Pebble does it again

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-time-awesome-smartwatch-no-compromises     

As of  8PM EST the current Pebble Time campaign has gone to #5 all time Kickstarter funding with 32,562  backers and 6,835,152 USD pledged!  They have already broken Kickstarter records today and are on the way to the #1 spot again.  

I do have a first generation Pebble and have written an app or 2 for it.   During the last 1.5 years or so I’ve been impressed that Pebble has made continuous improvements in the firmware as well as the interfaces using the Pebble app.   They have a magic combination of a good price point (199 USD msrp for the Pebble Time, less for the current models) for the device and a continuous improvement of the ecosystem.   They embrace and support their developer community providing a free and open SDK and online development IDE in the Cloud.   

I believe that with the new features on the watch (read about them at the above link) when paired with a phone/tablet brings Pebble into being a valid enterprise level device at a good price point.   It won’t be the „eierlegende Wollmilchsau“ but no company really needs that.   What people do need is a device that is easy to see providing a visual and possible audio interface back to their main smart device.  That main device can and should do the heavy processing and interfacing with the rest of the world.   In this combination the battery life of the watch  can be optimized.  Each device can do what it does best. 

  https://medium.com/backchannel/time-bandit-pebble-s-new-weapon-in-its-battle-with-apple-and-android-watches-6e6f4cc6d372  is a good article talking about how Pebble got started and what lead up to today’s announcement.  The below quote from the founder, Eric Migicovsky, shows his (and it seems also the company’s) core belief and how they started the design of the Pebble Time.  This is why they are successful and why today they have such a fast developing kickstarter campaign.  The highlighting is mine.

“We challenged people to start with blank slate,” he says. “It could be software, it could be hardware, it could be a watch, it could be not a watch. Just walk me through a day in the life. We focused on a day because one of our stated goals and my core belief is that we want to make technology that is with you every single day of your life. There were some pretty crazy ideas.”

 Eric Migicovsky is clearly a visionary in the wearable space.  This version of the Pebble will move into the mainstream enterprise.  Eric and all Pebblers are showing that laser focus and being OPEN can win!  It is time for corporate IT departments to wake up and realize this.