'Rebble Alliance' Unveils Grants for New Pebble Smartwatch Projects (slashgear.com) 11
AmiMoJo quotes SlashGear:
Remember the Pebble smartwatch? Despite being officially discontinued and several years old at this point, there are still some diehard fans out there keeping the hardware alive, and a team called Rebble Alliance plays an important part in this.
Whereas the web services for Pebble watches used to come from Pebble Technology Corp., they now come (unofficially) from Rebble, which has announced a new initiative called Rebble Grants... Rebble Alliance is, as explained by iFixit in an editorial last year, a group of former Pebble employees like Katharine Berry, as well as enthusiasts who are working hard to keep the defunct hardware operational. Key to this is the Rebble web services, which includes a replacement cloud infrastructure that was coded by Berry over the course of a couple of weeks...
The team says they've been saving some of the funds received from running the Rebble web services and that they plan to invest $25,000 into a variety of Pebble-centric projects.
Whereas the web services for Pebble watches used to come from Pebble Technology Corp., they now come (unofficially) from Rebble, which has announced a new initiative called Rebble Grants... Rebble Alliance is, as explained by iFixit in an editorial last year, a group of former Pebble employees like Katharine Berry, as well as enthusiasts who are working hard to keep the defunct hardware operational. Key to this is the Rebble web services, which includes a replacement cloud infrastructure that was coded by Berry over the course of a couple of weeks...
The team says they've been saving some of the funds received from running the Rebble web services and that they plan to invest $25,000 into a variety of Pebble-centric projects.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
They are investing $25k.
That is the burdened-cost of one developer for about a month and a half.
So don't expect any big new upgrade anytime soon.
Missed opportunity? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
New hardware needed! (Score:1)
I'm still using my Pebble - it's the perfect balance of battery life and smartwatch functionality.
Like all orphaned hardware, replacements aren't cheap. Some repairs are possible with older models, but the Pebble 2 series is infamous for having design weaknesses and difficult to repair.
I hate to say it, but it doesn't matter how much money goes into the software and services. Without new watches the userbase will continue shrinking.
Re: (Score:2)
I have an original Pebble from the first Kickstart campaign, sitting unopened in the box.
I got two and never needed the second one as I barely used the first one.
What's the going price for that, I wonder, but not enough to be arsed to Google it...
Re: (Score:3)
I'm still using my Pebble - it's the perfect balance of battery life and smartwatch functionality.
Likewise my Pebble Steel still works fine, but the battery is starting to show it's age. But what makes it attractive IMO is that it is not really very "smart". It is basically an auxiliary display for some apps on my phone, with a few buttons to allow some remote control over said apps - and that works just great for my use cases. I've been thinking about what I will replace its functionality with going forward, and I can't say I love any of the alternatives. Hopefully some Chinese vendor will come up
Essay (Score:1)