Correct - it's all trust based. For reference, here the 'accountability' section from the Kickstarter FAQ:

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/backing%20a%20project#Ac...

I think these 'big budget' projects are generally from groups/people that are known to communities, or have some existing goodwill. Looks like these guys had previously taken a watch to market that worked only with Blackberry devices.