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Pebble takes on Apple Watch with a new Kickstarter that’s raised over $5 million in less than a day

Published Feb 24th, 2015 2:42PM EST
Pebble Time vs. Apple Watch
Image: Kickstarter

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Pebble Technology, the company that made one of the best-selling smartwatches to date, seems ready to fight against Apple’s first smartwatch with a brand-new product of its own.

To better compete against Apple’s highly customizable device, Pebble has come up with a new smartwatch design that it first revealed on Tuesday as part of its newest Kickstarter project. And, unsurprisingly, the project is off to a great start, having already hit more than $5 million in pledges, or five times its initial $500,000 funding goal.

FROM EARLIER: Apple Watch’s only real competition looks stunning in this new video

With 31 days left in the new Kickstarter campaign, Pebble has already convinced more than 24,000 backers to pledge money to the device. The Pebble Time costs $179, the cheapest price available on the site right now, and should ship at some point in May.

The Pebble Time offers various interesting features, including a color e-paper display, a new timeline interface (which is coming to older Pebble models too), a microphone for responding to notifications, up to 7 days of battery life and support for more than 6,500 applications. The device will be available in three colors, exclusively on Kickstarter, and is supposed to be water resistant.

Interestingly, smartwatch accessory makers and Pebble Time buyers will have access to official 3D data to print out their own straps for the device in the future.

A video showing the device in action follows below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.