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After Kickstarter Record, Pebble Smartwatch Lands $15M From VCs
LeadSongDog writes "The Globe and Mail is reporting that the 'Pebble' smartwatch has matched the $15M record for Kickstarter funding after initially being panned by the VC crowd." One advantage that the Pebble has over rumored watches from big names like Google and Apple is existing.
When the flip phone was all the rage it often reminded me of an 1890's station master pulling out his pocket watch and flipping it open/closed and then sliding it back into his pocket. The wristwatch basically put the pocket watch out of action. I suspect that history is going to repeat itself as I am now pulling out my smartphone repeatedly to quickly check various things such as the time, the weather, certain stocks, who just called, GPS, who just messaged, ebay alerts, fiddle with the audio, etc. Rarely do I pull out my smartphone to use the larger screen for things such surfing, typing, or talking.
So for at least 90% of my smartphone interfacing it would be awesome to interface with a convenient wrist watch to reach the phone in my pocket or pack. The key is that the watch does not stray into any territory where the phone excels. An example would be mapping. Don't try to put a small map on my watch; that will just drive me nuts. But a navigation app that just distance, direction, and turning instructions would be perfect for a watch.
Where I am presently confused is how to interface with my audio. I guess I could either use a bluetooth earpiece (loser) or headphones with a microphone and that would be fine.
The smartphone interface watch will be far more successful than google glasses. I think that google glasses will be cool for the most part at fulfilling our terminator fantasies but not for meeting our boring needs such as: What time is it?
I get that you're trying to provoke a reaction. The problem is, no one's offended by that kind of thing anymore. It's 2013, and we've all been desensitized by goatse and shitting dick-nipples. Plain obscentiy won't work anymore; you have to move on to something new and fresh.
Would be impressive if this product wasn't being sold as a watch. It's nice to imagine "a watch that can do all this stuff", but for me a defining factor of a watch is something I don't have to worry about recharging (or replacing the battery of).
who still wears a watch?
One advantage that the Pebble has over rumored watches from big names like Google and Apple is existing.
Apple has rarely entered a market first. iPod, iPhone, iPad, Air, etc. Hasn't stopped them from being successful, and in some cases reshaping or redefining the market.
Do you want to be the first to jump into the water, or see what happens to the other person when they jump in the water?
Please help metamoderate.
I've never heard someone under 30 years old use the word "rancid". It has really fallen out of use. That guy is probably old and sad.
http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
and they only took 15 million? One can only hope they didn't give up their rights in return.
it might not be a seller two years from now.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
and they only took 15 million? One can only hope they didn't give up their rights in return.
I have to wonder why they talked to the VCs at all... I can imagine taking the risk if you've just started somebullshitwithnorevenuemodel.com and crazy guys in suits are offering you a giant stack of pretend internet money for it; but why would a company with an actual shipping product, and sales, and such, risk going up against the elite equity-diluting and value extraction skills of a hardened VC?
Why do they need VCs, they have millions in the bank already.
That's basically what kickstarter is - it's a way for VCs to crowdsource initial investments without having to give any stock in return. As an AC noted below, in this case, it would appear that the kickstarters basically gave the VCs a gift of $15M, since now the VCs won't have to make any investment for initial development, prototyping, and manufacturing.
It's a pretty sweet deal if you're a VC - just snap up these kickstarters that someone else paid to develop, and laugh all the way to the bank.
Because with all the extra money you can do better marketing, promotion, sales and even product development.
If you can make 4x the money by giving away half, it's still double the money in your own pocket.
Ofcourse this does not account for giving up more subjective values such as control over your own product and being able to "not be evil".
Or simply put; selling your soul does make you rich.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
There haven't been any Viet Cong for decades now. They're all simply Vietnamese now.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Kickstarters are not angel investors. Usually-- and this was the case with Pebble-- Kickstarters are prepaying for the device, and those prepayments fund development and initial manufacturing.
Yes, I was a Kickstarter backer for Pebble. And, I received mine, at the stated discount. So I got my expected ROI.
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
Kickstarters are not angel investors. Usually-- and this was the case with Pebble-- Kickstarters are prepaying for the device, and those prepayments fund development and initial manufacturing. And, the amount raised through Kickstarter was $10M, not $15M. (The latter is the figure that the VC is adding.)
