1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland, am the executive producer at 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works, and I love all things tech. And 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: in our last episode, which was about Pebble, if you 6 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: have not heard that episode, I recommend you listen to 7 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: it because this is a continuation. But in that episode, 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: I I ended by talking about how Eric Mitchakovsky, the 9 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: the founder of Pebble, had launched a successful Kickstarter campaign. 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: In fact, it was at the time the most successful 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: Kickstarter campaign, and by the end of two thousand twelve, 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: beginning in two thousand thirteen, he was getting ready. In 13 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,560 Speaker 1: fact that the opening month of two thousand thirty started 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: shipping out units of the Pebble smart watch two Kickstarter backers, 15 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: and then after he got through those, he started sending 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: them to preorder customers. We're going to pick up from 17 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,279 Speaker 1: there and look at what the company did over the 18 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: following three years when Pebble would cease to exist as 19 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: a company, and then I'll do a little follow up 20 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,759 Speaker 1: at the end with some more recent news, because even 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: after the company ended, it kind of kept going a 22 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,559 Speaker 1: little bit until recently. More reviews for the Pebble smart 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: Watch once it came out, we're generally positive. They weren't gushing, 24 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: they weren't overwhelming, but they generally said nice things about 25 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: the product. They pointed out that the watch was limited 26 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: in what it could do. It was essentially a timetelling 27 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: piece that would give you a heads up on incoming 28 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,479 Speaker 1: notifications on your phone, and there was the promise of 29 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: some other apps that would be UH compatible in the future, 30 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: but there wasn't a whole lot to do with it 31 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: raw the gate. You could you could do stuff like 32 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: read text messages that came in on your phone. You 33 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: could read things like Twitter responses, email. Essentially, stuff that 34 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: was coming into your phone be relayed to your your 35 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: Pebble smart watch, and you would use the physical buttons 36 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: on the side of the watch to navigate those messages. 37 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: You could scroll up or down. You could use your 38 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: watch to decline an incoming phone call. You get a 39 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: phone call, you look at your your wrist. You see, oh, 40 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: that's a call coming in from so and so. I 41 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: don't have time to talk to that person. I'm just 42 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,239 Speaker 1: gonna go ahead and send that to voicemail. You could 43 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: do that from your watch as well, and had a 44 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: vibrating motor inside of it that would help alert you 45 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: to those incoming calls or act as an alarm to 46 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 1: remind you about upcoming appointments. So it was useful, but 47 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: it wasn't super flashy, right. It was just a monochromatic 48 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: screen and had some very basic functions. It did what 49 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: it did well, but it wasn't incredibly versatile, so I 50 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: wasn't trying to be a smartphone for your wrist, which 51 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: some other smart watches had kind of tried to go 52 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: down that route, and that ended up complicating things because 53 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: typically it meant that you had so many features in 54 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: your smart watch that it either didn't do them very 55 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: well or it really had a terrible battery life because 56 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: you were trying to pack so many different components into 57 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: a very small form factor, so it didn't leave very 58 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: much room for a battery. So Pebble took a different approach, 59 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: and it helped also keep the price down. So uh, 60 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,679 Speaker 1: some people like me liked the Pebble because we knew 61 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: what we were going to get. We understood, all right, 62 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: this is a limited set of features. It's not the 63 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: end all be all of technology, but it is kind 64 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: of neat and you know what it can do, and 65 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: it's at the price point, and so, uh, people like me, 66 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: we were on board. Now, other people felt it just 67 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: didn't have enough features to be worth the purchase, which 68 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: is a totally valid point of view. I might add, 69 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: if you look at this and you say, uh, it's 70 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: just telling me stuff that I can look at just 71 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: by glancing at my phone, I'm not going to spend 72 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: a d fifty dollars on that, that's a legitimate argument. Well, 73 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: the kick started campaign helped Pebble in more ways than one. 74 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: It gave them the starting capital they needed to get 75 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: manufacturing rolling right to start this process, to start generating 76 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: these these watches, to build out these watches and then 77 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: ship them and hopefully start laying the groundwork for customers. 78 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: But the truth of the matter was that the company 79 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: was going to need more money to make good on 80 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: the pre orders and Kickstarter orders because they were offering 81 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: those Kickstarter ones at any rate at a discount. So 82 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: you started discounting the product before you've actually started to 83 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: build it. Sometimes the costs can end up overshadowing the 84 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: money you're bringing in, so Midchaikovsky sought investment, and this 85 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: time he founded. If you listen to my last episode, 86 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: you know he had a real hard time finding investors 87 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: because they were shy about supporting what appeared to be 88 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: an upstart hardware company. Hardware is a very risky business. 89 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: The historic success of the crowdfunding campaign, however, change the minds. 90 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: You saw investors say, huh, there. People seemed to put 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: a lot of stock in this not not in stock 92 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: exchange kind of way, but in people seem to put 93 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: a lot of value in this company, so maybe we 94 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: should invest in it. So Pebble received about fifteen million 95 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: dollars in investment, and that helped the fledgling company fill 96 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: all of its Kickstarter orders and many of its pre orders. 