Apple Watch Sport Space Grey with fancy bands

I don't think I'll ever spend $200+ on an extra band.  It's not that I don't appreciate it .... But I just don't find it that much nicer.

Anyway just out of curiosity, I went to Apple Store and try out the classic Buckle and Milanese loop bands with my space grey watch.  Since there is no pictures anywhere for such combination available, it'll at least show me the potential.  Maybe I'll win lottery jackpot and decide to buy one :)

Surprisingly, both bands don't look too bad with the space grey model.  What do you think?

Apple Watch vs Pebble - The world of difference for notification

After using my Apple Watch for more than a week, I think the biggest difference between Pebble and Apple Watch for iPhone users is the notification and the things that you can do with it.

What Pebble can do:

• Vibrate whenever a new notification comes in.  The notification will be displayed on the watch screen.  You can click up and down button to view more information or the middle button to clear it.  That is pretty much all you can do for iPhone users.  I know Android users can reply text messages with some predefined text.  So, it's pretty much just letting you know you can a notification and what is it.  You'll still have to change to your iPhone for any action afterward.

• If you didn't attend to the notification for a while, the notification will display automatically on the screen.  You can then go to the notification manually to view them.
• It vibrates with such a force that you'll know you have a notification for sure.  So, I can usually wear my watch a bit loose.

What Apple Watch can do:

• Display short notification message then the long notification message if you raise your arm soon enough after the haptic tag.  If you're too late, you'll see the red dot on the top of the watch screen the next time you raise your arm.
• By swiping down, you'll get all the notifications that came in.  It'll be the short notification and then you can click on each notification to view the long/full notification message.
• For text message or iMessage, you have the options to reply and dismiss.
• The most important benefit of Apple Watch is the third party implementation of the notification.  For instance, I have been using Outlook on my iPhone as my main email app.  With Outlook notification, I get options to archive, delete, schedule for later, or mark as read.  The most of the time, I can react to the notification without taking my phone out. The only time I need to get my iPhone out is to reply email. 

• When I'm using my iPhone and get a notification, Apple Watch doesn't tap or do anything.  It is good because I don't have to dismiss the same notification twice.  For example, the reminder app can allow me to snooze or complete the task right on my watch.

• The haptic tap is very gentle.  Even tho I have gotten used to it now, I still miss the tag from time to time.  So, I believe when Apple says it's trying to help you doing the important things and not get distracted.
• Display Chinese character flawlessly!!! I don't know what's going on.  But Pebble is still not able to display Chinese characters even tho they have promised the functionality for a long time.  There are some apps that helps with that.  But I can never get it to work ...

I think Pebble is still a very good option for hardcore watch wear who needs to have the watch to be always on and battery last a long time.  But Apple Watch opens so much more possibilities for the iPhone users.  Plus, I don't think Apple will open up as much flexibility for Pebble.  It's sad but I guess that's just the nature of the business.

Apple Watch Sport Unboxing

I finally got my Apple Watch Sport Space Grey 38 mm version today.  Here are some unboxing photos.  The box is definitely different from the stainless version (you can see the unboxing of the stainless version here).  I guess when you paid $250 more for a watch, you should get a nice and bigger box with it too :)

Except the package and the watch casing, the pairing and the functionalities are exactly the same between all models.