I've wanted a Pebble smartwatch for a while, but the price (US$150+) had always put me off. They recently dropped the price to only US$99, which was right in my ballpark, so yay!

I think it's the perfect device for me. Although I like the idea of a fuller featured smartwatch, like the various Android Wear devices now being sold, I definitely do not like the prices (at well over US$200), or the fact that you need to charge them almost every day. I have enough trouble remembering to charge my phone!

The Pebble platform and development community has matured significantly over the past year too. The recent addition of background processing, thus enabling things like fitness apps, is definitely a welcome one.

There are some criticisms that the Pebble is 'merely' a glorified notification device, but I'm perfectly fine with that. I've used it over the past few weeks, and now find it indispensable.

Yes, I get notifications on the watch, but with the YaNC app I can also dismiss them on the phone too. Other highlights: It's generating OTPs for the work network, so my hardware token is now relegated to the bag; I can easily change the phone's ringing or WiFi state with Dashboard; and, music/podcast playback control is awesome with the excellent Music Boss app.

All the above now means that there's so many situations that I don't need to take my phone out of my pocket for, because I can do it all from my wrist.

Even with Misfit running in the background, constantly counting my steps and measuring my sleep, I've managed to consistently get the promised 5-7 days of battery life.

I'm definitely a happy camper so far.