UPDATED 07:35 EDT / SEPTEMBER 26 2013

NEWS

AT&T Straps On The Pebble Smartwatch

AT&T has just agreed a deal to become the exclusive carrier for the Pebble smartwatch, and will offer the device to its customers for just $150 from Sepember 27, over at its website att.com. The Pebble smartwatch is one of the first and most famous entrants into the wearable tech market. It came about following a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, and is able to pair with both Android and iOS devices, allowing wearers – allowing them to view their messages and email, see weather and calendar alerts, control music playback, access various apps, and more.

The tie-up with ATT was announced via press release. Michael Cowan, the carrier’s Director of Accessory Portfolio, made the following statement:

“As the exclusive carrier for the hot new Pebble smartwatch, this innovative device adds to AT&T’s extensive lineup of industry leading accessories for today’s connected world. This smartwatch is fun, practical, and easy to use. It is simple to see why people have been clamoring to get their hands on it.”

The Bluetooth-enabled Pebble timepiece allows wearers to access emails, call alerts, text messages and more via the tiny screen that’s strapped to their wrist, removing the need to go scrabbling around in your bag or digging into your pocket to find their smartphone. The water-resistant device features an e-paper display that makes it ideal for those with active lifestyles, with durability and a long-lasting battery life guaranteed. It seems to have an exciting future too – just months ago, Pebble opened the device up for third-party developers to start building applications for the device, and already a number of iOS and Android apps have been made compatible with it.

If you’re interested in AT&T’s offer, you won’t be required to buy a smartphone from them as the Pebble will be sold as a standalone device. Admittedly, at $150 its not exactly cheap, but it’s still half the price of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, its main competitor in this emerging niche market.

Read More: Smartwatch Wars: Galaxy Gear vs Toq vs SW2 vs Pebble

 

AT&T becoming the exclusive carrier for Pebble is a smart move for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the carrier will be able to help the smartwatch maker out massively when it comes to distribution – it is after all the second largest mobile device carrier in the US, and even though the Pebble doesn’t require a SIM card, smartwatches could well become an essential accessory for any discerning smartphone owner. For AT&T, the biggest advantage is advertising power – wearable tech is quickly becoming very cool, and Pebble is probably the second-coolest strap-on gadget around after Google Glass. If Pebble becomes known as an AT&T product, it’ll surely give a boost to the carrier’s smartphone sales too. We should also note that AT&T will be the only US carrier that can offer two different Smartwatch devices (for now at least), the other being Samsung’s Galaxy Gear.

AT&T said that the Pebble will be available to buy on its website from this weekend, and the device is also expected to go on sale in around 500 of its retail stores at the same time. The carrier added that broader availability will follow this October.


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