pebble News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Pebble 2 & Time 2 Smartwatches, and Pebble Core for Runners and Hackers Launched on Kickstarter

Pebble launched one of the first smartwatches in 2012, and is now one of the most famous name for wearables. The company has now launched another crowdfunding campaign for three wearables: Pebble 2 & Time 2 watches, and Pebble Core which can be either be used as a fitness tracker for runner, or by hardware hacker to play with IoT apps. Pebble 2 and Time 2 can receive notifications from your Android or iOS smartphone, include a built-in HRM for activity tracking, and a microphone for voice record and SMS, and are waterproof of up to 30 meters. To me the two key features of Pebble wearables are always-on displays, and long battery life, and the two new watches have a black & white (Pebble 2) or color (Time 2) always-on display, and up to one week of battery life for Pebble 2, and 10 days for Time 2. Pebble […]

September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Pebble Time Round is Thinner, Features a Circular Display, But Lasts Only 2 Days on a Charge

Pebble introduced Pebble Time smartwatch with an always-on color e-Paper display, voice recognition, and 7 days of battery life early this year, and the company has now unveiled a thinner version with a circular display, that’s still always-on, but unfortunately only lasts 2 days on a charge like most of other smartwatches on the market. The Pebble Time Round shares the same “Timeline” user interface as the Pebble Time (Steel), and most of the hardware features: Display – Always-on, color e-paper display with LED backlight, 2.5D gorilla glass display Connectivity – Bluetooth Audio – Built-in microphone for voice reply Battery / Power Up to 2 days of battery life A 15 minutes charge gives you a day of use. Magnetic charging with cable working in any USB port Misc – 3x tactile buttons, vibrating motor for discreet alerts and alarms IP Rating – Splash resistant to IPX7 standard (Not waterproof […]

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Mixtile GENA is a Wearables Development Kit Inspired by Pebble Watch

The first Pebble watch with a black and white e-Ink display and Bluetooth for smartphone connection launched in 2012 via Kickstarter, and it became one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns so far. The watch can now be purchased for $100, but Focalcrest, a startup based in Shenzhen, designed Mixtil GENA development kit with similar features and user interface, although with different electronics components, that goes for $34 on Tindie. Mixtile GENA specifications: Processors Mediatek MT6260 ARM7EJ-S processor @ 364 MHz with 8MB RAM and 16MB Flash Nordic Semiconductor nRF51822 ARM Cortex M0 Bluetooth Smart SoC External Storage – micro SD card slot (Up to 8GB) Display – “Energy-saving” reflective LCD Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE USB – micro USB 2.0 port Sensor – Gravity sensor Misc – Up, Down, Enter and Power/Return buttons Battery – 270 mAh/3.7V Lithium-ion battery (4 to 5 days on a charge for typical usage) […]

February 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Pebble Time is the Color Version of the Pebble SmartWatch (Crowdfunding)

The original Pebble Watch launched on Kickstarter about 3 years ago, and after selling over 1 million watches, the company is back on Kickstarter with Pebble Time, a thinner version of the watch with an always-on color e-Paper display, a new “timeline” user interface, a microphone for voice recognition, and 7 days of battery life. The complete Pebble Time specifications are not available, but the company still listed some key features: MCU – Cortex M4 Always-on, daylight readable 64 colors e-Paper display with backlight (no touchscreen) Six-axis gyrosope Microphone for dictation 3x tactile buttons Bluetooth for connectivity with mobile devices Up to 7 day battery life Compatible with any standard 22mm watch band Water resistant and durable Silent vibrating alarms Language and international character support (Chinese coming soon) The new Timeline interface focuses on past, present and future events such as basketball score, current steps, and weather forecast, and the […]

May 30, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

$80 Zebble WaterProof Smartwatch Features an E-Paper Display, Just like the Pebble…

The Zebble smartwatch does not look exactly like the Pebble, but it still share lots of the features found in the original watch including a 1.2″ e-paper display with 144×168 resolution, Bluetooth connectivity, similar buttons placements, and sells for nearly half the price of the original Pebble at $79.99 on Chinavasion. Zebble specifications provided on Chinavasion: MCU – Unknown @ 48 MHz Display – 1.26″ e-Paper display @ 144×168 with touchscreen Connectivity – Bluetooth 3.0 Misc – Built in Vibrator IP ratings – IP67 Waterproof and dustproof Battery – 240mAh Li-on. Standby Time: 10 Days. Dimensions – 40x222x13 mm (L x W x D) Weight – 49g Temperature Range – Operating: -10 to +60 Degrees Celsius; Battery charging temperature: 0 to +45 Degrees Celsius The watch is said to support Android 4.0 and above, without mention of iOS support. It can be used for smartphone sync for texting, or answering […]

November 14, 2013November 14, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Ninja Sphere Home Automation and Monitoring Platform

Ninja Blocks is an company providing open source hardware solutions for home automation. Their first product was called Ninja Blocks Kit which includes a Ninja Block (Beaglebone + Arduino based gateway, but they now also support the Raspberry Pi), sensors, sockets, cables, and a power supply, and works with Ninja Platform, an open source software framework. The goal was to simplify the process of developing automation applications by taking care of all low levels tasks such as electronics, embedded programming, network protocols.., and letting “end users” / developers focus on their application. The company is now working on a new version called the Ninja Sphere, including a “Spheramid” gateway, location waypoints (Bluetooth low energy tags), and smart power sockets. Here are the key features of the gateway: Processor – ARM Cortex A8 (probably Texas Instruments Sitara) Color LED Matrix Connectivity – Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi USB Port – […]

April 13, 2012April 14, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Pebble: Bluetooth Watch for Your iPhone or Android Smartphone

Pebble, an E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android smartphones, is a new project on KickStarter with over 11,000 backers and over 1.5 millions US dollars raised for production. The Pebble Watch connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, and can alert you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. The Pebble watch has the following specifications: ARM Cortex-M3 MCU 144 x 168 pixel display black and white e-paper Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR 4 buttons Vibrating motor 3 axis accelerometer with gesture detection The developers also claim a 7-day use on a single battery charge. Pebble can be customized with Apps with will take advantage of the BT connection with smartphones and allow pretty nice applications such as: Bike Computer – Cyclists to use Pebble to display speed, distance and pace data by accessing the smartphone’s GPS . Running Watch – Joggers and runners can also use the […]