Pebble CEO and founder Eric Migicovsky at the International
CES show in Las Vegas revealed Pebble is a minimalist watch that connects
through Bluetooth to an iPhone or Android smartphone. It displays texts and
emails, vibrates for each incoming call, and controls music playlists. Sports
and fitness apps are also available.
The company has been under massive scrutiny as the
top-funded Kickstarter project of all time, especially after it ran into major
shipping delays. About 69,000 people
backed the Kickstarter project, and Migicovsky found himself committed to
shipping 85,000 Pebbles. The first batch
of watches will begin shipping to Kickstarter backers on January 23, and
Migicovsky said "tens of thousands" of people have signed up for
additional pre-orders on Pebble's website.
"We designed this, at its base, to be a sports and
fitness watch," said Migicovsky. "It's very light on the wrist, which was
important to us". Pebble is water
resistant to five atmospheres. Cute features include a shake or tap of the
wrist to activate a backlight, and a clock image, a "fuzzy time"
setting for readings like "twenty to one," a sliding text option, and
even a binary option.
Pebble wants developers to begin creating apps for its
platform, which is compatible with Android 2.3.3 and higher, and with Apple's
iOS 5 and higher. The company plans to release over-the-air software updates
every two to three weeks.
