Pebble And Windows Phones: A Tale Of What Could Have Been
Pebble's new stab at another Kickstarter, this time for the sleeker, more colorful Pebble Time, has renewed interest in one of the pioneers of smartwatches. While Pebble supports both Android and iOS, one of the few smartwatches to do so, it leaves out a portion of the mobile world out in the cold. Granted, the number of Windows Phone users might pale in comparison, but there are always some voices and arms raised in supplication for support. Though things looked hopeful for a while, the reality might be harsher.
Making rounds on the Internet lately is a certain Pebble Notifications app on the Windows Phone store, sparking hope that this might be signs of upcoming support for the platform. Although the app is clearly marked as an internal test application, certain lines of reasoning lead to the possibility that this could be the foundations of an official app coming soon. The picture that Windows Central paints is, however, less clear cut, more interesting, and a bit open ended.
According to sources, a Pebble app for Windows Phone was actually almost done. Microsoft has shouldered almost all the work in creating a fully functional app that even Pebble would be proud to adopt. The only things that were missing from Microsoft's implementation was the Pebble store and a partnership with Pebble. Both companies almost have it made. Microsoft will be developing the app yet pass ownership to Pebble. Microsoft will also commit itself to support Pebble long term. In exchange, Pebble gets the support of a company with deep pockets, in case Apple Watch and Android Wear became problems.
That was in 2014, and now we still don't have a Pebble Windows Phone app. Why? Apparently because of Pebble's top honchos. In particular, CEO Eric Migicovsky was no fan of Microsoft and blocked any partnership with the company. He sees Microsoft as an old dinosaur who needs Pebble more than Pebble needs it. As such, any further attempt for the two companies to talk things over practically fell through.
The story is not yet over, depending on how you choose to look at it. Pebble has definitely, at least for now, closed the door on an official app for the platform, but it might also be keeping some windows open for third party implementations. And as this test app might imply, Windows Phone, soon Windows 10, might just have the necessary foundations to make that technically possible.
VIA: Windows Central