New Pebble Watch Improves On The Old, But Is It Enough?

Following after rocky (pun intended) but altogether successful origins, the Pebble Time smartwatch is a phone-compatible wrist device for ladies and gents of the "please notify me" variety. Its predecessor took flight when it offered buyers a gadget at a reduced price than all its competitors for a truly novel experience, and since then the product has received the most crowdfunding money in Kickstarter history at a record $15 million.

Now for the tech details. With regards to hardware, it can hold out in water, is 20% thinner at less than 10 mm and has buttons to press on the sides. In addition, it has a slightly curved shape with gorilla glass cover stainless steel exterior and comes in white, black or red. Despite their larger size and toy-like nature, Pebble products are actually aiming to be "cute", unlike others vying more for the attention of businessmen.

Software-wise, it has brighter colors and a faster frame rate than ever (30/s). Although limited in function, iOS users can voice-to-text for quick responses when notifications pop up, but like I said this is only available for gmail. Another cool feature is that all content is placed along a timeline, so in order to view them, -say, details of a meeting later today- you need to click the buttons to move through time and select what you want.

Apps are not a huge part of the Pebble, even though they exist and can be accessed easily, which gives a user-friendly vibe to the device. Most users will appreciate the fact that it centers around YOUR work schedule as well as things you like, instead of tasking you with switching between apps to complete small assignments. For that reason, I think it has a chance of surviving on the market alongside the higher-end companies. We'll find out soon; pre-orders can get you one by May for $159, with an official market price a little higher and hitting stores a little later.

Video of Pebble Time with hands-on look below: