the start-up floods the market

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While we thought it was coming to an end, Pebble is reborn from the ashes today with a new Kickstarter campaign! After that of 2012 which allowed him to collect $ 10M and that of 2015 which allowed him to break the record of the platform Kickstarter ($ 20M), Pebble seemed at the worst: dismissal of a quarter of the workforce, drastic drop in the price of its smartwatches. Would an umpteenth crowdfunding campaign be the solution to his worries?

If Pebble has noticed that it will be difficult to compete with the giants Apple, Samsung and LG on the market of the "classic" smart health connected watch, the US manufacturer has decided to embark on the niche of "autonomous" devices (understand with a location for a 3G SIM that provides connection without smartphone) with the Pebble Core, in addition to two more traditional and more sport-oriented smart health connected watches. The bet is a winner since within 30 minutes, the start-up has already raised not less than $ 500,000, half of its goal.

Pebble 2 and Time 2: an unbeatable price

Unlike its first models that played on the style, Pebble nowadays also has a sporting side: the Pebble 2 and Time 2 are both equipped with a heart rate sensor that provides 24/7 monitoring. 7. The features that characterize a smart health connected watch (notifications, calls, SMS) are of course always present. The basic version has an autonomy of 7 days, and the N ° 2 climbs up to 10 days (despite its colorful screen, certainly in e-ink) – a good performance compared to all competitors who are currently struggling with 48 hours of autonomy. We will also appreciate water resistance which will allow the most courageous to go diving in the water with.

Pebble seems to have also understood the importance of the price since the price of these two new products are well below its previous smartwatches: $ 99 for the Pebble 2, and $ 169 for the Time 2. Once again, Pebble is putting one step ahead of all its competitors, who are hovering around $ 200-500 for their entry-level smart health watch. It's promising, we did not believe it anymore!

Pebble Core: an autonomous activity tracker

This is the first product of the brand that is not a smart health connected watch : The Pebble Core is a small activity sensor that attaches to the top of a T-Shirt and makes it possible to follow up a sport session in an ultra-precise way. Thanks to a micro-SIM 3G which will be integrated in the box, the user will be able to use a GPS to track its performance. RunKeeper, Strava and Under Armor applications are still available on this release. Note that headphones can be smart health connected to the Pebble Core to broadcast Spotify while jogging …

Faced with smart health connected bracelets that are marketed between $ 20 and $ 50 for entry-level models and $ 100 – $ 200 for high-end (like the Fitbit Alta), Pebble has chosen to tap slightly above with this product which, it must be said, is still more premium than an entry level. The advertised price ($ 69) is very clearly competitive, and it deserves to be said!

In short, Pebble has completely revised its positioning, and this could allow it to take a new momentum in the years to come. It will now be necessary to see if the start-up is able to compete with smart health connected watch and wristband manufacturers who manage to sell in bulk through well-established distribution channels and with smaller margins. When we know that it took Pebble more than 2 years to reference his first watches on Amazon France, we still have a little doubt. In the meantime, here is the link to access the campaign on Kickstarter.

Here is the video presentation of the new products:

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