The Pebble has not only become the poster child for crowdfunding since its launch but also an example that smartwatches can be successful and turn a profit. The Pebble is a great piece of technology, no matter how you use it. It’s cool and geeky enough for techies to strap on their wrists, no matter how “over” watches they were before it hit the scene last year. Only a few days ago, Pebble were promising “something special” and, depending on your outlook, they’ve certainly delivered that. Today marks the arrival of the Pebble Steel, which is essentially the same as the original Pebble but in an altogether more elegant and most would say “business like” casing. The Pebble Steel comes with both a metal strap and a leather band so, you can tailor it to your tastes. It’s available in either stainless steel or matte black.
The reasoning behind Pebble Steel is that it offers the same functionality while being more elegant and harder wearing. The plastic has been replaced by metal and there’s now a sheet of fingerprint-resistant Gorilla Glass covering the face of Pebble. The plastic buttons have been replaced by tactile metal ones, while the water-resistance up to 5 atmospheres remains as too, does the great Bluetooth range. Which is achieved through some careful engineering that prevents the Pebble Steel from becoming the faraday cage it always wanted to be. battery life is the same, rated at 5-7 days and those that already have a Pebble, will recognize it as the same watch but more “premium”.
We can see what Pebble were going for here, after all most smartwatches are deemed as the reserve of geeks and the “hyper connected”. The Pebble might be good-looking and customizable with your own choice of watch strap, it’s hardly something you’d tie with a suit or wear to a black tie event. The Steel, on the other hand, much like Sony’s Smartwatch 2 wouldn’t look out-of-place at work. Much like the original Pebble, getting your hands on one is as simple as going to getpebble.com/steel, all this “premiumness” does come with an extra hit to the cost however, with the Steel costing $249. While you can place your order right now, the company isn’t expected to start shipping them before January 28th.