7 ms·

Pebble has recaptured the top spot for most-funded project on Kickstarter

64 points by wifera 12y ago

Sevzinn 12y ago
There was some talk that they did this for publicity and would have no problem getting that kind of money and more from traditional sources.
- JonFish85 12y ago
  Of course they did. This is a two-birds-with-one-stone situation, I imagine: "free" money (don't have to give up any equity) and free marketing at the same time. It's win-win for them.
zyxley 12y ago
I honestly wonder how many of the Pebble Time backers are people who initially got hyped up over the Apple Watch, then decided they didn't want to deal with a watch with only 18 hours battery life.
- Stefan-H 12y ago
  I actually went the other direction. I have no problem charging my phone every night, and charging a watch at the same time would be a non-issue. Upon hearing that the apple watch will hit a battery life closer to 18 hours rather than the rumored12, I actually cancelled my backing for pebble time in favor of planning to buy the apple watch.
- Decade 12y ago
  For me, it was because Pebble created a reputation as a hacker-friendly watch, as opposed to Apple and Google's closed gardens. Then I looked more into the Pebble, and discovered that it's a closed garden every bit as restrictive as Apple and Google, only with more distance between the walls. So, I canceled my order. In particular, from the Terms of Use[0]: Section II, paragraph 2, sentence 2: Do not reverse-engineer anything in the Pebble, Section II, paragraph 2, sentence 3: Do not learn from Pebble to create anything, Section III, paragraph 2, point 12: Do not say bad things about Pebble, Section III, paragraph 2, point 13: Do not overload the Pebble servers, even accidentally, and Section XIV, sentence 8: If the terms of service are illegal, then act like they are legal anyway. [0]https://auth.getpebble.com/terms_of_use https://auth.getpebble.com/terms_of_use
  - ntumlin 12y ago
    I had no idea that was in there. That's what I get for not reading the ToS. How does Section XIV, sentence 8 work? Does it have any legal standing at all?
    - freehunter 12y ago
      The way he mischaracterized it, no. If its illegal, it's illegal, and no contract is valid when it forces someone to do something illegal. The way it's actually worded, yes, most contracts will specify this. The way it's actually worded really means "if a certain part of this agreement is found to be invalid, the other (still valid) parts are still enforceable. Basically, if part of the contract is void, you can't void the entire contract. I would hope people can recognize that the way Decade portrays the contract is not the way it's actually worded.
      - Decade 12y ago
        It's very common to include the "other provisions hereof shall remain in full force" clause. I'm fine with that. But this is the first time I've seen "the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision," and I don't like the uncertainty about that, especially given my objection to Section II paragraph 2.
        freehunter 12y ago
        If you search Google for that term, you'll find out how common it actually is. The first few results I see: Pearson Kentucky Fried Chicken Instagram Western Michigan University Florida State University Call of Duty NFL MIT City and County of San Francisco Cloudflare Yahoo WoWHead So whatever your uncertainty about it, it's not an uncommon legal concept, and you may already have agreed to it in the ToS of another service you use or company you do business with. edit - In fact, Apple combines those two clauses together in their ToS, but most assuredly they do have that stipulation: If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties... http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms...
- azernik 12y ago
  For me, the Moto 360 was my equivalent - it's beautiful, and more closely tied in to my preferred platform, but the battery life and performance are quite bad. And then I saw that Pebble has Android Wear integration (because Google is not-all-that-awful and made Wear an API that is easy to plug into) and I was sold.
- funkyy 12y ago
  I think you meant 8 hours of real use...