97 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: By May and in all, one thousand people had signed 98 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:41,599 Speaker 1: up to pre order a Kickstarter watch or a Pebble 99 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: watch rather. By July seven of two thousand, thirteen, Pebble 100 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: smart watches could be found on the shelves of Best 101 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 1: Buy stores. This originally was an exclusive arrangement for best Buy, 102 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,479 Speaker 1: so it was the only retail store that was carrying 103 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: Pebble watches at the beginning. Uh and at first, at 104 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: least they only had the jet black version of the 105 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: smart watch available, But this helps cement Pebble as a 106 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: quote unquote real product and not just some internet dream. 107 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: You know. It wasn't just mail order. You could find 108 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: these in honest to goodness, real stores, and for some 109 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: people that kind of sign is the only way they'll 110 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: accept it as being a legitimate business. Well, Pebble spent 111 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: its first year making and shipping those basic watches to buyers, 112 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: and by the end of the company had shipped three 113 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: hundred thousand watches to customers. Back in April, Pebble also 114 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: introduced a sort of proto software Developer Kit or s 115 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,719 Speaker 1: d K, and it was limited in scope that original one. 116 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: It allowed developers to create new watch faces for the 117 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: Pebble and some basic applications, but the following month they 118 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: debuted the Pebble Kit s d K, and that would 119 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: allow developers to create apps that used two way communication 120 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: between the watch is and their paired devices, and it 121 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: opened up a lot of other opportunities for UH integration 122 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: with various apps. In early fourteen, Pebble announced a new 123 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: take on this basic watch and it was called the 124 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: Pebble Steel s T E E l so as in 125 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,679 Speaker 1: the metal, not as in thievery. The original Pebble watches 126 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: had plastic bodies and they were more sporty. According to Midchakovsky, 127 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: the Pebble Steel marked a move to try and tap 128 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: into the more traditional watch market, something that you might 129 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 1: wear if you were dressing up, maybe your business person, 130 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: and you want to have a watch that kind of 131 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: reflects that, and you don't want some something that's bright 132 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: and colorful and plastic on your wrist. So these watches 133 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: were about a hundred dollars more expensive than the original 134 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: Pebbles when they were first announced. They looked more professional. 135 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: They had different options for wrist bands or for watch bands. 136 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: You could get a leather watch band, or you could 137 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: get um, you know, sort of that chain based kind 138 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: of watch band. And these new watch designs also meant 139 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: that the Pebble had to change up the charging cable 140 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: for the steel. The the form factor for the Pebble 141 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: Steel was different from the original Pebble and so the 142 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: charging cable that they had made for the original Pebble 143 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: would not fit on the steel. So classic cables were 144 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: not compatible with the new watch. That got some criticism 145 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: from some folks. They said, well, now you're confusing things 146 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: because if you're going to have a line of Pebble 147 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: watches and some people collect watches, well, now you're going 148 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: to have to have different cables for different models. That's 149 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: very confusing, but it's the way they went. Under the hood, 150 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: the Pebble Steel mostly resembled its Sport Year predecessor. One 151 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: difference was that the new watch had twice the onboard memory. 152 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: They went from four megabytes up to eight megabytes for memory, 153 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 1: but otherwise things were pretty much the same now. The 154 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: reason for that is the company did want to try 155 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: and avoid fragmentation as much as they could, especially on 156 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,719 Speaker 1: the app side. So if they made too many changes 157 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,679 Speaker 1: to the design of the Pebble, it would make things 158 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: messier for developers and for customers. So it could be 159 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: hard to explain to a customer base that because you 160 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 1: own an older watch, you aren't able to use certain 161 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 1: apps because those apps depend upon features that are absent 162 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: in earlier models. I can get very frustrating, and so 163 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: Pebble made a very careful move to avoid shaking things 164 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 1: up too much. Along with the Pebble Steel, the company 165 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: launched version two point oh of its software and an 166 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: app store as well, and included apps from big names 167 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: like Pandora, four Square, and ESPN. There were also some 168 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: games that were designed to play on the watch, and 169 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: all apps in the app store were free. It was 170 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,439 Speaker 1: actually a requirement Pebble set. He said, well, he Eric 171 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,679 Speaker 1: Machakovsky said that bowl apps in the app store had 172 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: to be free, uh in order to be featured on 173 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: the app store. However, developers were allowed to create their 174 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: own companion apps for the Pebble and they could have 175 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: those listed in the app store over an Apple or 176 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: Google Play, and they could charge money for those. It 177 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,320 Speaker 1: wouldn't be featured in the Pebble app but you could 178 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: have these companion apps and you can charge whatever you liked. Um. 179 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: And so this looked like it was just the very 180 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:33,439 Speaker 1: beginning for Pebble. The watches would allow for eight slots 181 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: for apps for third party apps, and if you wanted 182 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 1: more than eight apps, well you would choose whichever ones 183 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: you load onto the watch, and you would have to 184 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: unload apps if you had more than eight, you'd have 185 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: to decide, all right, well, these eight I want, but 186 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: these other two that I had on there, I'm going 187 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: to take off those unloaded apps would go into what 188 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: they called a locker on the companion Pebble app for 189 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: your smartphone, the thing that you would pair the watch too, 190 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: and that way you could swap those older apps back 191 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: in easily. You could say, all right, well, I'm going 192 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: to reinstall this app I put into the locker because 193 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,800 Speaker 1: I wanted again still that that was kind of a 194 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: limitation and it rubbed some folks the wrong way, because 195 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: it's kind of a hassle to have to manage apps 196 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,599 Speaker 1: like that, you know, to to fill up once you 197 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: hit eight and then you have to swap stuff out 198 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: if you happen to like having a lot of apps 199 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: at your disposal, it was it was a little frustrating. 