Smartphones are largely viewed as nothing more than a notification machine, the way to see what’s that buzz in my pocket a few seconds faster. But take away the notifications and what are you left with?
- Kickstarter-campaigner Pebble has released a new smartwatch, Pebble Time Round
- It will be soon available for $249 for the general consumer
- Pebble ditched the rectangle shape for a round one
- The new smartwatch weighs less than an ounce and it’s only 7.5mm thick
- Pebble’s new version comes in black, silver, and rose gold
That question finds a very good answer in Pebble Time Round, a new generation of smartwatches, but one that actually looks like a watch. More than that, the company has worked out a light and small design that also has enough battery to last for days, plural.
With a dim screen and software that doesn’t try to do too much, the Time Round might appeal to a larger audience. For a price that still feels like more than the sum of its parts, the $249 Time Round brings new focus on other characteristics that those usually highlighted in a smartwatch.
It’s not just a tiny computer that lets you edit documents or browse Instagram at a flick of the wrists. What it is, however, is a proper high-tech response to the question we want answered when we look at our watches: What’s going on?
Unlike the previous generations, this model actually looks like a watch. The design is in clear opposition to the rectangles we see on the wrists of nerds everywhere. Its round shape is more comfortable than the Apple Watch, and you can opt for 10 different styles of 14mm or 20mm bands. What it lacks in sleekness and luxury, the smartwatch gains in utility.
When it ditched the blocky rectangle, Pebble had to make two big sacrifices, the first of which is the waterproof feature; Time Round basically has none – except for the so-called splashproof. Then there’s the battery life, a lot of which has also gone down the drain with the transformation into the small and thin watch that it is now.
The watch can track your steps, set alarms and reminders, and take your notes for you. There’s nothing remarkable about the things it can do, because the aim of the Time Round lies in the name: it’s round.
And it’s about time. What you need from a smartwatch is to tell you if there’s somewhere you need to be, or if you’re supposed to be doing something. That’s the job, isn’t it?
Image Source: Engadget
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