I use my Pebble watch mainly for running, as it allows me to keep track of my distance, time, and pace just by looking at my wrist without having to go through hassle of taking out and fiddling with my handphone.
To do this, you need to have a Runkeeper account (basic membership is free), a bluetooth enabled smartphone (I use the Iphone), and of course the Pebble watch.
This is how the interface with Runkeeper looks like.
Pebble watch allows control of music from the watch as well. However, as I do not run with music, I do not have much use of this music function.
I have had three weeks with my ASUS Transformer TA100 now and I really love it!
Why I love it
Versatile: I can use it like a normal laptop when it is docked onto its keyboard stand. It operates on Windows 8.1, not RT, so it has full Windows functionality. Plus, it comes preloaded with Office Home edition (Word,, Excel and Powerpoint). Or I can use it as a 10.1 inch tablet, good for reading pdf documents and for surfing net or watching video while lounging on the couch. To my surprise also, Windows 8.1 is easy to use.
Light weight: 1.1 kg including keyboard dock, 600g for the tablet.
Excellent battery life: 12 hours of use.
Expandable memory: it has 32GB built in memory, with a microusb slot at the tablet portion. There is 500gb memory at the keyboard portion.
Value for money: at S$599, I get a 2-in-1 tablet+laptop, that allows me to use as a reader esp for pdf documents, and as a laptop for work. It is lightweight, has long battery life and expandable memory.
Of course, there are some drawbacks of this device, namely the small keyboard and the tablet is a fingerprint magnet. All in all though, I think that the laptop is a great buy! I was considering an IPad Air (I already have an IPad 2 and an IPad4 in the house), and I'm really glad that I decided to get this instead.
Tinke is a little gadget designed in Singapore by home grown start-up Zensorium that is designed to make it easy for each one of us to keep our health and fitness in check. Having first read about it on Wired, I signed up as a beta tester for Tinke when I chanced upon the opportunity to do so.
This is how the little guy looks like (all photos via link to Zensorium website):-
Vibrant colours to brighten my day (I have the blue and pink one)
Basically, all I had to do was to download and set up an app call Tinke on my IPhone, and then plugin the device, like this:-
Here is how Tinke looks like when it is powered by the phone
Tinke draws power from the IPhone therefore it is fuss free. Don't have to bother about chargers or wires. The device is so small I can keep it snugly in my pocket.
Basically, it measures the following four parameters and compiles them into a health indicator called the Vita Index, and a stress level indicator called the Zen Index.
i) Heart Rate - how fast your heart is pumping
ii) Blood Oxygen Level - the amount of oxygen in your blood
iii) Respiratory Rate - how many air exchanges or breathes you take in
iv) Heart Rate Variability - whether your heart rate is constant and beating in a regular pattern
My heart rate is typically in the 60s range.. i.e. my heart beats 60+ times a minute. According to established studies, the lower the heart rate, the better because that means your heart does not have to work so hard to keep you alive. People who exercise regularly tend to have lower heart rates, even in the 40s and 50s! When I caught a cold a few months back, my heart rate soared to the 90s as my body was working overtime to try and get rid of the nasty bugs.
As for blood oxygen level, the higher the value the better (maximum is 100). My blood oxygen level is typically from 95 to 99, which puts me in a normal range. I find that after each exercise session (I jog regularly), my blood oxygen level is at the high 90s around 99. So again, this indicator is a good check of the efficiency of my workout.
For respiratory rate, I think that this ties in with the heart rate and blood oxygen level. Mine is typically about 15-18. I have the impression that when my respiratory rate increases, my heart rate and blood oxygen level should increase, cos that should mean that my metabolism is higher due to additional oxygen intake, which in turn leads to higher blood oxygen level.
Finally, for heart rate variability, the idea is to conduct a few breathing exercises (the app showed me how) to try and make me breathe regularly. By me breathing regularly = heart rate should be pretty constant. So, if my heart rate variability is high, this means that my heart hence body is stressed cos it is beating erratically.