200 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 1: Kneeli Patel reviewed the Steel for The Verge, and he 201 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: lamented that the apps weren't quite advanced enough for his tastes. 202 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: He pointed out that the experiences were not really location based, 203 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: which meant if you wanted to use your watch, and 204 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: let's say you want you had the four Square app 205 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: activated on your watch and you want to check into 206 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: the location that you were going into, you maybe you're 207 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: at a restaurant, because back in those days, four Square 208 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: did that that was back when four Square was a 209 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: check in service. They have since change what they do, 210 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: but that's an episode for a different time. Anyway, if 211 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: you were using your watch to do this your Pebble, 212 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: and then that you were pressing the physical buttons on 213 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: the watch a lot in order for you to navigate 214 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: through the app and to activate the right place for 215 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: you to check in, and that this was not very 216 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: user friendly. Why would you do that when you could 217 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: just take your phone out and do the same thing 218 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: much more quickly. Patel said, what really should happen is 219 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: there should be some more predictive elements to the Pebble. 220 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: It should be able to pull information from your paired 221 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,320 Speaker 1: phone and say, all right, well, clearly this person that 222 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: my wearer just walked into this restaurant. So when my 223 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: wearer checks the phone, I'm going to suggest the four 224 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: Square app and I'm already going to have the place 225 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,839 Speaker 1: pulled up for them to check in if they want to. 226 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: But that was not something that was happening in those 227 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: early apps. Some of the companion apps got pretty neat. 228 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: For example, developers created a Companion nap that would let 229 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: you use the Pebble with certain WiFi enabled cameras, so 230 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: you can actually use it like a remote control for 231 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 1: those cameras. I think that's kind of cool. The Pebble Steel, 232 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: like its predecessor, landed a distribution deal at best Buy. 233 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 1: Customers would be able to buy a steal for two 234 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: nine dollars, but they were only able to get it 235 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: with the leather straps. So this is kind of similar 236 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: to how when the original Pebble came out, the only 237 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: color you could get was jet black. It's it's similar 238 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: to that. Well, I've got a lot more to say 239 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: about Pebble's decline, but first let's take a quick break 240 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: to thank our sponsor. In the summer of fourteen, Google 241 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: was getting ready to unveil Android Wear, which is a 242 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,560 Speaker 1: version of the Android operating system. It's a platform for 243 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: wearable computing. It makes sense just from the name. Meanwhile, 244 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 1: Pebble continued to foster it's developer community and to make 245 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: deals with other companies, such as a wearable company called 246 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: Misfit that made activity trackers. So Misfit made an app 247 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,959 Speaker 1: for Pebble that would take data from the watch's accelerometer 248 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: and essentially turned the watch into a pedometer and a 249 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: step tracker. In other words, the first Android ware watch 250 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: to hit the market was the LGG Watch. This watch 251 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: was the first to use Android ware as its operating system, 252 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: and other companies also announced their own Android based smart 253 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: watches in the summer of fourteen, But Google's approach was 254 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: different from what Apple would do. Google's approach was to 255 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: create a platform, you know, Android war and to let 256 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: other companies produce the actual hardware. And that meant that 257 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: there were a lot of competing watches that were on 258 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: the way without really a clear front runner in those 259 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: early days. So there wasn't one single Android based watch 260 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: you would point to and say, this is the Pebble killer. 261 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: But it had to be worrisome because there were a 262 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: bunch of different ones that were coming out, and there 263 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: was a lot of interest in that original LGG watch, 264 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: and that was a pretty limited implementation of Android ware. 265 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: When it came out. In September, Pebble reduced the price 266 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: of its two watch lines, The Classic Pebble, the sporty 267 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: version would drop down to and the Pebble Steel was 268 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: reduced to one. Pebble also made new agreements with companies 269 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: like Jawbone and swim dot Com, which helped expand the 270 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: Pebble's utility as a fitness and sleep tracker. Again mostly 271 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: just detecting movements through the accelerometer, so pretty simplistic variation 272 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 1: of fitness tracker. They a lot of the more advanced 273 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: fitness trackers take into account more information than just an accelerometer. 