22-FEB-2013

It is not the most stylish watch out there - far from it. But beyond that, it's actually a pretty good smart watch. The real question is how long it will take before it becomes outdated by something better. The grayscale display and the wide bezel will eventually look as '70s as the general shape of the watch already does. But for the time being, this is almost certainly the best smart watch there is.

The e-paper display really works. It's easy to read in everything from bright sunlight to dim indoor settings. And just flick your wrist to turn on the backlight if you are in a very dark environment - a simple but ingenious feature. The watch itself is light and comfortable to wear and it's all easy to set up and get working, at least with an iPhone.

There is not that much functionality yet. There are a few different watch faces but none of the analog alternatives look very nice. The text version is my favorite with a nice typography and clever animations. The music integration is simple but works well, allowing you to see basic information about what is playing and to control the music with the buttons on the watch. Caller ID is also nice, especially now in the winter time when I can easily see who's calling without having to completely take of my gloves and start digging the phone out from underneath layers of clothing. Similarly, it can display notifications about SMS and e-mail messages.

I am actually a bit excited to see what future software updates and additional add-on applications will bring - and disappointed that the SDK is still missing and few software improvements have been released. The Runkeeper integration, for example, was demonstrated some time ago but is still missing.

This is my first Kickstarter experience and despite the delay, it has been a positive and insightful experience to follow the Pebble as it went from an idea to an actual watch on my wrist.

And how could you resist a watch that not only shows the time but also its own uptime.