The Pebble Time smartwatch has ended its Kickstarter campaign with a whopping $20 million earned in total funding and a record-breaking number of over 78,000 backers. At least 142 among them contributed for the "Distributor" reward tier which is the highest tier available with the cost of at least $5,000. In exchange for their contribution, all of these backers will receive 10 Pebble Time smartwatches for each of the watch's three available colors. This means that each will receive a total of 30 smartwatches.
The Pebble Time smartwatch is touted as an Apple Watch alternative and is designed to be compatible to both iPhone and Android devices. The shipping schedule is set to begin in May for the plastic model and in July for the steel version. Both models are water resistant and have batteries that are said to last 7 days.
The recently concluded Kickstarter campaign is the second time for the smartwatch. The difference in the new Pebble Time smartwatch lies in its color-filled e-paper screen instead of merely having black and white hues. It's also significantly thinner than its predecessor as it measures only 9.5mm and now has a new microphone for carrying out voice commands from Android users. The feature is currently unavailable in iOS.
As previously reported in Tech Times, other features of the smartwatch include a new timeline interface which is highly readable even when used under direct sunlight, a less power-consuming e-ink display, more than 6,000 Pebble apps, latest technology that's meant to enhance its water resistance capacity, lens made from scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass, a bezel made of stainless steel, and a curved design that has an ergonomic appeal.
The watch also boasts of "quick action" buttons which makes it an ideal organizing tool. With few presses, the user easily gains access to a wide range of information such as past events, missed email, step count record for the day and even the score from a past gaming event.
Pebble Time's campaign managed to break two Kickstarter records. The first one was achieved on the campaign's launch day when it became the fastest project to earn $1 million within only 49 minutes. The second occurred the following week when it became the most funded Kickstarter campaign, beating the Coolest Cooler which earned a mere $13 million.
The Pebble Time smartwatch and the Pebble Time Steel will be priced at $199 and $299 respectively.
