New Smartwatch App Tracks DC Metro Train Schedules
Smartwatches are one of the hottest categories in wearable tech right now. Apple is expected to announce one soon. Android announced a ton of new features meant to integrate smartwatches into its ecosystem at Google I/O in June. And even Swatch may have an entry being prepped for what could be a $93 billion marketplace.
Ahead of all those releases from established consumer tech brands, though, the Kickstarter-born Pebble smartwatc h managed to beat Apple, Samsung and Swatch to consumers. And now it has its very own app for tracking D.C.'s Metrorail trains.
' WMATA With You' is the name of the new app, which was shared by its developer on Reddit Monday. The developer, who goes by the name ZeroUptime, announced that Android support is available and an iPhone app should be out 'sometime next week.'
What you have here is a really cool idea. Basically, the app keeps track of the eight Metro stations closest to where you're standing. You can then select the station you want to look at and get a feed with information about the next trains that are expected to be rolling through.
'Basically what you'd see on the displays in the station, but more conveniently on your wrist,' the developer said in the Reddit post. 'You can press the center button to refresh it.'
Pebble has reportedly sold more than 400,000 of its watches since January 2013, and they are definitely floating around on D.C. wrists. What they like in color and in-your-face marketing along the lines of what Apple and Samsung products get, they make up for in simplicity and clever apps that work with smartphones.
This new Metro app could be a convenient sidekick when station screens are malfunctioning or you happen to be inching down a crowded escalator wondering if you're missing a train. Granted the results may only be as good as the data signal that your iPhone or Galaxy is getting - but the idea here definitely appears to be useable. That goes double if you happen to be a morning Blue Line passenger trying to figure out whether you should wait it out or take the long way into the city via a Yellow Line train.
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