Known for its smartwatches, the Core is Pebble’s latest offering — and possibly most exciting yet. The core is 3G and wi-fi enabled, can record voice notes, stream music from Spotify, tracks your pace, distance, and location with GPS and sync GPS the data with top fitness apps, send an emergency SOS SMS with your location and comes with 4GB built-in storage.
But it’s not a smartwatch. It’s a “magic button” Pebble calls “the first 3G, truly connected ultra-wearable,” it’s only $69, and most importantly — you don’t need your smartphone around to use it.
Not only does the tiny, light and affordable Core remove the need for carrying your phone with you when you exercise, it’s hackable.
“In its essence,” Pebble says, “Core is a tiny, hackable Android 5.0 computer that fits on your keychain.”
Here are just a few examples given of what Cor’es two buttons can be configured to do: Call an Uber, track your pet from across the world, stream data from your car’s ODB port, open your garage door, turn on your lights, pilot a drone from the web — the possibilities are straight up exciting.
The GPS tracking isn’t just handy for fitness reasons — it means you can use the Core as a locator for whatever it is attached to — keys, bag, dog, child (sure, why not?) — replacing a traditional locator for valuables.
The Core is flexible in how it connects. It takes a micro-SIM card and works with most phone plans, but it also works without one, capable of relying solely on Wi-Fi. Its also bluetooth enabled and can work with wired headphones, f you prefer.
It can charge by USB or a wireless charging pad ($20), and a single charge will get you 9 hours of location tracking and offline music.
The Core also works with the Pebble watch, if you want it to, giving the watch a mobile network and you access to fitness tracking stats on your wrist, where you can also control your music.
You can find out more on Pebble’s Kickstarter page, where the campaign has already raised over $7 million.