Manufacturer of “smart” watches Pebble Technology stops the development and release of smart hours. This is stated in the announcement published in the official company blog. Pebble closes after signing a deal with the world’s largest manufacturer of wearable electronics company Fitbit.
According to reports, the cost of the transaction for the purchase of Pebble amounted to $40 million But Fitbit only interested developers and testers, as well as the operating system, applications, cloud services and other intellectual property Pebble. Other assets, including stocks products and server hardware will be sold.
In a statement, Pebble says the company discontinues the device and closes offices. To users who have pre-orders for the Pebble smart watch 2 and a wearable computer Core on the platform Kickstarter, money will be refunded in full.
Pebble also waiting for mass reduction: only 40% of employees (most are developers) will get job offers in Fitbit, and the rest will be fired to compensate. While Fitbit hasn’t decided what to do with the brand Pebble.
That Fitbit is in talks to buy Pebble first became known earlier this week.
Pebble is the pioneer of smart-watches market. In 2012 the company using the funds collected via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has released its first watch. In 2016, the company introduced a Time model 2 and the Pebble 2 with built-in heart rate monitor. Strong competition and falling demand for these electronics hurt the business of the Pebble.
According to analysts IDC, the global market for “smart” hours in the third quarter of 2016 amounted to 2.7 million units, a decrease by half in comparison with the previous year. The proportion of Pebble for the year remained virtually unchanged, amounting to 3.2 per cent. In July-September this year, the company produced only about 100 thousand hours, which is 54% lower than a year earlier. Specializiruetsya on Fitbit fitness trackers and occupies the first place in sales of wearable devices in the world (IDC).
