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Holiday Gift Guide 2018 Mickey Mouse Swatch

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Yet another nostaligic collaboration literally in time for the holidays. Watch maker, Swatch and Damien Hirst have come up with two great designs featuring an artistic rendition of Mickey.

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Priced at $125 (Mirror Spot) and $185 (Spot Mickey), these watches look cool and are limited to celebrate 90 years of The Mouse. Oddly, you can only get these watches on November 18 for 24 hours, but the red, black, and yellow Spot Mickey is already sold out (kinda reminds me of an out of stock Nike reservation). You can add to cart the Mirror Spot and checkout, but I assume you won’t actually get the watch until after November 18.

So if you want to give this Swatch as a gift, you need to hurry!

My Pebble Rocks On

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Yes, my Pebble watch rocks on still. After a display on the fritz and a broken band, I though the transition to the AppleWatch was inevitable. But not so fast.

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An inquiry to Pebble’s customer service led me to a replacement unit at no cost. No cost! Even after originally backing the project on Kickstarter years ago. Even better, the replacement unit shipped and arrived right before Christmas, giving me an unexpected gift. Thanks Pebble!

AppleWatch Works for Lefties

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When Apple made the AppleWatch available to public viewing on April 10, 2015, I was at the Ala Moana Apple Store learning more along with fellow tech geeks, Ryan and Burt. Besides the questions about specs, performance, and apps, Burt asked a simple question that stumped the Apple Store staff. Does the AppleWatch work for left handed people? Can the digital crown and touch screen operate when the axes are reversed?

The answer is yes. All the controls “flip” just with the physical crown oriented on the lower half of the watch. Apple itself visually confirmed this left-handed operation on their video Rise as a lefty answers a call from some guy named Tony Rivas. Hmmm, this is the same guy in that Siri demo for the iPhone 4S and iOS5.

Take a look at the 0:47 second mark.

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Fifteen Minutes with the Apple Watch Is Not Enough

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No, I didn’t pre-order an Apple Watch, wanting to see it in person first. So I scheduled a fifteen minute appointment to try on Apple’s newest wearable at the Ala Moana Apple Store, but those fifteen minutes are woefully short. Other than making an appointment, there’s no way of actually putting an Apple Watch on your wrist. The demo units are either behind a case or mounted in a display.

Burt Lum checks out the Apple Watches

The appointment runs through an educational demo of the Apple Watch. It’s kinda cool, but kinda lame since you’re standing there bed to your Apple concierge essentially watching a tutorial about the Apple Watch. The fun begins when you try on the different sizes and bands.

42mm or 38mm?

Guys definitely need the 42mm model. The 38mm looks too small and the band itself will barely fit. I could not slip my wrist through the 38mm Milanese Loop band.

A quick physical comparison to my Kickstarted Pebble watch, the 42mm Apple Watch is actually smaller. However, the craftsmanship and feel cannot be compared with the Apple Watch.

About the Sport Band

I’m not totally digging the Sport’s fluoroelastomer band. Yeah, it feels good, but I had a hard time putting it on single-handedly. It doesn’t align easily since you have to insert the pin first then tuck the excess band on the inside of the band. When taking off the Sport band, it comes off too readily, making for accidental drops.

The watch bands are easy to interchange, but personally, I don’t think all the bands match with the aluminum finish of the Sport model in case you’re thinking of “upgrading” your Apple Watch.

A Tiny Screen

The display of the Apple Watch is clear and crisp if not tiny. Looking at watch faces and well-designed activity monitors is fine. But trying to use Maps is too difficult for aged eyes. I guess the point is to use audio or haptic feedback to guide your directions.

Which Watch?

The general consensus is to buy the most inexpensive Apple Watch Sport model to minimize your investment in a first generation device. That’s very sound advice. Heed that advice and don’t try on the stainless steel Apple Watch. Otherwise, you very well may disregard that logical advice. I’m not sure what it was, but when I tried on the steel Apple Watch, it simply resonated with me. It felt heavier, making me more conscious about wearing it, but it wasn’t a burden. The leather strap definitely projected sophistication, and the magnetic closures felt more sure than the pin-and-tuck Sport band. Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought the steel itself felt cooler. Touching the sapphire crystal face, it felt smoother than the Ion-X glass of the Sport. And the stainless steel finish simply has an elegance missing from the anodized aluminum Sport. Trying on the Apple steel will only make your buying decision harder.

