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Pebble Time's regular pre-orders start on June 22nd
If you missed out on Pebble Time's crowdfunding campaign and won't get one of the early units shipping today, you now have a date to mark on your calendar: Pebble has revealed that it's going to start regular pre-orders for the color smartwatch on June 22nd. That'll leave you waiting quite a while before you can even buy the $199 wearable, but you'll at least get a more polished device for your trouble. Pebble is promising an update that lets iPhone users dictate replies to Gmail messages, so you'll have one less reason to pull your handset out of your pocket.
Pebble Time review: an underdog among smartwatches
For two years, Pebble was the smartwatch company to beat. In 2012, it raised over $10 million on Kickstarter for its simple, monochrome e-paper wristwatch, putting itself and the crowdfunding site on the map. But things move quickly in the technology world. Google has since come out with Android Wear, prompting a slew of smartphone companies to suddenly turn into watchmakers. Not to be outdone, Apple joined the fray as well, positing its own wearable as a timepiece premium enough for high-end boutiques. So when Pebble debuted the Time, its second-generation $199 smartwatch, on Kickstarter three months ago, it was facing much stiffer competition. Surprisingly, that too made crowdfunding history, raising more than $20 million in just over a month. Did 78,471 backers make the right decision? I attempt to find out.
Pebble will pay you to design 'smart straps' for its new watch
Unlike many Android Wear watches and Apple's Watch, Pebble Time -- which smashed every Kickstarter record out there -- isn't equipped with a heart-rate monitor and other sensors. The company said that "rather than trying to shove every sensor and doohickey" into the $179 device, it would instead let developers add them via its "smart strap" option. To aid them in that endeavor, Pebble has kicked in $1 million to back the best smart strap related projects. To give you an idea of what's out there, it has revealed a couple of the most interesting concepts so far.
This Windows Phone Pebble app isn't available for long
The Pebble Time may have broke $1 million in Kickstarter pledges at a record-setting pace, but it likely didn't do that with much help from Windows Phone users. The wearable lacks an official first-party app for Redmond's handsets, but Microsoft apparently developed a demo internally to show the smartwatch company how Pebble might work within its ecosystem. You can download that from Windows Central right this moment, but there's a catch -- it'll only be up for 48 hours. Past that? Where else it could appear is up to the internet, really.
Apple Watch vs. the competition: Where does it stand?
Now that Mobile World Congress has come and gone, bringing with it a slew of smartwatch announcements, it's time to learn more about Apple's own highly anticipated entry into the market. We finally have a firm release date and a price -- April 24, starting at $349 for the 38mm Apple Watch Sport. But the field it's entering has changed quite a bit since the Apple Watch was first announced in September. What can the Apple Watch expect to face off against when it hits stores, and how does it ultimately stack up? We've compared some of the top models in the table below, and you can walk through our gallery to learn about even more options on the market.
Daily Roundup: Day 2 of MWC, Pebble Time Steel and more!
Find out what's new during day two of Mobile World Congress, get the details on the new Pebble Time Steel and learn how Microsoft will unite Windows 10 devices. All this and more can be found in today's Daily Roundup.
Pebble's color smartwatch is the most-funded Kickstarter project ever
You knew it was going to happen -- just days after Pebble's Time smartwatch topped the company's previous Kickstarter record, it's now the most-funded Kickstarter project ever at more than $13.3 million. Almost all of the pledge money has gone toward the basic wristwear so far, but it's the unveiling of the higher-end Pebble Time Steel that put the campaign over the top. It's still not shocking that Pebble would do so well given its established fan base and skillful use (or abuse) of crowdfunding for publicity. The real question is whether or not the Time will face any stiff competition in the near future. Barring surprises, it'll likely rule the roost for a long while.
Pebble introduces a premium Steel version of its color smartwatch
It's only been a week since Pebble introduced Pebble Time, its second-generation color smartwatch, and there's already a new version of it up for grabs. Today at Mobile World Congress, the company has just announced Pebble Time Steel, a premium all-metal iteration of the Time. Indeed, the entirety of the Time Steel -- from the bezel to the buttons -- is made out of stainless steel and is available in silver, black and gold finishes. It has the same dimensions as the Time, but is about 1mm thicker. That isn't so bad, especially since the Time Steel apparently has a longer battery life of up to 10 days instead of seven. As if that wasn't luxurious enough, when you buy a Pebble Time Steel, you'll get two straps: a stainless steel band plus a leather one.
Pebble sets a new record, net neutrality passes and other stories you might've missed!
Pebble beats its own record, Motorola confirms what we already knew about the Moto E and Facebook takes a break from the sillier aspects of its site to get serious about mental health. Basically, we've got everything you need to know from this past week in one neat little package. Won't you catch up with us?
Daily Roundup: Net neutrality wins, digital brothels and more!
In today's news, the FCC approved its net neutrality plan, a "digital brothel" lets people have sex through the internet and Pebble smashes its own crowdfunding records. Read about all the top stories in today's Daily Roundup.
