Avatar for bzd

bzd

Member since Dec 2021 • Last active Apr 2022
  • 0 conversations
  • 11 comments

Most recent activity

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    Hi! Just a heads up that gadgetwraps have a half-price sale on until Friday (29 April, 2022).
    This is due to them discontinuing their colour Pebble skins after nearly 10 years but the discount is on everything including the Amazfit Bip full screen clear protectors that I "reviewed" in
    http://forum.espruino.com/comments/16333­658/ (so they're $5 for two plus [cheap] postage, the discount doesn't show up until you look at the basket).
    https://www.gadgetwraps.com/products/ama­zfit-bip-full-clear-screen-protector-2-p­ack

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    Hi @Alessandro,
    Apologies I'd forgotten to report on this all over cover from Aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40001236­92988.html
    Well, all I can say is: don't!
    It's a slightly flexible plastic that doesn't quite fit properly, and if I'd thought about it beforehand, predictably the screen cover, which doesn't make good contact with the screen, kills all touch!
    So, not at all suitable for a bangle.js. I'd take a photo, but it really isn't worth the effort!
    Sorry it's not good news, but hopefully that will save someone else a couple of pounds/euros/dollars.
    Ben

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    Just a note on using Sugru for covering the two middle contacts.
    So I thought I'd use sugru and made quite a neat job of covering just the two middle contacts on two bangle2s, and used a bit to fill in the air pressure hole on my one (It's never occurred to me I need to know air pressure!).
    However, after charging I've spotted that the middle two pogo pins are strong enough to poke holes in the sugru (not sure if this was just because I was using out of date Sugru or I didn't knead it well enough, it might be)!
    Anyway, I've noticed before any strenuous exercise (chance would be a fine thing) so I've covered with a bit of tape too, and also strapped up the middle two pogo pins on the charging cable.
    I guess this might happen over time (maybe a year or so?) to soft tape or anything else used to cover the contacts, so might be an idea to use tape to strap up the middle pins too (or check the covering on the contacts)?

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    This one looks like it's for Amazfit Bip (rather than the newer Amazfits):
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40001236­92988.html

    Not expensive, I've ordered one that says it'll arrive Feb 11. I'll let you know if it fits then!

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    The massive problem with most smart watches, including Pebbles, is that the glass screen sticks out above the bezel and body of the watch. Traditional watches, espectially ones meant to be worn(!), have largely had a bezel that is raised higher than the glass. This prevents most bumps or knocks (which happens to something strapped to the end of a flailing arm!) from reaching the glass. It seems to me a case of cosmetics over practicality. Before Pebble I had a Timex Datalink USB which was a rugged watch, but suffered from bespoke half-plastic straps and limited functionality compared bluetooth connections (although battery lasted a couple of years).

    Gadgetwraps have some skins for Amazfit Bip but whilst they do go down the curved edge, they don't look like they reach right to each edge. Is it also possible the Bangle.js 2 has a millimetre bigger screen than Amazfit Bip? The gadgetwraps clear protector doesn't cover the screen quite as much as the photo on the website suggests. I've never actually seen a real Bip to know!

    I'm less bothered about the case getting bumped and dented -- it's going to happen sometime or another (although the steel Pebbles were excellent, the never-made Pebble Time 2 would have been my final smartwatch... if they'd ever made them)!
    A cracked/smashed screen is more of a problem though, so I think it's worth putting something on the screen to soften the blow just in case. Tempered glass is great for taking most an impact but that's not going to happen for a screen with a curved edge.

    One word of warning with polishing screens with small scratches, the later Pebbles had a special anti-reflective coating which looked very obviously missing if you tried to polish out a scratch, I don't know if there's any coating on the Bangle.js 2, perhaps something to reduce fingerprints given it's a touch screen? Alternatively, I've found that some obvious looking scratches almost disappear when you put a soft (i.e. flexible) protector on top of it.

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    pic 5 from the right side

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    pic 4 from the left side

  • in Bangle.js
    Avatar for bzd

    The lighting really highlights the dust! Neither looked anywhere near as dusty in real life.

Actions