In the world of Kickstarter and tech, the Pebble Watch was considered the first big success on the site. Not only did the watch receive over 10 million dollars on Kickstarter in 2012 but it was also a financial success on the market. However, the team behind one of the first smartwatches is going after it again.
Pebble announced the latest version of its smart watch on Kickstarter on Tuesday. According to Pebble, the Time Watch will use the same e-paper interface that the first Pebble watch provided, but with color capabilities. According to Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky, e-paper will allow the watch to display time while keeping the screen visible in the sun. The watch will also feature a microphone for recording notes and a thinner casing.
The Pebble OS is also receiving a major update. The new version of the operating system will be able to sync up with the Android and iPhone OS, as well as provide users access to notifications, weather, calendar, news, travel and many other updates. Users will also be able to install more than eight apps onto the new OS.
Many analysts believe the device will be a notable competitor for the Apple Watch, which is supposed to hit the market in April 2015. However, it may be more than that; the Pebble Time Watch raised over a million dollars on Kickstarter in the first hour of the campaign.
If the sudden success of the current Pebble Time campaign isn't evidence of the strong market desire for a smart watch, it's hard to guess what would be. CCS Insights predicts that wearable gadgets will account for 44 percent of gadgets sold.
If backers are interested in preordering a Pebble Time Watch, it is available for $159 on Kickstarter, which is $40 less than the expected retail price.
