SuperWatches

Super Smartwatches and Wearables

Pebble

Pebble Steel

Pebble Steel

When it comes to getting a smartwatch that is low on price and is easy to read when you are outside then the Pebble Steel may be the right choice. It was first released back in 2015 and offers a good battery life alongside an easy to use control system, making it a choice that you probably will not regret in a hurry. Read on to find out more about the Pebble Steel so that you can decide if it is the one for you.

How Good is the Pebble Steel Design?

When it comes to design, the Pebble Steel looks chic and gives the impression that it is a high-end watch. With a stainless steel, rectangular face and smart leather strap, it would not look out of place coupled with a suit for work. You may notice that it is becoming slightly outdated, but because it is not a large device, it will easily be mistaken for a classic timepiece.

You will find the Pebble Steel very comfortable to have on your wrist, and you won’t need to worry about removing it when you hop in the bath or go for a swim because it is waterproof up to 50m deep. The e-ink screen is easy to read, and even in bright sunlight, you will be able to use it without needing to find a shady spot.

Does the Pebble Steel Come With Many Features?

The Pebble Steel is not able to store more than eight apps on the watch screen at any time, making it a difficult choice when it comes to picking your top picks. However, there is a companion app for your smartphone where you can virtually house further apps and use it to swap the apps you have access to.

The Pebble Steel comes with its own platform and rather than being your typically poor contender against Android, it has a surprising amount of apps for you to choose from. You can personalise the watch face, spend time downloading the apps you want to use on the watch and arrange your virtual app locker with ease.

How Do I Operate the Pebble Steel?

You would be forgiven for trying to tap the screen to use this model, but it is actually powered by using the system of buttons on the sides of the watch. You simply use the buttons to navigate your way through the menu, and surprisingly you will find that you get used to this way of working the watch pretty quickly. There are three buttons on the right side with the middle one being your direct route to the menu and the other two for navigation.

When it comes to charging the device, you simply need to clip the magnetic charging wire to the port that is on the side of the watch and allow it to power back up ready for use; this will take a couple of hours to complete. There is a handy battery gauge that you can access when it is charging, and this will show you when the watch is ready to use again.

Is the Pebble Steel Battery Life Good?

One of the best things about the Pebble Steel is the battery life, with around five days of charge possible before it needs to be powered back up. Most smartwatches don’t have such a long battery life, but the reason that the Pebble Steel does is that it uses an e-paper design and does not have many powerful apps that will be in use during the day.

Because the charging takes a couple of hours to complete, you will need to be organised and consider when you have the time to plug in. However, if you organise it to charge up overnight, then you will not need to worry about how long it takes.

What Are the Pros and Cons of the Pebble Steel?

This smartwatch comes with many pros and cons, so it is vital that you take the time to consider what you are looking to get from owning it. To help you weigh up your options, we have listed the pros and cons of owning a Pebble Steel below.

Pros
  • Good, five days worth of battery life even when you use it to access apps throughout the day.
  • Clear e-Ink screen that can be read wherever you are.
  • Able to upgrade the strap to a steel version.
  • Comfy to wear all day long.
  • Wide range of apps on the Pebble Platform.
  • Notifications delivered directly to the watch.
  • You can read your messages on the screen to save taking your phone out as long as you have the messaging app on the watch.
  • Customisable watch screens to choose from.
Cons
  • Button driven power rather than a touchscreen.
  • Expensive for a smartwatch that has been on the market a while.
  • Only eight apps on the watch at any one time.
  • Chunky casing that looks slightly outdated.
  • You have to manually clear notifications from both your phone and watch for them to disappear.
  • The tech that drives the watch is no longer new, which means that this watch is more basic than more modern, cheaper watches.

Is the Pebble Steel Good Value for Money?

When you consider what more modern smartwatches offer you would be forgiven for thinking that the Pebble Steel has had its day. However, looking beyond the low number of apps that you can access, this watch still has a lot to offer. It has a crystal clear screen in all weather, offers waterproof protection and has a battery that will last up to five days without charging.

