And this is why, 6 months after this comment, my university has made wearing smartwatches (at least during exams) and getting caught during an exam, grounds for expulsion.
Sadly, I've never to this day found a smartwatch as good and slick as my old pebble. Nothing even comes close. This video not only changed my life for the better but got me into LTT and thankfully at least that's still going strong 10 years later!
Excellent review. Best I've seen. It changed my mind about this accessory. I have now got one on order. Incidentally, the online ordering process was exceptionally convenient and streamlined. I ordered it three days ago and am expecting delivery tomorrow.
***** depends on 3 things: Style Functionality Price All of these are very personal, so I can only tell you what I like. My favourite at the moment is the Huawei with the steel mesh band. I like the round watch-like style. It has a great screen, adequate battery, and is one of the few that has a speaker that will allow you to conduct calls when the new software comes out. Unfortunately it is one of the most expensive. I managed to pick up a 2nd hand one, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to afford it. Overall I find them all very useful and enjoy the utility they provide, more so than pebble. But you have to keep in mind that these are consumer devices and will only last as long as their batteries. Which realistically is not much more than 3 to 4 years.
I don't know much about the Pebble other than people commenting on every other smartwatch video going on and on about the Pebble. Which is why I sought out this video. And I just have to say, I don't get it. It's ugly. Very ugly! And that user interface seems more like 1995 than 2015. I'm not on here to just troll and insult, I honestly want to know what you fans actually see in this device. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but personally If I wore this thing I'd feel little reason to go outside and put on anything more than birkenstocks, sweatpants and a badly stained tee shirt.
well before you call it ugly go and look at the refined version the pebble steel. The point of the pebble smart watches is that it provides similar functionality to another smart watch whilst having a much longer battery life. Also this video is 2 years out of date issues like the notification disappearing permanently and not being able to reply have been solved since then. Linus has a much more up to date pebble steel review
This is the first time I've seen this tech reviewer. He is a very good speaker and makes me feel interested compared to other reviewers INCLUDING CNET.
I got mine yesterday. It's pretty cool. It communicates with your phone over Bluetooth, so it can get Push notifications, like incoming phone calls, SMS and emails. There's a huge selection of watch face apps and it can also access the Internet through your phone for things like weather updates and RSS feeds (as long as the watch is within Bluetooth range of your phone (about 300 feet)).
+Harrison Harper I think so. I like being able to get e-mail and message notifications without having to pull out my phone every time. I also have a watch face with a weather app built in. You can also use the watch as a remote control for your phone's music app. The buttons let you choose Next Track, Last Track, Play/Pause, Volume, etc. It's not as fancy as a iWatch or a Moto, but no one is seriously going to use a watch to surf the Internet when they already have a phone in their pocket.
I've had one cable fail in probably 5 years of Micro USB usage. I've never known anyone to have one fail either. That's why I found it odd. Only charger I'd truly consider fragile would be the old LG proprietary from the enV days. Those failed all the time.
I don't always subscribe and all, but your review was so nice and well humored that I just couldn't leave it alone. Amazing video, keep up with the good work, you're awesome.
I have the orange Pebble also, and find it hard to loose as it's always on my arm or the charger. I loose a lot of things; because, I have low vision. Many of the clock faces are much easier for me to read that my old digital watch, and the e-paper display reads clearly with high contrast in bright light.
I bought a Pebble the minute they were available in stores for $150. Tried it for a few days, and I liked it but I didn't "$150 like it", so I returned it and waited. This past Christmas, I treated myself to one now that they retail for $89, and its a steal. They've really improved the apps (both in quality and quantity), and its completely worth the purchase price.
$150? Wow! I would expect to pay more like $50 or under. But I don't know much about the pebble other than people comments on every other smartwatch video going on and on about the Pebble.
Im going to come right out and say it, what an overpriced piece of junk. Maybe in the future, but now its like buying a car before the wheel has been invented.
MTS productions The price on the original model has been lowered far more than that because of the Pebble Steel. That is what inspired me to finally buy one. And I LOVE it.
