Owners of smartwatch pioneer Pebble have expressed their concern regarding Fitbit's planned takeover. Financial difficulties have led to reports of Fitbit acquiring the troubled smartwatch brand for about $40 million and Pebble's dedicated and loyal fanbase isn't happy about it.
Pebble Is Falling Apart In Debt
According to Techcrunch, Fitbit is planning to acquire the smartwatch maker for a small amount after a disastrous market performance that prompted Pebble's demise. Previous big money negotiations have been raised but failed to go through Eric Migicovsky, Pebble's CEO. Citizen, a watchmaking company, has offered $740 million back in 2015. Intel also had interest in acquiring the rights of the troubled company for $70 million before the release of Pebble 2 and failure to capitalize on the deals might have deepened Pebble's struggle to stay relevant in the tech industry.
The former Kickstarter darling was able to raise a successful fundraising campaign through the help and initiative of its faithful followers. But the company's lackluster performance in the sales department has turned their profit to a sizeable debt in bank loans. Pebble's CEO has confirmed that his company is sinking in a $28 million debt. Big competitors like Apple and Samsung are clearly tanking in the industry for wearable smartwatches and Pebble has taken much of the fallout for the waning consumer interest for wearable tech.
Pebble Smartwatch Users Fear Eventual Fitbit Takeover
Although the sale is still not final, owners of the Pebble smartwatch is certainly not happy of the possible takeover. There is still no official statement from Pebble and Fitbit, but if the deal does go through owners of the smartwatch are worried that the Pebble brand might dematerialize.
In an article posted by BBC, fans and loyal followers of Pebble have aired their grievances on Twitter. According to one user, Pebble was a start up company that was made by the users for the benefit of the users. Pebble's open platform enabled owners to tweak and create your their apps. The smartwatch was also compatible with IOS and Android devices, which was one of the reasons why it clicked when it was first unveiled in 2013.
