AppleInsider Staff
After 85,000 customers backed the Pebble Kickstarter campaign, the smart watch went on to sell another 190,000 preorders through the product's website.
The announcement made by Pebble on Thursday marks the first time that sales figures for the smartphone accessory have been revealed. The figures also do not include Pebble's debut last week at Best Buy, when it sold out quickly on the company's website and at many retail locations.
"This is great news for users and developers," Pebble Chief Executive Eric Migicovsky wrote. "More Pebbles = more of a market and demand for Pebble watchapps. With the goal of getting Pebble onto as many wrists as possible, our manufacturing team is constantly working to improve quality and increase capacity. Every day thousands of new Pebbles are rolling off the line."
The company did not reveal just how many Pebbles it has actually shipped to customers thus far. The sales figures only encompass total preorders of the device, many of which have yet to be sent to buyers.
On the software front, users have now downloaded more than 1 million watch apps for the Pebble. The company has promised to flesh out its software development kit and expose more features and application programming interfaces for third-party developers.
Pebble has also promised that support for Gmail and IMAP e-mail notifications will be coming to the wrist-worn device with an update to its iOS application in the next two to three weeks.
The Pebble has an e-paper display that allows wearers to quickly glance information on their wrist. When paired with a smartphone, like Apple's iPhone, via bluetooth, users can view text messages, phone calls, and even fitness data through RunKeeper.
After its hugely successful crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter, Pebble helped to bring intense interest to the wearable computing market. Apple is rumored to be working on its own smart watch accessory with biometric feedback, and the company has been filing trademark applications for the name "iWatch" across the globe.
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Sponsored Content
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
12 Comments
275000 people are gonna be kicking themselves and making $10 Craigslist posts if an iWatch is released.
I'm happy for them, but Apple's iWatch - if its released soon and is not in fact a TV! Will make this chunky monster look so-so obsolete.
so apple will sell a couple of mil in 5 hr's
I just don't see the appeal of these devices. How hard is it really to take your phone out of your pocket which can do everything and more? A smart watch would have to offer something truly unique and of value to me. Those IGZO screens are impressive especially since they can be curved. But even then I just don't see the value. I have a very nice Breitling watch that I hardly ever wear except when I get dressed up or for special occasions. I admit I wear it more as a fashion accessory than as a watch and still find myself checking my iPhone for the time out of habit instead of looking at my watch. It is possible Apple could create a smart watch with an amazing synergy and features that would make it a must have watch. I just hope it is not a cheap plastic band that cannot be swapped out for another band. If I start wearing a watch again daily I would want to have the option of using a finer material for the band.
I like it because it's a conversation piece. Something new and interesting that most people don't yet have. How cool is it to remote control your home stereo music streaming from your ipad/iphone by flicking your wrist?