Pebble Time gets $20.3 million ... and they only wanted $500,000 !

[VenkiPhy6]

cnet link: http://www.cnet.com/news/pebble-time-watch-most-funded-project-ever-on-kickstarter/

 

 

The news:-

 

So pebble has broken Kickstarter records.....once again to regain the top spot of the most funded kickstarter campaign. Its got, as you may already know good specs. The article says: 

 

"The new Pebble Time watch has a metal frame and a body that's smaller, lighter and thinner than the original. The watch now comes with a color e-paper display that can handle 30 frames per second of animation. Pebble Time also promises a total of seven days on a single charge."

 

 

My opinion on this and pebble in general(like anyone will give a damn about it!):-

 

 

IMO, this is the best way for smart watches to evolve. I mean, putting in an OS actually made to run on smartphones(that can have beefier batteries), a pixel hungry screen, battery hungry apps etc. into a smart watch and expecting it to give you a longer battery life is.... not so clever. AND AFAIK, FOR ANY DEVICE TO ACTUALLY BE ANY USEFUL(how much ever apps it has) IT NEEDS BATTERY !!

 

Making an OS tailored for it and letting things evolve(the software ecosystem as well as battery technology) especially for it, is the best track to move on. If you look back, we didn't take a smartphone, put inside it an OS that is meant for a PC and expect battery life out of it! We slowly let it evolve... let the situation mature.... and as better and better technologies came out we eventually have started putting OS' meant for PCs into smartphones(Windows Phone, Ubuntu Phones etc..)  and are now talking about how to make an OS that will tailor for smartphones as well as PCs(since smartphones can now have decent batteries). But in the mad rush to achieve 'convergence' we have completely neglected the fact that smart watches and wearables are a completely new form factor and are putting in OSs that was never meant for 'em into it.............well atleast not all of 'em are! There are people like Pebble and so I am hopeful for smartwatches. Maybe some day in my life I will get a smart watch.  :wub:

 

 

 

[Xorbot]

And Justin Beiber gets millions of record sales..

 

.. just sayin' ..... if there is a correlation, then it is a co-incidence.

[Victorious Secret]

Pebble needs a hell of a lot more than that to sustain their company. Sooner or later they will need proper VC and debt financing to grow as a company. 

 

Kickstarter is just that. Its not a well you keep going back to. 

[VenkiPhy6]

Pebble needs a hell of a lot more than that to sustain their company. Sooner or later they will need proper VC and debt financing to grow as a company. 

 

Kickstarter is just that. Its not a well you keep going back to. 

 

Right. Of course, I like them nurturing smart watch tech..but to sustain they will need proper money....you know....like BATTERY IS REQUIRED BY ELECTRONICS!! 

[Foxxer]

Yep, seen the first week, they surpassed the 100% funding. 

[NAP51DMustang]

Love how people fell for this publicity stunt. The Pebble Time was coming out kickstarter or not.

[KirbyTech]

Pebble needs a hell of a lot more than that to sustain their company. Sooner or later they will need proper VC and debt financing to grow as a company. 

 

Kickstarter is just that. Its not a well you keep going back to. 

Why would Pebble need VC? Pretty sure they are profitable so no need for more money. I think the Kick starter thing was more of Kickstartier offering them no fees and wanting it for their benefit to bring hype and more interest to them. Also to set them as a 'leader' of sorts.

[Inkz]

Well it's about time.

[Snickerzz]

they didn't want 500,000. They knew they would get way more than that but didn't want to look greedy by asking for 10mil

[MrRavens]

I really wanna see their special watch bands, and how they all work.

[tsk]

They only wanted 500k? Does anyone actually believe that?

[Raichuboy17]

Right. Of course, I like them nurturing smart watch tech..but to sustain they will need proper money....you know....like BATTERY IS REQUIRED BY ELECTRONICS!! 

Apple would like to have a word with you about that... I mean, why wouldn't you just have your phone plugged in all the time!

[Blade of Grass]

As I sad before, Pebble, come out with something that doesn't look like a childs toy, and then we can talk.

 

Good for them for raising all this money, but I cannot fathom why they haven't seemed to have invested anything into design. 

[Victorious Secret]

As I sad before, Pebble, come out with something that doesn't look like a childs toy, and then we can talk.

 

Good for them for raising all this money, but I cannot fathom why they haven't seemed to have invested anything into design. 

 

Cause to the sub 16 year old market, the Pebble Time is "2legit2quit" in the looks department. 

 

Anyone who isn't young however, wants something that actually looks good. Cause I actually want to wear something out and about. 

 

 

 

See? Not 2legit2quit. Properly styled for casual and even dressy occasions. These smart watch makers need to realize that if they can't make a watch that looks like a watch, normal people won't give a damn. Normal watches sell for a reason. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel with pointless garbage. 

 

This goes for pretty much everyone, IMHO. Apple, Samsung, ASUS; whatever. Get your crap together in the design department. 

