LAS VEGAS –- Pebble, the company that raised almost 8 million to create an e-ink smart watch, announced at CES this week that it will start shipping the watch to its Kickstarter backers on Jan. 23.
We caught up with Pebble's creator, Eric Migicovsky, at the show to give the smart watch a try.
Migicovsky told us that Pebble chose CES to make the shipment announcement because a tremendous percentage of the project's backers would be in attendance.
Though absent from the show floor, Pebble had a suite at the Venetian Hotel set up, and it invited Kickstarter backers to stop by and give the watch a spin. It's going to take the company six to eight weeks to get units out to everyone who took part in funding via Kickstarter. That means that while some backers will have watches in late January, others will be waiting until almost April.
CES was show full of smart watches made by a number of different companies. The most notable examples include Italian-born I'm watch and, another Kickstarter project, Martian.
Pebble is the only smart watch out there using an e-ink display. Having handled the competition this week, I can say that it's a ton lighter than the other options, something you're definitely going to appreciate when it comes to wearing it on your wrist all day.
Power is going to be another area where the Pebble stands out. Migicovsky says that the Pebble can keep kicking for seven days on a single charge, with the watch only needing a few hours to charge up completely.
Pebble charges using a unique magnetic charger that snaps onto the watch's side, a bit different than its competition, which charges using microUSB.
As far as apps are concerned, Pebble currently only has custom watch faces. However, it's expected to have a number of apps soon. Notably, RunKeeper announced that it would be available on the watch earlier this year.
The screen on Pebble is not controlled by touch, but is instead navigated using the buttons on the side of the device. The button on the right side of the watch serves as a back button, with up, enter and down buttons positioned on the left side of the watch face.
Navigating through menus was a breeze, and I was able to accept a call, text, and read email pretty effectively as well.
So, are smart watches ready for prime time? It certainly looks like Pebble is.
We're going to have one of Pebble's smart watches in our office soon. Stay tuned for a full review in the coming weeks.
What do you think of Pebble's smart watch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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