Pebble Time app on Android released on Google Play

Released ahead of the shipping date of the Pebble Time, the official Android app for Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel is already up on Google Play. The app features all the management tools for these two models. If you already have a Pebble account, you can use it with this app.

The Pebble Time app shows the watch faces and apps you can download for these smartwatches. It sorts the apps by categories to make it easier for you to look for what you need. This app is also responsible for pushing OTA updates for the watch. You’ll need to be running Android 4.0 or higher to get this to work.

Source: Android Community | Download: Google Play Store (Free)

Control your Android Wear or Pebble Time smartwatch with Aria clip-on

If you find your hands busy with other things or are just feeling a tad too lazy to swipe at your smartwatches’ screen, the Kickstarter project Aria is here to help. The clip-on accessory brings finger gesture functionality to your smartwatch. It clips to the underside of your Android Wear or Pebble Time watch and it’ll let you navigate these wearables with gestures like tapping, flicking your fingers, and opening and closing your hands. You can configure the gestures with the companion app.

Aria makes use of Bluetooth Low Energy and it doesn’t require a battery on its own. The Kickstarter campaign should be up in the coming weeks. It was built specifically for Android developers so it’ll retail for US$169, while the Pebble Time version will only need you to pledge at least $69.

Source: Aria | Via: Engadget

Pebble Time set to start shipping to backers on May 27

Pebble has announced that it expects to start shipping the first models of the Pebble Time on May 27th, which means that the company has somewhat delivered on a May shipping promise for early backers but this means most will likely get their new watches in mid to late June.

Source: Pebble

Pebble encourages smartstrap development with US $1 Million funding for successful concepts

Pebble is putting their money into encouraging smartstrap development for their upcoming Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel wearables. The smartstrap allows for expanded functionality on Pebbles by making the strap a peripheral. Various concepts have been revealed including one that enables direct connection to an LTE signal. Another concept will add GPS, NFC, OLED displays and varied other components to the Pebble Time.

Pebble pledged 1 million US dollars to encourage development and commercialization of othe smartstrap projects. Interested inventors can get a team together, build a prototype and place their project on a crowfunding platform and Pebble will offer the necessary support to make sure the projects see the light of day. I'm curious to see how far the smartstrap development can go and how much it can add to the Pebble Time.