Pebble smart watch adoption.

Pebble is one of the founding fathers of the smartwatch world. Virtually any conversation about the industry has to include Pebble in one way or another. Pebble was first to the scene and best to the scene, and both by a wide margin over its nearest competitor. But today, Pebble’s OS and hardware are starting to look very…dated. It’s not Pebble’s fault. It’s just that the features upon which Pebble can hang its hat are becoming more and more scarce.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Indeed that’s where Pebble found itself just a couple of years ago. Android Wear and Apple Watch weren’t even rumors yet. What is a watch-wanting mobile tech geek to do? The options in the space were pretty cut and dried – Pebble, and (to put it bluntly) crap. That is no longer the case with some really compelling and beautiful hardware on store shelves right flippin’ now.

Keep up or get left behind

So it must be time for Pebble to keep up then. Some have even suggested that Pebble should go the Android Wear route. It makes a lot of sense. Pebble could take the lessons it has learned over two years of smartwatch development and feedback and apply that to an already beautiful interface. Can you say, “Take mah moneh?” I sure can. Pebble is already a grizzled old veteran in this smartwatch business so it makes a lot of sense that this could be a winning combination.

Leap Frog

Just imagine an already established competitor suddenly spring boarding its way right back up to the head of the pack in the Android Wear space. Motorola and LG are still feeling things out, but Pebble has already weathered the growing pains of this industry. Remember Pebble recently dropped its prices on both the Pebble and the Pebble Steel. Was this in response to declining sales due to Android Wear’s growing list of attractive options?

Let’s also not forget that Pebble is still basically a startup with limited resources. Resources which are limited to income that is undoubtedly shrinking because of Android Wear and the highly stylish options that are coming out on practically a monthly basis. If you can’t beat them, join them.

And yet…

It is Pebble’s interface that has brought them this far. Was this popularity of Pebble simply a lack of options, or does Pebble really bring a compelling feature set to the table? Many seem to think it does. The only real things that Pebble does not have compared to its competitors are voice activation and a touch screen. Google Now really is a great feature and voice activation is a key part of my interaction with the Moto 360. That lack of voice control might seem limiting, but it’s one trade off compared to a lot of benefits that Pebble’s philosophy brings.

Black and white is gold

One of Android Wear’s biggest criticisms is its complete lack of battery life. Lucky Android Wear wearers will get 36 hours (mayyyyybe 48 hours) on a single charge. Time and again detractors have stated that nothing less than a week is acceptable. I disagree with that philosophy on a personal level, but I’m not everyone, so this must be a thing. E-paper offers that long-lasting battery life, so if you wake up in the morning and realize you forgot to charge your watch, it’s no big deal. If you do that for five days in a row, it’s still no big deal except perhaps you need to look into some ginkgo biloba or something.

Plus some people might actually want to be able to read their smartwatches – I know, it’s crazy. But still E-paper gives a user maximum readability in direct sunlight, which is great if you happen to not be a vampire. This is foundation of the Kindle versus iPad argument, and it holds true on the wrist as well.

Cross the streams

Finally, cross-platform compatibility cannot be understated. I have often mentioned that cross platform compatibility would absolutely have to be there for me to invest in a platform. Pebble is good with both iOS and Android, but would lose that capability if it decided to go with Android Wear. Sure it might be prettier, but that might leave a lot of upset iPhone users twisting in the wind.

So what do you think about all this? Should Pebble adopt an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em philosophy? Or do you think it should stick to its guns and stay with what has worked so far? This is one that makes me honestly glad that I am not the CEO of Pebble because I’m about at divided as I can be on the issue. Maybe you’re not. Go ahead and let us know what you think and let’s see if we can figure this out
.

Nexus 6 won’t be immune to carrier branding

If it weren’t for that big Nexus logo down the back, would you be able to recognize a Nexus phone these days? While the Nexus 6 may be an impressive piece of hardware, it’s strayed quite a bit from the example set by the Nexus 5 and Nexus 4 before it. That means things like higher pricing across the board, whether off-contract or subsidized, and if the Lollipop rollout we’ve been seeing get underway is any indication, we may no longer be able to count on Nexus phones being first in line for Android updates in the future, too. But at least you can count on Nexus phones being clean and unadorned, resistant to carrier meddling, right? Maybe not, as AT&T reveals that its Nexus 6 will sport the carrier’s logo around back.

While AT&T’s consumer page for the Nexus 6 doesn’t fully reveal the handset’s back, an entry on the carrier’s business site depicts the phone from additional angles, and shows an AT&T logo down below the Nexus name.

To be fair, this is hardly the first time we’ve seen carriers get their name on a Nexus phone – certainly, Verizon and Sprint did as much with the Galaxy Nexus – but in recent years Nexus models had resisted such tampering, and when the Nexus 5 arrived at Sprint last fall, it did so without plastering Sprint branding all over the model.

