Tag: Pebble Time

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Chargers/Batteries Health and Wellness

Tylt Vu Pulse adds heart rate, wireless charging to Pebble Time

Heart rate tracking is one of the most helpful features of some fitness activity trackers and smartwatches including the Apple Watch. But it’s not a feature (yet anyway) on the Pebble Time smartwatch. The need to plug in the watch to charge it, meanwhile, can be a major hassle.

Tylt Vu Pulse is an add-on, protective case for the Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel that adds heart rate monitoring, as well as wireless charging, to those smartwatches. The case connects to the accessory port of the watches and syncs with Android and iOS mobile devices using Google Fit and Apple Health.

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Input Smartwatches/Bands

Aria lets you gesture toward your smartphone, offers hands-free control

As advanced as the smartwatches on the market now are, their small screens and tiny buttons don’t necessarily make for the most engaging user experiences. Half the time, they end up adding layers of complexity rather than the opposite, creating opportunities for companies like Deus Ex Technology Ltd to cook up new ways to leverage the benefits these devices give us in a more useful way.

Their solution is their Bluetooth-enabled Aria wearable, a gesture control interface that lets both Android Wear and Pebble Time owners use their devices with only finger gestures. Whether it be a flick of the index finger or a tap of the ring finger, these gestures are fully customizable so that actions, like opening emails or taking calls, are simple to execute. Aria does all this by using sensors to remember which tendons flex with each respective finger movement, assigning commands to each when performed.

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Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 9: the lock, the keys, and captures in sticky situations

Steve and Ross start out Episode 9 of the Backerjack Podcast with a quick update on last week’s discussion of the record-breaking Pebble Time campaign before moving on to discussing three impressive projects:

  • Sesame lock, an easy-to-install way to retrofit an existing deadbolt lock and replace your keys with your iPhone
  • Opho Keys, a MIDI keyboard with LED-illuminated keys, gesture control, and even the ability to magnetically attach to other Keys. The keyboard will have support on over 150 apps at launch
  • Podo, a colorful and Bluetooth-connected way to replace the dreaded selfie stick
Continue reading “The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 9: the lock, the keys, and captures in sticky situations”
Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

Pebble Time arrives in time to go head-to-head with Apple Watch

The first Pebble smartwatch was so popular when it launched via Kickstarter in 2013 that its maker couldn’t supply enough to satisfy demand as it set a record fundraising. But, since then, Apple has created more buzz in the smartwatch category than any smartwatch to date. Pebble fans have likely been wondering what the company would do to remain relevant.

The new Pebble Time, being launched via another Kickstarter campaign, offers various enhancements over the two prior Pebble smartwatches, including certain unique features that not even the Apple Watch can claim. An example is the smart accessory port to be added later in 2015 that will provide a way for other companies to add additional sensors to Pebble Time. Pebble Technology has also boosted battery life to seven days and shifted from a black and white to a color e-paper display.

Also new are a microphone, a 20 percent slimmer design and a new timeline interface that highlights what’s important in the user’s day. The timeline organizes all kinds of relevant information, including appointments. And Pebble is asserting its independence from the smartphone platform makers via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that can push information from the Internet directly to the timeline without any apps required. Another feature coming later this year is voice to text, which adds voice recognition to the user’s apps. Pebble Time is fully compatible with the more than 6,500 existing Pebble apps for iOS and Android. The company is also fielding the new model in three colors: black, red and white. And unlike the original that was months away at the time of its campaign, Pebble Time is shipping in May at $199. The company has set a goal of raising $500,000 by March 27.

While it’s starting to be a very crowded space. Pebble Time has potential thanks to its wide set of features, and brand recognition. It remains to be seen if the Time has what it takes to slow the Apple Watch juggernaut, although as noted on the special edition of the Backerjack podcast devoted to it, the new Pebble model has a clear price advantage over the $349 and up Apple device..

 

Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 8: Special Pebble Time Edition

Pebble wristWhat time is it? It’s Pebble Time! In this special edition of The Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross discuss all facets of the Pebble Time watch. We start out talking about how it quickly smashed its its funding record for the original Pebble, and its inevitable march toward being the most funded Kickstarter project ever. We then move on to the mostly good but some bad of its hardware design, user interface, and how it is positioned against the forthcoming Apple Watch. Be sure to get the full picture before deciding if you want to pile on to the Pebble avalanche.

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