274 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: The company had also moved beyond its exclusive deal with 275 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: best Buy. It was already available in Target and also 276 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: on Amazon dot Com, but in the fall of it 277 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: also started to show up in stores like Fries and 278 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,240 Speaker 1: Sam's Club, and it also became available in the UK 279 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: and across Scandinavia. And perhaps it was a combination of 280 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: all of these different efforts that pushed Pebble sales to 281 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: hit one million units by the end of so For 282 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: a new company, brand new hardware company with an unproven 283 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: form factor smart watches had not really taken off before this, 284 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: this seemed like a pretty good pace to hit a 285 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: million sales in its second year. Not bad. However, something 286 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: else happened in the fall of two thousand fourteen that 287 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: might have been of some concern. Apple, the company that 288 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: had dominated by creating the iPod and really defining the 289 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: MP three era. I mean, we call them podcasts because 290 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: Apple really did have a stranglehold on that market. Apple 291 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: also was able to essentially define the consumer smartphone market, 292 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: at least in the United States, as well as create 293 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 1: the first successful consumer tablet with the iPad. They decided 294 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: to throw their hat in the ring and they finally 295 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: confirmed suspicions and rumors that had been going on all year, 296 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,920 Speaker 1: and in September they announced that the company had designed 297 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,719 Speaker 1: and branded its own smart watch and it was on 298 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: the way and it would come out the following year. 299 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: In now mid Yakovski greeted this announcement with a pretty 300 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: calm and even welcome tone. He postulated that Apple's market 301 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: was going to be for a different type of customer 302 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: than pebbles target market, and that sounds pretty reasonable because 303 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: it was clear, even early on, when we knew very 304 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: little about the Apple Watch, that that smart watch was 305 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: going to be a luxury item. It was not going 306 00:17:52,880 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: to be your basic, you know, uh, ground level smart 307 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: aren't watch. This was something that was going to be 308 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: a bit of a luxury purchase. So the Pebble was 309 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: marketed as a useful piece of technology that was at 310 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: a reasonable price point, and the Apple Watch was clearly 311 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: going to be able to do a lot of the 312 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: stuff that Pebble could not do. But Mitschakovsky maintained that 313 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: as long as what Pebble did, it did well, and 314 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: as long as it maintained expectations, there would be plenty 315 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: of room for both the Pebble and the Apple Watch. 316 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,159 Speaker 1: And besides, the Apple Watch was only going to be 317 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: in the domain of Apple. You know, there was no 318 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: one out there who thought Apple was going to come 319 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 1: out with a smart watch that would also be compatible 320 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: with Android smartphones. Everyone knew from the get go because Apple. 321 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: Apple's approach always has been try and get everybody into 322 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: the Apple ecosystem and keep them there. So no one 323 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: was operating under the assumption that this was going to 324 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: work with Android operating system phones. So that meant the 325 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: Pebble was definitely going to still have an audience as 326 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: be all the people who don't have an iPhone. Still, 327 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: with both Google and Apple unveiling new technologies for wearables, 328 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: some people were starting to get a little concerned about Pebble. 329 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: Would the pioneering company be able to stand up for 330 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: itself with these looming giants gaining momentum on it The 331 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: Apple question would go unanswered for the time being. While 332 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: the company would announce the watch in September two fourteen, 333 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,360 Speaker 1: pre orders of the device wouldn't even start until April, 334 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: so that question was kind of tabled for several months. 335 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: As for Android ware watches, that number is actually kind 336 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: of hard to track. It's kind of hard to say 337 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:52,479 Speaker 1: how many Android wear watches were sold in There were 338 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 1: multiple companies that were making Android based watches by the 339 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: end of fourteen, and not all of them shared sales figures. 340 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: Some of them would only talk about how many units 341 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: were shipped, not sold, So that's not necessarily the same thing. 342 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: So if you're shipping watches to retail locations, those don't 343 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: count as sales. That they've just been moved to a 344 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: retail location and they could be just gathering dust. But 345 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 1: according to the research firm kennelsts c A in A 346 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 1: l y S companies shipped seven twenty thousand Android ware 347 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 1: watches in Again, those are not sales, it's shipp numbers, 348 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 1: not sale numbers. But it did take Pebble two years 349 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: to reach one million units sold, and Android ware had 350 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: only been around since the summer of that year, so 351 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,440 Speaker 1: I've only been on the market for six months, so 352 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: clearly there was a lot of movement in the smart 353 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: watch space even in before the Apple Watch came out, 354 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: and Pebble, while it led the way, was not necessarily 355 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: going to be the mark get leader for very long. 356 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: By early Pebble said there were more than six thousand 357 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,120 Speaker 1: various apps available for their smart watches, and they're also 358 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: watch faces among that number, and that more than twenty 359 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: five thousand developers were part of the Pebble developer community, 360 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: which was a pretty nice thing to be able to 361 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: point to and say, we have a very healthy community 362 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: of developers that are creating innovative apps for our smart watch. 