The Verge - The Pebble smartwatch: a record-breaking Kickstarter success story

Pebble smartwatch apps are finally smart, can now talk to iOS and Android apps

2013-05-16T15:00:13Z

Apps for the Pebble smartwatch are about to get a whole lot smarter. Today the company is releasing a new developer toolkit that will allow Pebble apps to fully communicate with a paired iOS or Android app. Until now, existing apps have been limited to the watch's basic functions, but this won't be the case going forward. If a developer builds a phone app and a complementary watch app, the watch can be used to control the phone, display detailed information pushed from the phone, and even launch a specific watch app when a notification comes through. Unfortunately, no major apps are launching today with support for the new features, so Pebble owners will still have to wait for developers to build something that takes advantage of them.

Play 'Tetris' on your Pebble smartwatch thanks to new SDK

2013-04-16T01:08:04Z

The team behind the Pebble smartwatch released a "proof-of-concept" SDK last week, letting developers create their own watch faces and rudimentary apps. A few are already available on the Pebble forums, but the most impressive so far is a surprisingly playable version of Tetris. Once you get your head around pressing down to move right and up to move left, it's almost like you have a miniature Game Boy with a slightly better screen on your wrist. Installing Pebblis is a simple matter of clicking a download link on your phone, at least if you're using your Pebble with an Android device — iPhone owners will need to wait for an official app update, however, or try a direct Bluetooth workaround.

Pebble smartwatch review

2013-01-28T18:45:04Z

The Pebble smartwatch is a lot more than just a watch — it’s the latest attempt to turn your wrist into the launchpad for a wearable computing revolution. It’s also the preeminent symbol of the Kickstarter hardware revolution. After 85,000 orders, 10 million crowdfunded dollars, and one or two slipped ship dates, the Pebble is finally here, ready to pipe emails and texts directly to your wrist.

So is the Pebble a gimmick or the start of a bold new platform? Has an indie hardware startup managed to produce the first smartwatch for regular people, or is this just another toy for nerds to eventually discard like almost every other smartwatch before it? What did our 10 million dollars actually buy us? Let’s find out.

First Pebble shipments begin as company warns of iOS app delay

2013-01-23T15:28:39Z

The Pebble smartwatch is finally shipping. It's been a long journey to this point, but despite some lingering "kinks and issues" that will be ironed out soon, the company is today dispatching the first wave of watches to its earliest Kickstarter backers — so long as you ordered the black one, at least. Unfortunately the total number of shipments is lower than Pebble first anticipated; less than 500 watches are going out today. Why the small figure? As it races to move outbound units to its fulfillment center, Pebble says the process has been "held up by documentation at the airport."

There's also a bit of bad news for iPhone users. It seems the Pebble iOS app won't be available for download as these initial shipments arrive. "We...

The Pebble smartwatch keeps it simple (hands-on)

2013-01-09T17:15:06Z

Now that Pebble has announced it's shipping to Kickstarter backers on January 23rd, the company is finally ready to show off the final hardware and software on its smartwatch. We spent some time putting the watch through its paces and talking with CEO Eric Migicovsky, and we've come away more impressed than we expected with the Kickstarter phenomenon.

Smartwatches are a big theme theme here at CES, but few have garnered the kind of interest that the Pebble has. One reason is that it is simple and straightforward: watchfaces, notifications, and music control are the headline features with only a few other odds and ends thrown in on the side. The other reason is that it simply looks great — nobody wants a monstrosity strapped to their...

Pebble smartwatch finally shipping January 23rd, we talk to CEO about its future

2013-01-09T17:15:05Z

The Pebble smartwatch is best-known for being a smash hit on Kickstarter. It broke records and leapt to a total of 85,000 orders by the time the campaign ended. The only thing left to do was ship, but unfortunately the company quietly announced a pair of delays that left an actual ship date in limbo — an unfortunately common problem with Kickstarter campaigns.

Today at CES, CEO Eric Migicovsky announced that the company now has a firm shipping date for its backers: January 23rd. It will go out in batches, Migicovsky tells us, and it only recently ramped up to full production at its factory in China, producing around 15,000 of the watches each week.

The story of Pebble actually began in 2008

The story of the Pebble smartwatch...

Watch This: Pebble's 'big news' smartwatch announcement at 9AM PT / 12PM ET

2013-01-09T16:33:19Z

Pebble is one of Kickstarter's biggest success stories, raising more than $10 million from 85,000 backers excited about a watch that connects to your phone and provides apps, features, and notifications. But since it hit its funding goal, the Pebble's been riddled with delays, especially as the company has tried to ramp up production.

Now Pebble has "big news." The company's been teasing an announcement at CES, saying "it's time" — time for the Pebble to ship, maybe? Time for more delays? Time for us to finally toss out our dumbwatches in favor of something a little smarter? We're not sure, but Pebble's streaming the event live this morning from Vegas starting at 9AM — we'll be there, fingers crossed.

Pebble promises 'big news' at CES on January 9th

2013-01-03T17:26:26Z

Pebble, the massively successful smartwatch Kickstarter project, will make an announcement at CES. The invitation, seen above, tells backers that "it's time" and invites them to watch a livestream of the event on Pebble's site at 12pm ET on January 9th. Though all we're promised is "big news," the invitation hints at a possible product launch — something that's a bit overdue for Pebble. The watches were originally set to ship in September of 2012, but the challenge of producing enough for over 85,000 pre-orders (compared to an original planned run of 1,000) pushed that date back. Though Pebble hasn't given a timetable for shipment, it's previously said it's keeping to an "aggressive" production schedule, and CES provides both a major...