Pebble Steel 009

Is Pebble answering the recent Android Wear announcement from Google? Perhaps. The company recently dropped the price of its Pebble Steel smartwatch to $229, provided that you purchase a model with only a leather band. Previously, the watch was priced at $249.99, though it shipped with both a steel and a leather band in the box. Pebble Steel uses a standard 22mm watchband, so if you can find a metal option for cheaper you can save a few bucks – or just rock the leather look.

Unfortunately, Pebble seems to be having a hard time meeting demand. If you want the $229 leather option, which is available for both the black and stainless watchfaces, you'll need to wait six to eight weeks since the device is backordered. Additionally, the black matte and brushed stainless steel options are completely unavailable, even if you were willing to cough up the additional $20 for the original package.

Pebble still has the best smartwatch option on the market. It offers the best battery life, a ton of apps thanks to a flourishing developer community and support for iOS and Android. Google's Android Wear will likely pose as a tough competitor in the coming months, with LG and Motorola bringing new smartwatches to the market this summer. Meanwhile, Samsung's new Gear 2 smartwatch looks like it will cost about $300 again, which means Pebble still provides the much cheaper alternative. Hopefully the company can refill its stock soon, though.