument. You charge your phone every night, so what's wrong with also charging your watch at the same time? Most modern Android Wear watches last 2 days (Or longer if you don't have the screen always on), and when charging they function as night stands/alarm clocks so it's not a brick wasting space. How is any of that a bad thing?

[QUOTE=Snowmew;51494246]How is a $100 smartwatch out of your budget? Pebbles were around the same price or more. Or were you referring to the abysmal joke of battery life as your budget? [/QUOTE] Sorry, used different formatting. The moto has abysmal battery life, so thats a no go. The zen watch it out of my budget. Hugely. [editline]8th December 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=1/4 Life;51497817] I've never understood this argument. You charge your phone every night, so what's wrong with also charging your watch at the same time? Most modern Android Wear watches last 2 days (Or longer if you don't have the screen always on), and when charging they function as night stands/alarm clocks so it's not a brick wasting space. How is any of that a bad thing?[/QUOTE] A phone, while always with you the same as a watch, is mobile. Pocket, to hand, to desk, to other pocket, under your pillow, etc. A watch is attached to you. You wear it, some sleep with it, shower with it, etc. It becomes a part of your outfit, and for many it is hugely inconvenient to have to take it off every day just so it can charge when watches for decades haven't needed to do that before. Actual watches have battery life measured in years, not hours. Its jarring.

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;51498039] A watch is attached to you. You wear it, some sleep with it, shower with it, etc. It becomes a part of your outfit, and for many it is hugely inconvenient to have to take it off every day just so it can charge when watches for decades haven't needed to do that before. Actual watches have battery life measured in years, not hours. Its jarring.[/QUOTE] That doesn't make any sense. These aren't watches, they're smartwatches. You are comparing apples to oranges. If you dislike it because it has to do more than turn hands around in a circle, smartwatches aren't for you. I've used [b]many[/b] classic watches in the past and I can't even imagine wearing one to bed. That has to be uncomfortable. There's a reason they're easy to remove.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51498083]That doesn't make any sense. These aren't watches, they're smartwatches. You are comparing apples to oranges. If you dislike it because it has to do more than turn hands around in a circle, smartwatches aren't for you. I've used [b]many[/b] classic watches in the past and I can't even imagine wearing one to bed. That has to be uncomfortable. There's a reason they're easy to remove.[/QUOTE] Then you are part of the use case that doesn't wear them to bed. You are not the only use case. [editline]8th December 2016[/editline] Pebble was unique, it focused on making the wrist watch better, not reinventing it.

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;51498327]Then you are part of the use case that doesn't wear them to bed. You are not the only use case.[/QUOTE] Spoiler alert: Use cases change. See: The train, the automobile, mobile phones, etc. [QUOTE=S31-Syntax;51498327]Pebble was unique, it focused on making the wrist watch better, not reinventing it.[/QUOTE] This doesn't make any sense either. Android Wear still tells the time, as does the Apple Watch. Android even has the screen always on so it's never *not* being a watch. The only change is you can't wear it to bed [B]every other night[/B]. I fail to see any problem.

[QUOTE=Kabstrac;51498351]At my Best Buy, they are the most prominent one and have a complete stand and display setup in the main walking area.[/QUOTE] My personal opinion is pebble had an image problem, rather than a brand recognition problem. Smartwatches are still very alien to a consumer. If you want them to sell, they need to be different (See Apple Watch), beautiful (See Huawei Watch), or both (See Zenwatch 3). If your smartwatch product can't be any of those 3, it at least needs to be technically impressive. Pebble did none of that. They were in many ways the 21st century version of the calculator watch. A majority of Pebble users were iPhone users, and when the Apple Watch released and people switched to that in droves, it was the final nail in the pebble coffin. The entire smartwatch industry is also going through a value-dollar transition as well, which will be very testing of smartwatches going forward.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51498335]Spoiler alert: Use cases change. See: The train, the automobile, mobile phones, etc. This doesn't make any sense either. Android Wear still tells the time, as does the Apple Watch. Android even has the screen always on so it's never *not* being a watch. The only change is you can't wear it to bed [B]every other night[/B]. I fail to see any problem.[/QUOTE] I also have to stop at a place with power and bring my proprietary cable with me if I go anywhere longer than a day. Long life ensures I can go on a trip and not need to bring more cables to charge shit. Whether or not you feel like acknowledging it, there is still a large group of people who don't like having tibrecharge their watch every day.

