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Twitter clone Pebble is shutting down just five weeks after a rebrand
Twitter clone Pebble, formerly T2 Social, is shutting down just five weeks after a rebrand. The shutdown is effective immediately, but current users will be able to download personal archives.
Would-be X competitor T2 Social is now called Pebble (no, not that Pebble)
Just like X (formerly Twitter), would-be competitor T2 Social has a new name, and it’s one that might ring a bell. Starting today, the service is called Pebble. And no, it's not a revival of the e-ink smartwatch company of yore.
Logitech's Pebble 2 keyboard and mouse use more recycled plastic
It includes the Mouse 2 M350 and Keys 2 K380.
Decade-old Pebble smartwatches gain Pixel 7 support in 'one last update'
If your Pebble's screen and battery still function, you might be able to use it with Android devices for years to come.
Recommended Reading: The rise and fall of Pebble
Recommended Reading highlights the week's best writing on technology and more.
Brandon Sanderson's secret novels break Pebble's Kickstarter crowdfunding record
It's now the most funded Kickstarter project ever.
The gadgets that refuse to die
I have a drawer in my bedroom that's filled with defunct tech. It consists of old PDAs, bricked smartwatches and wearables that no longer work. Like many of you, I've realized that gadgets don't last forever. As Engadget Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar recently pointed out, every smart device you love will probably die, whether it's because the device can't be updated anymore, or the company goes out of business -- this is the reality of modern electronics.
Pebble smartwatches could get a new lease on life with Rebble.io
With support for Pebble devices scheduled to end in a couple of weeks, a group of developers interested in extending the platform is reaching out to users asking them to set up new accounts on "Rebble." According to the team, "Our present focus is on replacing key pieces of the Pebble ecosystem: the appstore, firmware, and mobile apps." Pebble founder and former CEO Eric Migicovsky tweeted out a link to the page, imploring users to link their accounts and back up settings before Fitbit's scheduled shutoff on June 30th. The bad news, however, is that the team does not expect to have its replacement for the Pebble web services backend completely up and running by then. Whenever things are ready to go, switching over should require just clicking a link and the plan is to offer "basic" data services for free, while charging for Weather and Dictation to fund the operation. All the current details are on the site and in the FAQ, so if you know someone who is still rocking one of the devices, make sure they're signed up before it's too late.
Fitbit Versa review: A stylish smartwatch at the right price
When Fitbit launched its first true smartwatch last year, it had something to prove. The company had just bought beloved smartwatch pioneer Pebble, and up till then had struggled to produce a wearable with a proper operating system. So it's no surprise that the Ionic was stuffed full of features. It not only tracks a comprehensive range of fitness metrics and provides onscreen workout tutorials, but also stores your music, streams to Bluetooth headphones, runs third-party apps and makes contactless payments. It even has a blood-oxygen sensor just waiting for the company to turn it on (but right now is completely useless). It's also not a surprise, then, that the Ionic wasn't cheap. While $300 isn't much compared to the Apple Watch and Samsung's Gear Sport, it might put off people who are fitness novices looking for a simpler device. The Ionic also didn't look like a regular watch, thanks to its hexagonal design that screams "Fitbit." The company addresses all that with its second smartwatch, the Versa. For starters, it will cost just $200, and comes with a simplified operating system that reduces the swipes you need to see your daily info. Most important, the Versa is the best-looking Fitbit yet.
Fitbit extends support for Pebble watches until June 30th
If you're still holding on to your Pebble smartwatch for dear life, we have good news: you won't have to let go for a while longer. Fitbit has extended its support for Pebble services from the original end-of-2017 cutoff to June 30th, 2018. You now have half a year longer to say your goodbyes and decide what (if anything) you'll wear next. There's an added incentive to part ways, too.
Pebble founder's comeback is a battery case for iPhone and AirPods
After ushering in the smartwatch movement in 2012, Eric Migicovsky's Pebble brand fell by the wayside. The company was saved from bankruptcy by Fitbit, which acquired its talent and software last year, but ditched its beloved devices. Now, the man behind the e-watch timepiece is returning to the site of his greatest success: Kickstarter. And, this time, he's packing an iPhone case.
Your Pebble watch will still work after its servers shut down
After Fitbit bought the beleaguered Pebble last November, we bid a fond (and at times bitter) farewell to the first big fitness smartwatch. Its acquisition spelled the beginning of the end for the device, given how dependent it is on cloud services. Or so it seemed: Pebble just released a final update that liberates its lingering diaspora of smartwatches from online servers, allowing folks to keep using their devices and linked smartphone apps once Fitbit finally kills its cloud component.
