AT&T Pebble Smartwatch Exclusive To Carrier

While the Pebble smartwatch is not a machine that needs any kind of mobile data coverage as such, the folks at AT&T have decided to get onboard with carrying the device as an exclusive across the USA. This device was part of a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year and found itself the subject of a Pebble Smartwatch Review on SlashGear as well. Now the device is headed to AT&T – and no other mobile carrier – with the same $150 price tag it's always been delivered with.

So what's the reason for having AT&T pick this machine up? Distribution, for one – there's something massive to be said about the selling power of the second largest carrier of mobile devices in the United States – even when they don't need a SIM card. Another reason is advertising power: AT&T wants to sell their products, and if Pebble is a product of AT&T, the Pebble company will find themselves thrust even further into the limelight.

For AT&T this is a good deal because they'll be the one and only mobile carrier to be holding two smartwatches instead of two this Autumn. The other, of course, is the Samsung Galaxy Gear, another device that connects with your smartphone to provide wrist-bound data and syncing. In our first Samsung Galaxy Gear hands-on in Berlin you'll find that the device is more than ready to take on the wearables market – of course that market is small, at the moment, with Pebble being one of the only competitors for the Galaxy smartwatch (and the only competitor with AT&T.)

Meanwhile the folks at Pebble have already taken the first shot with a comment on how the Galaxy Gear is "over-spec'd". Pebble works with minimal gear to present a simple syncing with the Android or iOS device of the user's choice, working with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone alike.

The Pebble smartwatch will be appearing on AT&T's webpage as well as "approximately 500 retail stores" by this weekend. AT&T also suggests that broader in-store availability will be taking hold in October.