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;51498387]I also have to stop at a place with power and bring my proprietary cable with me if I go anywhere longer than a day. Long life ensures I can go on a trip and not need to bring more cables to charge shit. Whether or not you feel like acknowledging it, there is still a large group of people who don't like having tibrecharge their watch every day.[/QUOTE] Yet you still need to bring an (If Apple, proprietary) cable to charge your phone every day and deal with that, and that's somehow not an issue for you. The flip side is you have a more traditional watch that takes a special battery that is more-and-more rare to come across in-store, or you take it to a jeweler every once in a while and pay for that. If you plan on disappearing for a month and going completely off grid, grab a $5 digital watch from your local dollar store and be done with it. You don't need a smartwatch every day to function.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51498396]Yet you still need to bring an (If Apple, proprietary) cable to charge your phone every day and deal with that, and that's somehow not an issue for you. The flip side is you have a more traditional watch that takes a special battery that is more-and-more rare to come across in-store, or you take it to a jeweler every once in a while and pay for that. If you plan on disappearing for a month and going completely off grid, grab a $5 digital watch from your local dollar store and be done with it. You don't need a smartwatch every day to function.[/QUOTE] You're missing my point. And frankly being rather obtuse about it. Pebble had a market. It disappearing is a blow to the market. I hope Fitbit has the foresight to use pebbles tech to make a good replacement.

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;51498437]Pebble had a market. It disappearing is a blow to the market.[/QUOTE] This would be true if it wasn't for the fact that Pebble went out of business due to bankruptcy prior to their IP being cannibalized. If it had a market, it wasn't large enough to matter.

[QUOTE=The golden;51498510]Considering they were sold in major box stores like BestBuy - the Pebble line was doing a bit better than you think they were. I also saw them semi-often on peoples wrists in the store I work in.[/QUOTE] I'm not arguing they weren't popular, far from it. They simply were not popular enough to sustain themselves. The competition came in and wiped them out, and now backers are ultimately paying the price for it. It's a really unfortunate situation. My argument is that S31-Syntax's "I need a smartwatch I can wear to bed and lasts 18 years per charge because I physically cannot charge my watch like my phone" market is not large enough to even bother considering, and the Pebble's death is the proof of that. The Pebble appealed to another market that got pulled out from under their feet.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51497817]I've never understood this argument. You charge your phone every night, so what's wrong with also charging your watch at the same time? Most modern Android Wear watches last 2 days (Or longer if you don't have the screen always on), and when charging they function as night stands/alarm clocks so it's not a brick wasting space. How is any of that a bad thing?[/QUOTE] I wear mine to bed every night because of the smart alarm. It monitors when you're no longer in deep sleep, and starts vibrating when you're restless instead of having some annoying sound that becomes really bad ASMR after a few days of waking up to alarms. This is like one of the defining features of the thing, being able to wear it at night. Plus, I can control my sleeping music player from my wrist without having to reach out from under the covers and fuck with the volume on my phone. And the fact that the screen [i]is always on[/i] and yet runs for over a week. I recharge mine for an hour once a week. Why in the hell would I want a watch I have to recharge overnight? What's the benefit there? There is basically no reason why I'd ever need to upgrade to a different smartwatch besides "it looks better" and "it can show my heart rate which isn't really useful but whatever".

