Pebble, the smartwatch that started life on Kickstarter, has received an extra $15 million in funding. The additional funding from investors, on top of the $10.2 million received through its Kickstarter campaign, comes at the same time as the company updates its SDK to include two-way communication for third-party Pebble apps.
Kickstarter-funded smartwatch Pebble has received an update to fix a showstopping bug. The new 1.9.1 firmware came into being following reports received by Engadget of users finding their timepieces stopped working after shutting down, and is said to fix the issue. Customers with watches on older firmware that do not switch back on can request for a replacement through e-mail or the companion Pebble app.
A teardown of the Pebble smartwatch found it to be a fairly unrepairable device, though its expected longevity is a saving grace. The team at iFixit declined to give the Pebble a repairability score due to its uniqueness, but did praise the combination of its low-power e-paper display and weekly charging cycle, which gives the non-replaceable battery a lifespan of between six and ten years.
The Pebble smartwatch has started shipping to Kickstarter backers, though less than initially estimated. The low shipment numbers problem is accompanied by news of a possible delay in the iOS app for the watch, limiting what actions backers will be able to perform on the device once they receive their orders.
The Pebble smart watch will be shipping to backers on January 23rd. Company CEO Eric Migicovsky made the announcement at CES, adding that the e-paper timepiece will be shipping in batches, and is good news to Kickstarter backers that have waited for the wrist-based gadget, including through a number of production delays.
Sprint and Sierra Wireless have announced the availability of the first mobile router to combine LTE and WiMAX 4G connections alongside 3G connectivity. The Sierra Wireless 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot will connect to Sprint's 4G network and will become available to customers starting May 18.
The record-setting growth of the Pebble watch concept on Kickstarter is continuing, and the team behind the smartphone companion device is continuing to rack in the support dollars. When the project gathered $3 million, designers announced they will make the case waterproof, and now that the $9m mark was breached, they said they will add Bluetooth 4.0 functionality to it. This shouldn't affect the launch date, and the functionality will be enabled after launch thanks to a software update.
The RunKeeper app has become the first official partner for the Kickstarter record-setting Pebble watch. The companion device will communicate with iOS and Android phones over Bluetooth to deliver information on its tiny screen. RunKeeper is a fitness app, and the new deal will let users track their run data without pulling out their handsets.
The Pebble e-paper watch project covered last week and featured on crowd-sourcing website Kickstarter has now raised over 31 times more capital than it was originally intended. The initial pace was certainly impressive, as the project met its goal within just two hours of it being posted on the site. The device, once manufactured, promises to bring with it iOS and Android compatibility over a Bluetooth connection.
