Battery life, price and compatibility
Time is on Pebble's side with its Kickstarter pledges approaching $10 million in 24 hours, the same amount it raised for the entire duration of the original Pebble campaign.
Its success flies in the (watch) face of everyone who predicted the start-up company was doomed the minute Apple announced the then-rumored iWatch.
Well, Pebble Time's 43,000 backers surely knew about the April-bound Apple Watch and still chose to fund the newer smartwatch. It even has another 29 days to go before it starts shipping to backers in May.
Its dialed back design doesn't match the Apple Watch, Android Wear watches or even its own Pebble Steel, but Time is stealthy surviving for seven reasons besides Kickstarter.
1. Battery life
With seven-day battery life, Pebble Time bests the average uptime of other smartwatches by a whole six days. We've only broken the 24-hour mark with Android Wear by being really conservative with use.
The 7:1 battery life ratio between Pebble and Android Wear watches has been the reason I've kept the former on my wrist. I'm not ready for daily charges on a non-essential.
Apple Watch, meanwhile, will also require daily charges. Anyone who says it'll last 2.5 hours is a complete moron, but still, the watch isn't expected to go beyond 24 hours.
Sleep tracking is a fun and exciting tool, but don't expect to run those apps on watches that need recharging every night.
2. Price
Pebble Watch pre-orders on Kickstarter are open at $179 (about £115, AU$227). While the even cheaper early bird discounts have all been claimed, this is still a fraction of the price of other watches.
Android Wear watches like the Moto 360, for example, cost $250 (£200, AU$330) and the LG G Watch R is even more at $270 (£200, about AU$400) in some countries. The LG Watch Urban is likely to be the most expensive Android Wear watch at MWC 2015 next week.
Apple Watch is the most pricey starting at $349 (likely north of £225, AU$443). For watches that receive the same basic notifications, that's a big price difference in Pebble's favor.
3. It's not made by Apple (or Google)
I'd say the runner-up reason people don't want an Apple Watch is because they don't feel a need for a smartwatch or any watch, period.
What's the first reason? Most people simply hate the idea because it's made by "Apple," the first word in the product's name. The commenters are very vocal about this point.
For everyone who has have an iPhone - for work or because they're stuck in a contract - but doesn't mind the "Watch" element, the Pebble Time is the best alternative.
4. Compatible
Pebble Time is compatible with iOS 8 and Android phones, a simple fact that's made the original Pebble and Pebble Steel so easy to use.
Switching between devices doesn't mean buying a whole new smartwatch. Pebble works with all sorts of smartphones, not just Samsung phones or Apple phones.
Buying into the Apple Watch in April, on the other non-dominate hand, means you're further locked into the iPhone ecosystem. It'll be even harder to leave.
Android Wear is locked down too. Outside of a single unreleased hacked of the Moto 360, it doesn't work with iOS 8 devices, whereas Pebble Time bridges the gap.
More Pebble Time features vs Apple Watch, Android
5. Water resistant
You can swim while wearing the Pebble Time. That's incredibly unique among even the best smartwatches that claim to be waterproof, but don't measure up.
The Sony Smartwatch 3, for example, is the most durable among Android Wear watches with an IP68 rating. That means it can be taken 1.5m deep for 30 minutes, but not deeper or longer.
While the official Pebble Time waterproof specs aren't known just yet, the first Pebble and Pebble Steel had a 5ATM rating, which makes it good for 50 meters (165 feet).
Pebble previously told me people have used its smartwatch while diving, though without a working Bluetooth connection for notification while under the seat. Pebble cutely suggests not making calls while underwater.
6. Software
Pebble Time looks a little dated with its plastic design next to Apple Watch and Android Wear, but just look at the software within. It seems ahead of its time.
There are a lot of fun-looking, colorful animations for making calls, composing messages and receiving new notifications. Everything's laid out logically with a bit of pep.
Compare Pebble's new Timeline software to the more sterile interfaces of Apple Watch and Android Wear. It's the bright and cheery iOS 7 and iOS 8 vs the dark and too-real iOS 6.
7. Color e-paper display
Pebble Time skips out on the super-rich OLED displays popularly used LG and Samsung in favor of an always-on e-paper display, and this time it's in color.
Yes, it's color palette is limited to 64 colors, but it appears to be easier to see than before and that's really important when delivering a smartwatch that's worn all day long.
Sunlight gets in the way of OLED watches and wearing sunglasses - which you naturally do when it's sunny out - makes it even more complicated.
More from Barcelona next week
It'll be interesting to see how Pebble plans to overcome the limitations set by Apple. iOS voice replies are limited to Gmail notifications, though Pebble says that it's working to enable voice replies for more apps.
The good news is that voice replies work with major Android apps, including SMS, Hangouts, Gmail, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and hundreds more, according to the company.
TechRadar will be at MWC 2015 next week testing out the new color e-paper screen of the Pebble Time and all of its features in a hands on. Stand by for more from Barcelona, Spain.
from TechRadar