We haven’t yet spotted the Nexus 6 as it will arrive at Verizon, but if AT&T’s doing it, we wouldn’t be surprised to see other carriers also lining up to stamp the phone with their own branding.

Source: AT&T
Via: Android Polic
e

Google Play edition Lollipop updates should start landing early next week

Android Lollipop update momentum has hit a (temporary) lull. After those heady early hours of distribution for Nexus devices (to say nothing of efforts by Motorola or LG), the feverish pace at which update news arrived has slowed to a trickle; while last night brought us hope that the Nexus 4′s update would be arriving at any moment, as of now it’s still yet to surface. But even as we wait for that release to drop, we’re already looking forward to who’s getting Lollipop next, and new confirmation has just arrived that some Google Play edition models should see their own Android 5.0 updates go public “early next week.”

So says HTC VP Mo Versi, who took to Twitter overnight to answer questions from users about Lollipop update plans for the company’s GPe models. In two separate tweets, he asserts that it’s the company’s intention to get those updates out early next week, but isn’t any more specific about a certain day.

HTC has two Play edition models under its belt, the One M7 and this year’s One M8. When pressed for clarification if he meant Lollipop updates for both phones (versus, presumably, just the One M8 at this early date), Versi did not respond, so even with the general timeframe now looking confirmed, not all the details are quite so certain.

Hopefully, the arrival of one or both of those Lollipop updates will help jump-start releases for the rest of the Google Play edition family.

Source: Mo Versi 1,2 (Twitter)
Via: Android Central

Poll: Why is there so much iOS hate?

iPhone gets a bad rap. It really does. Apple is such a polarizing company it’s almost funny. Apple has fans that are so very dedicated to the platform they almost need therapy. iPhone, iPad, iMac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and even a white Starbucks membership card. Apple has achieved the kind of fan base that corporations only dream about – for better or for worse.

Yep. Going there right away. Image credit: irkitated.com/

iSheep

You know the stereotypes – iSheep, rich yuppies hanging out at Starbucks, when they’re not camping out at Apple stores, that is. These people, the fans who have done nothing wrong except fall in love with a product – like we all have, mind you – are the targets for blistering criticism across the mobile space. I know; I used to be one of the critics.

To be fair, I’m not going to claim that I never stereotype Apple fanboys any more. I’ve written a few pieces of late about the platform and made some assumptions about what Apple fans are thinking about their products. But more than anything, I’m trying to understand the psyche behind someone who loves them some Apples. But this isn’t about me.

Rhetoric

Some folks hate Apple more than the fans. There’s a ton of criticism around Apple events. Twitter explodes with “That’s not new” and “so-and-so did this first!” and claims along those lines, none of which are untrue. But the passion by which these claims are asserted is remarkable. You’ll see other criticism around other events – most notably Samsung events, but the volume of Apple hatred on Twitter and other social media platforms is unprecedented.

In this arena, Apple has only itself to blame. The rhetoric surrounding these products is always turned up to 11. “Magical”, “historic”, and “amazing” are just a few of the words that are bookmarked in Apple’s thesaurus. The connotations behind those words always raise the ire of those who, frankly, know better. There’s nothing magical about it. It’s not amazing. It’s new to Apple, or iOS, sure. But some seem to think that Apple goes too far when describing its innovations <s> features.

Simplistic

Another area that seems to rankle is the combination of how mind-numbingly simplistic iOS is compared to how incredibly successful it is. iOS is a boring operating system. The absurd lack of customization is starting to lift in recent months, but for the most part, your iPhone is going to look exactly like everyone else’s iPhone. That also lends credence to the “iSheep” moniker I mentioned earlier. With Android the virtual flea market of customizations, Apple’s absolute rigidity is simply baffling to fans of competing platforms. Some people like simple. I don’t, but some people do.

Live and let live

And that’s ok. There are some of us out there who choose not to partake in the Apple Hate that goes on. I used to be a hater. I will admit that freely and willingly. My tweets are just as public as yours. But I like to think I’ve changed my views successfully enough to shed that “hater” reputation. To me, it’s all good. You want a new iPhone? It’s a solid phone. Good on ya. Hakuna Matata. And yes, now you need to go watch “The Lion King”. Sorry about that.

H8 Red

So where do you stand in the realm of Apple-hate. Be honest with yourself. Are you a hater? It’s ok, we won’t judge. But if you are, why do you hate? As the great bard, Joey Belladonna once wrote:

Think, it takes a man to think
And to admit his ignorance
You can’t just look at my face
You can’t judge me by my…[platform of choice.]

Or something like that. So go ahead and vote below. Let us know if you hate and if so why you hate. If we haven’t covered it here, feel free to vent in the comments. No one will take it personally.

Why do you hate iOS?

I simply don’t see how anyone can hate this perfect machine that completes my life.^^ That’s why! ^^ (more the fans than the platform).It’s not freaking ‘magical’.It’s boring.I’m not a hater. Live and let live.Other - I'll talk about it below.

VoteView ResultsPolldaddy.com