363 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: You can do all sorts of stuff besides just see 364 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: what time it is and see who's calling you. In February, 365 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: Pebble announced that they were coming out with the next 366 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: generation of their watch. This one they called the Pebble Time. 367 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: What a great name for a watch, calling it the 368 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: time Do you have the time rights itself? It had 369 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: a sixty four color e paper display, so it moved 370 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: beyond the monochromatic though, I should say this e paper 371 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: display it looked kind of like a comic book, like 372 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,400 Speaker 1: like the way the inside pages of a comic look. Look, 373 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: you know, has that that almost slightly faded look to it. 374 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: That's kind of how the e paper looked. And that 375 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: was because of the technology. You only had sixty or 376 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: four colors to work with. You didn't have so many 377 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 1: different variations that you could have lots of different vibrancy there, 378 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,719 Speaker 1: but it was still a color display. It also had 379 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: a microphone that would let users make voice notes and 380 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,360 Speaker 1: voice replies to incoming messages. The screen had a protective 381 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: layer made of gorilla glass, which was an upgrade from 382 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: the Pebble and Pebble steel. The bezel on the watch 383 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,479 Speaker 1: was of stainless steel, and the watch was available in 384 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,719 Speaker 1: three colors. Like the original Pebble. You could get it 385 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,639 Speaker 1: in white, black, or red, although they were uh not 386 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,640 Speaker 1: exactly the same versions of white, black and red as 387 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: the original Pebble, but still kind of in line with 388 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: the company's history. And here's the Kicker, or rather I 389 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: guess I should say here's the Kickstarter because Pebble launched 390 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,199 Speaker 1: the Pebble Time on Kickstarter, as they had with the 391 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: original Pebble two years earlier, and the Pebble Time also 392 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:09,440 Speaker 1: performed really well on that platform, early bird backers could 393 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: pledge a hundred fifty nine dollars for a Pebble Time. 394 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: Once those pledges were used up, backers could then reserve 395 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: one for one seventy nine, so early bird kickstarter. The 396 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,920 Speaker 1: way it typically works is that you limit how many 397 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: people can reserve at that price point. Whatever it may be, 398 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: whether it's a watch like in this case, or it's 399 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: other special swag or giveaways, or whatever it might be 400 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: that's related to your campaign. You can say, all right, well, 401 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: the first two hundred to pledge at this amount can 402 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: get this reward, but after that you have to pledge 403 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: higher in order to get that same stuff. That's what 404 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: Pebble did. And the retail price for the watch was 405 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: on so if you were an early bird you got 406 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,439 Speaker 1: forty dollars off. If you weren't an early bird, you 407 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: still got twenty dollars off their retail price. So how 408 00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: did that kick start a campaign do? Well? The answer 409 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: is really really well. It took half an hour for 410 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,640 Speaker 1: the Pebble Time campaign to hit its goal of one 411 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: million dollars. Actually, I'm sorry, that's twice its goal. Its 412 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: original goal was five thousand dollars. So in half an hour, 413 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: they had doubled what their goal was. Already the campaign 414 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: had already raised twelve million dollars when Pebble actually added 415 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:27,120 Speaker 1: another option, and upgrade option, just as the Pebble got 416 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: the professional upgrade version with the Pebble Steel, so two 417 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: to the Pebble Time So you could get the basic 418 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: Pebble Time model, or you could opt for the more 419 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: expensive Pebble Time Steel. And just like Pebble versus Pebble Steel, 420 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: same sort of thing. It was kind of a move 421 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: to make it look a little more professional grade, like 422 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 1: something you would wear two a business outing for business. 423 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: Existing Kickstarter backers could upgrade their pledge while maintaining their 424 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: place in the shipping queue once the watches were ready. 425 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: So if you decided, oh, now that you've announced this, 426 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 1: this newer version, this steel version, I would much prefer that. 427 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,199 Speaker 1: So I'm going to swap my pledge from what it 428 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,359 Speaker 1: was to this new one, but I maintain my place 429 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: in line. So as soon as like, if I was 430 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 1: number thirty seven in line for a Pebble Time and 431 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: I switched over to Pebble Time Steel, I will be 432 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: at a comparable waiting point for that nearly seventy eight thousand, 433 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 1: five hundred people backed this project, and the campaign raised 434 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: twenty million, three hundred thirty eight thousand, nine hundred eighty 435 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,439 Speaker 1: six dollars. That makes the Pebble Time the all time 436 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,679 Speaker 1: champion and kickstarted campaign fundraising. As of the recording of 437 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: this podcast, the Coolest Cooler had actually knocked the original 438 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: Pebble off the top of the list, but the Pebble 439 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:59,120 Speaker 1: Time reclaimed that spot and it holds it to this day. 440 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:02,919 Speaker 1: But why would you use a kickstarter for a product 441 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: when you've already got a successful company? That would become 442 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,160 Speaker 1: clear later on I'll talk about in just a moment, 443 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,400 Speaker 1: but first let's take another quick break to thank our sponsor. 444 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: By the time the Pebble Time was announced by this 445 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,159 Speaker 1: doesn't get old, does it, Pebble had grown into a 446 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: company with one thirty employees. And then, according to tech Crunch, 447 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: it was sometime around this this area in twenty fifteen 448 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: that a watch company called Citizen approached Midyakovsky with an 449 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:46,040 Speaker 1: offer to purchase Pebble. Tech Crunch's source said the offer 450 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: was somewhere around seven hundred forty million dollars, an acquisition 451 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 1: of seven forty million dollars. I think we can all 452 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 1: agree that is a princely some Midyakovsky declined. He said, nope, 453 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: I'm gonna keep it. He made this choice, and then 454 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,200 Speaker 1: later on some people would criticize him for making that decision. 455 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,160 Speaker 1: Of course, in hindsight, it becomes clear that that probably 456 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 1: would have been the best move, but there was no 457 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,879 Speaker 1: way of knowing at that time. By the end of 458 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: it was probably a decision Midchaikovski was ruing because mid 459 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: would be the last time Kickstarter would make a profit. 460 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: It would lose money starting in the second half of 461 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 1: and it would never quite recover. The company was encountering 462 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: lots of different problems, mostly in the form of lagging sales. 