Pebble-icious

I admit it.  Unlike the many younger, more "hip" people that get to hang out with as a youth pastor, I am a watch guy.  There I said it.  I like watches.  Always have.  I even prefer analog to digital because I like the classy look.  But since the invention of the calculator-watch (of which I saved up for as a young teenager - and I know that really dates me) watches haven't really evolved into much that could be considered "techy" at all.  While some have heart-rate monitors and such, the overall function hasn't changed much in the past 30 years.

I admit that I was one of those fanboys that utilized the square iPod Nano with a cool watchband and had a watch that people asked about, but it was far from anything more than a conversation piece.  I wanted something more.

My family surprised me on Christmas morning with just that.  A watch that was oh-so-much more.  A Pebble watch, that niche kickstarted project that has made it to retail prime-time.  It works with Android and with the latest SDK release it works REALLY well with iOS.  I mean it really is a fairly seamless experience.

[read more after the break]

The Pebble watch gives me the ability to use customized watch faces, create my own watch faces, view all of the notifications (including email and text messages) and with the purchase of a $2 app (Smartwatch Plus) I can send customized information to the Pebble as well.  The Smartwatch app sends a consistently updated (through low power Bluetooth) status of my next appointment, weather, temperature and the battery status of my phone.  It will also let me activate "Find my iPhone"(assuming I'm connected and just can't find it), check the weather forecast, operate my phone's camera, and a few other things.

Most importantly, the Pebbles helps me do something very important, and I'm not talking about making sure I'm at the next thing on the schedule...I'm talking about the ability to be present.  The ability to not have to pull out my phone whenever I am with someone and can feel a vibration or hear a tone that I have received a message.  Looking at my watch instead of my phone is a lot less intrusive and yet still allows me to be contacted if needed.

Now I will be the first to admit that bluetooth is far from the perfect connection. It sometimes is a bit frustrating to be honest, but so far the experience is overall a very pleasing one.

Pebble has just announced that it will be releasing an App store for its watch later this month (January 2014).  It also announced a "cleaner" and more sophisticated (as well as more expensive) look.  The components are identical so this "update" is merely a aesthetic one, but I can't tell you to not to get the older one at all.  There are several colors available.

If you are in the market for a connected device, I'd recommend the Pebble watch.