Yes, I was a Kickstarter backer for Pebble. And, I received mine, at the stated discount. So I got my expected ROI.
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
I have now owned my Pebble for a month and have been using it with my iPhone 4S the entire time. I absolutely love it. The ability to keep my phone on silent while still seeing text messages, and who's calling without pulling my phone out is great. I backed it back in May 2012 when it was first featured here. One thing I love about the Pebble is it's usable! The E-Paper display and 7 day battery life got me. I once owned a Fossil Abacus (Look it up) back in 2006. It ran PalmOS 4. Battery like was dismal, a day at best, and it didn't even display the time unless you pressed the button. There was no connectivity, as smart phones were just coming into existence. After a month of use I called it quits because of the dismal battery life, always needing charging. Why I got the pebble is because I already have to charge my iPhone daily, or every other day. I don't want another device I use all the time always needing a charge. I regularly get 6 days battery life on my Pebble, and that's when Low Battery comes on. If i let it go no doubt it would go a full 7 days. Why I think Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Google etc will fail in this market. I believe if any of them got into the SmartWatch market, they would use Full-Color LCD's. This means a dismal 2-3 days of battery. And the average Android and iOS user would want Video's, Songs,and all their favorite Android and iOS apps to work on it, like a tiny iPod Touch. This means battery draining graphics and higher end processors. The Pebble is great in this market because it accepts it's a Watch and a Companion device to a phone, where I dont think Apple and the other big players would try to market it as such.
don't but use mare morals don't don't always want to pull out our brick of a phone out of our pocket do.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
The new and easy way for the Rothchilds, Banker barons, and CIA to filter any new technology coming up and actively controlling it and distributing it to their liking.
If you cocksuckers didn't notice this is what the entertainment industry did with American Idol when it started: A systematic system of filtering all of the talent in the world so that in the end they can be controlled by said Rothchilds, Banker Barons and CIA
Americans are fucking stupid.
funniest thing I've read all day! someone mod this funny (esp. the american idol bit).
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Which is why I'll never do a kickstarter- I'm not going to pay extra for early access to a product that I can't test and may never be made. I'd be willing to invest for a share of the profits, but not pay extra for a presale.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
My thoughts, for what it's worth:
Appearance - not bad but not great. I wouldn't get one in any of the bright colors that they offer (but if that's your look, then there you go), but my plain black Pebble looks okay. It's a bit big, but not as big as I thought it'd be. It looks 'normal' enough to not get a whole lot of looks in a typical business-casual environment, but it's not going to win any design contests. However, for me, I wanted it for the functionality, so the look isn't that important to me.
Build quality - so so. I don't feel like it's going to break if I drop it, but it's mostly plastic and doesn't feel as rock-solid as, say, an iPhone 4/4S/5.
Battery life - Great, now. It was pretty poor at first (when sync'ed w/ an iPhone; I heard Android users had better luck), but a recent software update has improved the battery life tremendously. I now get 7+ days regularly (though I usually turn the bluetooth off at night).
Watch - it tells time well enough. :-) I love the ability to change watch faces. They just recently opened up the SDK, so I expect more watch faces to be available as well as other apps.
Accelerometer -- I'm sure this will be used in many apps in the future, but for now, it's still kind of a cool feature that I can just flick my wrist to turn on the backlight. :-)
Phone sync - this is what it's all about. It's...okay, but it has potential, and keeps improving rapidly. There is currently an annoying iOS bug where it doesn't always sync up with all the services (SMS, email, calendar, etc) you want it to, and you have to toggle the alert in the iOS settings for it to see the connection again. I usually do this once a day whether it needs it or not, since it only takes a few seconds. Regardless, it's GREAT to have. My personal favorite is the calendar reminders (I'm in a out of meetings a lot all day at work). It's great to check quick text messages without pulling out my phone too. Emails are usually too long to be worth reading on a watch, but it can do some of that if you want. You can also control media playback with it, pretty much out of the box. And it displays the number or name of someone calling you, or whoever you're on the line with, so for example you can check your watch and ignore a call without taking out your phone.
Apps are finally starting to arrive. Supposedly Runkeeper has some Pebble integration now, though I don't use that app personally.
There definitely seems to be more you can do with it on Android, but I'm an iPhone user at the moment, so I can't speak to that at all.
Recently released updates seem to have enabled some key functionality for someone to possibly make a "killer app", so I am anxious to see what starts showing up in the near future.
