Comment by bigiain | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bigiain | Hacker News Reader

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So I've been a serial Pebble smartwatch rather than Apple Watch owner - my original motivation was I thought it's be neat to be able to glance at my wrist while riding the bike and see who was calling/texting so I would know if I wanted to pull over and answer right then, or wait till I'd got to my destination. Turns out the answer was _always_ "No." whoever it was, it could always wait. I was either going to be at home/work in 5-10 minutes and I could call back then, or I was on a trip and wasn't going to stop till the bike needed more fuel in an hour or two and it could wait till then. (Or I could ignore it completely...)

When Pebble sold out to Garmin* and refunded my pledge/order for the last version, I spent some of that money on a second hand mechanical watch - I really don't miss much from the "smart" features I'd gotten used to... (Probably the only thing I miss is the "silent vibration on my wrist when I've left my phone on my desk but am still nearby"...)

Edit: * It was FitBit not Garmin, as pointed out in replies by dugfin and spike021. Thanks.

I'm a fellow Pebble user. Currently wearing a Pebble Time. My favorite feature of the watch is the screen, because it's always on, and, like traditional digital watches, ambient light increases visibility of the screen (unlike the Apple Watch, which is hindered by bright ambient light). At the moment, I plan to wear this watch until it stops working or can't hold a charge. After this, I don't know where I'll go. I might try the Apple Watch, but prices seem a bit steep for me. I might just go back to a non-smart watch.

I wish Pebble had managed the business side of things better, because I like(d) the product.

I'm _vaguely_ considering Dremel-ing open my original Pebble to see if replacing the battery is possible. The Googleable teardowns and xrays seem to suggest there's not a lot of hope though...

You can just unscrew the back panel. I've looked for a replacement battery for my pebble but to no avail. It's actually a relatively serviceable device if you don't mind soldering. (Mines a gen1 pebble by the way)

>Turns out the answer was _always_ "No."

My experience has been the opposite. I bought a Pebble so I could know whether I had to put down my tools, pull out my phone, and answer a call from my boss; or if I could just ignore yet another call from an idiot coworker.

>When Pebble sold out to Garmin

I wish. Garmin might have done something with it. They sold out to FitBit, whose major motivation was the elimination of a competitor.

>When Pebble sold out to Garmin

They were acquired by Fitbit, not Garmin

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