Proud Owner of a New Pebble

I wrote a bit ago about my debate over the Apple Watch–whether I wanted to buy one or not. And after I’d written the post and looked over what I’d said, the answer seemed to be a bit clearer to me:

Why in the world would I want to pay $350 for something I don’t see a pressing need for?

So I’d more or less decided to wait and let the first round of early adopters test the waters for me. See how the watch is reviewed and what people use it for, and then get one if that convinced me. However, then while I was browsing my typical internet deals sites, I saw a killer sale on a Pebble, one of the first smart watches. It usually sells for $100, but I could nab one for $60 since I have an .edu address.

$60 for a test investment on a product to see if I liked it? Much easier to swallow. And since the Pebble checked off three of the four boxes for what I was thinking of using an Apple Watch for (checking my phone notificatiions, being a better pedometer, and pure gadget awesome–it missed only on the “working with all my other Apple stuff seamlessly” box), I went ahead and bought one.

It arrived Friday, and I’ve used it over the weekend. I’m here to report my findings, with the disclaimer that since it’s still fairly new, I can’t guarantee my opinion won’t change. (Though I doubt it will.)

I’ve really liked it so far. Liked it enough that I would have felt happy having paid $100 for it, and not just $60. (Though as a note, apparently they’re coming out with a new version soon, so I might recommend others hold off to see if the price drops on this model, or if they’d rather have the new one. I bought this one because if I buy an expensive smart watch, it’s going to have a big Apple logo on it somewhere. That’s a given.)

It has a bunch of free apps for it, so I’ve got a health monitoring one that watches my steps and my sleep patterns. The pedometer seems a bit twitchy, so I’ll have to up my daily goal for steps to make sure it matches what I’ve been doing, but I don’t mind that so much. I love that it’s completely waterproof (for anything I’m going to be doing.) No need to take it off for showers, which is a big plus. And having a watch on my wrist again? I’d forgotten how much I’d missed it.

I check the time. A lot. I really try to be punctual to everything. So being able to keep my phone holstered more often is a nice feeling, and I’m convinced it’s saving me time. Look at it this way: every time I take my phone out, I have to consciously decide *not* to check Facebook or Twitter of the news or whatever. All that information is right there, waiting for me. I’m an information addict. I can’t say no sometimes. So every time I *don’t* take my phone out? That’s one time I’m definitely not doing all those other things, either. I know that sounds silly, but it’s true.

Denisa thinks I’m crazy, I believe. I probably am, but the older I get, the less I worry about that. (Well, I worry about keeping her happy, but I don’t worry about being crazy in ways that work against that. Have to put that disclaimer in there.) I love me my gadgets, and my Pebble fits right at home with the rest of them. TRC is ecstatic, because he inherited my old Wii U Fit Meter that I used as a pedometer.

Will I buy an Apple Watch? No clue. I don’t think I’ll buy the first model. I hope it succeeds, though. I love the concept of it–but there’s an early adopters tax most Apple users pay if they buy a new Apple product: the knowledge that Apple will release a much better 2.0 version of that product in the not too distant future.

I think I’ll skip that tax this time around . . .