Pebble, the maker of the Kickstarter-backed smart watch of the same name, has announced a slew of software updates today that will benefit all users, but will appeal most to iPhone users running iOS 7.
With a new iOS 7 app, the company is expanding its notification pool, expanding to any app from the Notification Center, including “Calendar, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Flickr, Dropbox, WhatsApp, Flipboard and more,” according to a blog post. Of course, these notifications can be individually turned off to save battery — and your wrist. The app is currently in review and will be available over the next few days.
The company is also releasing version 2.0 of its SDK, and is working with big-name developers like Foursquare and Yelp to create experiences tailored to the Pebble. The updated SDK includes four new APIs, including Javascript, Accelerometer, Data Logging and Persistent Storage, and should allow far more functionality than was previously possible between the connected smartphone — an Android or iPhone — and the watch.
There are 190,000 Pebbles on wrists today, and 2 million apps have been downloaded for them. This is a huge increase from the 30,000 or so sold at the beginning of the year, and speaks to Pebble’s ability to get the smart watch in front of users, both online and through retailers like Best Buy, to entice them.
Pebble is selling its smart watch with no shipping costs for the next little while to promote the new release, so if you’re lusting after a colour other than black, this is a big deal.
[source]Pebble Blog[/source]
