智能手表Pebble Steel真机初体验

    不过，Pebble Steel设置起来非常简单，只需要五分钟。在使用iOS或是安卓系统的设备上安装相应的应用之后，你就能用蓝牙让它们配对。连接建立后，手表就会显示通知信息了。对使用iOS系统的设备来说，这些信息囊括了手机的通知中心里设置显示的所有条目。对使用安卓系统的设备来说，你可以使用Pebble的官方应用，或是第三方的Pebble通知应用，控制每一个应用的通知显示与否。

    Pebble在Steel上采用的第二代操作系统拥有新的功能，改良了平台性能。其中一个改进是能让用户浏览之前错过的通知。之前的版本中，如果你错过了一个通知，就没法让它在手表上重新显示了，令人沮丧。现在你可以看到错过的通知列表。

    Pebble的应用商店也是新推出的，里面包含Foursquare、Yelp和GoPro这类公司制作的应用。尽管这个应用商店目前只支持iOS系统——但这家公司表示，“很快”就会推出安卓版本——但这些应用的纳入让Pebble的功能超越了显示通知和播放音乐的范畴。（Pebble表示，等到Steel发布时，会有超过1,000款应用和手表皮肤。没错，大家可以下载手表皮肤。欢迎来到未来。）

    我最喜欢的应用名为“PebbleBucks”。这款应用会显示你的星巴克账户余额和星巴克会员卡的条形码，结账时非常方便。我买了杯咖啡，第一次只用手表就完成了付账，感觉就像我是从未来穿越回来的。（咖啡师看我的眼神也是这样。）

    由于空间限制，手表只能同时存储八个应用或手表皮肤。Pebble提供了“应用仓库”功能，让用户保存喜爱的Pebble应用，希望借此减轻这个限制给用户带来的困扰。在将来的软件更新中，我希望看到手表皮肤和应用能拥有专属的存储空间，而不是占用硬上限八个中的名额。

    我们还是别在技术限制的问题上斤斤计较了。如果你希望拥有一块看起来不像从运动包里掉出来一样的“智能”手表，Pebble Steel会是一个不错的选择。大家从此不再需要从口袋里掏手机来查看每一条通知，这一点听起来似乎无关紧要，但实际上并非如此。如果你不用时刻都把手机拿在手上，你就会发现自己变得更加放松。而这就是我们在高速更新的信息时代最需要的那类技术。（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    Nevertheless, setting up the Steel was a simple process that took about five minutes to complete. After installing the companion application on an iOS or Android device, you pair the two devices using Bluetooth. Once connected, the watch will begin displaying alerts. For those with iOS devices, that includes any alert that's set to show up in Notification Center. For those with Android devices, you can enable or disable alerts on an app-by-app basis using either the official Pebble app or a third-party Pebble notification app.

    The second version of the Pebble operating system, new with the Steel, brings new features and improvements to the platform. One such improvement is the ability to view missed notifications. Previously, if you missed a notification, there was no way to retrieve it on the watch -- frustrating. Now you can browse a list of them.

    The Pebble Appstore is also new, and includes apps from companies like Foursquare, Yelp, and GoPro. Though the Appstore is only available for iOS users -- Android is coming "very soon," the company says -- the inclusion helps Pebble's functionality stretch beyond the display of alerts or manipulation of music. (Pebble says there were over 1,000 apps and watch faces available at the Steel's launch. Yes, that's right, you can download watch faces. Welcome to the future.)

    My favorite app is called PebbleBucks. The app will display your Starbucks account balance and your Starbucks Card barcode, which is handy at checkout. The first time I paid for a cup of coffee using nothing more than my watch, I felt like I was from the future. (And the barista looked at me like I was.)

    The watch can only store eight apps or watch faces on it at any given time, owing to storage restrictions. Pebble tries to make this less of a burden on the wearer by providing an "app locker" where people can store favorite Pebble apps. In a future software update, I would love to see watch faces and apps have their own memory allocation, instead of both items counting towards the hard cap of eight.

    But let's not quibble over technical limitations. If you seek a "smart" watch that doesn't look like it fell out of a gym bag, the Pebble Steel is a fine choice. It may sound trivial to no longer have to reach for your phone for every alert, but it's not. When you don't have to have your phone in hand all the time, you find that you're more relaxed. Which is exactly the kind of technology we need more of in the update-happy world we live in.