Do you need to see what the incoming email was during a meeting or exam?  What about quickly checking stocks, your favorite sports teams, twitter, calendar events, text messages, and more?  A good portion of Americans cannot live without their smartphones.  For people who are constantly checking their cell phones, the Pebble smart watch just may be something you need.  This revolutionary smart device will immediately deliver notifications from your phone and is supported by the latest versions of Android and IOS.  Notifications not only light up the watch, but the Pebble actually vibrates on your wrist.

Pebble started out as a crowd-funded Kickstarter Project and raised over 10 million dollars in just over a month in Spring 2012.  Released in early 2013, this smart watch has received raved reviews as the first of its kind.  It sports a 1.26-inch e-paper display with an LED backlight and 3D accelerometer sensor.  Battery life is superb and lasts almost a week with regular use.

The square watch has one button on the left side and three buttons on the right.  The buttons are solid and require a little pressure to depress, which helps prevent accidentally pressing them.  The navigation on the watch is simple: forward, back, up, and down.  Sleekly integrated on the left side is a special charging port similar to the magsafe adapter for MacBooks. It has a weak magnetic hold so unfortunately a small pull will disconnect it.

One of the greatest features of this watch is that it is athlete friendly.  It comes with a polycarbonate casing and is very light.  The Pebble comes with a basic plastic watch band which can easily be replaced by any 22mm standard watchband.  In addition the Pebble is waterproof, and I have not experienced and problems when I accidentally shower with it on or competed in a triathlon.  You also has the ability to quickly play, pause, or skip songs from your music library or favorite music streaming app.  At night, a quick flick of your wrist or pressing a button will light up your watch.

Over the course of a year, Pebble has received multiple updates and support from the Pebble team and developers taking advantage of the open source platform.  Users have seen a vast improvement in the software and will most likely receive plenty of support in the future.  At the beginning of 2014, Pebble officially released firmware 2.0 (for IOS. Android has a working beta version). The companion app for the phones was completely redesigned and now includes its own app store which supports hundreds of unique apps and watchfaces.

Some people may say that the limited onboard storage on the Pebble is a drawback, however I think that it is just right as it can hold a combination of 8 watchfaces or apps.  Unfortunately, 2 stock watchfaces will remain on you pebble, no matter how many different watchfaces you load or cycle through on the watch.  Overall, this is a geek’s toy which is rapidly becoming the most popular phone accessory.

The Pebble smartwatch is currently available at Pebble’s official site, Amazon, and Best Buy for $150 and comes in Black, Red, Blue, White, Orange, and Grey.  Also, the recently released Pebble Steel, which has a modern look, tricolor LED, and Gorilla Glass, is available in in Brushed Stainless and Black Matte for $250

Pros

• Waterproof
• Large App Store
• Available for Android and IOS
• Not Bulky
• Plenty of support and developers
• Easy to setup

Cons

• Newest firmware is not officially available for Android
• Some bugs
• Smartphone has small battery drain from bluetooth
• Not a color screen
• Feels cheap
• Does not have a standard USB charger