I never had one, but several of my friends did— I was at UW the same time as Eric and was definitely aware of inPulse/Allerta before it became Pebble, and was mildly jealous of their participation in YC. The killer things were always the battery life and the always-on display.
My first wearable was a Fitbit I got a few years ago, and until recently I would have said that the HRM and sleep tracking were non-negotiable features for me. However the Fitbit (now my second one) has gotten increasingly spotty with its ability to sync that data up to my iPhone— it basically never does it automatically any more, and even when I try to initiate a manual sync it often times out with seemingly nothing transferred. And now, with several months of not having that data, it turns out I actually don't care all that much about it.
So I think I've really become the perfect Pebble customer— someone who'd enjoy something attractive and minimalist, a device that isn't distracting or invasive but gives me just enough notifications that I can fully silence my phone and be more present with the people around me, while still being aware of the important stuff, like a text from my kids.
Hopefully the new team can get this right, and with the benefit of a decade of development on both the e-ink and battery fronts, deliver a Time Round successor that cleans up some of the tradeoffs: properly watertight, no more ugly bezel, and restore the multi-day battery life.
My first wearable was a Fitbit I got a few years ago, and until recently I would have said that the HRM and sleep tracking were non-negotiable features for me. However the Fitbit (now my second one) has gotten increasingly spotty with its ability to sync that data up to my iPhone— it basically never does it automatically any more, and even when I try to initiate a manual sync it often times out with seemingly nothing transferred. And now, with several months of not having that data, it turns out I actually don't care all that much about it.
So I think I've really become the perfect Pebble customer— someone who'd enjoy something attractive and minimalist, a device that isn't distracting or invasive but gives me just enough notifications that I can fully silence my phone and be more present with the people around me, while still being aware of the important stuff, like a text from my kids.
Hopefully the new team can get this right, and with the benefit of a decade of development on both the e-ink and battery fronts, deliver a Time Round successor that cleans up some of the tradeoffs: properly watertight, no more ugly bezel, and restore the multi-day battery life.