Crowdfunding For Pebble 2 Smartwatch And Pebble Core ‘Smartphone Free’ Wearable Smashes £1m

Smartwatch manufacturer Pebble has smashed its $1 million crowdfunding target for two new devices – the Pebble 2 and Pebble 2 Time – and the brand new Pebble Core wearable in a matter of hours – raising $1,523,520 (£1,041,290) from 8,298 backers at the time of publication

The company launched its first smartwatch on Kickstarter in 2012, raising a staggering $10 million, and now the first major refresh of the hardware is set to follow in its footsteps.

The Pebble 2 adds a range of new activity, fitness and health functions to the smartwatch, while the Pebble Core is touted as a ‘pocket Android PC’ available in consumer and developer editions.

Pebble 2

“In 2012, you put smartwatches on the map during the original Pebble project,” said Pebble. “In 2015, you made crowdfunding history again with Pebble Time, supporting our second campaign for over $20m. They say ‘good things come in threes,’ and ‘everything’s better with friends,’ so we’re inviting you to join us for our latest adventure.”

The Pebble 2 has standard features such as notifications, actionable tasks, water resistance to up to 30 metres and a timeline that shows you weather, calendar and other information on its e-paper display. It costs $99 (£67) on Kickstarter and will retail for $129 (£88) when it launches in September.

The Pebble 2 Time has a larger, colour screen, and longer battery life of ten days. It is also pricier at $169 (£115) on Kickstarter and $199 (£136) at retail when it is available to the general public in November.

Both build on their predecessors with activity tracking, heart rate monitors and an updated suite of health tools. Adaptive fitness goals identify time in your schedule so you can get healthy when you can.

Pebble Core

The Pebble Core is a $69 (£47) device that claims to be the first ‘smartphone-free’ wearable with WiFi, Bluettooth and 3G connectivity (with a Micro SIM card).

This, Pebble says, makes it ideal for running with users able to stream Spotify and sync runs with services like RunKeeper. It can also send an emergency SMS if a SIM is inserted.

The ‘Hacker’ edition lets developers configure its buttons to perform any task. For example, pushing one of the two buttons could summon an Uber, or the GPS functionality could mean it’s a useful pet or luggage tracker. Perhaps, like Amazon’s Dash buttons, it could order beer directly to your house. It will cost $99 (£67.66) when it goes in general sale in early 2017.

What’s more, with a $20 (£14) adaptor, the Pebble Core can be charged wirelessly.

Pebble says it can ship its products anywhere in the world except for Argentina, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar/Burma, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

The funding campaign lasts for another 36 days so it’s more than possible Pebble could smash it’s own personal best by then.

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