Pebble took just two days to beat its crowdfunding record
Pebble Time isn't just one of the fastest-moving Kickstarter projects -- it's now one of the biggest, too. The color smartwatch took a mere two days to get more funding than its predecessor, hitting the $10.3 million mark with 29 days left to go. It's "only" the second highest-grossing Kickstarter effort to date (the leader remains the Coolest cooler), but it may not have much trouble taking the top spot. The company's crowdfunding performance isn't quite as impressive as it sounds, mind you. Pebble had already sold 1 million smartwatches by the end of 2014, so it only needed to attract a small fraction of existing owners to blow past its original Kickstarter run. Pebble is using the campaign more for publicity than to get a project off the ground, like you'd expect with most crowdfunding efforts. The question is whether or not Pebble Time can maintain that kind of fervor when it hits retail stores, especially with some of its biggest rivals on the way.
Kickstarter's 'Zach Braff' problem gets worse with the Pebble Time
Whenever you talk about Kickstarter, it's natural that the conversation will turn to Pebble. There may be more successful crowdfunding campaigns, but the smartwatch's stratospheric success is inexorably tied to that of its partner. Earlier today, however, Pebble once again took to the site to launch its third product, the Pebble Time. It seems odd that a company would use a service designed to get startups off the ground when it's clearly in no need of help -- having raised $1 million in just 49 minutes. For me, it's the moment where I've finally lost patience with Kickstarter.
Pebble's color watch is the fastest Kickstarter project to hit $1 million (updated)
If you followed the Kickstarter launch of Pebble Time, you probably noticed that the smartwatch got funding very quickly. It met its $500,000 goal in just 17 minutes, and hit the magical $1 million mark in about half an hour. But are any of those records? Well, yes -- Kickstarter has confirmed that the color-screened wearable is the fastest-ever project to reach $1 million on its crowdfunding service. For reference, even the fan favorite Veronica Mars movie took 4.2 hours. The original Pebble took 27 hours to hit that milestone, which sounds positively glacial in comparison.
Pebble returns to Kickstarter for its next-gen color smartwatch
Three years ago, Pebble made crowdfunding history by raising over $10 million on Kickstarter for its simple e-ink smartwatch -- a whole two years before Android Wear even existed. The company has rolled out some new designs and features since then, but despite growing competition from the likes of Google and Apple, the Pebble watch itself hasn't really changed. Until today. Say hello to the Pebble Time, the next-generation Pebble smartwatch. It has a color display, a slimmer design, a microphone and a whole new operating system. And it's making its debut on the platform that got it all started: Kickstarter.
Daily Roundup: Microsoft predicts (most) Oscar winners, Google Wallet and more!
From Oscar winners to gadget leaks and a robot that feeds you tomatoes while you run, we've got plenty of stories to get you talking in today's Daily Roundup. Won't you join us past the break?
Pebble inadvertently teases its first color smartwatch
Pebble has been hyping up an announcement on February 24th, but it looks like the company might have let the cat out of the bag a little early. Curious fans have discovered an image on Pebble's website for a color smartwatch that doesn't resemble anything from the company's existing lineup. Besides the new display, it appears to be a subtle evolution of the original Pebble rather than the higher-end Steel -- while it's wider and more rounded, there's still plenty of plastic and rubber. There aren't any clues as to what's inside, but 9to5Mac claims that the design has a new processor and a 6-axis gyroscope for motion detection. A fresh interface will play a big role, too. You only have one more day to wait, so whatever mystery is left will disappear pretty quickly.
Daily Roundup: NSA spyware, Apple's VR headset and more!
Welcome to the Daily Roundup. Security researchers discovered NSA surveillance software in the firmware of some new hard drives. In other news, a UK company works on a self-driving shuttle for public transit and an Apple patent filed in 2008 shows the company has long been interested in VR displays. Catch up on all of today's top stories past the break.
Any app that works with Android Wear now works on your Pebble
It's been splashing around in beta for a little while, but now your Pebble can respond to notifications directly from that monochrome screen -- kind of like Android Wear, sans touchscreen. You'll need to update your Pebble smartwatch firmware as well as download the very latest edition of of the companion Android app to get rolling. But given Pebble's popularity and price, it should mean far more people are making wrist-based responses to messages. Aside from the ability to set multiple custom notification responses (available to you whenever a compatible app offers a reply option), you can toss money around with Square Cash. The update also adds support for Android 4.0 and over devices, as well as automatic app and watch face updates, even when your Kickstarted smartwatch is idle. Oh and you can reply with emoji. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep the Pebble on your wrist on until that fancy new interface arrives in the near future.
Just 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches shipped last year
Wondering how well Android Wear managed in its first months on the market? Merely so-so, if you ask Canalys. The analyst group estimates that 720,000 Google-powered smartwatches shipped in 2014. That's not terrible for a young platform where many devices didn't even hit stores until the fall, but it's a drop in the bucket versus a total of 4.6 million total wearable bands. As Canalys explains to the Wall Street Journal, the current Android Wear crop is too rough around the edges to be a smash hit. The battery life isn't usually that hot (rarely more than a day), and there aren't enough apps to make the wristwear particularly useful.
Pebble is counting on a new interface to protect its smartwatch sales
Pebble was one of the first smartwatch makers to find success (it chalked up its millionth sale late last year), but there's no question that it's facing a lot of pressure. Between Android Wear and the impending Apple Watch, it's not clear that inexpensive e-paper watches have a healthy future. However, the fledgling wearable firm thinks it has a couple of aces up its sleeve. The company's Eric Migicovsky tells The Verge that 2015 Pebble watches will use a new interface "framework" (designed by the former webOS TV team) that gets away from the more app-centric models you see from Apple and Google. Apps will still play an important role -- they just won't be the centerpiece.