A brand new Kickstarter campaign was created for the latest smartwatch released by Pebble. The choice represented a return to the roots, because the company first got famous through one of the largest Kickstarter campaigns from 2012. Pebble announced Pebble Time on Tuesday, bracing for the clashing with Apple Watch, which also releases later this year.
Unlike the previous Pebble smartwatches, Pebble Time introduces color screen, but not in the LCD or OLED displays, but a color e-paper screen. The great advantage of keeping the e-paper feature is shown by the fact that Pebble Time can always show the time and also remain visible in the sunlight.
Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky argues that its rivals have produced misleading products, which look like smartwatches, but they lack the main characteristic of watches: displaying time. He says that the Pebble team took a lot of time and research for the design and features of the smartwatch, and they are ready to face the market.
Migicovsky says that even though Pebble Time comes with a color screen, that won’t affect the battery’s life, boasting the same 7-day life as the previous models, the original Pebble and the Pebble Steel.
The new version is thinner than the original Pebble, and comes with an easy-to-handle mechanism so you can quickly change the watch’s bands. It now includes a microphone for leaving vocal messages or short reminders. You can also pre-record messages and set them as replies to notifications.
Migicovsky explains that the microphone feature was built with great thought and careful development. He said that the Pebble Time microphone needed to be reliable, so it wouldn’t make the user repeat the message over and over again. It boasts in getting it right if you speak clear, creating a useful and quick tool, quicker than pulling out your phone for your vocal messages.
Pebble Time also includes a feature similar to Google Now, bringing all sorts of bits of information a finger tap away, organizing information like weather, travel, news and regular reminders. The new version of the smartwatch also surpasses the 8-apps limit available. The Pebble team is working on making it possible to offer the new interface for older versions of Pebble after Time is released.
As its previous products, Pebble Time will also be available for both Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android platforms. Shipping will start as soon as May at the price of $199. If you want to receive a notable discount, you can become a supporter on Kickstarter, and receive the smartwatch for $159.
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