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Pebble's next step

blog.getpebble.com

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Re: Pebble's next step

#201

Post by distantsounds »

captainmuon wrote: post #64

I'm quite angry. This sucks so bad. I "ordered" a Time 2 via Kickstarter. I'm glad they are refunding me, but that makes me think... WTF, did they not produce any Time 2's? Or are they all going to the landfill? How long have they been knowing that they are going to be insolvent? This doesn't happen overnight! Was the last Kickstarter a gamble? Why does everybody have to aim for total market dominance to be successfu…

This last kickstarter raised $12million while only requiring $1million to fund. I'm really unsure how they managed to get 12x the "required" funding but still fail to deliver.

Re: Pebble's next step

#202

Post by TeMPOraL »

I'm sad/angry/depressed as any Pebbler right now, so I won't repeat those comments. Instead, since this is HN after all, let me ask - what shall we do?

In a year or two, when my current Pebble Time fails, I'd love an equivalent smartwatch to be available. Since the market doesn't seem to want it, how can we make it happen anyway?

Features I'm looking for are, in order of priority:

  - always-on screen, preferably color (like Pebble Time), but monochromatic will do
  - open SDK for writing software for the watch
  - battery life at least the one like Pebble's - 5-7 days
  - *zero* dependency on cloud for it to work
  - basic, standard suite of sensors onboard - compass/magnetometer/accelerometer, maybe a mike
  - elegant form factor
Now I can go the DIY route (I have a friend with experience in making smartwatches from ground-up, though I'd look at some SOCs instead of going the uC + separate sensors route - to save on watch size). Many of us here could do it. But honestly, I have shit ton of other stuff to do, and I'd rather pay for such a watch and enjoy the ecosystem, just like I did with Pebbles. And if everyone goes the DIY route, and there won't be some standardization along the way, there will be no community. Any idea how to coordinate and make this happen? Maybe a community, open-hardware design + crowdfunding for production?

Re: Pebble's next step

#203

Post by scott_s »

reitanqild wrote: post #147
ronreiter wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to be angry. It's a start-up. They all wanted to succeed, but life isn't always fair.

> They all wanted to succeed, but life isn't always fair. So did we. Edit: removed judgemental statement.

I feel your sentiment minimizes how difficult it is to run a business.

Re: Pebble's next step

#204

Post by Mtinie »

iamatworknow wrote: post #51

I was a Kickstarter backer in 2012 and still have my original Pebble. There was a weird screen issue and I wanted to try other things, so I switched to the Gear 2 Neo which was absolute garbage. Then I moved on to the Moto 360, which also left me very disappointed when somehow the rear glass (the part that rests on your wrist) shattered. So I went back to Pebble and got the Time Steel about a year ago and it's been f…

I had both of my original KS Pebbles brick with the same screen issue.

Needless to say, you had a lot more faith in the company than I did after that. I just considered my original KS pledge a bad investment and moved on without looking back.

Re: Pebble's next step

#205

Post by sethd »

maaaats wrote: post #124
tokenizerrr wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not a lawperson, but can companies really just terminate a warranty like that?

When being bought, one would think the new company would take over the responsibilities. But I also read that the employee-shares would be worthless, so it looks like FitBit bought Pebble in a weird sense.

They didn't buy the company, they bought some of the assets. In an asset purchase you don't take on the liability of the company your purchasing the assets from. Pebble as a company will go into bankruptcy and cease to exist.

Re: Pebble's next step

#206

Post by dougmany »

rtpg wrote: post #29

I am so sad about this. I had told myself that at least I'd get a Time 2 and a Core, and stave myself off before the sadness hits again that Pebble is gone. Pebble's products were an excellent example of lateral technology. No need for high DPI on your watch, because they made something that looks good with few pixels. Making battery life a priority in a world of WiFi-enabled pressure cookers. Even when the battery r…

Sorry you did not get your Time 2. I got my Pebble 2 and I really like it. I am sad the core I ordered will not ship as my pebble is not connected to my Windows Phone and GPS would be nice when I run.

The pebble 2 does compete with the fit-bit. This story reminds me of a time when I worked at a small semiconductor equipment manufacture. We were a scrappy team and build a great small footprint tool. We won an order from a larger customer. Everyone was celebrating until our competitor quickly bought us out for cheap and shut us down. A few engineer went over to the new company but not enough to keep the product going.

Re: Pebble's next step

#207

Post by reitanqild »

scott_s wrote: post #203
reitanqild wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They all wanted to succeed, but life isn't always fair. So did we. Edit: removed judgemental statement.

I feel your sentiment minimizes how difficult it is to run a business.

It shouldn't have been so difficult when customers were lining up months in advance to buy your product :-/

Re: Pebble's next step

#208

Post by untilHellbanned »

It's interesting that all 5 girls are at the front of company picture (bottom of page) with a sea of guys blending into the background obfuscating how male dominant this Pebble is.

Serious question: Would more gender equality have improved this company's chances?

Re: Pebble's next step

#209

Post by reneherse »

jakozaur wrote: post #74
captainmuon wrote: post #64

I'm quite angry. This sucks so bad. I "ordered" a Time 2 via Kickstarter. I'm glad they are refunding me, but that makes me think... WTF, did they not produce any Time 2's? Or are they all going to the landfill? How long have they been knowing that they are going to be insolvent? This doesn't happen overnight! Was the last Kickstarter a gamble? Why does everybody have to aim for total market dominance to be successfu…

VC/exponential growth increase risk of exploding the whole company. In alternative reality: 1. They could hire way less aggressive and stay lean. Product development will be much slower, but they can operate cash flow positive. 2. With Kickstarter/pre-orders they could avoid taking any serious VC funding. 3. They probably need to move less expensive region than SF Bay Area. SF is great for go big or go home, but not…

I agree, and it's such a shame to see this company/product's demise due to overreach.

Per their site, Pebble's current product line has three different case designs, each available in at least three different finishes, and one with an additional heart rate monitor. That seems like an awful lot of SKUs for a small hardware startup to develop, manufacture, stock, fulfill and support. Their latest kickstarter added even more models.

From my armchair, it looks like they tried to expand and segment their market too quickly, for the sake of both growth and the optics of their product line in comparison to Apple.

I'm in the early stages of creating the world's tiniest "hardware startup" (the product consists of a single piece of metal), and it's a constant discipline to not get caught up in offering variations on the base design. Every product design choice ripples through the supply chain, increasing complexity and overhead at your peril.

Good luck to all the folks at Pebble in their new endeavors.

Re: Pebble's next step

#210

Post by TeMPOraL »

syshum wrote: post #91
alonsonic wrote: post #47

I can't believe this, just got a Pebble 2 a week ago and now they are literally saying it may not work in the future. If we rely on their cloud services for activity tracking and app downloads then it will be useless if FitBit doesn't maintain the platform. I have to say I'm really disappointed and this is a huge blow to people that invest in startups offering hardware. If the company fails forget about the smart stu…

>>I have to say I'm really disappointed and this is a huge blow to people that invest in startups offering hardware. Buyers need to start demanding Open Source Software and Open Hardware... With out that, you will always be screwed

Or at least treat any kind of cloud integration as a big negative. Without cloud dependence, the devices can always be hacked and made to work again until hardware dies.
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