Pebble
They can definitely use a little cleaning, but now that I found the #Pebble straps I have another excuse to finally start fixing the watch.
Pebble fe504504 error
Yesterday I charged my old Pebble 2, and it seems to want to work. But before troubleshooting this error message, I have to fix the completely melted plastic buttons. And, of course, there’s a 3D file available to solve this. Pebble resurrection project here we go!
Why not an Apple Watch or Wear OS?
Before the Apple Watch, there was the Pebble (image below). I loved that smartwatch, but the end was inevitable, the company eventually went bankrupt, and was sold to Fitbit. The final nail in the coffin was the watch being discontinued, and the servers turned off.
Without the servers, many features would stop working, and the experience wouldn’t be the same. To save us, a group of enthusiasts created Rebble to bring life back to the Pebble. I appreciate what they did, but it’s not the same. Our watches would inevitably get old and parts would break.
Long story short, I could never find a smartwatch alternative that would check all the boxes: waterproof, buttons instead of touch screen, e-ink display, long-lasting battery, health sensors, and good quality build. I ended-up moving to a G-Shock, that I absolutely love. However, it was not a complete experience. I was constantly missing the health sensors.
It was only recently that I came across an alternative from Garmin. Yes, I completely missed the original Instinct release. But that’s ok. I recently got the Instinct 2, and I’m thrilled. Not only it checks all the boxes, it looks like the G-Sock I was wearing.
Palo Alto Flash Tour
Another company I was eager to visit this time was Flipboard. I keep a relatively popular magazine on the platform and have collaborated with them on some blog posts. It was nice to finally meet some of the people I have been in touch with via email for a long time.
And since I’m here, why not stop by the HP’s garage?
What I wasn’t expecting during this Palo-Alto flash tour was to accidentally walk by a door with Pebble’s logo. I love my Pebble, and as I write this, I’m already regretting not having approached and requested a tour. The worst thing that could happen would be them saying it was not possible.
