The latest from Pebble promises a May 2015 ship date, seven-day battery, and color display.
Pebble has taken to Kickstarter yet again to launch a new smartwatch, and the results this time around are staggering, to say the least.
After launching this morning at 10AM ET with an initial funding goal of $500,000, the Pebble Time watch has already collected $4.4 million from over 21,000 backers on the crowdfunding site. That has to be a new record on quickest to $4 million, and there’s still 31 days left in the funding campaign.
The Pebble Time will be the third smartwatch from the independent manufacturer (its watches work with both Android and iOS phones). Pebble promises a rather robust tech upgrade over its Pebble and Pebble Steel models, all while boasting a lengthy battery life. The Time (no, not the band) comes with a color ePaper display (something only found in a handful of eReaders right now), as well as backwards compatibility with any app made for previous Pebble models (over 6,500 if watchfaces are included). There’s also a new Timeline interface that acts as a sort of daily calendar, as well as promised fitness tracking partnerships with Misfit and Jawbone. Finally, there’s a new “smart accessory port,” that will let third-party manufacturers and vendors create and attach sensors to the watch.
All of the new tech won’t lead to dreary battery life, according to Pebble, as the Time can reportedly go seven days before needing a recharge. If the battery life on the Pebble Time holds up after the watch ships in May, it will stand in stark contrast to the rumors surrounding the Apple Watch, which will reportedly need recharging daily.
For the more watch-minded users, the Time uses a standard 22mm strap, and the watch body has a quick-release mechanism that should make swapping the factory-installed strap out with your own a relative snap.
The original early bird tier saw the $199 Time go for $159 (plus $10 shipping in the U.S.) but all 10,000 spots are taken. The next tier, still open at the time of publication, offers the watch for $199. Other tiers are bundle offers, allowing you to buy two, three, or more watches at discounted rates. The three shipping colors are Black, White, and Red.
The original Pebble smartwatch was launched on Kickstarter in April 2012, where it saw roughly $10.2 million in funding from over 68,000 backers.
Source: Pebble (Kickstarter)
