On the heels of a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, Pebble today announced a "Steel" version of its new Pebble Time smartwatch, which the company said will get up to 10 days worth of battery life.
If you already placed an order for the Pebble Time on Kickstarter, not to worry. Pebble said you can upgrade to the Pebble Time Steel without losing your place in the Kickstarter line.
The Kickstarter price will be $250, and the campaign runs for another 24 days. After that, the price will increase to $299. Similarly, the non-Steel Pebble Time runs $159 on Kickstarter, after which the price will increase to $199.
The Pebble Time Steel and Pebble Time include similar features (color e-paper display, microphone, and a thinner, curved design), but the Steel will be made from more premium materials and come in three styles: silver, black, and gold finish.
The watch case, bezel, and buttons will all be made from stainless steel. It's about the same dimensions at the Pebble Time, but 1mm thicker. There's a Gorilla Glass lens, a leather band, and a stainless steel strap.
"We want users to be able to choose the watch they want for any situation," Eric Migicovsky, Pebble CEO, said in a statement. "That's why we're so excited to introduce Pebble Time Steel today. It unites modern technology and world-class design—everything that is great about Pebble Time and Pebble Steel in one beautiful watch."
Meanwhile, Pebble announced an open hardware accessory platform for Pebble Time.
"In order to add a heart rate monitor or GPS directly into a smartwatch, you have to make serious compromises on design and battery life. And it's likely that if you buy a watch with a certain sensor today, it will be out of date within 12 months," said Migicovsky. "We are creating an open platform that will enable anyone to build smartstraps for Pebble watches. For example, imagine a smartstrap with a GPS chip or a heart rate monitor, that transforms Pebble Time into a high-performance fitness watch; or a strap with a pollution sensor inside, that keeps track of the environment around you; or a strap with an extra battery that extends the battery life of Pebble Time past 7 days. We can't wait to see what people develop; the opportunities are endless."
Pebble is already working with accessory makers and designers on smartstraps, and expects shipments to begin later in the year. Watch the Pebble developer blog for more details.
The Pebble Time crowd-sourcing campaign, meanwhile, kicked off last week with the goal of raising $500,000. Instead, its shocked everyone by raising more than $1 million in 30 minutes, and is currently at almost $12 million with more than three weeks to go.
For more, see PCMag's review of the original Pebble Steel Smartwatch and Pebble Smartwatch.