If you want a simple smartwatch that can double for a smart work watch then the Pebble Steel is not a bad choice. However, the cost attached to getting hold of one may put you off. All in all, we liked it but probably would shop around before committing to buy it.

How do you feel about the Pebble Steel, let us know in the comments if you already have one and love it or hate it..

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The Ugliest Smartwatches Ever Seen

The ugliest smartwatches ever seen

Smartwatches started out life as purely tech-driven devices, causing some of the ugliest smartwatches we have ever seen, and in squeezing in so many features, manufacturers forgot one detail – design. Fortunately, with designer brands now entering the market, the looks of smartwatches have greatly improved. But there are still some disastrous designs out there – as we find out.

Huawei Band 4e – Image credit: Huawei

Huawei – Band 4e

$26.99 (US), £24.99 (UK)

The Huawei Band 4e is, despite appearances, a smartwatch and deserving of a place on the ugliest smartwatches ever seen. A versatile one at that; it can be worn on the wrist or around your ankle. You’re able to track activities like running and basketball and even swimming. It’s waterproof up to 5m, but the ugly fabric wrist band isn’t likely to dry quickly and will likely eventually smell.

If you can forgive how little effort this tech giant put into this horrendous design, it’s actually a nifty little device for less than £25.

It monitors heart rate and even sleep and is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones. The Huawei Health app lets you analyse all this data so you can make improvements to your routine for better health.

You can get notifications like calls, texts, alarms and if you lose your phone the Band 4e will ping it for you. You can get an epic two weeks between charges out of this smartwatch. 

It comes in two colours; Sakura Coral Red and the less horrendous Misty Grey and it’s pretty slim, coming in at 19mm wide.

Neptune Pine 16GB Smartwatch

$58.99 (US), £78 (UK)

Another face only a mother could love. Released only seven years ago (when it cost $335). The Neptune Pine isn’t technically a smartwatch so much as a basic phone you can wear on your wrist. It has a monster colour touchscreen measuring 2.5 inches. 

It’s big for a reason. It has a lot of cool features packed in. It connects to wifi and can behave independently of your phone (remember, this was mind-blowing at the time). Along with GPS, a gyroscope and accelerometer which gives the wearer some accurate activity monitoring. Futhermore, it offers you steps, distance, pace, speed, laps, location and calories burned (which is probably more with the watch on). You can sync this information to a number of fitness apps.

The screen is big because the Neptune Pine has a full qwerty keyboard so you can compose emails on the go. It has voice commands too, so you can also write a message by talking to the watch. 

For its age, it’s impressive that you can take photos, videos or even have a video chat. It’s got a 5MP front-facing camera as well as a rear-facing one too. Both have an LED flash. 

You can actually play music or watch videos on it via streaming services or store it locally on the Neptune Pine’s in-built memory. There’s the option to plug in a standard headphone jack or listen via the built-in speaker. 

The battery time varies, depending on what you’re using it for. You can get 120 hours of pure standby time, 6 hours talk time, 7 hours of internet surfing or 8 hours listening to music.

iOS users were probably seething with jealousy at the time… 

Garmin Forerunner 101/201 waterproof GPS smartwatch

Garmin Foretrex 101/201

$139.99 (US), £119.95 (UK)

Long before the days of Fitbit, Garmin released the Forerunner 201 in 2004. It’s still going today and you won’t find it for less than £/$100. 

Its main job is to give accurate information for latitude, longitude and altitude via its GPS sensor. It can pinpoint specific locations and has an electronic map system that allows the user to look up a location and navigate their way. The aim was to allow a runner to retrace their steps on their route, or to be able to revisit a route. It’ll store this information for up to a whopping 2 years!

It has a virtual assistant that’ll work with you during your session. This ensures you’re running at the right pace to meet your goals. As well as all the distance logging and mapping, it’ll tell you how many calories you’ve burned along the way.

Other features worth mentioning is the fact that it’s waterproof and has an adjustable wrist band. Adverts suggest the battery life is 14 hours, but you’ll need to keep a couple of Duracell replacements in your pocket as there’s no mains charger with this smartwatch. 

