Pebble – a wristwatch with an E Ink display that syncs with your smartphone

Although there are already watches that work with Android, such as Sony’s SmartWatch, and bands that turn your iPod Nano into a watch, the nature of the device itself needs another type of presence in order to be truly useful – not just the same old gadget that you strap around your wrist.

We first met Pebble last year when it was a project on Kickstarter. It offered a multi-purpose watch with e-paper technology that could communicate with your Android or iOS device. After receiving more than $10 million in financing from the 100,000 people that ordered one in the beginning, it is finally being distributed to its backers. Is this the next big thing in the evolution of day-to-day consumer electronics?

Pebble was born with the idea of having a long-lasting battery, made possible by its e-paper display and backlight, so you can use it at night. The creators claim that the battery will last for over a week even with intensive use. The possibilities are endless: In addition to being a watch, there are also many apps for the device, such as weather, pedometer, and utilities for accessing different information while participating in different sports. You can connect to your phone via Bluetooth (4.0, if your device supports it), and also access GPS and other services on your phone.

The possibilities are truly endless. You can check your email, social network updates, in addition to being able to receive text messages and caller-ID messages. Because it is open source, and there is access to its developer’s kit, Pebble can adapt to all of your needs with any software. A perfect example is the the famous running app RunKeeper, which has confirmed that it will be compatible with Pebble.

The units have already begun being shipped to those who backed the project on Kickstarter, and the app for interacting with the device from your iOS device has just been launched, and the Android version will be released in a few weeks. Whatever the case, you can pre-order a device on their website to be shipped in the next batch. It comes in four different colors, and costs $150.