Pebble is obviously on a roll. After surprising the smartwatch world by announcing the colored display Pebble Time, which, by the way, now stands at $12 million when it was only looking for $500,000, it is now announcing not one but two "forward looking" glad tidings to its fans. The smartwatch pioneer and Kickstarter darling is revealing its concept for what it call Smartstraps. But end users and owners will probably be more excited for the other news: the stainless steel clad Pebble Time Steel.
Who wouldn't want a premium looking timepiece? Probably those who prefer the more sporty original Pebble design. But for those who want their watch to match whatever the occasion or fashion, the Pebble Time Steel is here for you. Made from CNC-finished 316L stainless steel, the Time Steel definitely exudes class as much as it does utility. And while normally a steel strap would work perfectly with it, it also comes with a leather strap for those times when you feel like it. And you still get all the benefits of Pebble Time. That means the same color e-paper display, now bonded directly to the lens, water resistance and ruggedness, and the freedom to use any standard 22 mm strap you wish.
The Pebble Steel Time comes in three colors: Gunmetal Black, Silver Stainless, and, wait for it, Gold. The Kickstarter price is $250 which will climb to $299 afterwards. Kickstarter backers can upgrade their pledges to avail of this new offer.
Pebble also has news for developers. Smartstrap, as the name suggests, are straps with brains. Electronic brains, that is. Instead of overloading Pebbles with all kinds of features and sensors, Pebble thought, why not utilize the strap instead. Here, developers can opt to add, and perhaps sell, straps with different kinds of abilities, without burdening the watch itself. Of course, it will be able to integrate with the Pebble OS for maximum results.
Pebble will be fleshing out the system soon and it may even create and sell smartstraps of its own. But for now, it will be letting developers and makers take the lead.