[QUOTE=Snowmew;51498952]I wear mine to bed every night because of the smart alarm. It monitors when you're no longer in deep sleep, and starts vibrating when you're restless instead of having some annoying sound that becomes really bad ASMR after a few days of waking up to alarms. This is like one of the defining features of the thing, being able to wear it at night. Plus, I can control my sleeping music player from my wrist without having to reach out from under the covers and fuck with the volume on my phone. And the fact that the screen [i]is always on[/i] and yet runs for over a week. I recharge mine for an hour once a week. Why in the hell would I want a watch I have to recharge overnight? What's the benefit there? There is basically no reason why I'd ever need to upgrade to a different smartwatch besides "it looks better" and "it can show my heart rate which isn't really useful but whatever".[/QUOTE] Because you're just lazy. Ugh why would you even want to wear your watch for more than 8 hours. Fitness bands with 4 hours lifespans are the future man, use cases change, get with the times. /s

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;51499155]Because you're just lazy. Ugh why would you even want to wear your watch for more than 8 hours. Fitness bands with 4 hours lifespans are the future man, use cases change, get with the times. /s[/QUOTE] Seriously, I really do not get the whole heart rate monitoring thing. Like, I know when I'm getting a workout. I know when I'm doing cardio. Woah, your heart increased to 150 BPM when you were jerking off with your buddies! What a fucking technological achievement, thanks Fitbit. The Pebble already handles step tracking too. That's way more important than having a log of your heart rate throughout the day. And hey, if you wanted heart rate monitoring, they were about to release a version that had it before everything went to shit. And yet people will still come back and whine, "but all the other smartwatches are better!" I would still have still bought a Pebble over anything else if it were twice the price.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51497817]What are you using your (now failed) glorified e-book reader for that any Android Wear watch couldn't do better?[/QUOTE] I mean tbh pretty much everything. I liked the openness, simplicity, efficiency, and durability, and at $70 it was fucking perfect. Plus, it had buttons for games when I get bored in a class and the professor is one of those who get pissed when you've got a phone out. By the way, not seeing that sub-$70 LG G Watch you were talking about anywhere. Only available one seems to be $150, not exactly a good price. Not that it matters, because I wouldn't pick it up anyway because the lack of buttons means lack of games which means I'd be better off saving money and getting the same experience by buying a new fucking Pebble even knowing that all support's ended. [editline]8th December 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Snowmew;51498952]I wear mine to bed every night because of the smart alarm. It monitors when you're no longer in deep sleep, and starts vibrating when you're restless instead of having some annoying sound that becomes really bad ASMR after a few days of waking up to alarms.[/QUOTE] Oh shit, that's a thing? Holy shit I gotta set this up immediately. I've run through every alarm on my phone and I'm tired of hearing every tone there.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51498083]That doesn't make any sense. These aren't watches, they're smartwatches. You are comparing apples to oranges. If you dislike it because it has to do more than turn hands around in a circle, smartwatches aren't for you. I've used [b]many[/b] classic watches in the past and I can't even imagine wearing one to bed. That has to be uncomfortable. There's a reason they're easy to remove.[/QUOTE] I've worn a watch to bed for 15 years. I wear it in the shower every morning. I carry it with me more often than my phone. Really, its very rare that I ever take it off. It gets to the point that its distracting to [i]not[/i] wear it. :v: Honestly, I just like how low maintenance it is. The "low battery warning" means I really have 3 days before I need to charge it. And even then, it just goes into a "basic watch" mode where it only does time until the battery is completely dead, which is another day or so. Maybe you're right, a reliable simple smartwatch is a niche now. "21st century calculator watch" is actually a pretty good way of putting it, because its exactly what I wanted it to be. I thought having a color display was a nice to have, but not necessary. If there ever comes a point where my OG Pebble stops working entirely, I'll probably end up going back to Casio G-Shock watches again. I will say though, its getting really awkward when co-workers ask about my watch (this actually happens a few times a week for some reason), Now I have to tell them they can't get one because the company went under.

[QUOTE=gk99;51501489][...] Oh shit, that's a thing? Holy shit I gotta set this up immediately. I've run through every alarm on my phone and I'm tired of hearing every tone there.[/QUOTE] It's actually better at waking me up than a normal alarm clock, which is why I use it in addition if I [I]really[/I] need to get up on time. Having a vibrating alarm in a wristwatch is surprisingly useful in general. I mostly use it to set reminders for myself, since it's very noticeable but doesn't bother anyone around me (e.g. in a quiet train car). I haven't really checked how the smart alarm works though.