Pebble Smartwatch

$39.99 (US), £78.99 (UK)

Despite being discontinued, you can easily still find this watch on various retail sites online. Why you’d want to is another reason. Perhaps topping the ugliest smartwatches we have ever seen. It’s been said that this Pebble smartwatch looks like a lovechild between a BlackBerry and a Tamagotchi.

You can pick it up in either matt black with a black leather band or brushed stainless steel with a matching steel band.

It’ll show you notifications with previews for calls, texts and emails. Annoyingly it’ll count your steps but there’s no native app that records the information for you. You can get anywhere between seven to 10 days between charges, which is pretty decent.

You might be able to drown this ugly smartwatch, as it’s only waterproof to 5m. If you wear it to swim, you’ll have to keep your phone close by so they can talk to one another. It’s OK, though because apart from the time and an alarm, it doesn’t do a lot else without the aid of the Pebble app, which opens up the smartwatches capabilities.

Summary 

These early offerings are all still available for purchase, should you be into the more we’re-not-sure-what-we’re-really-doing retro look of the first smartwatch offerings. Despite their looks, their features are impressive for their age, and show that tech wise, at least, things haven’t moved on that far.

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Why Smartwatches are Beneficial

Why have a smartwatch

Have you got friends who’ve upgraded their watch game recently? Have you noticed people looking (and talking!) at their wrists more often? Do you wonder why that is? More than likely some people around you have invested in a smartwatch. So, why are smartwatches beneficial? Now, digital watches have been available for quite some time. Some of them even quite advanced with features such as calculators. However, it wasn’t until about 2010 that technology companies started to release watches that had smartwatch type features. It was in 2013 that the first smartwatch in the guise of what we understand a smartwatch to be today was introduced to the market by a small company called Pebble. The rest as they say is history.

What is a smartwatch?

In order to answer why smartwatches are beneficial it’s important to understand what it is. A smartwatch is a portable device that is meant to be worn on a wrist. A type of wearable, the smartwatch is also seen by many as an extension to a smartphone. It has similar features such as touchscreen and a range of apps and sensors to monitor health and fitness activity. There are two types of smartwatch that occupies the market; the first being the everyday use type, a device that is designed to replace the traditional watch but relies on a smartphone. The second is the speciality range, designed for specific functions and audiences, for example a smartwatch for elderly where the main element is location tracking and safety. The speciality watches can be a cross between a phone dependent wearable device and an independent fitness tracker.

Uptake of the smartwatch had been slow. With people not quite sure why smartwatches are beneficial, what to do with them or classifying them as not being necessary because it did everything a smartphone can do. However recent statistics show that things may be changing on this front. In 2017 sales of smartwatches and fitness trackers was up 16% on 2016. The Smartwatch market then saw an increase of 23% on 2016. With Apple, Google and Samsung continuing to invest development into the sector the popularity of the smartwatch looks set to carry on.

 If you’re not yet one of the converted, lets us take you through reasons for why wearing a smartwatch is a good idea.

It tells the time

Yes, it is obvious that the smartwatch tells the time. However, isn’t it easier to glance at your wrist to check if you’re late for your appointment than to think where you’ve left your phone and look around for it? Sales of traditional watches have been on the decline as smartphones have dominated the market, but the smartwatch reminds us what a key item the watch actually is.

Fashion Accessory

The smartwatch can be confused with the digital watches we’ve mentioned above or even the more recent activity trackers and so you could be forgiven for thinking they are a bit boring, clunky and mechanical looking. On the contrary, the modern smartwatch comes complete with a library of colours, materials and watch faces to suit all types of occasions – whether it’s a work day or fun at the weekend.

Are we there yet?

We’ve become accustomed to using the map function on our phones to assist with navigation. But, did you know it is even easier with a smartwatch? There is an increased risk of missing the next turn if you are too busy reviewing the direction on your handset or worse the smartphone is dropped during the constant put away, take out, put away scenario. A smartwatch makes navigation much easier, with the route available at a glance. The Apple Watch goes further, notifying you which direction to turn with distinctly different vibrations for left and right.  When driving, a flick of the wrist will provide reassurance that you’re on the right route. A smartwatch is ideal for navigation purposes on vehicles where it would not be appropriate to use a handset such as a motorcycle.

