After launching in earnest at last year's CES, Kickstarter success story Pebble is ready to show the world it's not just the first, but also the best smartwatch out there.
The company is doing this by addressing two of the big complaints people have about the wrist-worn wearables movement: the lack of functionality and the look of the watches.
For those who weren't into the sportier design of the original Pebble, there's now a new option: Pebble Steel. It's exactly what a smartwatch should be. It authentically channels the stylings of a classic men's watch in overall quality and appearance. The face is only marginally larger (in thickness and breadth) than a normal watch face, but paired with a traditional-looking face, you wouldn't even notice.
The Steel comes with a metallic and leather band -- you can choose which you want to wear, or change it up depending on your mood. The CNC milled stainless steel band is available in either brushed aluminum or matte black. Both felt comfortable and looked great, but I preferred the softer leather band on my wrist, personally.
The face is covered in Gorilla Glass, so it's ultra scratch resistant. Inside, it's essentially the same as the original, including the E-ink display. The watch is supposed to get the same five to seven day battery life, and is clearly designed for someone who wants to wear their smartwatch to the office or other respectable establishments without drawing unwanted attention to their early adopter-ism.
Paired with the new look, Pebble is also adding more smartwatch optimized apps. In December, the company announced its own App Store, located within the Pebble Android and iOS apps. Over 3,000 apps are currently available, but some recent partnerships give Pebble an edge over several other competitors.
Pebble now has smartwatch-optimized apps like Yelp, Pandora, Foursquare, and ESPN. A new Mercedes one is also in the works. All of them give you the app's core functionality, but fast, with minimal interactions. ESPN, for example, offers scores for your favorite teams' games, the minutes left, and the current score.
The Mercedes app was especially interesting. Syncing with its current iOS app (which communicates with your car's computer), you can get stats like your current mileage, how much fuel is in your tank, and your current tire pressure, whether you’re near the car or not. While driving, you can set the app to deliver vibration alerts to your wrist for different events, like if traffic is getting heavy ahead. You can also configure Pebble's three buttons for quick actions performed through the phone and over the car’s dash system, like activating Siri.
Pebble Steel will cost $250 and will ship later this month -- but you can still get the original for $150.
