I’ve been skeptical about “true” wearable devices since the first Pebble was announced. I guess that wasn’t the first “true” wearable. That would probably be the calculator watch, right? The first wearable device that would allow you to look at 80085 with a flick of your wrist!

Anyways, for the sake of argument, we’ll say the Pebble was the first wearable to sort of start the wearable boom so to speak.

I’ve had a Pebble for the last tow years now. I never really understood it or wanted one but my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas one year, so I threw it on a Amazon wish list not thinking much of it.

Well Christmas came and I was the proud owner of a black Pebble. At the time I had both a Android, Nexus 5, and a iPhone 5 for work. I was using the iPhone primarily and mixed it with personal so I initially connected the Pebble to the iPhone. Trying to find 3rd party applications was a chore and upon some googling, I found that Android offered a better selection due to Google being more open with Android. I switched the watch over to my Nexus 5 and immediately found some applications that suited my needs.

It should be noted that all of this was happening prior to Pebble 2.0 which introduced its own App Store so you had to install all Pebble Apps from Google Play directly. During this time period, 3rd party applications were necessary for a lot of the features that we know and love from Pebble 2.0.

The Pebble isn’t the most pleasing on the eyes but I sort of liked being to read notifications without taking out my phone to determine if it’s worth reaching all the way into my pocket to take my phone out.

I probably used the Pebble for close to a year and fell in love. When Android Wear was announced, I knew I needed to try it out. It was like the Pebble but with a color screen and a few more nice bells and whistles.

I ended up getting one of the first Android Wear devices around launch, the Samsung Galaxy Gear Live. It had the same rubber band and rectangular look of the Pebble but the face was silver so it made it a little more elegant looking. I ordered it directly from Google Play so I had 14 days t o see if it could replace my Pebble.

I really liked the color screen and the ability to swipe away notifications vs pressing physical buttons. I could talk to it as well but other than that, there wasn’t much my Pebble didn’t already do. Well, the Pebble could do battery a lot better than the Galaxy Gear. I could go days without charging the Pebble but the Gear required me to charge it daily.

Alas, I opted to return the Galaxy Gear Live as I just couldn’t justify spending $200 on something that looked so similar to the Pebble. Another big reason was I was waiting for the Moto 360. Now, this was the Android Wear watch that everyone wanted. It was part of the initial announcement but kept getting delayed.

For the folk who don’t know what these watches look like, I’ve included pictures of all 3 below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come on! How sexy is the Moto 360!? It’s not as sexy in person I’m afraid. It’s still nice but nothing compared to the now premium Android Wear Watch, LG Watch Urbane

I ordered the Moto 360 ($229) AND a LG Watch Urbane ($350) last month after returning the Galaxy Gear Live almost a year ago. I ordered both because Amazon’s return policy is outstanding and knew I could test both and choose one to keep.

Both watches were both leaps and bounds superior to the Samsung Galaxy Gear Live but the LG Watch Urbane just has the look and feel of a real watch. I know it was over $100 more but it added some class AND the watch bands were compatible with any normal watch band so I picked up a $10 22mm steel band. Now I sort of had two different looks.

So, needless to say I returned the Moto 360 and trucked on with the LG Watch Urbane. I found myself actually utilizing it more than my Pebble. I was constantly using it reply to text messages and emails via its built-in microphone. This worked swimmingly.With the Pebble, you can only do canned responses such as yes, no, ok etc..

It was just a lot easier to navigate vs the Pebble thanks to the touchscreen not to mention the watch faces were extremely elegant looking, pretty much mimicking the watch face of some of the big name watch makers.

The one downside was this watch was still $350. The most expensive Android Wear device. Did it do a few more things than my Pebble? Yep. Is it prettier than my Pebble? Most Definitely! Is it easier to use the UI? Double Yep.

I returned the LG Watch Urbane yesterday. As my Amazon return period got closer and closer, the more and more I felt the need to return it. It had nothing to do with Android Wear, it was the price tag. I cannot justify a $350 smartwatch when the one I currently have does the same. Am I done with Android Wear? No way. I plan on checking out the Asus Zen Watch ($179) or wait for the Zen Watch 2 in Q3. I’ve also seen a refurbished LG G Watch on Ebay for $50 which I may pull the trigger on. The LG G Watch was a launch device and looks almost identical to the Pebble but $50 for an upgrade? We’ll see.

I’m definitely stuck on the wearable wagon. I’m a techy, I like being able to look at my wrist and see a text from Mike and realizing he’s a “big bitch” so I won’t waste my time taking my phone out. However, right now I’m going to stick with my bland and toy-like Pebble that has never failed me. I’m not going to lie when I packed up the LG Watch Urbane and charged my Pebble and put it back on, it felt like putting on an old pair of comfortable sneakers or jeans. It just felt right.

I do still like Android Wear but I guess I’m just going to have to wait for one that catches my eye for a reasonable price.

This wouldn’t be a wearables article without mentioning the elephant in the room, Apple Watch. I haven’t played with one but I’ve spoken to someone who had one and it’s nice. If I had an iPhone still, I would probably get one. That being said, the rumor is Android Wear will soon support iOS.

Right now, there doesn’t seem to be much functionality difference between Android Wear and watchOS. If Android Wear does come to iOS then it will give users not one alternative but 10 alternatives due to Android Wear being open thus allowing multiple manufacturers to design watches.

The big thing with Android Wear vs normal Android is Google is keeping Android Wear as just that, Android Wear. The watch manufacturers cannot tweak Android Wear like they do with their versions of Android. This means your experience will be the same across all devices just the watchOS.

Anyways, enough ranting and raving. That’s it for now folks! Hope you enjoyed the first “re-launched” Nerdsense blog post!

-Shaun