Pebble, smartwatch pioneer, debuts fitness tracker, music player
Pebble Technology introduced a smartwatch three years before Apple made it fashionable, but discovered being first to market in the Silicon Valley doesn’t automatically bring fame or fortune.
[...] on Tuesday, Pebble will try something new by unveiling its first non-smartwatch product, the Pebble Core, a combination activity tracker and music player.
[...] CEO Eric Migicovsky said he’s hoping to attract more customers with products that capitalize on the most-popular functions offered by his better-known, better-financed competitors.
The research firm IDC projected Apple Watch to have a 49.4 percent share of the smartwatch market this year with about 14 million units shipped, while Pebble will have about 7 percent of the market, with about 2 million units shipped.
Apple Watch and Fitbit are by far the market’s two leaders, both in sales revenue and units sold, according to data from digital commerce measurement firm Slice Intelligence.
Slice said Pebble, Samsung, Motorola and Microsoft also trailed activity trackers Fitbit, Garmin and Jawbone in April online sales.
“First movers” like Pebble “will always have arrows in their back, as small and big companies try to do similar things,” said analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies.
The device is designed for people who don’t want to lug bulky mobile phones or wear a smartwatch while they run, cycle, climb rocks or work out, but want to track those activities.
The Core can also stream Spotify Premium and has 4GB of memory to play downloaded Spotify songs if wireless connections aren’t available.
The device has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to sync with headphones, smartphones and computers, but can also use an optional SIM card for cellular access.
The company plans an operating system update to simplify app operations, such as sending texts or checking the weather.
Competitors like Apple and Fitbit, have larger marketing budgets, said Jitesh Ubrani, an IDC senior research analyst.