- marpstar 12y ago
  I'm one of them. Figured that Apple was the only company who could pull off a smartwatch I'd actually use, but then saw the Pebble Time and its $169 Kickstarter price-point. The battery and the waterproofing were enough to get me to preorder the Time and get a used original Pebble in the mean time to try out. After a week with the Pebble, what's noticeably missing is the ability to reply to SMS. Because of iOS restrictions on third-party apps and SMS, the Pebble can't do it without jailbreaking. It was pretty upsetting when I came to this realization, also realizing that the Pebble Time and it's nifty new microphone would also lack this functionality. With the Pebble lacking Siri integration, I can see myself picking up an Apple Watch once the battery can last at least two full days.
- joshstrange 12y ago
  I pre-ordered a pebble time but canceled it after the Apple Watch reveal. Here are my reasons: 1. The Apple watch will integrate leaps and bound better than my Pebble (I REGULARLY have to forget each device on the other and re-pair the BT to get notifications to work again, this has gotten worse as of late) 2. Mic AND SPEAKER on the Apple Watch (I want to talk into my wrist and get response from my watch for both Siri and Calls not just a todo app) 3. More apps, let's not kid ourselves, the Apple Watch will have more and better quality apps than the Pebble (or Android wear for that matter) 4. Resale, Apple products have amazing resale value so upgrading is less expensive than with other products in my experience 5. I think the Apple Watch looks nicer than the Pebble I bought a Pebble Steel and have had it for over a year now and I love it. It's what caused me to back the KS right away, I believe in smart watches. That said the notifications just randomly stopping working drives me insane. It's gotten worse as of late and when it causes me to miss a text or a call then it stops being a useful tool. I have worn my watch every day since I got it and can't imagine life without a smart watch but I will be getting the Apple Watch because if it only work %X of the time then it's near useless to me. The battery life doesn't matter to me, as long as I can make it through the day then I'm good. I charge my phone nightly so it's no skin off my nose to charge my watch. I don't currently but I've considered charging my Pebble nightly but I worry it will negatively affect the battery. I want to charge it nightly so that it's a habit and not a constant "Do I need to charge this tonight or should I wait a few more days" which leads to me forgetting to check from time to time and then having to sit at my desk at work with the charger cable plugged in until it's at 100%. I like Pebble and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Hell, maybe if I used Android I wouldn't have these issues but I don't and I do so I will be getting the Apple Watch.
keithwhor 12y ago
Is that really a fair comparison? The Pebble Time kickstarter campaign was just a pre-order portal in disguise --- it wasn't really a "true" crowdfunding campaign.
- akerl_ 12y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_scotsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_scotsman What facet of being "true" crowdfunding did they not satisfy?
  - adrusi 12y ago
    It's in blatant violation of kickstarters rules, and was probably set up as the result of a partnership with kickstarter. Kickstarter knew that the return of pebble would be lucrative for them, and pebble knew that by using kickstarter they'd continue to wear the facade of a small fledgeling grassroots company (and while they're the underdog relative to their competition from LG, Samsung, Motorola and Apple, they're a lot bigger than they were for their first kickstarter campaign.
    - TheBeardKing 12y ago
      I think kickstarter modified those rules when they announced Launch Now: https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-launch-now-and-simplified-rules-0 https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-launch-now-and-... Now companies can just use it as an advertising platform to generate publicity, even if they have to give up a slice of revenue to kickstarter.
