Comments on: Does the Pebble Cause a Ripple In Apple’s Waters?

By: Ravi

Ravi — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:45:00 +0000

Pebble would probably be better off being the intelligent but platform agnostic wrist watch. That would get them some leverage even if apple pulled the plug.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:20:00 +0000

I’m not turning away from Android. I’m glad it works with it, though that was not its initial pitch. And if you read my work, I think you’ll see I’m no fanboy.

By: Thor

Thor — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:20:00 +0000

I hate that you pitch this as an “iPhone mirror for your wrist” when the pebble team specify very clearly that this is for both Android and iOS.
While it is a competitor and Apple has a major share of the smartphone market, you shouldn’t turn away from the Android platform and pitch this as a focus on iphones.

Is that really though bad journalism though? Perhaps it’s not, since Apple has only a few signature models and there are countless android models and no “the android/samsung/htc/etc/etc/etc watch” in mind, so I kind of understand the article.

The wording makes it very badly presented however. If I were you I’d change it. You really seem like you are some kind of apple fanboy.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:49:00 +0000

I think it’s much simpler than this: VCs see that this could make money, but also that this is not going to rule the world – it is going to remain a niche market forever.

You’re right about Apple though: If this got too big, where a substantial percentage of iPhone owners would want one, then Apple will make something to compete with this.

This is a good concept, and good company, and good business, but it’s not going to turn into a $Bn company.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:51:00 +0000

Yep. Kinda my point. It’s a comin.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:02:00 +0000

I would get a Pebble-like device in a heartbeat, if it even took that long. But the actual Pebble in it’s current form simply doesn’t offer enough integration to seal the deal. It’s missing something, or more accurately, someone, critical – and her name is Siri.

I need to AT LEAST be able to set up and answer calls, and read as well as dictate texts. To do any of that right, you need full Siri integration. In my opinion, a wrist companion wouldn’t just give Siri more functionality, it would make it truly useful. If all of her services were merely a slight raise of the wrist to your face away, people would go from using it as a party trick, to truly depending on it. In the near future they could integrate a camera in the device and make FaceTime less awkward to use as well. And let’s not forget making driving safer. A device that’s strapped to your wrist would mean you could keep both hands on the wheel and your eyes forward while you answered a text or had one read to you.

In short, the Pebble might do O.K., but the moment Apple releases a Nano with full Siri and data syncing with an iPhone, is the day the Pebble stops skipping across the lake and starts sinking.

By: IphoneBreak.INFO » Another Take on the Pebble E-Paper Watch

IphoneBreak.INFO » Another Take on the Pebble E-Paper Watch — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:55:35 +0000

[...] I still think the idea of a wirelessly connected smartwatch is brilliant, but I think that the Pebble experience will ultimately be marred by a lack of native support on iOS. As John Gruber pointed out on Daring Fireball recently, iOS, in its current iteration, simply isn’t designed to interface with a watch in the manner that we want it to. The example Gruber used is the way Pebble only informs you of incoming phone calls, but not texts or e-mails. [...]

By: Bizartist

Bizartist — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:53:00 +0000

Then again, it may be a niche enough space that Apple doesn’t care, in which case the Pebble guys are gold. They just have to feel out the boundaries of the market and use their profits to seek other interesting hardware opps …

By: Another Take on the Pebble E-Paper Watch | iSource

Another Take on the Pebble E-Paper Watch | iSource — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:47:29 +0000

[...] to interface with a watch in the manner that we want it to. The example Gruber used is the way Pebble only informs you of incoming phone calls, but not texts or e-mails.I’d liken this to the way that Bluetooth keyboards work with iOS. Apple’s own Wireless [...]

By: Jeff Finkelstein

Jeff Finkelstein — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:25:00 +0000

The VC’s were right in not financing pebble for iOS, it is a short term solution for a space I suspect Apple will enter. The experience of adding and buying watch apps and providing access to API’s that talk to iOS Apps will be tightly controlled by Apple. You want to read text messages on your watch? Well Pebble can’t do that with iOS. Seems like the most basic of features Apple wouldn’t give Pebble access to.

The simple fact that Pebble exists however is good for consumers and developers and validates the ambient/accessory display market. Competition is always good and although Apple is not losing any sleep over Pebble they are surely reading the feedback and validating their roadmap of API’s to support Apple designed iPhone/iPad accessories (Nano, AppleTV)