[Octagoncow]

Love how people fell for this publicity stunt. The Pebble Time was coming out kickstarter or not.

I'd be surprised if most people didn't think it was going to come out either way. I, like probably most people, pledged on kickstarter to get a discount on it. If I waited till the actual release time I'd be paying at least $30 extra since I got an early bird spot and shipping was $10.

 

I do wonder if they would have gotten as much publicity if they hadn't done it on Kickstarter though. They got so much media attention for being completed so quickly and then for how much money was raised.

[Suika]

It's not hard to jump over a low bar tbh.

[XTankSlayerX]

Cause to the sub 16 year old market, the Pebble Time is "2legit2quit" in the looks department. 

Good god that looks sexy.

I've felt like I've out grown pebble and all square watches foe that matter.

Round is better, and I'm thinking of stepping up to the second Gen Moto 360 when that drops. I've always have liked that design and the non always screen isn't a issue for me and it being round just looks better....

I can definitely get what you're saying. These people are designing their stuff for the "2legit2quit" squad.

I want something that looks like a watch, not something that looks like a toy.

Stuff like the G Watch R and the Moto 360 have always been great watches because they get watches should be round.

Anyways... TL;DR Is: i agree with you...

[Ertman]

Cause to the sub 16 year old market, the Pebble Time is "2legit2quit" in the looks department.

Anyone who isn't young however, wants something that actually looks good. Cause I actually want to wear something out and about.

See? Not 2legit2quit. Properly styled for casual and even dressy occasions. These smart watch makers need to realize that if they can't make a watch that looks like a watch, normal people won't give a damn. Normal watches sell for a reason. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel with pointless garbage.

This goes for pretty much everyone, IMHO. Apple, Samsung, ASUS; whatever. Get your crap together in the design department.

I like how you are using a 24 year old song (2legit2quit) to relate to sub-16 year olds.

More importantly, back to your point. I have actually thought about this classic design dilemma, and I am not sure how I feel about it. On one hand I agree with you and that classic style watches look great, but on the otherhand I think that making smart watches look like classic watches is an example of skeuomrphism and is a failure to embrace the future.

Much like smartphones are more than just phones, smartwatches are (or atleast will be) more than just a watch. I think they shouldn't be looked at as a watch that can also do a whole bunch of other things, but rather a multifunctional device that will also allow you to determine the time. I don't think we have figured exactly what a smart watch needs to be and what it needs to do yet, but we will eventually.

-snip-

Stuff like the G Watch R and the Moto 360 have always been great watches because they get watches should be round.

...

Why does it NEED to be round though? Seems like many people are stuck living in the past .... man.

[silberdrachi]

Good god that looks sexy.

I've felt like I've out grown pebble and all square watches foe that matter.

Round is better, and I'm thinking of stepping up to the second Gen Moto 360 when that drops. I've always have liked that design and the non always screen isn't a issue for me and it being round just looks better....

I can definitely get what you're saying. These people are designing their stuff for the "2legit2quit" squad.

I want something that looks like a watch, not something that looks like a toy.

Stuff like the G Watch R and the Moto 360 have always been great watches because they get watches should be round.

Anyways... TL;DR Is: i agree with you...

 

 

Funny because i collect watches (mechanical, auto, or quartz) and i love the design of a classy square/rectangle dress watch. But then i see the shit they toss off as a 300 dollar smart watch and cringe. No matter what they do the glass and plastic look together like a toy watch you give a 10 year old.

 

I just want a classic watch, with alerts and vibrations on it. There are a few prototypes out there that look like they could work but 99.999% of the stuff i see is basically strapping the whole phone to your wrist. Who the hell needs a shitty ass camera attached to your wrist strap that would be hard as hell to aim and look awkward as shit. You thought pictures with ipads looked stupid? Come on... think about this a little bit.

[Blade of Grass]

Why does it NEED to be round though? Seems like many people are stuck living in the past .... man.

Some people dislike the look of square watches, I am one of those people

 

EDIT: Though, I'm sure there is a square watch somewhere out there that I would like, I just haven't found it yet.

[dalekphalm]

I'm utterly unsurprised. Anyone who thought this wouldn't be a total success wasn't thinking properly.

 

With that in mind. Fuck you Pebble. Give me proper Windows Phone 8.1 support. The fact that Microsoft made a fully functional app (minus the store, which wasn't ready anyway), and the CEO let his personal opinion destroy any chance of the users of that platform from buying his products still stings.

 

Even if they do get full WP support (Perhaps w/ Windows Mobile 10), I'd still be very hesitant buying one. Perhaps only if the CEO stepped down. And even then, by the time that happens, there will be alternatives (Next gen Microsoft smartwatch perhaps?).

[Mattb6288]

They only wanted 500k? Does anyone actually believe that?

They probably did it to seem like that had a reasonable goal that wasn't too high or too low. With all the marketing kickstarter did to bring people in they were obviously expecting more then 500k.