Remember when the Pebble, the watch that talks to your iPhone or Android device via an array of open-source apps, was asking for a mere $100,000 on crowdfunding site Kickstarter?
Well, actually, the Pebble is officially still only asking for $100,000 on Kickstarter. But the Internet has responded with a loud chorus of “shut up and take my money!â€
The Pebble’s funding hit $500,000 Wednesday evening. It reached $1 million in investment, just 28 hours after the Kickstarter launched.
By midnight Friday ET, the hot little e-paper wristwatch had blasted past the $1.5 million mark.
There are 35 days remaining in the Kickstarter.
Not bad for a device nobody has actually tested in the wild yet. (Though some own its predecessor, the Android-only InPulse watch.)
Each early investor gets a Pebble at a slight discount ($115 versus $150). But what the funding frenzy really suggests is a burning need that has so far not been met â€" to extend the capability of your smartphone, especially your iPhone, to other wearable devices.
But only in a way that makes sense. Part of the Pebble’s appeal is this: it’s a relatively simple, dumb device that lets the phone do the heavy lifting. It communicates with your apps, rather than trying to replicate them.
Perhaps most importantly, the information is displayed using a technology â€" Kindle-like e-paper â€" that isn’t likely to drain the watch’s battery. (What the constant Bluetooth communication does to it remains to be seen.)
Meanwhile, the celebration is only beginning at Pebble Technology in Palo Alto. “We popped a bottle of champagne at $200k, because we missed the $100k milestone,†founder Eric Migicovsky told Mashable.
At this rate, he’ll be on caviar and oysters by day 35.
How much funding will the Pebble get? Place your bets in the comments.
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