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Pebble's next step

blog.getpebble.com

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Re: Pebble's next step

#271

Post by gknoy »

headgasket wrote: post #195
AtheistOfFail wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FitBit got the best deal, they get any salvageable tech/developer resources and put a bullet in a competitor's head.

Your next step: boycott Fitbit and make it known you are doing this because of the shutdown of pebble. EDIT: Also, this is my last post on YC. So Pebble's CEO is joining YC. And being critical of innovation killing deals by the boys on YC gets you down votes to negative territory. OK over and out you guys, Done with your echo chamber. So long and thanks for all the fish.

> being critical of innovation killing deals by the boys on YC gets you down votes to negative territory.

I haven't noticed this effect. Your post is currently positive, in fact. If I were to downvote you, it would have been for _complaining about downvotes_, as I think (though might be mistaken) that such commentary is not considered on topic.

> Your next step: boycott Fitbit and make it known you are doing this because of the shutdown of pebble.

This is the interesting idea. I don't think it would be effective, as I suspect that if FitBit came out with a smart watch similar to Pebble (a year from now), most of the Pebble fans would hop ship and buy one. (I might be mistaken in such a belief.)

It's possible that people downvoted you to reflect an opinion of "that wouldn't work". It doesn't seem like a personal grudge, either, as your comment history doesn't seem (well, at my inexperienced first glance) to be downvoted very much.

Re: Pebble's next step

#272

Post by wvenable »

hobo_mark wrote: post #230
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 also have a Pebble 2, what cloud services? The android app checks for a firmware update when you pair but is otherwise standalone. I enabled sync to google fit because I hoped it would backup sleep data but that does nothing sensible, it's all stored locally (and in fact if you reinstall the Pebble app you lose all your data). ps: if anyone knows of some software to export these data from an android phone, I'd love…

The timeline and dictation both require cloud services to function. Also, the app store is a cloud service.

Re: Pebble's next step

#273

Post by nathan_f77 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #202

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…

Check out the Vector Watch [1]. It's a monochromatic smart watch with 30 days of battery life.

[1] http://vectorwatch.com/

Re: Pebble's next step

#274

Post by tlow »

captainmuon wrote: post #84
victorvation wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Was the last Kickstarter a gamble? _All_ Kickstarters are gambles. Their messaging[1] is pretty clear in the fact that you aren't buying a product, you're contributing money with the hope that the maker will deliver on their promises. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store

Right, but I meant a gamble on their side, not the buyers'. Like when MtGox lost their bitcoins and ran as a fractional reserve trying to cover what happened. Or an actual addicted gambler trying to cut their losses by playing more. I wonder when they learned they were going out of business, and if the last Kickstarter was just a Hail Mary...

Perhaps the word gambit might suit better here?

Re: Pebble's next step

#275

Post by TillE »

qwrusz wrote: post #247
stingrae wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is an example of an issue that some companies that do kickstarter/preorder campaigns have. They try to do a Hardware project that pushes boundaries and try to collect money to early during the development process at a time when it is really impossible to set a ship date. (Also a factor is company inexperience with manufacturing) This is why so many projects have to delay shipments and sometimes eventuall…

This is not really an issue with what some companies are doing. This is the main point of kickstarter. It's for people to support funding projects still in development and helping them get from that stage to get into production. In exchange for a "reward". It's not meant to be for products already having done multiple production runs ready to ramp up and customers are just pre-paying a long delivery time. I would agr…

Kickstarter for hardware products is very much its own insane, dysfunctional, extraordinarily risky world.

Most money spent on Kickstarter goes to projects which are far far more likely to be completed in some form: videogames, books, board games. I'd say that hardware projects should be banned entirely except for companies that have already shipped similar products but, well, that would've included Pebble.

Re: Pebble's next step

#276

Post by tlow »

qwrusz wrote: post #247
stingrae wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is an example of an issue that some companies that do kickstarter/preorder campaigns have. They try to do a Hardware project that pushes boundaries and try to collect money to early during the development process at a time when it is really impossible to set a ship date. (Also a factor is company inexperience with manufacturing) This is why so many projects have to delay shipments and sometimes eventuall…

This is not really an issue with what some companies are doing. This is the main point of kickstarter. It's for people to support funding projects still in development and helping them get from that stage to get into production. In exchange for a "reward". It's not meant to be for products already having done multiple production runs ready to ramp up and customers are just pre-paying a long delivery time. I would agr…

I hear what you're saying but I have this perspective that includes Kickstarter in these issues. Why doesn't Kickstarter take a more active role in supporting it's campaigners after they raise funds?

Re: Pebble's next step

#277

Post by wvenable »

dragonwriter wrote: post #250

"Warranty support is no longer available" -- if items were purchased with a warranty, isn't that straight up breach of contract, for which Pebble (well, Fitbit, which bought Pebble and thus inherits its liabilities) will be liable?

Fitbit didn't buy Pebble. They bought the OS and they're trying to acquire some of their staff. Pebble is simply shutting down.

Re: Pebble's next step

#278

Post by mikestew »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #202

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…

You just described Garmin devices (though I'll admit to being sketchy on how "open" their SDK is).

Re: Pebble's next step

#279

Post by TeMPOraL »

codemac wrote: post #234
TeMPOraL wrote: post #202

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…

How bad / hard is it to put our own software on a pebble? I think that would promote longevity more than looking for another "unicorn of Kickstarter"

My primary worry is that at some point, the hardware will die.

And by crowdfunding I meant crowdfunding of manufacturing; the hardware would be open source, ensuring you could (with enough skills or good enough friends) make your own instead of buying one, and the software ecosystem would be compatible with it.

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