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Pebble Posts Details on Refunds and Existing Device Services Following Fitbit Buyout

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Pebble CEO and founder Eric Migicovsky took to the company's blog yesterday to personally confirm its imminent closure, following media reports earlier on Wednesday that Fitbit has acquired its technology, software assets, and other intellectual property.

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Dear Pebblers,

Thank you all for being such loyal supporters and champions of the Pebble community and brand. You helped start something fantastic when you backed our first Kickstarter project (and shout-out to the first inPulse users). Since then, we've shipped over 2 million Pebbles around the world!

However -- due to various factors -- Pebble is no longer able to operate as an independent entity. We have made the tough decision to shut down the company and no longer manufacture Pebble devices.
Click to expand...
Migicovsky went on to cover the buyout, earlier confirmed by Fitbit in a press release, and said that many members of his team would be joining the company to continue their work on wearable software platforms. Migicovsky also said that Pebble devices will continue to work as normal, thanks to "close collaboration with the Fitbit team", but warned that functionality or service quality may be reduced in the future.

The blog post also lists a number of bulleted "need-to-knows" for customers, including further details on refunds for Kickstarter backers awaiting pre-orders of devices including the Pebble 2 and Core wearables. Customers can read the list here.

Article Link: Pebble Posts Details on Refunds and Existing Device Services Following Fitbit Buyout
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/08/pebble-fitbit-buyout-customer-refunds/
Next Fitbit, always on colour screen, 7 day battery life and all the fitness features of a Fitbit with the functionality of the Pebble! Can't wait :)
 
A little sad to see Pebble go away, as they're the ones who got me into smart watches in the first place. I didn't, however, like how they kept relying on Kickstarter to get their new products out. I know some people defended this, but it just didn't sit right with me.

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
 
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honglong1976 said:
Next Fitbit, always on colour screen, 7 day battery life and all the fitness features of a Fitbit with the functionality of the Pebble! Can't wait :)
Click to expand...

that "always on colour screen" allowed for 7 days of battery life but it was so bad that it represented a major factor in the demise of the company.
[doublepost=1481204462][/doublepost]
Chupa Chupa said:
$40m buyout and new jobs at Fitbit. Not bad for a few years work. I'd hardly call that tased
Click to expand...

There is no money for no one.

VC lost most of its money, shares to employees are toilet paper, and there's a huge debt to be repaid.

This, just one year after declining a $740M offer from Citizen.
 
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djcerla said:
2015: "We're not fazed by the Apple Watch"

2016: "We've been tased by the Apple Watch"
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$40m buyout and new jobs at Fitbit. Not bad for a few years work. I'd hardly call that tased. I've never been a fan of their watches since I sold my Kickstarter edition literally an hour after I received it. But they clearly had some IP that Fitbit wanted. It's hard for a tiny startup like Pebble to compete marketing-wise with a behemoth like Apple. If they can be criticized it's not taking an even bigger buyout sum earlier this year. That was pure hubris.
 
My original Pebble was pretty cool. A unique testing ground for stuff we would later enjoy in all smart watches. But if I had just bought one of the new ones on Kickstarter, I would be pissed. Why not just absorb the products into Fitbit services? Too much work I guess.
 
djcerla said:
that "always on colour screen" allowed for 7 days of battery life but it was so bad that it represented a major factor in the demise of the company.
[doublepost=1481204462][/doublepost]

There is no money for no one.

VC lost most of its money, shares to employees are toilet paper, and there's a huge debt to be repaid.

This, just one year after declining a $740M offer from Citizen.
Click to expand...

1. Didn't say anyone got rich off of it -- just that the IP was worth something that the company was not worth $0.

2. Also noted it missed out rejecting early higher bids.
 
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Chupa Chupa said:
$40m buyout and new jobs at Fitbit. Not bad for a few years work. I'd hardly call that tased. I've never been a fan of their watches since I sold my Kickstarter edition literally an hour after I received it. But they clearly had some IP that Fitbit wanted. It's hard for a tiny startup like Pebble to compete marketing-wise with a behemoth like Apple. If they can be criticized it's not taking an even bigger buyout sum earlier this year. That was pure hubris.
Click to expand...
40m after having a 750m offer a few months ago...that is pretty bad. The buyout is supposedly just barely covering their debts. Given their financial situation probably looked dire at that point I have no idea why they didn't take the initial huge buyout offer. I think their CEO being an engineer at heart and too invested in the product itself was likely their downfall.
 
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djcerla said:
that "always on colour screen" allowed for 7 days of battery life but it was so bad that it represented a major factor in the demise of the company.
[doublepost=1481204462][/doublepost]

There is no money for no one.

VC lost most of its money, shares to employees are toilet paper, and there's a huge debt to be repaid.

This, just one year after declining a $740M offer from Citizen.
Click to expand...

I've never seen verified proof that the Citizen offer really existed, but if it did, I bet the guy that suggested it to the higher ups at Citizen is breathing a huge sigh of relief it was rejected.
 
djcerla said:
that "always on colour screen" allowed for 7 days of battery life but it was so bad that it represented a major factor in the demise of the company.
[doublepost=1481204462][/doublepost]

There is no money for no one.

VC lost most of its money, shares to employees are toilet paper, and there's a huge debt to be repaid.

This, just one year after declining a $740M offer from Citizen.
Click to expand...

I think it was more the OS and very low powered CPU that allowed for 7 days battery life.

The Fitbit blaze would be brilliant if the screen was always on and you could do more on the watch rather than having to use the app to do everything. Set an alarm, use the app! argh!
 
djcerla said:
This, just one year after declining a $740M offer from Citizen.
Click to expand...
Worst judgement in business in a number of years. They should have known they'd have no change of competing with the big boys in this smart watch hardware game. I'd have jumped at that citizen deal and worked my time off and got out. The CEO would have probably got out with $100M.
 
It's a shame the name is no more. "Pebble" is such a neat little name, and I love my KS model. But I guess that's it now. I just hope it doesn't not break for a while!
 
jclardy said:
I think their CEO being an engineer at heart and too invested in the product itself was likely their downfall.
Click to expand...

Yes, the CEO/co-founder broke the cardinal rule of business and let his emotions control his brain. Once Apple released AW and Fitbit got up to speed with activity bands Pebble had no chance just because by comparison they were capital and marketing poor. (IMHO lucky for Fitbit that Nike left the market because the FuelBand was better than the early Fitbit bracelets by far)
 
honglong1976 said:
I think it was more the OS and very low powered CPU that allowed for 7 days battery life.[/B]

The Fitbit blaze would be brilliant if the screen was always on and you could do more on the watch rather than having to use the app to do everything. Set an alarm, use the app! argh!
Click to expand...

Agreed. Pebble Watch's were not very powerful at all. Although, they were not really intended to be powerful. The low screen reduction and likely the low powered processor were the main reasons for strong battery life. Although, seven days was impressive.
 
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Cloudkicker said:
Not really. More like smart watch version of what happened to Blackberry. Fitbit is buying the tech not the hardware.
Click to expand...

This. Fitbit was very similar circumstances to what happened to Blackberry. And Fitbits CEO failed to expand when they should have and market their product. That's a culmination of failure on its own.
 
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