Pebble Returns to Kickstarter for Launch of its Third-Gen Smartwatch Pebble Time

Three years ago, Pebble raised over $10 million on Kickstarter for the launch of its first-gen e-ink watch, the $99 original Pebble Watch. The following year, it released a classier-looking version, the $199 Pebble Steel. Now, for its third-generation flagship product, dubbed the Pebble Time, the company has returned to the Kickstarter program for funding. According to Ars Technica, Pebble has "blasted through its $500,000 funding goal in less than an hour." As of the time of this writing, the product has already garnered 37,341 backers, bringing the total take to $7, 927, 560 at its Kickstarter landing page.

Pebble makes its pitch for Pebble Time at its Kickstarter page which in part reads: "This is where it all started. Three years ago you supported our vision to make the world's first real smartwatch. The Kickstarter community and our early adopters believed in us before anyone else even knew we existed. You blew us away with your support and kicked off a worldwide movement!.... Pebble was brought to life by 68,929 backers who supported our vision three years ago. Even though we've grown tremendously since then, we're still a small company battling some of the largest competitors in the world. We believe that this is the best and most efficient way for us to get our latest product to the people who want it most: people like you."

The new Pebble Time features a new design and a colored e-paper display, maintains compatibility with existing Pebble apps and watch faces, and is capable of lasting a full week on a single charge. Among the innovations in the third-gen smartwatch is a new timeline that streamlines Pebble's notifications, arranging them in a single chronological list rather than hiding them in individual apps. Hardware navigation buttons can be used to look at past, present, and future notifications, alarms, and calendar events, giving users access to timely information more easily and quickly than the existing Pebble smartwatch models. Also, unlike Android Wear watches and the upcoming Apple Watch, the Pebble Time works with both iOS and Android.