Teardown finds Pebble smart watch unrepairable but built to last
A disassembly of the new Pebble smart watch has found that the waterproof wrist accessory is nearly impossible to repair internally, but its infrequently charged battery should last for up to a decade.
iFixit was unable to take apart the Pebble without breaking its e-ink display, declaring that such a task would be "impossible." That's because the Pebble has "tons of adhesive" that helps to make it waterproof for tasks like washing dishes and swimming in shallow water.
But while internal repairs of the Pebble are "infeasible," replacing the device's watch band should be easy, as the smart watch uses a standard size.
In addition, the Pebble can go up to 7 days without being recharged, and those infrequent charges will increase the battery life of the device. Though the battery is inaccessible for repairs, iFixit said its Fullriver-branded battery, which is rated at 3.7 Volts and 130 mAh, should last for 6 to 10 years.
The solutions provider also got in touch with Pebble's design team to voice their concerns about end-of-life recycling of the accessory. The company informed them that they have a plan in the works for recycling a broken Pebble.
Components found inside the wrist watch in the teardown are:
Smart watches have become a trend as of late, with other options like the MetaWatch and I'm Watch also currently available. There have also been recent rumors that Apple is working on its own so-called "iWatch," which could debut as soon as this year.
iFixit was unable to take apart the Pebble without breaking its e-ink display, declaring that such a task would be "impossible." That's because the Pebble has "tons of adhesive" that helps to make it waterproof for tasks like washing dishes and swimming in shallow water.
But while internal repairs of the Pebble are "infeasible," replacing the device's watch band should be easy, as the smart watch uses a standard size.
In addition, the Pebble can go up to 7 days without being recharged, and those infrequent charges will increase the battery life of the device. Though the battery is inaccessible for repairs, iFixit said its Fullriver-branded battery, which is rated at 3.7 Volts and 130 mAh, should last for 6 to 10 years.
The solutions provider also got in touch with Pebble's design team to voice their concerns about end-of-life recycling of the accessory. The company informed them that they have a plan in the works for recycling a broken Pebble.
Components found inside the wrist watch in the teardown are:
- E-paper display with three LED backlights
- Micron N25Q032A11ESE40F with 32 megabytes of serial flash
- STMicroelectronics STM32F205RE high-performance ARM Cortex-M3 MCU, with a maximum speed of 120 megahertz
- STMicroelectronics LIS3DH 3-axis accelerometer
- Panasonic pan1316 RF module
- Texas Instruments CC2560A Bluetooth Controller, which does not support Bluetooth Low Energy
- Fullriver battery rated at 3.7 volts and 130 mAh
Smart watches have become a trend as of late, with other options like the MetaWatch and I'm Watch also currently available. There have also been recent rumors that Apple is working on its own so-called "iWatch," which could debut as soon as this year.
Comments
I canceled my order once the iwatch rumors picked up, and i'm glad i did, since this doesnt have bluetooth low engergy i was worried about the full power bluetooth on my arm all day
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sector7G
I canceled my order once the iwatch rumors picked up, and i'm glad i did, since this doesnt have bluetooth low engergy i was worried about the full power bluetooth on my arm all day
If the full 100mW power of bluetooth worries you, you shouldn't carry a 1 watts radio within your cells phones on you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMac2
If the full 100mW power of bluetooth worries you, you shouldn't carry a 1 watts radio within your cells phones on you.
Besides, if it were 100mW all day, the battery would need the same capacity as a good D size manganese alkaline (Duracell) just for the BT
Originally Posted by Sector7G
I canceled my order once the iwatch rumors picked up, and i'm glad i did, since this doesnt have bluetooth low engergy i was worried about the full power bluetooth on my arm all day
Apparently Bluetooth 4 can't push as high quality audio as Bluetooth 2. And if my experience with 2 and headphones is anything to go on, that's not very good in the first place.
Originally Posted by BigMac2
If the full 100mW power of bluetooth worries you, you shouldn't carry a 1 watts radio within your cells phones on you.
He's worried about wasted battery, I think. Not "health" or anything.
If I were to go back to wearing a watch, I would choose one with a nice mechanical movement over a smart watch in a heartbeat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by majjo
I have two watches; an Esq that I used to wear everyday back when it was really useful (used to do lab work), and an omega that I use for special occasions.
Like for busting in to/out of SPECTRE hideouts?
Huh? I mainly used it for recording sampling times, experiment start and stop times, and chronograph functions...
We had certified time pieces for any experiments requiring more precise timekeeping.
[LIST]
[*] Load apps using Bluetooth
[*] 144 x 168 pixel display black and white e-paper
[*] Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and [B]4.0 (Low Energy)[/B]
[*] 4 buttons
[*] Vibrating motor
[*] 3 axis accelerometer with gesture detection
[*] Distribute apps via Pebble watchapp store
[/LIST]
Oh heh. Sorry, haven't seen a bond film in over 20 years.
I always thought he wore a Rolex.