Entertainment

The smartwatch makes entertainment even easier to access. Granted the screen size is a factor but it’s ideal for public transport journeys where keeping the phone aloft can prove to be a challenge. It’s also ideal to use the smartwatch when you want to quickly share a funny YouTube video with friends and family. Perhaps the better entertainment factor with a smartwatch is its music capabilities. Listening to music on your smartphone is even more enjoyable with a smartwatch. You can skip tracks, change the volume and play around with your playlist all from the device on your wrist. Newer smartwatches even allow music to be stored directly onto the device so no need to have the smartphone with you as well.

Notifications

Perhaps one of the smartwatches most useful features is its ability to alert you to calls, text messages and social media updates. Rather than having to get the handset out each time it vibrates or pings. Not every notification will be important i.e. requiring an action), a smartwatch makes it easier to manage notifications quickly and easily. It may seem trivial but the potential to save time and simplify situations you’re in is huge. For example a quick glance at your watch in a meeting wouldn’t be considered rude as it would if you were to start rummaging for your phone. Also when out and about running or taking part in other physical activity you may decide to not take your smartphone with you. You can decide when alerts come through on the smartphone so as to keep the process efficient.

Making and answering calls

How this activity is undertaken will vary on the type of smartwatch. Some devices allow the wearer to accept or decline calls through the watch. Others will allow this but also give you the option to answer the call through the watch itself. Both options require your handset to be nearby. There are now cellular versions of the smartwatch available on the market, which means you can use the watch independent to a smartphone including being able to make calls. Although the appearance of voice dictation into a smartwatch can look strange, it is a useful feature allowing you to respond to important messages in a timely manner without compromising what you may be doing at the time i.e. out for a run or busy in the kitchen.

Health and Wellbeing

It can be easy to assume that the smartwatch is only good for tracking yours steps. It does of course track daily steps but it does so much more which can really make a difference to a person’s health. Due to the smartwatch being capable of doing more than just tracking steps, it is more likely to be worn on a daily basis rather than taken off and being forgotten about. A smartwatch is not just a pedometer, it has various built in sensors to monitor and record other activity such as heart rate and blood pressure. The latest edition of the Apple Watch even has the capability to perform an ECG. Other useful health related features include sleep monitoring, calorie counting and a range of apps to support stress management.

Safety

Smartwatches are equipped with GPS as standard, most will require you to pair the watch with your handset whereas others have stand alone GPS built in. This is key for a number of reasons. Not only does GPS allow you to track sports activities such as running and hiking, measuring speed and distance accurately but it also helps to track your location for safety purposes, particularly useful if on your own or in an unfamiliar environment. For that reason smartwatches are ideal for offering loved ones peace of mind for when elderly relatives are out and about. Some smartwatches also have the ability to detect falls and take action if needed i.e. contact emergency services if no movement is detected. Many smartwatches, especially the specialty types, have SOS/panic buttons which if activated can contact identified individuals through the phone either via message or by making a call.

On the subject of safety, smartwatches are expensive as are smartphones. However you’re more likely to draw attention to yourself using a smartphone than you are your smartwatch, offering the wearer a degree of reassurance.

Losing your smartphone can be disastrous, but with a smartwatch the risk is significantly minimised. Most smartwatches are programmed with the ‘Find Phone’ feature, especially useful if you have a habit of misplacing your phone!

Many modern smartwatches are also waterproof, providing connectivity in all types of weather and activity.

Battery life

Keeping your smartphone charged can prove challenging. Having a smartwatch reduces that urgency – more use of smartwatch equals less use of smartphone, saving valuable phone battery life. Evidence shows that battery life on smartwatches is of a good standard lasting between 18-24 hours for devices such as the Apple Watch and up to a few days and even a week for some of the speciality watches.

So yes, it is true that a smartwatch can do everything a smartphone can, but as we’ve described above it can do that and more. The smartwatch shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for the smartphone – it doesn’t have to be a choice between the two – but as a must-have accessory for today’s tech savvy individual.

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