463 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,879 Speaker 1: So there's always issues when you're making hardware. You know, 464 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:46,119 Speaker 1: their supply chain problems, manufacturing problems, shipping problems, there's processing 465 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: returns and refunds, there's all that stuff. But on top 466 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,239 Speaker 1: of that, uh, they were just seeing a lack of 467 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 1: interest in the market. There there would be an initial 468 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: interest during the Kickstarter campaigns, the first one raising more 469 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 1: than ten million, the second one raising more than twenty million, 470 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 1: but once that died down, there wasn't just a steady 471 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 1: inflow of orders for these watches, and it was just 472 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 1: it seemed like it was difficult to expand that that 473 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: core of hardcore customers, the people who were really eager 474 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: to see these smart watches come out, the ones who 475 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 1: were supporting the kickstart campaigns. It was hard to expand 476 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: that to a larger consumer base. To make matters worse, 477 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: Apple's watch finally debuted in April, and most estimates said 478 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,879 Speaker 1: that the company sold a million units really quickly. But 479 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:41,280 Speaker 1: to be fair, Apple never published their sales figures for 480 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: the watches. Those numbers are almost always lumped in under 481 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 1: some other category, like the other category when Apple is 482 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: reporting its earnings. Uh, that means that it gets grouped 483 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 1: in with stuff like Apple TV. So you can't really 484 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 1: break it down by unit because you don't you don't 485 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 1: know how much of that is represented by watches versus 486 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,640 Speaker 1: other items. But it sounded like Apple was able to 487 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: accomplish in just a few days what it took two 488 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: years for Pebble to to do, you know, to to 489 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 1: hit that million units sold mark. The basic Pebble time 490 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: began shifting shortly after the conclusion of the campaign. By July, 491 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 1: it was available in best Buy, and in August that 492 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: extended to Target, and the Pebble Time Steel followed suit 493 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: just a bit later, And meanwhile, the company was getting 494 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: ready to reveal yet another new watch. This one took 495 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 1: the Pebble Time platform, so it's same basic technology as 496 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,240 Speaker 1: the Pebble Time, but it changed the form factor. It 497 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,320 Speaker 1: was called the Pebble Time Round and it was you 498 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: guessed it, a watch with a round watch face, which 499 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:54,720 Speaker 1: is actually harder to do with a smart watch than 500 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: you might think. Electronics tend to be designed in square 501 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: or at tangular form factors because that's what circuit boards 502 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: tend to be printed on. Creating round circuit boards is challenging, 503 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,239 Speaker 1: not because it's hard to cut a circle. It's not 504 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: hard to cut a circle and create a circular circuit board, 505 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 1: but it's hard to lay out the actual elements on 506 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 1: the circuit board when you're using a round shape as 507 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: your basis as your platform. So it's also hard to 508 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 1: design a display that looks good when it's in a 509 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: round form factor and does not cut off edges. So 510 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,640 Speaker 1: if you have a round display and really it's it's underneath, 511 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,880 Speaker 1: you have a square screen, but you've got a bezel 512 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: that covers the corners, so it looks like it's just 513 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 1: a round screen to you, but if you were to 514 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: take the bezel off, you would see that was rectangular underneath. Well, 515 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 1: then you might run into problems where the ends of 516 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: words or the beginnings of words might get cut off 517 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: by the slope of the circle. So it is actually 518 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: a pretty tricky thing to do well. The Pebble Time 519 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: Round did have a bezel surrounding the round screen, so 520 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: while the watch face the round watch face was listed 521 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 1: a certain diameter, you had to remember that was actually 522 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,280 Speaker 1: smaller because the bezel covered up a lot of the 523 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: space along the edge. And unlike the other watches and 524 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,360 Speaker 1: Pebble's inventory, the Round had a relatively short battery life. 525 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: Most Pebble watches were advertised as being able to last 526 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,600 Speaker 1: a week on a single charge. The Pebble Time Round 527 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: had a watch battery life of two days. But in 528 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: order to kind of take the sting out of that, 529 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,800 Speaker 1: Pebble said that the way they designed the Pebble Time Round, 530 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: it could recharge twenty four hours worth of battery life 531 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: in just fifteen minutes of charging, so it wasn't all 532 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,520 Speaker 1: doom and gloom. Now. The Round was the first Pebble 533 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,640 Speaker 1: watch to be available in two sizes for the straps now, 534 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: the actual watch faces, they were the same size no 535 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: matter what you got, So if you were to put 536 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 1: a men's Pebble Time Round next to a women's Pebble 537 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: Time Round back to back, they would be exactly the 538 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 1: same size. But the men's style would accept twenty millimeter 539 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 1: watch strap sizes, so that's by width, and the women's 540 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: was set to fourteen millimeter watch watch strap sizes, so 541 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 1: the if you looked at the ends the little prongs 542 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,920 Speaker 1: that would hold the bands in place, they were closer 543 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: together for the women's watches, but otherwise it was pretty 544 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: much the same thing. Oh and you could get the 545 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:37,840 Speaker 1: fourteen millimeter the women's watch version in rose gold, which, 546 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: as I understand it used to be really trendy, but 547 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: I never paid attention and only learned about it well 548 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 1: after everyone else did, so I know about it after 549 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: it's no longer cool. Tari's judging me. Pebble began sending 550 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 1: the Pebble Time Round watches out in early November. The company, meanwhile, 551 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,760 Speaker 1: was definitely struggling. It was not bringing in enough money 552 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: to cover costs. The employee out at this point had 553 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 1: grown to one hundred sixty not a huge company, but 554 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: a hundred sixty people. And while the kick started campaigns 555 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: were getting enthusiastic responses and raising millions of dollars each 556 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: time they held one, the company as a whole was 557 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: starting to accrue debt and that was starting to get worrisome. 