[QUOTE=gk99;51501489]I mean tbh pretty much everything. I liked the openness, simplicity, efficiency, and durability, and at $70 it was fucking perfect. Plus, it had buttons for games when I get bored in a class and the professor is one of those who get pissed when you've got a phone out.[/QUOTE] I've noticed that exam proctors don't notice either. I haven't cheated with mine, but someone probably could. I do use it for rationing my time with the multiple timers, though, which is again useful because it shows the time remaining in each section and vibrates instead of beeps. Although I think standardized tests do not allow digital watches anymore (I know the LSAT doesn't).

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;51497817] I've never understood this argument. You charge your phone every night, so what's wrong with also charging your watch at the same time? Most modern Android Wear watches last 2 days (Or longer if you don't have the screen always on), and when charging they function as night stands/alarm clocks so it's not a brick wasting space. How is any of that a bad thing?[/QUOTE] As someone who wears a watch pretty much 24/7 out in isolated circumstances where you [b]need[/b] timekeeping and don't have a phone, having to charge your watch (nevermind a watch 10x the price of the standard watches we wear) every 12 hours would be fucking retarded. Having some of the capabilities of a smartphone in my watch would make my job so much easier, since you can't really use your phone when out in the field.

Recharging your watch overnight is good to let your skin breathe. Prolonged wear can rub your skin and leave rashes etc depending on skin sensitivity and band material. Learned this after wearing a Fitbit and Moto watches while sleeping.

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;51503399]Recharging your watch overnight is good to let your skin breathe. Prolonged wear can rub your skin and leave rashes etc depending on skin sensitivity and band material. Learned this after wearing a Fitbit and Moto watches while sleeping.[/QUOTE] Mind you, apparently skin rashes are a common issue with Fitbits for some reason. I've heard of people returning them over it. The $10 wriststrap I bought for my Pebble at Walmart does not have that problem. I don't wear watches skin tight so there is some breathing room though.

I still don't really understand what use-case the smartwatch in general fills. These are devices designed to be use in tandem with your phone... Something you have on your person anyway. I can't think of a critical situation where I wouldn't be able to access my phone but could access my watch. For the longest time Smartwatches also looked like toys but thankfully that's beginning to change. But at that point if I was shelling out ~$200 for a watch I'd much rather get a really nice and rugged automatic Seiko or an Orient or maybe even a Citizen.

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;51503399]Recharging your watch overnight is good to let your skin breathe. Prolonged wear can rub your skin and leave rashes etc depending on skin sensitivity and band material. Learned this after wearing a Fitbit and Moto watches while sleeping.[/QUOTE] Realtalk, find the goldilocks zone for your watch strap, and try and buy a natural fabric strap for your watch if you can. I have a two-inch scar on the upper side of my wrist where my watch adhered to my wrist and then got yanked off hard while moving a supplies cage. I was wearing it too loose and I was so fucking glad it wasn't the underside of my wrist because I would've probably bled out.

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;51503399]Recharging your watch overnight is good to let your skin breathe. Prolonged wear can rub your skin and leave rashes etc depending on skin sensitivity and band material. Learned this after wearing a Fitbit and Moto watches while sleeping.[/QUOTE] I have a nylon NATO strap and I loosen it a notch at night. I do take it off to shower since the strap takes a while to dry out, but that's pretty much it. [QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;51503497]I still don't really understand what use-case the smartwatch in general fills. These are devices designed to be use in tandem with your phone... Something you have on your person anyway. I can't think of a critical situation where I wouldn't be able to access my phone but could access my watch. For the longest time Smartwatches also looked like toys but thankfully that's beginning to change. But at that point if I was shelling out ~$200 for a watch I'd much rather get a really nice and rugged automatic Seiko or an Orient or maybe even a Citizen.[/QUOTE] The convenience of being able to check the time, set alarms, take notes, fuck with music, check the weather, check your schedule, have an extra stopwatch/timer, count steps, etc. without having to pull out your phone and check it every 5 minutes of your life was worth the $150 for me. I'm a nerd so the Pebble didn't scare me away, but I guess if you're more traditional, there's certainly more fashionable options now. It's just you're not going to ever get the convenience of the Pebble.