  - Domenic_S 12y ago
    1) They easily could have raised all the capital they needed 2) They're already a successful company
    - forrestthewoods 12y ago
      1) Crowdfunded dollars are better than VC dollars. 2) Most large crowdfunding campaigns are from already successful companies.
djloche 12y ago
They didn't need to release through Kickstarter, but this was a nice gesture from Pebble to offer their products to Kickstarter backers at a discount and priority (backers get their Pebble Time watches before it goes to retail). It is also a huge marketing success in getting their brand out there. They properly framed themselves as the underdog with a superior product vs Apple.
- UniZero 12y ago
  this was a nice gesture from Pebble to offer their products to Kickstarter backers at a discount and priority The Kickstarter page says the standard watch will cost $199 retail - yet the official website is advertising it for $99 | https://getpebble.com/shop https://getpebble.com/shop Am I misunderstanding something here?
  - azernik 12y ago
    That's $99 for the two-year-old first version of the watch. The Pebble Time will likely cost much more at retail.
  - sp332 12y ago
    Pebble ($99, plastic) and Pebble Steel ($199, newer and shinier but basically the same) are already available. The Kickstarter was for Pebble Time (will be $199) and Pebble Time Steel (will be $299), which have color interfaces but are compatible with all the old apps. They have also promised that the new interface will be ported back to the old Pebbles, but that hasn't shipped yet.
legohead 12y ago
This is old news already. And this is the second shoddy C|NET article on the front page today (the other one being the quantum mechanics article). Seems kind of fishy to me!
diego_moita 12y ago
It is ironic how Pebble looks a lot more like an Apple product than the AppleWatch itself. Apple made a product that aligns with its long term strategies but delivers very poorly the most fundamental and essential functionality. The AppleWatch has short battery life, its screen is not always on, is not waterproof, its interface is not intuitive... And what we get in return? You can send your heartbeat through bluetooth and has lots of cool straps. It reminds me the feature-bloated products that Microsoft used to make. They'd do everything but fail at the essential. One thing Jobs was famous for was trimming the superfluous in order to get the essential well done. It is clear that the AppleWatch could get a lot from Jobs.
- Someone1234 12y ago
  I completely agree. I'd take this new Pebble Time or the Moto 360 as an "Apple Watch" over what Apple actually produced. To be honest the Apple Watch looks about as clunky as Samsung's attempts (Galaxy Gear) but Samsung shipped a year and a half before Apple, and Motorola about a six months. I admire Apple's advertising machine, they can sell anything. I think the Apple Watch proves that point. A $350 ($100 more than anyone else) fugly watch that was behind its competitors even before it shipped. Does anyone here actually own one? What do you think?
  - superdude 12y ago
    You think the Pebble Time has a better design than the Apple Watch? The Pebble looks pretty similar but with a bigger bezel. The Apple Watch doesn't go on sale until April 24.
- DannoHung 12y ago
  Pish-posh. How can you complain about the screen not always being on and it not being good for swimming and then refer to Jobs trimming the superflous? Don't you remember when the iPhone came out? No keyboard! Harumph! It only has a battery life of one day! Harumph! No flash! Harumph! I mean, do you remember how much of the web was in flash in 2007? Also, do you remember what was essential about a cellular phone in 2007? It was essential that you make calls and send sms. That is not what is essential about a cellular phone today. Telling time may not be what is essential about a watch tomorrow.
dxhdr 12y ago
Doesn't even come close to the largest crowd-funded project Star Citizen: http://www.wired.com/2015/03/fans-dropped-77m-guys-buggy-half-built-game/?mbid=social_fb http://www.wired.com/2015/03/fans-dropped-77m-guys-buggy-hal...

