Backerjack is delighted to start off its hands-on reviews with a product that set the Kickstarter record for funding, the Pebble Time.
Review Score: 3 of 5
The original Pebble watch was notable for two reasons. It was one of the first smartwatches to work with both iOS in addition to Android and it was one of the few to have a grayscale e-paper display that offered long battery life and great outdoor readability. Handling smartwatch basics such as phone call notification, step counting and music playback control, the Pebble attracted thousands of watchfaces and apps. However, the watch looked plastic and chunky (a fault somewhat rectified by the Pebble Steel) and its interface often required an extended number of button presses given its lack of a touchscreen.
The Pebble Time addresses some of the shortcomings of the original. it has a sleeker, more attractive two-tone design that drops the body extensions to accommodate the strap. Pebble has also gone with a color e-ink display, one of the first to be used in a consumer product. Pebble has also moved its power connector from the side of the device to the back and seems to have strengthened the magnets; the connection is more secure and Pebble now ships a long flat cable. And while the power connector also supports watch straps that add functionality (a promising one the subject of a recent crowdfunding campaign), they’ve not appeared in the market yet. Like its predecessor, the Pebble Time is water-resistant.