Pebble smartwatch, long delayed, set to ship on Jan. 23

Way back in April of last year, a Californian named Eric Migicovsky launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Pebble "smartwatch" – a Bluetooth-enabled, iOS- and Android-compatible fashion accessory. Pledges of $125 got a Pebble watch; pledges of $550 got five of the things. The fundraising goal was $100K. Migicovsky ended up with $10,267,000 – enough to make it one of the most successful Kickstarter drives in history. 

But Pebble hit persistent delays, and didn't make its initial ship date – a hiccup the Pebble team blamed on the overwhelming demand.

Now, the good news: According to Migicovsky, who spoke this week at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas, the Pebble watch will begin shipping on January 23rd. PC Mag reports that Pebble expects to ship 15,000 units each week, starting with the initial Kickstarter backers. 

In a subsequent blog post, Migicovsky thanked supporters for their patience, and announced that the Pebble would get a few previously unannounced features, including a magnetometer and ambient light sensors. 

"Also, as many of you have speculated," Migicovsky wrote, "we can confirm that Pebble uses a magnetic charging cable. This was done to help achieve a 5ATM water resistance rating, perfect for running in the rain, skiing, swimming and washing dishes. And one last fun and useful tool – the accelerometer we’ve built into the watch allows you simply to tap or flick your wrist to turn on the backlight." 

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