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Introducing Pebble Time

kickstarter.com

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Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#201

Post by Dylan16807 »

joosters wrote: post #194
TillE wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, that seems like a completely arbitrary policy which serves no real purpose. In general I'd stay the hell away from hardware projects on Kickstarter, but in this case Pebble has a proven track record of delivering a quality product in a reasonable time frame. I assume that gives them a little more leeway when Kickstarter is approving their campaign.

That Kickstarter policy update was in response to the rising levels of failed projects on the site. It was an attempt to fight off bad press. Of course, it turned out to be pretty toothless (Just take a look at the joke of a 'risks' section of almost any kickstarter project. That section was also introduced by this udpate). I'd agree with you that Pebble probably have a better chance than most at delivering on their…

The risks section is great because you can tell very quickly if they've put some thought into logistics or not. No need to enforce that it's properly filled out.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#202

Post by myth_buster »

feld wrote: post #129
myth_buster wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with you in parts. I've a pebble while my wife has an android watch. The killer feature on the android phone is voice commands. I agree that when in public it's a privacy concern to use voice commands hence an alternative is necessary. But its incredibly convenient and useful to control your phone and watch say when you are driving or at home. It's incredibly useful to set reminders just by saying "Ok Goog…

Why can't you just ... issue voice commands to your phone?

Because at home I don't carry it around. Outside, I would have to get it out of my pockets to be able to access it. Also in inclement weather a cheap/water proof watch is less of a risk.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#204

Post by IanCal »

lumisota wrote: post #4

It's interesting that they've chosen to launch the product on Kickstarter. They don't appear to need the funding structure; they're simply using it as a shop.

I'm quite surprised at the number of people who have just said "marketing". I don't doubt that's part of it but even without it I think it's a fairly solid idea.

Kickstarter have all the right tools for selling and a proven capacity to scale well. They've sold over 4 million dollars worth to over 20 thousand people in three hours without any hassle. They're handling all the user management, accounts, live updating figures, "stock" and payments.

How much would it have cost them if right at the peak their site went down for 2 hours? Or people weren't sure if their order was accepted? Could it cost them 5% of their orders minus the amount it would have cost them to build on their own? How long would it take to have built and tested their own site to handle the load of orders (and given that they only see this peak for a short period after launch).

Plus of course marketing and the fact that a lot of people already have a kickstarter account (reducing even more the barrier between "oh cool" and clicking buy).

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#205

Post by maigret »

parktheredcar wrote: post #24
taylorwc wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that for any mass-market adoption (arguably not what the Pebble Time is aimed at), any smart watch will have to bridge that divide. Most people buy a watch as a fashion piece, not as a practical tool.

Maybe watches can be practical tools again, and not just a status symbol hanging off your arm.

Fine watches are only limitedly used as status symbol. Look at forums.watchuseek.com for afficionados who prefer keeping their watch for them - collecting them for example. Also note that, if you are unfamiliar with watches, you might not spot people wearing expensive watches if those are no Rolex.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#206

Post by outworlder »

eitally wrote: post #151
mikestew wrote: post #130

I was waiting to see what Apple had in store but...oh, what the hell, I'll pull the trigger. Fact is, I'm pretty satisfied with my original KS-backer edition Pebble. Apple is going to have to have a pretty convincing story for me to charge a watch every single day. I spend enough time away from 5VDC power sources that such short battery life could become occasionally annoying. The original Pebble does what I want it…

I really just want a "normal" watch that has some "smart" features. I already have a sports tracker (Garmin Forerunner), and I have given up wearing my Moto360 because it's almost never useful in compelling enough ways that I don't just pull my phone out after seeing a notification ... and I have to charge it nightly.

Something like this?

http://engineeredby.hp.com/michael-bastian/index.html

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#207

Post by myth_buster »

georgeecollins wrote: post #175
myth_buster wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with you in parts. I've a pebble while my wife has an android watch. The killer feature on the android phone is voice commands. I agree that when in public it's a privacy concern to use voice commands hence an alternative is necessary. But its incredibly convenient and useful to control your phone and watch say when you are driving or at home. It's incredibly useful to set reminders just by saying "Ok Goog…

I agree that voice commands are sometimes useful, but they also sometimes aren't. One problem is that voice is more reliable when it has context, like a complete sentence. That doesn't always fit the use case of openign an oddly named app. Another problem is typified by a commmon Android Wear app which allows you to request a fake phone call on your phone. This example shows one of the use cases for a wearable: its a…

As I said earlier, I agree that in certain circumstances voice commands are not adequate. But in cases where they are, they are extremely efficient, handy or safe. Hence I believe selection of user interface be at user's discretion.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#208

Post by jkestner »

joosters wrote: post #163

What happened to 'Kickstarter is not a store' - https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-is-not-a-store ? Offering multiple quantities of a reward is prohibited. Hardware and Product Design projects can only offer rewards in single quantities or a sensible set (some items only make sense as a pair or as a kit of several items, for instance). The development of new products can be especially complex for creators a…

That's from 2012, and as someone mentioned, was in response to a lot of risky hardware projects. More recently, Kickstarter changed their rules to be a lot simpler. https://www.kickstarter.com/rules

Perhaps this campaign violates what you perceive as the spirit of Kickstarter, but Kickstarter itself has never had a problem with established companies/entertainers using the platform.

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#209

Post by Dylan16807 »

nsxwolf wrote: post #126
djim wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

personally, i don't like wearing my watch when i sleep.

There's still the drag of having to remember to recharge it every night, even if you're taking it off. I experience this now that I've gone from the XBox 360 to the PS4. The XBox 360 battery lasted what seemed like forever. I would go a week or two without even thinking of plugging it in to charge. The PS4 controller battery life is so bad you have to plug it back in every time you're done playing. I've had many peop…

PS3 controller also lasts forever. It's weird how much they regressed on that front.

But it glows!

Re: Introducing Pebble Time

#210

Post by swamp40 »

lt wrote: post #181
BinaryIdiot wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm are there even enough levels for them to reach that goal?

Nope.. Adding up all the tiers up totals a maximum of $9,550,000, for a total of 56k watches. Interesting that they didn't design this to break their 10.2M record of the first campaign. I'd bet they are going to increase the slots or or announce addons for the pledges to go for it. At this rate they are going to be sold out in a couple hours, if that.

I'm sure someone at Kickstarter would be happy to immediately add a new tier for them if they max out.
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