A week after Pebble announced a color-screen version of its popular smartwatch, the Pebble Time, it has now announced a stainless steel model: the Pebble Time Steel. The metal version is available in silver, black and … gold finishes. Wonder where they got the inspiration for a gold finish with red strap?
The Time Steel will retail at $299–a hundred bucks more than the plastic original, but still $50 less than the plastic-strap model Apple Watch. It’s available on Kickstarter for an early bird price of $250 …
Pebble claims to have boosted the 7-day battery life of the Time to ten days, at the cost of an extra 1mm thickness.
The company is estimating delivery in July, though it doesn’t have the best of track records when it comes to meeting promised deadlines.
Pebble is also opening up the accessory port to allow third-party companies to develop ‘smart straps’ for the watch, adding functionality via embedded sensors. Possible examples given include heart-rate monitors, GPS units and even extra batteries, to boost the time between charges.
Apple’s own genuine gold Apple Watch Edition will cost rather more and have significantly lower battery-life, but we suspect that not too many people will be changing their purchase plans …
