Pebble, after releasing two smartwatches this year —the Time, and the Time Steel— wasn’t satisfied and released the new Time Round watch. It will be available in stores starting November 8th for $249.
As the name suggests, the Time Round is the circular version of its predecessor, the Time. It will be thinner and lighter, and you will be able to choose between 14mm and 20mm straps, so it can perfectly fit your wrist.
Nevertheless, due to its more elegant look, it won’t be water resistant and also the life battery is going to be reduced. As the Time and Steel models had a approximated week of life battery, the Time Round is supposed to last for one or two days tops.
Look and display
The Time Round is a watch for people who care more about style than functionality. The device, with an all-metal chassis, will be available in black, silver and rose gold.
The display has the same e-paper color screen that the Time and the Time Steel have. However, the quality doesn’t get near to the OLED panels. The watch lets you adjust the brightness from “low” to “blinding,” as well to activate the backlight when necessary.
Why E-paper? Because it offers two advantages that traditional LCD screens don’t: it makes the screen more legible under sunlight, and the “watchface” is always on without having to activate the screen.
What about hardware?
When it comes to the outside hardware, everything stays pretty much the same as the previous models. The button on the left works as the back and backlight button, as the three buttons on the right are used to navigate the interface. Also, you can use them as a quick-launch shortcuts to the apps you’d like, by pressing and holding them.
In the back of the watch, there are a couple of charging pins where you can put the third-party “smart traps” that could make the watch more functional, adding features like GPS, a heart-rate monitor or maybe extra battery-life. Also, the watch comes with a microphone for voice memos and replies, an accelerometer and a vibrating motor.
As we said before, the Time Round isn’t water resistant as the previous models, although the Company says that it is “splash resistant” —meaning that it can get wet, not submerged into water. However, Pebble recommends that you leave the watch outside the shower.
Get the most out of the watch
The interface of the watch arranges all your events, reminders, news, and notifications. By pressing the up button, you’ll look at past notifications, and by pressing the down button, it will let you see future calendar events, for example. Pebble’s idea is that you won’t have to open the app so you can get information about it.
In order to install new applications for your watch, you need to get it paired with your smartphone, by downloading the Pebble app on your iPhone or Android device. The company says that more than 90 apps and over 275 “watchfaces” are available for the Time Round.
Another feature of the watch is the “Quiet Time,” a function that lets you disable notifications when you don’t want to be disturbed. Also, you can set alarms, enable or disable alerts, and choose the app you would like to use as a “fitness manager.”
When you receive a text message notification, you will be available to answer it if you have an Android device, as the iPhone only lets you dismiss the message for the moment. Nevertheless, Pebble announced that they are working to solve that.
Even though the Time Round is one of the most elegant smartwatches in the market, the price is too high comparing to other models that give you a better performance for the same price.
Source: Engadget