Finding it difficult to remember all of the above? Fret not. As mentioned, the device helps to keep track of my overall wellbeing by compiling each value into two indices - Vita Index and Zen Index. Like a lot of other fitness and health devices, Tinke allows data trending to let me know whether my health is improving over time. It also has cool socia media capability for me to share my health indicators with my friends. Maybe that will let others know whether I have a problem or am about to have a problem with my health before anything bad happens to me?
In case you would like to know more about Tinke, this instructional video says it all...
After a few weeks of using my Pebble watch, I'm loving it. My phone is usually kept in my bag or in the back pocket of my jeans, and in silent vibration mode. Therefore, I tend to miss my calls. However, the watch allows me to know when I have calls or smses cos it vibrates on my wrist! Plus, it's so cool. My friends were literally going gaga over the watch.
Some updates to my previous post:
My initial problems of feeling numbness on my wrist have gone away. No problems whatsoever with wearing it for extended hours now.
The battery life has also improved to about 4-5 days with bluetooth on. I guess the battery just needs some wearing in.
One thing to note - after the watch's been recharged having gone completely flat i.e. blank screen, the time gets reset to 00:00 hours. Need to sync to the phone eg. via bluetooth in order for the time and date settings to be restored.
I got my sms alerts as well as my phone alerts working. I lost my email alerts though...
The photo below shows the recent update I carried out for the watch...
Hello!
This was the new watch face that came with it. Reminds me of a retro Casio watch face lol.
Retro Casio-ish watchface
I customized my Pebble with watchfaces downloaded from the My Pebble Faces website. Here's one of them which I really liked!
The Micky Mouse watch face (animated)
Looking forward to more applications!
Apparently, Pebble Corp is still busy fulfilling orders from their very successful Kickstarter campaign i.e. new orders may only be processed much much later. If you can't wait and must get it now, you can get the Kickstarter editions from Amazon
After months of waiting, my Pebble watch is finally here! This was my first Kickstarter project. I opted for the US$115 option, which comes with a Jet Black Pebble watch and US$15 shipping fee for delivery to Singapore.
Here's some photographs...
The environmentally-friendly packaging which the Pebble came in...
How the Pebble watch is packaged...
Kickstarter edition! Also indicates its waterproof capabilities of 5 atm.
Fits snugly on my wrist. Background shows the magnetic two point charger that is proprietary with Pebble, to allow for its waterproofing.
Updated 24 March 2013: Simple watchface showing the date and time
Updated 24 March 2013: This watchface is pretty cool. Can you figure out how to tell the time? ;)
Functions As of now, the Pebble has only preliminary functions, such as watch, alarm, controlling of music from the watch, and phone notifications showing the number calling. For controlling of music, it allows skipping of tracks, starting and stopping of songs and does not allow volume control. As for phone notifications, it allows you to decide whether or not to pick up the call. You will have to use your phone or bluetooth headset, should you wish to talk to the caller. Needs upgrading to iOS6 for notifications After upgrading my iOS on my iPhone 4 to iOS6, it allowed me to configure my notifications such that email notifications showed up also on my Pebble screen. From my limited tests carried out so far, I have not managed to get the other alerts such as calendar, sms, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter etc. I am not sure if the Android version is better since it appears that some open source programs have already been written and are available for Android users.
Concerns My battery was flat within 2 days of wearing it after an initial charge of about 2 hours. After researching on the internet, it seems like some users are also facing issues with shorter battery life of 1-2 days (as opposed to 7+ days in the specs). I am monitoring this and will update again when I have had more time with the Pebble. Also, I am not sure if it is my imagination, but I felt some tingling sensation/numbness on my left upper arm after just half an hour of wearing it and with the bluetooth on. Am I hypersensitive to bluetooth waves or what? In any case, I will have to test that again. Initial impressions Smart looking watch + cool factor with untapped potential. Need to iron out the teething problems such as notifications, more applications such as Runkeeper, and longer battery life to make this worthwhile. Posts which you may be interested too
