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Pebble Lays Off 25% of Its Staff, Smartwatch Bubble Set To Burst? (computerworld.com)
tripleevenfall writes: Pebble is laying off 25% of its employees -- that's 40 pink slips -- taking it down to just 80 people. It seems indicative of the smartwatch market's terrible state. Previously the darling of the crowdfunding fraternity -- it raised over $30 million on Kickstarter -- Pebble is finding it hard to keep the plates spinning in 2016.
The layoffs were confirmed by Pebble's CEO Eric Migicovsky, who implied that venture capitalists are now less keen on funding the smartwatch category.
The layoffs were confirmed by Pebble's CEO Eric Migicovsky, who implied that venture capitalists are now less keen on funding the smartwatch category.
It wasn't a very big bubble; but the hype-to-substance ratio was arguably large enough to qualify as a small one. It didn't survive contact with reality for long; but there was a brief period of delusional hope among the manufacturers and some of the talking heads that 'smartwatch' was going to be the must-have accessory and temporary reprieve from the pressure on profits caused by the fact that everyone who wants a smartphone and a tablet either already has one or is poor enough that their desire for one isn't too helpful.
Definitely not at the level of "zOMG 3D TV! It will surely cause everyone to re-buy their television!"; but same basic hopeful delusion that a new gimmick could save them from an increasingly saturated and commodified market.
When it comes to battery life, NOTHING on the market can beat Pebble's first generation Pebble Watch and Pebble Watch Steel. Both of them are actually pretty light, and the Steel is sort of a watch you can wear to a dinner. Both can go a week on a full charge. Even Pebble's own second generation Time and Time Steel run time took a hit when they introduced the color screen.
While I love my Pebble Steel, I do fear Pebble will eventually go down the way of Palm Inc, Walkman, Blueberry and others.
I've been playing with an Apple Watch for the past few weeks (doing an app development project at the moment), and I find it to be fairly useful, though it certainly is no game-changer. It is not meant to be a replacement smart device, it is meant to be a companion to one. That means you don't need a full screen and full functionality, just something that can display notifications and basic information. You're not going to be reading the news on that thing, but it'll vibrate and pop up the headline if there's a breaking story, for example. Personally I found it useful for navigating a strange city (on foot); you can access Apple Maps on the watch and have it display directions. Way easier han walking around holding your phone, and the small screen provides enough space for usable directions.
What I really like about the watch is the vibrate function. I leave my phone on silent most of the time, and when it is in my pocket or lying around the house somewhere I often miss calls. But the watch' vibration is impossible to miss.
But the fact that the watch is a companion also means that its appeal will probably be very limited. Make your smart watch too expensive and most people will not want to buy one to gain a handful of mildly convenient but nonessential features. Make it too cheap and it'll look horrible as an accessory. Pebble make a good effort with their watches, but as watches go they still don't look very good. If I really wanted a smart watch, I'd pay 4 figures for one that looks really good, I mean classical watch good. Something in titanium or gold. But not if the innards will be obsolete in a few years. Unless manufacturers can find ways to make the electronics swappable so people can keep the case, these watches will be too ugly or expensive to find widespread use.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
I take my watch off to go through security at the airport and when I have sex. I'm married and I seldom travel.
In my opinion, battery life should be measured against quartz watches -- years. Or compared to my self-winding Tag or my Seiko solar quartz -- never, bounded by my lifetime.
Until then I don't see the utility. I've learned to ignore my smartphone -- I have all but the narrowest list of VIPs set to provide any notifications and keep it muted and on vibrate all the time, so I'm not interested in glancing at my watch to find out what the latest distraction is.
Plus, cost versus obsolescence? My Tag was an expensive gift, but it will also last my lifetime and never stop working because battery or vendor or software. Same with my Seiko. Any "smart watch" will be obsolete in a couple of years, which seems like a lot to spend for something you just know will be unsupported and unusable.
Funny, I thought the whole smartwatch concept was always a ridiculously overpriced gadget in which the practicalities of legibility, usability, and value were entirely overshadowed by the opportunity to flaunt another piece of ridiculous technological e-peen. Or would that be iPeen?
-Styopa