Ever since Apple filed for the IWatch trademark in July last
year and Google’s futuristic not-quite-launch of GoogleGlass, there has been a
growing buzz around wearable technology, specifically smart watches and the
potential impact the burgeoning technology will have on the traditional watch
market.
I’m not particularly tech-skilled myself (computers don’t
like me), but I have been eagerly following the few smart watches that have
successfully made it to market with interest such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear, Sony
Smartwatch 2 (now open sourced!) and Kickstarter success Pebble.
I have never before looked at a smart watch and though
“yeah, cool”, or, more importantly for standard watch wearers: “yeah, cool, I’d
wear that” in place of an everyday timepiece.
This is why I am delighted by the release of the Pebble
Steel, a sophisticated and refined update of the original rubber and plastic
watch which on first glance, just looks like a
pretty nifty timepiece.
Available in both stainless steel and a matte black PVD
finish with hardwearing Gorilla Glass lens, Pebble have finally brought to
market a Smart Watch that I would be happy to wear every day.
The Steel also has brains to match its beauty with improved
notifications, firmware update and the new Pebble appstore.
The appstore is a
very interesting development as it not gives the consumer additional use
capabilities, it also allows consumers to interact with some big brand names
such as Pandora , ESPN, iControl and Mercedes Benz.
The kudos afforded to
Peddle by partnering with such recognisable brands means that the company has a
better chance of competing with the big technology companies. Go little guy!
Personally I wouldn’t have a clue how to use the Pebble
Steel to develop my own apps or interfaces, so most of these benefits would be
lost on me, however, as your Jane Bloggs consumer, the Pebble Steel is a device
that would be quite nifty and useful on a day to day basis.
After all, I don’t
need want to have to write my own code to make a Smart Watch useful, I just
want to use it to control the sound system in my Mercedes Benz.
Honestly, I’m not asking for much...
For more info (and, let’s be honest, a better grip on the
technology involved), go to A Blog To Watch.
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