Since I am running Android, most of the apps are still underway. But once the programming is done, and the Android App store is open, it's going to be AWESOME. My favorite one so far is Pebble GPS. Not so great for driving, but for walking directions around Chicago, it was invaluable. People didn't even know I was a tourist, they just thought I was checking my watch. Of course, that is still in BETA. itunes.apple.com/us/app/pebbgps-pebble-smartwatch/id703296385?mt=8
I thought it would be cool. So (apparently) do a lot of people because last time I checked the Pebble site, orange was sold out and everything else was in stock :p
And I am one of those proud owners of this since 2015. Still working perfectly with only minor scratches on the glass at the side (Not noticeable). It survived all my preparations so far in the lab when working with acids!
How is this on small wrists? I have a stupidly skinny wrist which normally restricts me quite heavily on watches. From the videos / pictures it looks quite big. Cheers
I have a very small wrist as I'm skinny and 5'2", and trust me it doesn't look bad in person. I am going to buy one very soon and I wasn't going to, until I tried it in person a week ago. It fit good, way better than I would expect with my little wrists.
I like orange only cuz my mom doesn't like it because my uncle annoyed her by wearing orange shirts a lot when they were growing up lol. orange is a nice color tho! :D
It's pretty insubstantial, so there's not really much to be "horrible" about it. If your expectations are managed correctly (preview emails, control music, anything else is a bonus) there's no reason to be surprised that it doesn't do that much.
the best thing about this watch is being able to see ur texts and calls while at work. i can't have my phone at work or when i am on the basketball court and i like this idea. i am sold...
Would wearing this make anyone look geeky? Is it a geeky device for someone to wear? Like if I wore this would it be noticeable and would people find it nerdy and stuff.
Absolutely not. Smartwatches are very popular these days, they actually look really great! They work as a normal watch, without the beautiful clockwork of course, but you can get a watchface that gives you the image of an actual watch. Also, you can get tonnes of new features, and even notifications from your iOS or Android device.
It can but mine is kinda borked right now for WhatsApp. I don't use it much so I just haven't bothered to fix it. Right now I get notifications but can't actually preview the message.
Perhaps there are better ones, but much more expensive. These are kickstarter projects so they're not actually produced by massive companies. Just search for a comparative video between the Pebble and other ones. ;)
On the Play Store, it says that the Android smartphone must run 4.x in order to be compatible with the app. I have an HTC EVO Shift 4G (i know, its old), running 2.3.4. However, the App Store says that the phone is compatible. So which is it? Can I or can I not run it on the Shift? If I cannot, I have the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, running 4.2.2. Now, this is definitely compatible. However, will my Pebble work if my tablet is further than a yard or so from it? How about if the Tab is not connected to WiFi? Thanks
the reason it says 4.x is the same reason it says iphone 4s and later and not 4 its beause your phone wont support BTLE blue tooth low energ. It needs bluetooth 4.0 or later to push ALL notifications to the watch and not just some. Without it phones like your and my iphone 4 are supported but can only receive texts emails and phone calls without a 3rd party app. It iseasily fixable without changing phones however with a 3rd party app from the pebble app store.
You can, at least that's what amazon says. www.amazon.com/Pebble-Smartwatch-iPhone-Android-Black/dp/B00BKEQBI0/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile&ie=UTF8&qid=1393420657&sr=1-1
Untill it looks like a watch... NOPE. It looks like one of those large and ridiculous watch calculators we got in the 90's if we sold enough magazines for our catholic school. Why this needed when you always have your phone in almost any circumstance anyway? Slow down, we don't need to always be connected. Remember when once someone left the home they were gone until you saw them again? People demand 24/7 communication but I think it may cause more damage than good. My mother gets furious if she calls me a few times and I don't answer. 10 years ago she would have never been able to even call me in the first place. There is a place for privacy and a place for communication. I don't think this is it. Ohh yah, also the NSA is reading your tweets. Wait... every tweet you make or read publicly goes into the digital library of congress. The more you know.
