Pebble adds new premium Steel watch to its crowdfunding campaign

One week after returning to Kickstarter in order to sell its second-generation smartwatch, the company is adding a new premium ‘Steel' version to the product lineup.

The-Pebble-Time-Steel-Smartwatch-Photo-AFP

One week after returning to Kickstarter in order to sell its second-generation smartwatch, the company is adding a new premium 'Steel' version to the product lineup.

Pebble is poised to set a new world record for a Kickstarter project. The campaign for its new color screen plastic smartwatch, the Pebble Time, has only been running for seven days, yet it has already secured $12.4 million in pledges and attracted 54,888 backers.

The world record is currently held by the Coolest Cooler, a smart, mobile device-connected food and drink cooler which raised $13.28 million in August -- stealing the record from the original Pebble smartwatch in the process.

But the speed at which Pebble has been securing backers has been astounding. Within two hours of going live, the campaign had snagged over $2.6 million in funds and over 13,000 supporters and now, following the reveal of an all-metal 'Steel' version of the watch at the Mobile World Congress, interest is expected to spike once again.

The Pebble Time Steel features a stainless steel casing and a choice of stainless steel or leather strap, a potential 10-day battery life and a color touch screen.

Early Bird backers can snap one up for $250 during the campaign, but the watch will cost $299 when it officially goes on sale later this year. That makes it more expensive than a Moto 360 Android Wear watch but $50 less than an entry level Apple Watch, however, unlike its rivals, it works perfectly well with either an Android or Apple smartphone.