Google just added a couple of handy smartwatch gestures in its latest Android Wear update, but a new add-on called Aria lets you control everything without touching the screen at all.
Pebble is one of the most popular names when it comes to smartwatches, especially considering the company has sold more than 1 million units since its launch. Now, something exciting and new might be right around the corner.
Pebble is not shy about adding new features to its smartwatch, the wearable that effectively sparked the revolution many companies have jumped on board.
Smartwatches, it seems, are all the rage. Heck, we’ve featuredthemnumeroustimesrecently on Android Beat. Partly because they’re tech and cool, but also because they work really well with Android smartphones. The OS is flexible enough that a connected smartwatch can, in principle, do almost anything. You’ll have gathered that you can (cough) tell the time(!), see email and messaging notifications, perhaps even get a basic weather forecast, but there are other benefits that only become apparent when you actually start to use a smartwatch.
Continuing our series of articles looking at Android-connected wearables, the Pebble devices seem perennially popular, not least because their battery life on a charge is at least a week and because they’re 100.0% effective when you’re actually mobile, outdoors in the sun. However – which Pebble do you go for? Two models, each which very different look and very different strap options, meaning that a direct comparison here – and an insightful compromise – may well be very helpful for new buyers.
When Pebble launched, it did so with plenty of colors available to wrap around a wrist. But Pebble knew there could be more, so they asked fans to request what they wanted to see. Thousands of colors offered, and here we are with three new, limited time choices.
We don’t apologise for the wealth of smartwatch coverage on Android Beat recently – with smartphones themselves plateauing to a degree, the next big usability enhancement is to take some of the more mundane things you do with your phone and put them on your wrist, on a watch. Dating from a couple of years ago, the Pebble is the best known and most successful smartwatch in the world, but it’s a rapidly expanding area and you’ll have detected a lot of enthusiasm from Rita and I for Android Wear – so roll on a direct comparison!
At first glance, the whole point of Nav Me on a Pebble watch may seem rather silly. After all, while moving Google Navigation instructions from your phone to your wrist seems like a sensible use of technology, surely you’ve got your Android smartphone mounted somewhere in front of you while driving along, in which case you’ve got a glorious colour screen and voice prompts to let you know what to do next (e.g. “Turn right in 100m onto High Street”)? Absolutely. However, you’re not always driving, which is where Nav Me (on Android) and the Pebble shine…