It's well worth keeping an eye on if you consider yourself to be even a little bit of an early adopter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android/posts
Non-kickstarter: Bankers, corporate stiffs have 100% control of what can raise capital
kickstarter concept: A bit of democracy possibility to bypass that control.
I don't personally feel Kickstarter is about investment but taking control --- and near stranglehold --- away from the kind of corporate culture unwilling to roll dice or uninterested in small yield/high interest projects.
Note: I am not arguing "kickstarter" is perfect.
Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
The Geek Chic people who went on Shark Tank recently have an ongoing business. They've been in business for several years, attend BGG Con each year, and have sold incredibly expensive tables to several people I know.
On the other hand, they have like an 18 month backlog, and once you order and make your down payment they'll ignore your emails for about a year until they're ready to deal with you, and ask you for your customizations. You can customize /everything/ on the table, even though it's marketed as a modular system, and it takes a while to figure all that out.
I suspect they went to a VC because they believed that they could be a bigger and more successful business, but they don't have anyone on board that knows how to become that business. Making the person who gives you the money have a stake in the company helps ensure that they'll actually help you succeed. I think they took $300k for a 25% stake or something like that.
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
Then let me invest, rather than prebuy. Let me buy a tiny part of the profits. But I'm not going to pay to pre-purchase an item that doesn't exist yet from a company with little to no track record. That puts all the risk on me, the consumer, rather than the entrepeneur. That's ass backwards.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
FYI, people generally go with "gross" or "nasty" now. Also, assholes generally smell bad anyways however the smell of death should never emanate from a living person. Get that guy to the hospital.
http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
I did get a tiny part of the profits... in the form of a 27% discount on the smartwatch.
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
Yes. And I feel like the community is being abused by the VC people, if they can just get kickstarter funding, and then go grab additional VC funding at the same time.
Why the VC people can just make 'starting a kickstarter' project as a precondition to obtaining VC funding, and approve the funding, after success of the kickstarter project; so the venture capitalists take the equity of the business, anyways, instead of the project founders.
If they could get VC funding, from the bankers, then the VC should be funding development too.
I don't see the resolution as to ban VC funding.
I think Kickstarter project creators should be required to disclose, if they are also seeking or obtaining VC funding, or other investments, prior to the completion of their project and fullfillment; In other words, any other funding should be disclosed.
That way, the crowd can if they choose to, rank/sort their projects that they are considering gifting to, based on their perceived need for those funds.
Then let me invest, rather than prebuy. Let me buy a tiny part of the profits.
This would be in violation of SEC regulations against selling unregistered securities to the public.
The only way they would potentially be able to do so would be to require that all site members prove they are accredited investors; E.g. by providing a copy of their paystub, showing sufficient income to meet the $200,000 per year income minimum set by the government for accredited investor status.
They're more of an investment than stocks are (outside of public offerings). But buying an item at a discount isn't an investment. It's like coming home from the mall with 20 shirts you didn't intend to buy and saying "but I saved money, they were on sale!"
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
Except there are ways to get around that. Ever known anyone who got a loan from parents/friends/ to start a business? Spin it as debt rather than equity. Although you could make a decent argument for waiving those restrictions for very small investments (say sub-100 dollars per investor with a cap on total investment as well).
But that's fine- if you can't do it you can't do it legally. That still doesn't mean that Kickstarter is anything other than a complete rip-off, transfering risk from the business to the buyer. The way its supposed to be is you make a product, taking the risk, and profiting for doing so. Its not supposed to be you con people into giving you money, let them take the risk that you can't complete development (or that you're just a scam), and then profit as well.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
if you can't do it you can't do it legally. That still doesn't mean that Kickstarter is anything other than a complete rip-off, transfering risk from the business to the buyer. The way its supposed to be is you make a product, taking the risk, and profiting for doing so. Its not supposed to be you con people into giving you money, let them take the risk that you can't complete development (or that you're just a scam), and then profit as well.
Is that any different than the risk of "pre-orders" of games or products that don't exist yet? Or buying a product that doesn't achieve critical mass and dies (The Barnes & Noble Nook, a Zune, etc.) I agree with you, by the way --- but look at Craigslist. Caveat Emptor.
Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
Don't most of them fail to achieve their goal? Kickstarter also does another service ... someone with a crap idea who is overexcited finds himself shot down and brought back to reality with minimal pain and with a bit of efficiency. The "best" solution to whatever issues Kickstarter has would be a competitor.
Priest: "Universe from nothing, no laws of physics, sped up time"+ huge discrepancies. Creationism? No. Big Bang Theory
Then let me invest, rather than prebuy. Let me buy a tiny part of the profits. But I'm not going to pay to pre-purchase an item that doesn't exist yet from a company with little to no track record. That puts all the risk on me, the consumer, rather than the entrepeneur. That's ass backwards.
Fair enough, you choice. There are lots of people though who will be willing to fund something *just for the joy of seeing it happen*. Not everything in life has to be an 'investment' to get a return. Sometimes, you take a punt on an unknown on the gamble that they are not going to scam you. Recently I got a Radian time-lapse motion photography thing delivered from a Kickstarter. It's a product that didn't exist and now does, and I'm pleased to have helped it happen. I believed in the people who wanted to create it and they didn't let me down.
If it had failed I'd have been annoyed, of course, but that's the risk. My reward is a (pretty good) product cheaper and earlier than anyone else can get.
Not everything is about making money.
Except there are ways to get around that. Ever known anyone who got a loan from parents/friends/ to start a business? Spin it as debt rather than equity.
Are you familiar with the case of Prosper.com ?
On November 24, 2008, the SEC found Prosper.com to be in violation of the Securities Act of 1933. As a result of these findings, the SEC imposed a cease and desist order on Prosper.[11] Due primarily to the novel nature of the peer to peer lending models, the SEC, after review, now treats all peer to peer lending transactions as sales of securities and requires that all platforms must register with the SEC.
Its not supposed to be you con people into giving you money, let them take the risk that you can't complete development (or that you're just a scam), and then profit as well.
Kickstarter doesn't fully transfer the risk. According to the terms of the site, if the project creator cannot deliver the rewards, they are liable to the contributors, to refund the amount of their contributions; otherwise, they could be sued by the contributors.
So the contributors have the risk if the project creator becomes insolvent, but they don't have the risk if the project creator has other resources, or is not insolvent but just fails to deliver
It would be interesting to have some statistics about Kickstarter projects that were funded but failed to deliver, regarding... what exactly the result was.
Did the contributors just accept their loss, with no legal issues; was the project creator insolvent (as in unable to pay their liabilities to the contributors); did they refund; or did a class action lawsuit result?
I'm going to hope that was a joke. I don't have the heart to explain all of economics tonight.
Dude, I get it. This and other Kickstarters aren't typical venture-capital investments. In fact, I think that is by design; I think that in the U.S., there are regulatory issues with crowd-funding venture capital, and so Kickstarter is intentionally structured this way.
I see below where you replied to an AC with:
That is not what happened in the case of Pebble. What happened is: I ponied up $110 in a "pledge" (read: angel investment,) for what amounted to a 0.001% stake. Then, prior to the first VC round, the future value of my equity was discounted back to present value, and paid to me in the currency of a Pebble watch, currently valued at $150.
Yes, I am saying the above somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But my primary point is: the only reason it is done this way is to work around regulatory issues.
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
Except there are ways to get around that. Ever known anyone who got a loan from parents/friends/ to start a business? Spin it as debt rather than equity.
If you could avoid it looking to the government like a fixed income security; maybe they could work out a mechanism involving an optional promise to return contributors money after giving out the reward, plus the imputed interest to compensate for cost of capital at the fair market value for consumer debt; conditioned on the project generating revenue or obtaining future funding; less the fixed cost of production.
In other words: a promise that you as an enabling contributor will recapture your contribution, before the project creator is allowed to generate revenue from the project and pocket profit.
It makes sense; but I think the liability to the contributor would have to be a liability from Kickstarter's to the contributor; instead of a liability of the project creator in order for it to possibly be legal.
Because I don't see every project creator going through the paperwork and expense to register individuall with the SEC.
I'm not sure that e-Ink would be better in this case, depending on how you configure the watch-face. For an ebook reader, you read for approximately an hour, changing pages every 2-3 seconds. For a watch, it may be updating every second (assuming you have a "seconds" counter of some sort showing, or a chronometer etc). E-ink might not be fast enough to refresh, and with 1-update-per-sec it also might have have much advantage battery-wise.
The naming is a bit sneaky, though.