EnTech: Pebble Time shipments beginning on 27th May despite rumored financial woes [Update: Pebble response]

Pebble Time shipments beginning on 27th May despite rumored financial woes [Update: Pebble response]


Pebble has updated its Kickstarter page, advising that the first batch of Pebble Time smartwatches will begin shipping on 27th May, and that all orders placed through Kickstarter will ship by mid-June.

Great news: the first batch of Pebble Time shipments are scheduled to go out Wednesday, May 27. With things moving along at this rate, we expect all Pebble Time Rewards to be manufactured by the end of the month […] Every backer with a Pebble Time included in their selected reward tier should receive a tracking number from us by mid-June.

Despite raising $20M from the Kickstarter campaign, however, TechCrunch is reporting that the company is having trouble raising additional funding “in order to stay afloat” …

The site reports “sources close to the company” saying that Silicon Valley venture capitalists have been turning down requests for new capital, and says the company has turned to a bank for a $5M loan and $5M line of credit.
Update: Pebble, by way of response, simply posted to its Facebook page a link to a tweet with some of the comments on the TechCrunch piece, with the following comments typical.

The Apple Watch has of course eclipsed rival smartwatches in both PR and sales terms, Apple reportedly selling more units in the first 24 hours than all other smartwatches ever sold.
A new Pebble Time Watch app will also be available next week for both Android and iOS. This app will be exclusive to the Time models, and abolishes the previous limit of eight apps, the watch storing as many as it can in its own storage and downloading the rest from your phone on demand. You can drag-and-drop to set the order in which the apps appear on your smartphone, and that ordering will be mirrored on the watch.
The first video shows the menu organisation:

The second shows the three different ways to choose the active watchface:
The Pebble Time was fully funded in the first 30 minutes of its Kickstarter campaign back in February, with a metal version, the Pebble Time Steel, announced a week later.
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$199 Pebble ‘Time’ announced w/ color e-paper weeklong display, timeline interface, Kickstarter discounts

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1. thethirstsecretattack says: Runn’n thru da 6 wit ma.. Pebbles..
   
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2. Toro Volt (@torovolt) says: This is going to be my next Watch.
   More than a week battery life, good price and platform agnostic.
   
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3. Michael Napier (@NapMan) says: FYI, the watches shown at the top of the article are all the Pebble Time Steel versions, which won’t be shipping until July.
   
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4. bpbatch says: Pebble replied to the rumor of financial woes by linking to this Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/jisforJoe/status/601077786304843776
   The post originated from their Facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/getpebble/photos/a.420451041318133.109642.410852228944681/1062517463778151/?type=1comment_id=1062622423767655notif_t=photo_reply
   
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5. r00fus1 says: As an Apple Watch owner, I hope Pebble succeeds. There needs to be some alternative for those folks who don’t want an Apple Watch, and personally I find Android Wear to be… weary.
   
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   • Austin Newdick (@AustinNewdick) says: As a soon to be Apple Watch owner I also hope the competition is able to stay afloat. Competition will force Apple and the others to constantly innovate and when that happens the customers win!
     
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6. Matt Swart says: Now if only all the keyboard warriors would put their money where their mouths are, then Pebble will do great
   
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