1) Pebble - Crowdfunding-at
At the beginning of 2013, the Pebble was released. In March 2014, the Pebble-in-chief announced that already more than 400,000 copies of the originally in 2012 by the crowd financing platform Kickstarter-funded Smartwatch were sold. Originally the watch had a plastic case, but with the Pebble Steel, a Deluxe version with a steel bracelet was followed by the beginning of this year.
- Compatibility: thanks to the remote control App or communicates via Bluetooth to the Pebble with both AndroidSmartphones as well as iOSiPhones.
- Display: The Pebble Smartwatch is not like a Ebook Reader E-Ink Display, which consumes no power as long as the image is moving. The disadvantage, however, is that the Pebble offers only a monochrome display.
- Features: The Pebble is water-resistant.
- Apps: The Pebble-own Store, there are now over 1,000 Apps. The Software Kit is available to developers free.
- Price: The Pebble Smartwatch costs about 150 Euro and is available as an Import from a third-party is available at Amazon. The new Deluxe variant of the Pebble Steel , however, it costs 350 euros.
The Pebble sees iOS & Android
2) Samsung Gear 2 - the 2.0 Update without Galaxy
The predecessor of the Samsung Gear 2, the Galaxy Gear, came in the fall of 2013, and received at best mixed reviews. In the spring of 2014, the Gear 2 appeared with no Galaxy in the name, with numerous improvements.
- Compatibility: In contrast to the first Gear Smartwatch, wanted to work initially only with three devices, the Gear 2 to launch with 17 different Samsung Smartphones and Tablets compatible. Instead of Android, the Gear 2 uses the new Smartwatch operating system Tizen OS, which is why the Galaxy Name was in the title.
- Display: The Samsung Gear 2 features a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels.
- Features: the Gear 2 is up to about 30 minutes of water-resistant, in addition, also according to IP67 dust-proof. In addition, the Smartwatch also features a heart rate Monitor and a 2-Megapixel camera with 720p Video recording.
- Apps: While the first Galaxy Gear were allowed to only certain developers, Apps, create Samsung for the successor, even a developer released Kit and a 8. May started the competition, the Smart App Challenge 2014, $ 1.25 million in prize money for Apps provided. Accordingly, the offer is greater than in the case of the Galaxy Gear.
- Price: The Gear 2 is about 300 euros, twice as expensive as the original Pebble, but the 50 euros cheaper than the current Pebble Steel.
Even smarter: the Samsung Gear 2
Conclusion: Pebble Steel vs Samsung Gear 2
The Pebble Steel and the Samsung Gear 2 are currently the most popular Smartwatches, the very power are already capable of, but also show how much potential is still in the theme. The Pebble developers are already working on Flexi-devices, with which you will soon, your home appliances by remote control. Samsung has learned from the mistakes of the first Gear-Generation and is increasingly relying on Apps, because Smartwatches are only as smart as the Apps allow it to be. You want to control an iPhone, the Pebble currently competition-free, as long as Apple introduces no iWatch. For a Galaxy S5 of SAmsung, however, the Gear 2 is the ideal complement. In addition, there are you without a camera a little cheaper for about 200 euros, the Gear 2 Neo.
Pebble & Gear 2: Smart Watches
What are the variants of Samsung Gear Smartwatches, it is exactly there that you will learn in the next CHIP practice tip.
