Hacker News Reader

Comment by azdle | Hacker News Reader

The Bangle.js 2 just delivered to kickstarter backers: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gfw/banglejs-2-the-open...

AFAICT, it's fully open source software (except, presumably, the nordic hal stuff?), with a JS SDK and a hosted IDE. But, I haven't used it yet because it requires WebBluetooth, and I refuse to use chrome, and I haven't figured out if the rasppi hosted IDE is still supported or not, it seems that the `nw` package doesn't support arm (anymore?).

But this was the best option I found when I was looking awhile ago.

The other things I considered were the Pinetime (software is still a bit too early from what I've seen) and "Paul's Open-Smartwatch" https://open-smartwatch.github.io/, but I really wanted GPS and that version's design isn't finished yet.

View on HN

Upvote for BangleJS2. Been wearing mine for a couple of weeks now and it's great. The always on transreflective screen is really easy to read in sunlight and the battery seems great (over a week). Being able to quickly hack watch faces using the online IDE is great, i've hacked mine to be easy to read when i'm usually asleep and only care about the time, not the date and other stuff.

This looks closest to what I want, I signed up for their waiting list

I'm wearing mine for a few weeks now, but it's been rather unstable for me. BTLE disconnects are common, and I'm not sure what the source of the problem might be. Also, it sometimes freezes in an infinite loop and drains battery really quickly when that happens.

These are all problems fixable with software updates, and it's very early stages of the project. The app store grew from 80 to 130 apps in the last 3 weeks.

The hardware on the other hand is great. It doesn't feel cheap, but it's really lightweight, which I enjoy. The e-ink display is crisp and clear, easily readable in direct sunlight, and it has 8 colors, which is a cool feature for an e-ink display.

Didn't get my hands dirty with the SDK yet, but will hopefully find some time during the holidays. It looks well thought out though, and the web IDE and emulator seem useful.

Really looking forward to dig into it.

Just got my Bangle.js 2 and like it very much. Also purchased a Watchy for the epaper display a few months back. Compared to Watchy, the espruino IDE and ecosystem for Bangle.js 2 is much more developed and the community much more active. There is support for widgets, custom settings, and apps other than watch faces, and the development / sharing path is much more thought through. Check out the app loader, and the 300 or so apps (all source available on github) here: https://banglejs.com/apps/

This is pretty amazing, I'll buy one as soon as possible.

Can you modify the OS itself.

I want to program a watch that doesn't actually tell time.

I haven't tried hacking the OS yet but I'm sure it's possible. Yep, I made a watch that tells time imprecisely, called "Imprecise word clock" aka "The No Shit Sherlock Clock" - https://banglejs.com/apps/apps/impwclock/bangle1-impercise-w...

I got a Bangle 1 and have the same problem about WebBluetooth and refusing to use Chrome. It's put a real damper in all my exciting hacking plans. I would love an alternative.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com