558 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 1: At some point, Intel approached Pebble with an offer to 559 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 1: buy the company. And this was another one of those 560 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: stories that would get passed around by sources to journalists, 561 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: so this was never something that was really publicly addressed. 562 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: The story is that the offer Intel made was about 563 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:42,880 Speaker 1: one tenth of what Citizen had offered. Remember Suitizan had said, well, 564 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: we'll buy you for seven forty million in Midyakovsky said 565 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:49,240 Speaker 1: no thanks. Intel said we'll buy you at seventy million, 566 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: one tenth. Midyakovsky turned that offered down as well, just 567 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,920 Speaker 1: as he had the earlier larger offer. As Pebble entered, 568 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 1: things were starting to look a little grim. The smart 569 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: watch and wearable markets had not followed the same trend 570 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,040 Speaker 1: of adoption as smartphones and tablets. Now, whether that was 571 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,319 Speaker 1: because customers couldn't see the value in a watch that 572 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:14,759 Speaker 1: did a few smartphone things. Or maybe the market was 573 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:19,400 Speaker 1: already saturated with Android and iOS competitors, or maybe fitness 574 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,280 Speaker 1: trackers had taken a lot of that market share away, 575 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: or maybe it was a combination of a whole bunch 576 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:29,399 Speaker 1: of different factors. The sales just were not there. Midchaikovski 577 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: again found it difficult to get investors interested in his company, 578 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:35,920 Speaker 1: and he didn't have the money to launch a new product. 579 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,319 Speaker 1: So he had a tough decision to make, and in 580 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: the spring of Seen he made the first of those 581 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,399 Speaker 1: tough decisions. The company was losing money, so he made 582 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,080 Speaker 1: the call to cut twenty five percent of the jobs 583 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:51,120 Speaker 1: at Pebble in March. Now, without a new product, his 584 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:54,040 Speaker 1: company was going to go under, and so he turned 585 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,200 Speaker 1: once again to the platform they got him started, Kickstarter. 586 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 1: This would be the third and final campaign or Pebble. 587 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: The campaign was officially for a trio of products. You 588 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,440 Speaker 1: had the Pebble Too, so the successor to the original 589 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: smart watch, the Pebble Time Too, and the Pebble Core. 590 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:15,560 Speaker 1: The Pebble Too went back to that monochromatic display that 591 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:18,799 Speaker 1: was made famous by the original smart watch, but The 592 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,920 Speaker 1: new version also had a heart rate sensor, the little 593 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,760 Speaker 1: light that can detect how when blood is passing through 594 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,919 Speaker 1: your veins, so it can start counting up your heart 595 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:30,880 Speaker 1: beats that way and tell you what your heart rate is. 596 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:34,239 Speaker 1: The time to also had a heart rate sensor, and 597 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:38,760 Speaker 1: its color screen was larger than the previous time watch. 598 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:43,480 Speaker 1: The Core was a totally different kind of product. It 599 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,160 Speaker 1: was meant to be an activity tracker for runners, and 600 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,920 Speaker 1: it had its own cellular antenna, so you could have 601 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: this hooked up to an account and you would not 602 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,160 Speaker 1: have to carry a smartphone with you. You would just 603 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 1: jog around with this this device, this this little square 604 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: called the Core, and it could snap up on to 605 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 1: either your shirt or your waistband. It would act as 606 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,840 Speaker 1: a pedometer and do other features as well, and it 607 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:12,040 Speaker 1: could just dial directly into the cellular network to send 608 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: that information onto your account. You didn't have to have 609 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,239 Speaker 1: a smartphone with you, so you didn't have to carry 610 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,720 Speaker 1: your phone. You could also use the Core to dial 611 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:21,840 Speaker 1: in an S O S signal if you needed it 612 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:25,759 Speaker 1: if you encountered some sort of emergency situations. So that 613 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: was to help tell runners, yeah, you don't need to 614 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:30,640 Speaker 1: carry your phone with you, you still will be fine. 615 00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:33,280 Speaker 1: If there's an emergency situation, you can use the device 616 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:35,360 Speaker 1: to do this. But the device didn't have like a 617 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,560 Speaker 1: display or anything. It did have a h an audio jack, 618 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,440 Speaker 1: so you could plug headphones into it and listen to 619 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:44,279 Speaker 1: music and stuff, so it's kind of interesting. It was 620 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,760 Speaker 1: a very different style product than what Pebble had been doing. 621 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,719 Speaker 1: The goal for this campaign was one million dollars, so 622 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 1: twice that for the time, and like the other campaigns, 623 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,360 Speaker 1: it also was a big success. By the conclusion, it 624 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:02,440 Speaker 1: raised nearly twelve point eight million dollars, which means that 625 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: Pebble has three of the top five performing Kickstarter campaigns 626 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: of all time. Three of those all came from the 627 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:15,440 Speaker 1: same company. Unfortunately, while the campaign funded successfully, those products 628 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:19,240 Speaker 1: would never actually emerge and go out to backers. Pebble 629 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:22,719 Speaker 1: was a sinking ship. Its debt had grown and it 630 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: wasn't making enough in fundraising or sales to keep it afloat. 