Initially, I was leaning to the Sport model in silver with a white band. But space gray with the black band is now my preferred Sport model. Seeing the gray/black combo stands out next to its colorful family members. But yes, the steel outshines all the Sports.

And there went my allotted 15 minutes. In fact, my appointment went overtime, nearly at 25 minutes, and it still wasn’t enough to adequately comprehend and assess the Apple Watch. I still haven’t figured out which watch to get.

Bonus Content

While at the Apple Store at Ala Moana, I ran across Ryan Ozawa and Burt Lum there for their try-on appointments. Here is Ryan’s Apple Watch post, and watch Burt’s video entering the store.

Through the Apple gauntlet for the #applewatch

A video posted by @bytemarks on

Game of Thrones Chronograph

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Game of Thrones fans can commemorate their fandom by purchasing (or trying to purchase anyway) these chronographs specially designed after the show. Yes, this is a wristwatch but at the cost of over $10,000, I’ll call them the sophisticated sounding chronographs. Pictured is one for fans of the Night’s Watch. Only 25 of these have been made.

A Short Pebble Review

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I’ll get right to it. The Pebble watch is good but not yet great. Oh, there’s potential, but it’s not yet materialized.

When I learned of the Pebble project on Kickstarter, I backed it without hesitation. The promise of a “smartwatch” working in conjunction with a smartphone aka iPhone was, well, simply smart.

What’s Great

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Reflected clouds

The e-paper display is absolutely great. It’s readable and visible under almost any condition. The only time it falls short is in pure darkness. Kinda no duh, but because it’s easy to see in dim light, you forget the obvious. But the Pebble does have a backlight. Push a button, tap the watch, or even cooler, shake your wrist, and the configurable backlight engages for a few seconds.

The setup of the Pebble is also a thing to marvel. It’s so easy; you’re up and running in no time. No complicated instructions, just download the app and follow along. The app’s diagnostic function lets you know of any problems or available updates.

Message and phone call notifications work! The Pebble vibrates upon incoming text messages or phone calls. No additional setup needed that I recall. I was surprised when the Pebble started vibrating on my wrist showing Caller ID information as my iPhone started to ring.

What’s Good

The look of the Pebble isn’t Apple-esque. It’s made of quality materials but not of Apple’s caliber or design aesthetic. The included watchband is basic, but you can easily change it. In the box, the Pebble didn’t immediately strike me as attractive but once on your wrist, it does look better. I personally like the Big Time watchface that shows off the readability of the e-paper display.

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Pebble face

Navigating the watch’s controls is definitely manageable. Even with four hard buttons, the watch’s menus lead you along so there’s no question which button to push.

Controlling iTunes music playback is a neat trick. It works after you fire up the Music app on the Pebble. I thought the Pebble would be more telepathic, knowing that my music was playing and therefore have the Music app already loaded.

What’s Not So Good

Maybe I haven’t learned everything about the Pebble that I should, but some features seem like they’re missing. I can’t readily see how you’d use the Pebble to help track runs. I thought I remember reading about partnering with RunKeeper but don’t yet see this feature (yup, not available at launch). I’d like to see Nike+ integration at some point but doubt it since Nike also sells their own run-tracking watches.

More notifications. Right now, the Pebble can notify you of text messages and phone calls. Email notification and display isn’t yet available for iOS. It’d also be cool if any/all notifications could be Pebblified (without jailbreaking your iPhone).

Along these lines is the dearth of apps for the Pebble. Seemingly, the only customization available are a few watchfaces. At this early stage, the Pebble App Marketplace isn’t thriving, but hopefully that changes over time as more developers crank out apps.

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Charging cable

The charging cable is unique to the Pebble which is good and bad. The magnetic coupling of the charger is what helps the Pebble be water resistant, but on the other hand, without this special cable, you can’t charge your watch. Fortunately, the battery life is approximated at one week (which I’m nearing).

Recapping at this early juncture, the Pebble watch is good with awesomeness in reach.

Unboxing Pictures