The Pebble is an interesting device, instead of a touch screen LCD display they went with an eInk display. In many ways this could make the Pebble much more configurable than some of the other devices out there, but like all of the others you are tethered to your phone to keep your apps connected to the internet. However the Pebble watch differs from the others in more ways than just the eInk display. Unlike I’m Spa with their limited App Store (and little information about how to submit apps, Pebble is now taking a more proactive approach to this and with a nice $15 Million round of funding they are pushing out their SDK (Software Development Kit) to allow independent developers to build apps for their product.
This approach (and the fact that Pebble is Android based) can help to ensure a good ecosystem of apps for potential buyers. As everyone knows in the mobile space, having a good ecosystem of apps is vital to success. You can have the best product out and if you do not have apps to power it you are going to be behind the power curve. In the emerging “smart watch” this is even more true unless you chose to narrow your field and integrate with the mobile device (like the Cookoo). Moving now also gets the ahead of potential competitors like Apple and Samsung who have not yet put a product on the market either.
One thing that Pebble doe have going against it when comparing to the others already on the market (and in planning) is that the Pebble does not have the same sense of style. They are not bad looking bt any measure, but when you put them up against the Cookoo or even the more bulky I’m Watch they look a little bland. This is something they might want to fix before they are released to the wild. Smart and Connected watches are going to be fashion accessories and the ones that have no sense of style will quickly fall behind those that do. For now it looks like Pebble is doing everything right (with the exception of the way the product looks). They are approaching this with the intent to not just be a contender, but to lead the market… once they can get it out to the consumer.
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