Pebble smartwartch starts at $100, update includes activity and sleep tracking (updated)

By Williams Pelegrin September 30, 2014

Pebble Smartwatch — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Yesterday, Best Buy was offering the Pebble smartwatch for $100. Now, Pebble announced that the price drop is permanent, as the company plans to team up with more retail partners in order to increase its visibility. The $50 price drop also applies to the Pebble Steel, which will now go for $200. In addition to the price drops, Pebble also detailed its smatwatch’s next update to firmware 2.6.

The new update, now available for both the original Pebble and Pebble Steel, arrives with activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Creating the backbone of this effort are new health and fitness apps from Misfit, Jawbone, and Swim.com.

Misfit’s app has been updated to allow for continuous 24/7 activity tracking and sleep monitoring. Meanwhile, Jawbone’s Up app shows daily and weekly activity progress. This version of the app, with a purple icon, doesn’t depend on the company’s fitness band. The Up app with the blue icon, however, does depend on the band, so that’s something to keep in mind. Finally, Swim.com’s app allows you to measure distance, pace, times, strokes, and efficiency while you’re swimming. Don’t forget that both the original Pebble and Pebble Steel are rated at 5 ATM, so both can be used in the water.

The new firmware update also brings along a few other goodies, which include the following:

Quick Launch: Set up shortcuts from a watch face to your favorite Pebble apps with a long press of the Up or Down buttons.
Select button: It once again dismisses notifications when paired with an Android or iOS device on iOS 7 or lower. iOS 8 users get notification dismissal for both Pebble and the paired device when pressing Select.
Bug fixes and improvements

As previously stated, the new Pebble firmware is now available for download. You should see a prompt to download the update when you open the Pebble app on your device.

Topics

Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

Deals

Razer Anzu smart glasses deal knocks $140 off the price tag

The Razer Anzu smart glasses placed on top of an open book.

While smartwatch deals have slowly claimed their place in the mainstream, smart glasses haven't turned out to be as popular. Gaming-focused brand Razer, however, is trying to renew interest in smart glasses with the Razer Anzu, which you can currently purchase from Best Buy at $140 off. If you'd like to give them a try, they're available for just $60, less than half their original price of $200.

There have been failures like the Google Glass and Snap Spectacles, and hopeful attempts like Oppo's Air Glass and Apple's secretive project, but the Razer Anzu smart glasses take a different spin on the wearable device by designing them for indoors. While they come with polarized sunglass lenses, their clear lenses are more useful with their blue light filter, which protects your eyes from screen glare to prevent discomfort even after hours of playing video games or working from home. The smart glasses, which also have a built-in omnidirectional microphone and speakers, may also be more comfortable to wear for an extended period of time compared to headsets and headphones. You'll enjoy smooth, stutter-free sound with the Razer Anzu's low latency audio with a 60ms Bluetooth connection.

Mobile

The best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 screen protectors

Person holding skateboard while wearing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

A new, sleek design and digital bezel help the Galaxy Watch 4 stand out in the crowd and set it apart from the traditional style of the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Whether you've picked up a 40mm model with a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED screen or opted for more screen real estate with the 44mm model, that stand-out design needs protecting from scratches and knocks. That means it's time for our picks of the best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 screen protectors, with something to suit all budgets.

These screen protectors will all fit the 40mm or 44mm models of the Galaxy Watch 4. If you've got a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, these won't fit.
Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit Screen Protector

Wearables

How to remove watch links from the strap on your new watch

how to remove watch links fossil q explorist

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all smartwatch. If your wrists are on the smaller size, then you may find that your new smartwatch is dangling from your wrist and sliding up your forearm. No need to worry — it's a common problem. Chances are there are at least one too many chain links on the strap, but adjusting a metal-link smartwatch band isn't as difficult as you might think — and doesn't usually require a trip to the jewelers.

We'll take you through everything you need to know and the tools you'll need handy to remove links from your smartwatch so it fits snugly on your wrist.