It's no surprise that smartwatch maker Pebble released their latest campaign to raise funds for a new smartwatch the week before Apple released information about its smartwatch. But what is Pebble's take on the device?
Macworld editor Caitlin McGarry attended a Pebble event while she was at South By Southwest. While she originally attended so she could get her hands on a demo unit of the Pebble Time, she was unable to get her hands on a watch (she was told by Pebble's staff that the "The Pebble Time was not ready for early reviews.")
However, McGarry was able to talk to Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky about the Apple Watch. While the Apple Watch will likely be the Pebble Watch's greatest competitor, Migicovsky is still excited that Apple is entering the wearable industry. While the Pebble Watch did sell more than a million units in its first two years, Pebble's brand is still barely known by the public. Migicovsky believes that "Apple's publicity blitz will increase overall awareness about smartwatches more than Pebble could ever manage without pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into an ad campaign," according to McGarry.
While Migicovsky is a supporter of the program, he isn't so sure about the design. He thinks that Apple is trying to do "too much" with the Apple Watch. Migicovsky showed McGarry how Pebble had updated its interface so that it didn't feel so clunky and burdensome as the interface used to access the multitude of apps that Apple could potentially host. McGarry noted that while the new Timeline interface didn't appeal to her originally, it "reflects Pebble's mission, which is to create products that are incredibly good at telling time-and that includes giving you all the details you need to manage that time."
The Verge also notes that Apple's Apple Watch announcement significantly increased the number of Pebble Time's backers.
The Pebble Time Watch is currently available for preorder on Kickstarter. Backers can pick up their own Time Watch for $199, which is significantly less than the Apple Watch Sport's $349 pricetag. However, the Pebble Time relies on e-paper for its screen, and doesn't offer many of the unique features of the Apple Watch, such as the ability to pay for products with the watch or to use it as an interface for tracking health factors.