64 points by wifera 12y ago

There was some talk that they did this for publicity and would have no problem getting that kind of money and more from traditional sources.

JonFish85 12y ago
Of course they did. This is a two-birds-with-one-stone situation, I imagine: "free" money (don't have to give up any equity) and free marketing at the same time. It's win-win for them.

zyxley 12y ago

I honestly wonder how many of the Pebble Time backers are people who initially got hyped up over the Apple Watch, then decided they didn't want to deal with a watch with only 18 hours battery life.

Stefan-H 12y ago
I actually went the other direction. I have no problem charging my phone every night, and charging a watch at the same time would be a non-issue. Upon hearing that the apple watch will hit a battery life closer to 18 hours rather than the rumored12, I actually cancelled my backing for pebble time in favor of planning to buy the apple watch.
Decade 12y ago
For me, it was because Pebble created a reputation as a hacker-friendly watch, as opposed to Apple and Google's closed gardens. Then I looked more into the Pebble, and discovered that it's a closed garden every bit as restrictive as Apple and Google, only with more distance between the walls. So, I canceled my order. In particular, from the Terms of Use[0]: Section II, paragraph 2, sentence 2: Do not reverse-engineer anything in the Pebble, Section II, paragraph 2, sentence 3: Do not learn from Pebble to create anything, Section III, paragraph 2, point 12: Do not say bad things about Pebble, Section III, paragraph 2, point 13: Do not overload the Pebble servers, even accidentally, and Section XIV, sentence 8: If the terms of service are illegal, then act like they are legal anyway. [0]https://auth.getpebble.com/terms_of_use https://auth.getpebble.com/terms_of_use
- ntumlin 12y ago
  I had no idea that was in there. That's what I get for not reading the ToS. How does Section XIV, sentence 8 work? Does it have any legal standing at all?
  - freehunter 12y ago
    The way he mischaracterized it, no. If its illegal, it's illegal, and no contract is valid when it forces someone to do something illegal. The way it's actually worded, yes, most contracts will specify this. The way it's actually worded really means "if a certain part of this agreement is found to be invalid, the other (still valid) parts are still enforceable. Basically, if part of the contract is void, you can't void the entire contract. I would hope people can recognize that the way Decade portrays the contract is not the way it's actually worded.
    - Decade 12y ago
      It's very common to include the "other provisions hereof shall remain in full force" clause. I'm fine with that. But this is the first time I've seen "the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision," and I don't like the uncertainty about that, especially given my objection to Section II paragraph 2.
      - freehunter 12y ago
        If you search Google for that term, you'll find out how common it actually is. The first few results I see: Pearson Kentucky Fried Chicken Instagram Western Michigan University Florida State University Call of Duty NFL MIT City and County of San Francisco Cloudflare Yahoo WoWHead So whatever your uncertainty about it, it's not an uncommon legal concept, and you may already have agreed to it in the ToS of another service you use or company you do business with. edit - In fact, Apple combines those two clauses together in their ToS, but most assuredly they do have that stipulation: If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties... http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms...
azernik 12y ago
For me, the Moto 360 was my equivalent - it's beautiful, and more closely tied in to my preferred platform, but the battery life and performance are quite bad. And then I saw that Pebble has Android Wear integration (because Google is not-all-that-awful and made Wear an API that is easy to plug into) and I was sold.
funkyy 12y ago
I think you meant 8 hours of real use...
marpstar 12y ago
I'm one of them. Figured that Apple was the only company who could pull off a smartwatch I'd actually use, but then saw the Pebble Time and its $169 Kickstarter price-point. The battery and the waterproofing were enough to get me to preorder the Time and get a used original Pebble in the mean time to try out. After a week with the Pebble, what's noticeably missing is the ability to reply to SMS. Because of iOS restrictions on third-party apps and SMS, the Pebble can't do it without jailbreaking. It was pretty upsetting when I came to this realization, also realizing that the Pebble Time and it's nifty new microphone would also lack this functionality. With the Pebble lacking Siri integration, I can see myself picking up an Apple Watch once the battery can last at least two full days.
joshstrange 12y ago
I pre-ordered a pebble time but canceled it after the Apple Watch reveal. Here are my reasons: 1. The Apple watch will integrate leaps and bound better than my Pebble (I REGULARLY have to forget each device on the other and re-pair the BT to get notifications to work again, this has gotten worse as of late) 2. Mic AND SPEAKER on the Apple Watch (I want to talk into my wrist and get response from my watch for both Siri and Calls not just a todo app) 3. More apps, let's not kid ourselves, the Apple Watch will have more and better quality apps than the Pebble (or Android wear for that matter) 4. Resale, Apple products have amazing resale value so upgrading is less expensive than with other products in my experience 5. I think the Apple Watch looks nicer than the Pebble I bought a Pebble Steel and have had it for over a year now and I love it. It's what caused me to back the KS right away, I believe in smart watches. That said the notifications just randomly stopping working drives me insane. It's gotten worse as of late and when it causes me to miss a text or a call then it stops being a useful tool. I have worn my watch every day since I got it and can't imagine life without a smart watch but I will be getting the Apple Watch because if it only work %X of the time then it's near useless to me. The battery life doesn't matter to me, as long as I can make it through the day then I'm good. I charge my phone nightly so it's no skin off my nose to charge my watch. I don't currently but I've considered charging my Pebble nightly but I worry it will negatively affect the battery. I want to charge it nightly so that it's a habit and not a constant "Do I need to charge this tonight or should I wait a few more days" which leads to me forgetting to check from time to time and then having to sit at my desk at work with the charger cable plugged in until it's at 100%. I like Pebble and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Hell, maybe if I used Android I wouldn't have these issues but I don't and I do so I will be getting the Apple Watch.

keithwhor 12y ago

Is that really a fair comparison? The Pebble Time kickstarter campaign was just a pre-order portal in disguise --- it wasn't really a "true" crowdfunding campaign.