I'm excited for Fitbit's mythical smartwatch
It hasn't been a great year for wearables, with sluggish sales and underwhelming products dominating the space. If the category had an Oscars-style 'In Memoriam' reel, it would feature several smartwatches that I loved deeply. For me, at least, devices from Apple, Samsung and Google that try to recreate the smartphone experience on the wrist just aren't compelling. But those companies want to be the only games in town after the demise of low-power companies like Pebble, Vector and Basis. That is why I'm hoping that Fitbit can swoop in and produce a smartwatch that people actually want to use.
Smartwatches failed to excite in 2016
When the first smartwatches made it to our wrists a few years ago, we were willing to overlook shortcomings because the product category was in its infancy. But the technology has had time to mature, and 2016 should have been an exciting year in this space. Instead, we saw a number of important brands pull out of the smartwatch race; meanwhile Google deferred major updates to 2017. Smaller but significant companies were swallowed by competitors, and the devices that did launch this year were unexciting at best. Smartwatch sales started to decline in the second quarter, and while the all-important holiday shopping numbers haven't been tallied yet, the future isn't looking good for the category.
Fitbit will keep Pebble's services running through 2017
Fitbit might no longer sell Pebble's devices, but it won't brick the smartwatches the smaller company already sold. In a blog post today, Pebble developer Jon Barlow has assured fans that Fitbit will keep their e-paper smartwatches running through 2017. Pebble's apps, app store, firmware and API, among other services, will remain accessible next year. While it sounds like Fitbit will no longer support those services after that, Barlow and his team are already taking steps to make sure they'll still work in 2018.
After Math: Game over
This was a week of tremendous loss. America said goodbye to John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, Twitter accidentally murdered @-replies for a day, Fitbit cannibalized its new acquisition of Pebble and new studies suggest that robots are probably going to decimate retail jobs right after they finish working over those manufacturing and shipping positions. Numbers, because how else will you know how many survivors remain?
Goodbye (and maybe good riddance) to Pebble
Before Android Wear and the Apple Watch, there was Pebble. The original Pebble smartwatch was, in many ways, a trailblazer. It was one of the first to play nice with the iPhone, it had downloadable watchfaces so you could switch up the look anytime you wanted, and it was the first gadget to bring in millions of dollars via Kickstarter, putting the crowdsourcing site on the map. Pebble's luster faded over the years as more sophisticated, feature-rich wearables came on the market. Still, the company kept going, thanks to a loyal fanbase, making Pebble something of a cult favorite. Now, thanks to this week's Fitbit acquisition, Pebble is going away, living on only in the form of patents and software code. As it turns out, Engadget editors have been harboring strong feelings about the underdog company. Join us as we say goodbye -- or, in one case, good riddance.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 17: Mansion on the Hill
Executive editor Christopher Trout and reviews editor Cherlynn Low join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about the week's biggest news, including: Pandora Premium, Fitbit's purchase of Pebble and the gaming industry's nostalgia overload. Then Chris will tell the panel about his investigation into a failed gaming accessory that's found a second life as a sex toy -- clearly things get a little NSFW. Then all three will talk about what Amazon Go and other advancements in automation and mean for low-skill and low-wage jobs.
Fitbit's Pebble acquisition risks alienating loyal users
After days of rumors and speculation, Pebble finally confirmed yesterday that it's getting acquired by Fitbit. At first, this sounded like it might be a good thing, as Pebble was struggling to gain market share in the wearables industry and may have gone under without an exit plan. Unfortunately, however, it appears that the deal doesn't include Pebble's hardware. According to Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky, the only assets carrying over are key talent, software and intellectual property, leaving existing and future products to be discontinued. Considering Pebble's hardware is what helped the company build a following in the first place, killing its run strikes me as a mistake. Fitbit risks not only disappointing the thousands of loyal fans that believed in Pebble despite the odds but also punishing them. It's not a good look for either company.
Fitbit buys Pebble's smarts, but not its products
The rumors were true: Fitbit is buying Pebble. Well, its talent and intellectual property, at least. The wearable maker confirmed today that it has acquired "specific assets" of Pebble, including key staff members and its software and firmware developments. Once a shining example of how crowdfunding can help smaller companies share their technology with the world, Pebble will cease the manufacturing, promotion and selling of all its devices and shut down.