I got a pebble a few days ago after watching this and gotta say I love having it now. So nice to have all notifications on my wrist and I can just leave my phone on silent all the time since watch has vibrate. Thanks for the review! =)
I am 32 from Norway, tech. engineer and been watching and reading computer reviews for the last 17 years, and I can only say that you are doing a very good job, Linus. I like that you are "on the point", keeping it on-topic and talk clear and loud in your videos. You are also good at separating objective vs. subjective. Thanks for your channel. :)
wh1t3bo111 It's based on the e-ink displays in the first generation Kindle readers. The neat thing about it is that it only uses power when something changes on the display, so the watch has a very long battery life. (several days compared to regular LCD displays).
I've ordered mine today, they offered free worldwide shipping which is great ! Till now I've been using iPod Nano with wristband, so I'm used to having big watch on my hand, and since I'm getting a bunch of emails on my phone (and only 1% of them are urgent and need my reply ASAP) I think Pebble will be great for me :) Can't wait for it to arrive ! :)
neat! I'm buying 1 on Friday, as my Hanukkah gift to myself. I would really like a platform, where the watch could hold a conversation with you. but like a phone conversation; more like explaining news events, or like talking about how you feel.(again not like talking to your girlfriend, something more 22nd century). all the best
I liked this video. I was about to get one today, until I did some research. I was still on the fence until I saw this video, now I feel I can wait. Thank you!
I wonder how many people make the mistake of saying backlight. I've heard that being used more often incorrectly than correctly. Any reflective display that has lighting has a frontlight not a backlight.
Looks cool.... if I wasn't such a tight-wad. Of course, if my 2-day-old YT vids were bringing in 50k views, maybe I wouldn't BE a tight wad! Good review, Linus.
Cool video! Why i love pebble, is that when it looks like normal watch, but it connects via bluetooth and its smart.. And of course looks better than apple watch
Thanks for the review I see it as an advantage for me cause I'm always stopping what I do when my phone goes off now I just glance at my risk and keep working.
Ugh, 2 years ago I got a regular electronic watch with a timer, alarm, etc and for 50 dollars. I lost it a while ago, (it won't happen again) but now WHY DID I NOT GET THIS ITS ONLY 30 BUCKS MORE BUT LEIK YYYYYYYYYYY YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I bought one from CL for $100 locally. It was a whim purchase but the best I've made in a while. Linus pointed out one of my favorite features of the Pebble... You can screen alerts without touching your phone. This does 2 things... 1. Doesn't interrupt your workflow to check alerts and allows you to decide if you really need to pull out your phone to reply or read something, and 2, by not pulling out your phone every 2 minutes it lessens the wear and tear on your phone and reduces the chances of doing some dumb like dropping your phone. The 3rd party app development is moving quickly and you can fix almost all the limitations the stock OS puts in your way out of the box. I was considering the Gear but thought I'd try this first since I found a deal and now I wouldn't even consider spending another $200 to switch my Pebble for a Gear. Great review Linus...
I decided to ask for one at Christmas and I've really liked it. For me, the stock utilities that come with it aren't enough. The true potential comes out with the third party apps (often found in the play store) which can allow you to REPLY to texts (although, I've only seen it use canned responses). When you're getting constant notifications from multiple sources (facebook, twitter, wechat, hangouts, emails, etc) we become desensitized. This does give you a way to screen certain notifications, so they'll always go to your phone, but some/all/none can go to your watch which then is an easy source of viewing. So far, Love it. Ordered in black and plan on getting a better band shortly.
When I saw the kickstarter for this I was excited about it, after a while the hype for it just sort of died down. A few days ago I decided to go Sony smartwatch 2 it's nice and it has some apps that are worth for it (K-9 email, PowerAmp, Facebook, Twitter, Call handling and so on. I only got it cause of the black friday deal for 45% off. I can easily suggest if you have an apple device just wait for their apple smartwatch or get the pebble instead. If you are into Android and nothing else but Android 4.0 or better get the sony smartwatch 2. Last if you have a samsung device the Gear might be the best of all, however to me it looks bulky and just ugly.
