If the battery life of the Pebble Time smartwatch is not up to your liking, you can now change that with ease - just change the wearable's strap!
That's right, thanks to the enterprising folks at Powerstrap, the smartwatch now has a third-party "smartstrap" that will boost the battery life of the Pebble Time Steel and Pebble Time.
On Tuesday, May 17, the Hong Kong-based company began a Kickstarter campaign for the smartstrap, dubbed Pal. The watch strap claims to boost the wearable's battery life by a week and also adds GPS capabilities to the wearable.
"The world's first GPS and battery extender Smartstrap for Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel watches. It's lightweight and durable - sure to be a great companion to your Pebble! The strap's GPS is independent so you don't rely on a connection to a smartphone and it features an extended battery so that you don't have to worry about your battery - it provides true freedom while out on the trail," notes the company.
The GPS will enable the user to measure the distance, speed and pace when they are cycling or running. It will also allow users to track their route for a maximum of 24 hours with active signal, without the need for a smartphone.
The Pal smartstrap uses the same charger as the Pebble smartwatch, which means no hassles while charging the accessory. The Pal watch strap also doubles up as a back-up battery for the smartwatch - a 250 mAh battery is built into the strap itself.
Physically, the Pal smartstrap comes across as a tad bulky. However, it does not add much weight to the wearable. The smartstrap and Pebble Time combo weighs only 65 grams (2.29 ounces), which is lighter than the 70 grams (2.47 ounces) of the Apple Watch Sport.
For those wondering if it would be tough to snap the Pal on to Pebble Time, the answer is no. All Pebble Time smartwatches come with a tiny accessory port on the rear, which can be deployed to increase the wearable's capabilities. So all one needs to do is basically snap on the Pal smartstrap to Pebble Time and make it feature-rich with ease!
Powerstrap has also developed a companion app for iOS- and Android-powered smartphones. On the app, users will be able to see all the details of their workout, such as speed, route and lap time, among other tracking data. Users can also peruse the performance charts and share details on social networking sites via the app.
The Pal is available for preorder on Kickstarter and will set you back by $79. Pledging $149 gets you two Pal smartstraps. Powerstrap's Pal is available in several hues: yellow, red, green, white, black and blue. It will ship in October.
At the time of writing, the project had 479 backers and had generated $40,236 of its $80,000 goal.
