Pebble has begun shipping the Pebble Time smartwatch, the watch funded by the company's second Kickstarter campaign.
The watch raised a massive $20,338,986 in its Kickstarter campaign, with over 78,000 people backing the new device.
The new device includes a number of upgrades over the previous Pebble smartwatch, most notably now offering a color e-paper display compared with the black and white display previously offered. Not only that, but the device also features a completely new and more stylish design, as well as, for the first time, a built-in microphone.
The microphone is a big step for the company considering the fact that voice input is growing in importance for smaller devices and wearables. Using the microphone, users will be able to reply to messages without having to reach into their pocket for their smartphone. Of course, users will only be able to reply to messages if their device is paired with an Android smartphone.
The device will only message paired with an Android device because of the fact that Apple highly regulates what device makers can and cannot access with their products. Pebble has said that it is working on software that will enable voice replies with the Gmail app on iOS.
Of course, the Pebble Time is facing a lot of competition. When Pebble launched its first smartwatch back in 2012, it could be argued that it was revolutionary and was definitely the smartwatch to beat. Since then, however, Google has launched Android Wear on a slew of devices, and Apple has released its first smartwatch, the Apple Watch.
Against the competition, however, it seems as though the Pebble Time has a chance. Some reviewers are dubbing the new device as the one that can beat Android Wear.
"This might come as a surprise, but the best smartwatch for Android users wasn't developed by Google," said a reviewer for the Wall Street Journal. "For now, that honor goes to the Pebble Time, the latest from the company that pioneered the idea of a wristwatch for smartphone notifications."
"The Pebble Time takes everything the company has learned over the past two years and applies it into the best product it's ever made," said another reviewer, this one for The Verge. "The Time's design is nicer, its software is better, and it even has a color screen. It still works with the iPhone and Android smartphones, still lasts days between charges, and still gives you smartphone notifications on your wrist."
Of course, the Pebble Time might be one of the best smartwatches on the market, but Pebble will need to seriously step up its marketing, which really doesn't compare to the likes of Google and Apple.
