Smartwatch maker Pebble has abandoned the business and sold much of its assets to rival Fitbit. The company has shipped over 2 million pebbles to date after starting the business based on crowdfunding. Pebble said the decision was "due to various factors" and that it would refund any Kickstarter backers who had not received products. Its devices will be supported for a limited time yet.
Fitbit acquires much of the key personnel and intellectual property related to Pebble's software and firmware development. The acquisition does not include the company’s hardware products. The assets are expected to help Fitbit with developing cross-platform devices, which work across multiple smartphone OS, as well as more third-party apps for its wearable devices. No financial details of the takeover were disclosed.