akerl_ 12y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_scotsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_scotsman What facet of being "true" crowdfunding did they not satisfy?
- adrusi 12y ago
  It's in blatant violation of kickstarters rules, and was probably set up as the result of a partnership with kickstarter. Kickstarter knew that the return of pebble would be lucrative for them, and pebble knew that by using kickstarter they'd continue to wear the facade of a small fledgeling grassroots company (and while they're the underdog relative to their competition from LG, Samsung, Motorola and Apple, they're a lot bigger than they were for their first kickstarter campaign.
  - TheBeardKing 12y ago
    I think kickstarter modified those rules when they announced Launch Now: https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-launch-now-and-simplified-rules-0 https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-launch-now-and-... Now companies can just use it as an advertising platform to generate publicity, even if they have to give up a slice of revenue to kickstarter.
- Domenic_S 12y ago
  1) They easily could have raised all the capital they needed 2) They're already a successful company
  - forrestthewoods 12y ago
    1) Crowdfunded dollars are better than VC dollars. 2) Most large crowdfunding campaigns are from already successful companies.

djloche 12y ago

They didn't need to release through Kickstarter, but this was a nice gesture from Pebble to offer their products to Kickstarter backers at a discount and priority (backers get their Pebble Time watches before it goes to retail). It is also a huge marketing success in getting their brand out there. They properly framed themselves as the underdog with a superior product vs Apple.

UniZero 12y ago
this was a nice gesture from Pebble to offer their products to Kickstarter backers at a discount and priority The Kickstarter page says the standard watch will cost $199 retail - yet the official website is advertising it for $99 | https://getpebble.com/shop https://getpebble.com/shop Am I misunderstanding something here?
- azernik 12y ago
  That's $99 for the two-year-old first version of the watch. The Pebble Time will likely cost much more at retail.
- sp332 12y ago
  Pebble ($99, plastic) and Pebble Steel ($199, newer and shinier but basically the same) are already available. The Kickstarter was for Pebble Time (will be $199) and Pebble Time Steel (will be $299), which have color interfaces but are compatible with all the old apps. They have also promised that the new interface will be ported back to the old Pebbles, but that hasn't shipped yet.

legohead 12y ago

This is old news already. And this is the second shoddy C|NET article on the front page today (the other one being the quantum mechanics article). Seems kind of fishy to me!

diego_moita 12y ago

It is ironic how Pebble looks a lot more like an Apple product than the AppleWatch itself. Apple made a product that aligns with its long term strategies but delivers very poorly the most fundamental and essential functionality. The AppleWatch has short battery life, its screen is not always on, is not waterproof, its interface is not intuitive... And what we get in return? You can send your heartbeat through bluetooth and has lots of cool straps. It reminds me the feature-bloated products that Microsoft used to make. They'd do everything but fail at the essential. One thing Jobs was famous for was trimming the superfluous in order to get the essential well done. It is clear that the AppleWatch could get a lot from Jobs.

Someone1234 12y ago
I completely agree. I'd take this new Pebble Time or the Moto 360 as an "Apple Watch" over what Apple actually produced. To be honest the Apple Watch looks about as clunky as Samsung's attempts (Galaxy Gear) but Samsung shipped a year and a half before Apple, and Motorola about a six months. I admire Apple's advertising machine, they can sell anything. I think the Apple Watch proves that point. A $350 ($100 more than anyone else) fugly watch that was behind its competitors even before it shipped. Does anyone here actually own one? What do you think?
- superdude 12y ago
  You think the Pebble Time has a better design than the Apple Watch? The Pebble looks pretty similar but with a bigger bezel. The Apple Watch doesn't go on sale until April 24.
DannoHung 12y ago
Pish-posh. How can you complain about the screen not always being on and it not being good for swimming and then refer to Jobs trimming the superflous? Don't you remember when the iPhone came out? No keyboard! Harumph! It only has a battery life of one day! Harumph! No flash! Harumph! I mean, do you remember how much of the web was in flash in 2007? Also, do you remember what was essential about a cellular phone in 2007? It was essential that you make calls and send sms. That is not what is essential about a cellular phone today. Telling time may not be what is essential about a watch tomorrow.

dxhdr 12y ago

Doesn't even come close to the largest crowd-funded project Star Citizen: http://www.wired.com/2015/03/fans-dropped-77m-guys-buggy-half-built-game/?mbid=social_fb http://www.wired.com/2015/03/fans-dropped-77m-guys-buggy-hal...