Pebble Smartwatch: The why and why not

There’s a new project on Kickstarter, the wildly popular crowdfunding website. It’s called Pebble and it’s breaking some records. The goal of the project to get started was $100,000 and as of the writing of this post, the project has  $6,193,523 of funding pledged from people.
The watch, made with an e-paper display, the same display that the basic line of Kindle devices uses, is extremely customizable, correctly priced (at $150, it’s the same as the Sony smartwatch and probably does more) and as you can see from the Kickstarter page, has gained the love of 42,000 early bird backers.
https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/597507018
Sounds awesome doesn’t it?

No.
Yes, it’s got great features like an amazing choice of apps, analog or digital or typographic watch face, Android remote SMS, email and phone call notifications (iOS doesn’t support those features yet), caller ID, accelerometer based functionality, an ARM processor for near-infinite modding capabilities, bluetooth and even a 7-day battery life (ZOMG!), but all these features are over shadowed by one tiny detail –
E-Paper.
The watch and it’s entire ecosystem is based on the concept that you are using it in the day(light)!
Remember how irritating it is when you want to read from your Kindle but the light is just not enough to let you read? Remember how that wonderful afternoon in the sun with your favorite books turned sour as soon as evening hit the valley?
That’s what’s gonna happen with the Pebble smart watch over and over again. You’ll need to find just that spot that works. You’ll have to move to the only light in the room as soon as a phone call comes in, just so that you can read the caller ID before you decide what to do with the call.
What I’ve pointed out doesn’t seem to be of much concern to those funding the watch, in fact, when I tried to explain this issue to someone on twitter, I got it handed to me on a platter! (Apologies @mcowger if you didn’t want to be highlighted!)
http://twitter.theinfo.org/190114510063935488
I’m not saying don’t buy the watch. In fact, if you’ve got the dough, put it in right now before the project funding stops on May 18th. You’ll even get the watch cheaper than market price ($99 instead of $150) so it really is a good deal, just make sure you switch on the lights in your bedroom before you look at your watch at night!
After-note: The Pebble manufacturers added a back-light to the watch to combat the useless-in-the-night issue, probably as an afterthought, so, I as an afterthought, am going to talk about the Sony smart watch that came out the same time as the Pebble project was launched. Don’t be surprised because it’s called Smartwatch or that it runs Android. Or the fact that despite being technically superior than Pebble (multi-touch color OLED display), it’s going to sell much less.
http://www.sonymobile.com/us/products/accessories/smartwatch/
That’s all folks!
N

Birthday Musings

As I leave another birthday behind, my head is pounding and my body is sleep deprived. I realize that I’ve not slept comfortably last night and that I should have.

My mind wanders towards those older times when, as a kid, I used to sleep at 10-10:30 PM on April 3rd and did not get up before 7 AM on the 4th. I’d be greeted by my family and wished a Happy Birthday. Then I’d go to school, a bright smile on my face, and take care of the events of the day. When I came back from school, we’d have a party with all of my friends.

What changed? Remaining awake till after 12 midnight became a habit. Then, celebrating the beginning of my birthday became a habit. This, in turn, led to a habit of sleeping late and getting up late and what follows is a cycle of watery eyes and burning foreheads. I realize now, how sleeping on time, waking up on time and going through the day before celebrating the happy occasion was a great idea, not just for me, but also for my parents. The world works on fixed schedules. There are no special off days for individuals, just holidays for everyone. Time and tide wait for none.

Perhaps, I should go back to that model. Perhaps, in this fast paced world of Facebook notifications and instant messaging, it is a good idea to unplug from that connected life at the right time of the night and drift into a peaceful sleep. Perhaps I need to stop attending the midnight masses.

Or, maybe not. There’s plenty of time to grow up. Now’s probably not it. 🙂