631 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:30,480 Speaker 1: By December twenty sixteen, Midchaikovsky could no longer say no 632 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 1: to any proposed deals, So when Fitbit came in and 633 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:38,440 Speaker 1: proposed an acquisition that would include the intellectual property of 634 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:43,000 Speaker 1: Pebble and also some of their engineers, but not Pebble's 635 00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 1: hardware or its debt. He agreed to the sale, and 636 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: the deal amount was not made public, but analysts estimated 637 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:53,840 Speaker 1: was somewhere between thirty four million and forty million dollars, 638 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,440 Speaker 1: which might not have even been enough to cover Pebble's 639 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:01,120 Speaker 1: debt at that point. Pebble did promise to refund all 640 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,560 Speaker 1: the pledges that backers had made for the Pebble to 641 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 1: the time, too, and the core and Fitbit promised to 642 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 1: continue to support the Pebble service through the back end, 643 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:13,960 Speaker 1: at least for a little while, to have the service 644 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,000 Speaker 1: going so that you could still download apps, develop apps. 645 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:20,759 Speaker 1: Things would still work with your Pebble Watch, but that 646 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,319 Speaker 1: would come to an end in June two eighteen, when 647 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,160 Speaker 1: Fitbit ended support for the Pebble so you can no 648 00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:30,880 Speaker 1: longer get Pebble apps. The voice recognition features no longer 649 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,560 Speaker 1: work because they depended upon servers that were on the 650 00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:37,680 Speaker 1: back end. You can't respond to emails or SMS messages 651 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 1: through your Pebble Watch. You can still get notifications, but 652 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:45,160 Speaker 1: you can't really act on those notifications in any big 653 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:48,240 Speaker 1: meaningful way. So, in other words, all the various Pebble 654 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,800 Speaker 1: watches behave more or less like the original Pebble before 655 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,400 Speaker 1: the App Store came out, but with even fewer options. 656 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:59,080 Speaker 1: Notifications will continue to work on Pebble watches as long 657 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:03,520 Speaker 1: as the Vanion apps for iOS and Android continue to work, 658 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 1: But should there ever come an OS update for either 659 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:12,080 Speaker 1: of those platforms that breaks that app functionality, those notifications 660 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:14,440 Speaker 1: are going to stop too, and then you'll just have 661 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:19,680 Speaker 1: a watch with limited utility. Midchaikovsky these days now works 662 00:39:19,719 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 1: at y Combinator, that same accelerator where he got his 663 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:27,160 Speaker 1: company kind of off the ground, and there he tries 664 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:30,040 Speaker 1: to help would be startup leaders. He shares his knowledge 665 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:33,440 Speaker 1: and his experience, both the good stuff and the bad stuff, 666 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:38,920 Speaker 1: to help other startup company launchings avoid those problems and 667 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 1: take advantage of the things he knows. Fitbit, meanwhile, has 668 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:45,920 Speaker 1: had its own share of problems, which you know I've 669 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,640 Speaker 1: talked about in previous episodes of Tech Stuff. The company 670 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:52,560 Speaker 1: traded at nearly fifty dollars per share back in fifteen, 671 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,680 Speaker 1: but by the time the acquisition came around in these 672 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,839 Speaker 1: shares were down to around seven dollars fifty cents per share, 673 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,080 Speaker 1: and today as I record this, they're trading at just 674 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:07,360 Speaker 1: around six dollars per share. So fitbed has also struggled 675 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:13,040 Speaker 1: since well before and since acquiring Pebble. Whether they can 676 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 1: get things moving again remains to be seen, but it 677 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:22,800 Speaker 1: does seem like the smart watch mode that that form factor. 678 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,560 Speaker 1: In general, I don't think anyone has really nailed at 679 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:30,360 Speaker 1: Apples come close. For Apple owners, people who own you know, 680 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:35,319 Speaker 1: iOS devices, Uh, it's an extension of that experience. And 681 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:38,080 Speaker 1: so I think out of all the smart watches I 682 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:42,239 Speaker 1: have personally seen, they are the closest to getting it right. 683 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:44,880 Speaker 1: But it's only right if you also happen to have 684 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:48,480 Speaker 1: iOS devices. I do not, so I don't have an 685 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,640 Speaker 1: Apple watch. It would make no sense. I don't have 686 00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:54,040 Speaker 1: an iPhone, so I wouldn't wouldn't really work for me. 687 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:58,960 Speaker 1: And I haven't seen an Android based smart watch that 688 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,640 Speaker 1: has truly blown me away. I've seen some that I 689 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:04,520 Speaker 1: thought were interesting, but none that I felt were a 690 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:08,040 Speaker 1: must have. And it makes me wonder if there is 691 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,960 Speaker 1: such a thing as a must have smart watch. Maybe 692 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,799 Speaker 1: it means that someone just hasn't hit on the right 693 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:17,600 Speaker 1: formula yet, or maybe it just means that that's just 694 00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:22,160 Speaker 1: a form factor that's never really going to reach must 695 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:26,000 Speaker 1: have status. Maybe a fitness tracker that also has some 696 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:30,480 Speaker 1: timekeeping elements is all you need, because I think for 697 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:33,360 Speaker 1: a lot of people, at least you know, including myself, really, 698 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,880 Speaker 1: but I think more than just you know, people like me, 699 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,839 Speaker 1: fitness trackers have a lot more compelling use cases than 700 00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:43,319 Speaker 1: smart watches, especially if you have a fitness tracker that 701 00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:48,560 Speaker 1: also gives you notifications. Um I have a fitness tracker 702 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:52,359 Speaker 1: that does that, And while I don't think it's as 703 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,600 Speaker 1: versatile as a Pebble smart watch was, it does enough 704 00:41:56,640 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 1: stuff well or well enough that it suits my purpose. 705 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,840 Speaker 1: So will we ever see the ultimate smart watch? I 706 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:07,120 Speaker 1: don't know. I don't know if there's a market for it. 707 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:10,319 Speaker 1: But Pebble certainly gave it a shot, and for a 708 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:14,040 Speaker 1: while a lot of us thought they had really succeeded. 709 00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:17,800 Speaker 1: And for a while they did. They always were able 710 00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:21,799 Speaker 1: to get enthusiasm and excitement from their community. They just 711 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:26,480 Speaker 1: weren't able to translate that into a long term working business. 712 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:31,960 Speaker 1: So here's hoping we see something come out of this 713 00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:35,880 Speaker 1: that is positive in the long run. It may be 714 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:38,239 Speaker 1: that some of those features get worked into Fitbit we 715 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:40,719 Speaker 1: may have to wait around and find out, but in 716 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:43,319 Speaker 1: the meantime, let's wrap this up. If you guys have 717 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:46,080 Speaker 1: any suggestions for future episodes of tech Stuff, whether it's 718 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:49,960 Speaker 1: a company, a person, a specific technology you would love 719 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,520 Speaker 1: to hear more about, send me a message. 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You can be like me, or 731 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:30,800 Speaker 1: you can go and buy a different shirt. That's fine. 732 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:33,759 Speaker 1: I I appreciate it. Every purchase goes to help out 733 00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:37,600 Speaker 1: the show, so we greatly appreciate that. And don't forget 734 00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,080 Speaker 1: to follow us over on Instagram and I'll talk to 735 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:49,400 Speaker 1: you again really soon. For more on this and thousands 736 00:43:49,400 --> 00:44:00,239 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how stuff works dot Com two