Smartwatch pioneer Pebble has announced a $1m fund (around £680,000) to help developers bring the best ideas for its Pebble Time ‘smartstrap’ initiative to life.
With its incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign for the Pebble Time watch, the company opened the floor to developers in order to create straps incorporated with sensors, for Steel edition,
The firm reasoned that “rather than trying to shove every sensor and doohickey” into the Pebble Time, developers can build them right into their own straps.
Pebble says hundreds of developers, hackers and brands have approached it with ideas and now the firm is monitoring crowdfunding sites to throw its weight behind the most intriguing projects.
In a press release, the start-up wrote: “If you have an idea and want to be part of the smartstrap revolution, this is your chance! Get a team together, build a prototype and then put your project up on a crowdfunding platform. Our team will work to help bring your ideas to life.
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“From there, we expect many projects to evolve into products fit for wider release.”
Read more: Pebble Time vs Apple Watch
In its announcement Pebble cited one concept that enables the Time to act as a mobile phone, thanks to a SIM-loaded strap that can connect to a mobile network. Another allows GPS, NFC and Heart Rate sensors – all missing from the Pebble Time – to be added to the device.
The Pebble Time is the most successful Kickstarter project ever, raising over $19 million since the announcement three weeks ago.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
