This was a question posted on Reddit.  It brought up a good conversation, but I think I can condense it into a few point to help you decided between buying a Pebble or other smart watch now, or wait for the Apple iWatch.

Before I bought my Pebble through kick starter a year ago, got my watch last week, I asked my self the same question.  I knew it was only a matter of time before Apple came out with an iWatch, although at the time, I figure it would take a year, so already they are taking longer then I expected, but I asked myself a few questions, then decided to get the Pebble.

First are you a total Apple fan boy or do you see the day you will have a non iOS phone?

This was the tipping point question for me.  I have had iphone’s since the very first iPhone 1. However, I have also owned a few Android devices.  The early devices felt not fully baked, and thus I would return to my iPhone.  However, Im 50/50 on getting the iPhone 5+.  A part of me is tired of having to always re jailbreak my phone every time I need to update.  Right now I’m on 6.1.3 because there were 3 apps I could not run on my 5.x version.  I’m most likely not going to jailbreak it because iOS7 is just around the corner and I’m sure a jailbreak is being worked on.

Are you cool with paying around $300 for an iWatch vs. $150 for a pebble?

This is a tough question because I’m pretty sure the iWatch will have voice, color, touch screen and more memory and power then the Pebble.  But do you need it?  My use case for the Pebble is pretty simple.  I want alerts and simple controls to manage running apps on the phone.  HOWEVER, I really do want voice.  And here is where I would say, wait and pay the extra money.  Or if you have the money, just get both. Which leads me to the next question….

How patient are you?  You can get a Pebble now (in theory) who knows when the iWatch will be out.

Like I said, I though the iWatch would be out this summer or fall.  So far, no hints that we will see it in 2013.  Now when I first bought the Pebble, I though I would have it 6 months ago, thus having a working smart watch for a year before having an iWatch.  If you buy a Pebble, that still may be the case. If you have the cash and just like playing with toys, get it.

Is the Pebble ready for Prime time?

For iOS people, no, its not.  It was suppose to be, but its not.  Right now my pebble has limited value to me.  I do like that (most of the time) I see who is calling me. I especially like getting my text on the watch.  Short of that, there is not much value for me. However, once the bluetooth issues are sorted out, as well as a few more apps coming out, that might change.   The Pebble is far cooler on an Android device.  However, if you jailbreak your phone, the Pebble become a bit more useful.

Will I look like a dork wearing this?

In short yes.  But you will look like a dork with the iWatch too, so whats the difference?  Actually, waring the Pebble right now while its still new and rare is OK.  Truth be told, I do not like wearing watching.  I actually loop mine around my belt loop on my pants.  I find this is just as accessible and I do not feel so geeky.

So there you go.  Ask yourself these same questions and based on your answers, you know if you should buy now or wait. If anyone else has other points that should be considered, let me know.