I just say three things about your watch vs galaxy gear. 1. yes you need to do motion to see the info or press the home key on gear, but you don't need to deal with retarded keys to navigate. 2. you have camera on your gear. 3 answering phone calls and full text reply directly from your wrist ( especially very handy while driving or cycling). I know as soon as I saw your htc one that you don't talk nice about Samsung. and I got my gear 150$ when the price was 320$ on kijiji, people were importing it from Korea and Asia, I live in Canada just like you. I think you need to get android gear or iwatch when they are out. I am not fan of key navigation on watch.
Its sad tho nobody has the pebble because they all want the fitbits and i dont mean the fitness watch i mean the fitness watch that is pretty much a smart watch.......yeah.....fit bit has evolved
Guys, trust me, this is the worst money you could ever spend. It is useless and has no meaning whatsoever. It does 1% of what your smart phone does. All these dumb people giving a positive review are either idiots or paid reviews. Bruce, you are 100% correct, just simply take out your smart phone and get the job done. Do not listen to these idiots with bull talk. The screen is so small that you can't properly see any thing on it clearly, specially at night when the back light turns off after 2 seconds, then you have to press it over and over again. Dumb fk toy. Save your money, I wish I did not buy it.
Music controls are worth $150? Interesting, they are included in my cheap ass Apple EarPods... And wrist controls are actually less convenient than those, because pressing buttons on the watch will occupy both of my hands, while the EarPod controls require one hand...
Any no locked device is going to be more popular than a locked down device like the Gear. The gear how ever can be easily customised to handle a lot more if you're willing to tie the risk. I have my gear running google with keyboard functionality - along with standard apps as is on my phone. If Samsung had enabled this out of the box along with other phone make compatibility the watch would be a hit. I also get used to not dragging my phone out to check every single alert. I'm now sold on fully functioning smart watches, but not the pebble as it stands, simply too simple for my needs.
If you guys are not getting your questions answered about this product, I have a review myself and I would be more than happy to answer your questions, just click on my channel find my review and comment and I will reply asap! Hope this you guys!
Can you have Both a pebble and a set of jaybird bluebuds x synced up to your galaxy 6 at the same time working together for example using the watch to select a song I want and my headphones playing music?from Spotify ?
Thanks! I have ADHD and constantly use my phone for reminders, but since I am in class most of the day, I end up missing the notifications. I was wondering about his device but until now I wasn't sure I would be able to run some app notifications but not others.
Personally think it is a TOTAL waste of money, will get outdated and not compatible with phones within about 5 years, my watch which does what a watch should do, tell the time, cost me £45 fifteen years ago, still compatible with telling time, still looks up to date and isn't in ORANGE. No need at all to have a device to tell u that u have email on your phone which is basically telling u, that u have email on your PC... Manage your time better, people can CALL if they need you that bad LINUS!
GOT this watch when I barely came out as a present not even knowing what it was or how famous it was becoming and quickly adjusted to it, people made fun of it when I barely got it and now they all want it lol so simple yet so useful. downloaded my niners background on it and got the color red to go with it ;)
I see we got our Pebble at about the same time, mine is black. I usually get 4 days of battery time on mine. I never really used the music controls as I have that on my bluetooth headset also. I never had any issues with using it on my Galaxy S4 either. I am generally very happy with my Pebble.
if i buy this watch...do i need a 2nd phone line?or i just hook it up to my cellphone bluetooth?can u make calls?does it lag?i don't do twitt that much can u facebook ? there's no camera?
The Samsung gear smart watch is way better, at least it's touch screen, but that's my opinion, I had a gear but it drowned during the summers in the lake, so my new gear watch is coming in 2 days. I still like the first gear watch better then the other gear watches, because it's basically almost the same thing.
Cool review... I owned my pebble around one year now and I cannot think life without one on my wrist... cool thing and only with the chance of picking my mother in law´s calls in time, worth it...
