Comment by thechut | Hacker News Reader

Comment by thechut | Hacker News Reader

WHERE IS THE SDK? Why will nobody answer this question?

I received my Pebble 10 days ago. I was an early back of a black Pebble. So far I have really loved my Pebble, but it is begging for apps. The Pebble team said during the Kickstarter for their 2m stretch goal that they would release the SDK before the watch. Still no SDK, and not even so much as a mention since they started shipping. Obviously, as with almost all Kickstarter projects (including Pebble), there are delays. That is fine.

But why will nobody from the Pebble team comment on the release or what is going on? I have sent emails, posted on the forums, signed up for mailing lists, posted kickstarter comments, and lurked in IRC (and now commented on HN) to try to figure out what the deal with the SDK is. NOBODY KNOWS or nobody will talk about it.

There are rumblings that some people, possibly "hacker special" backers, have already been given access to an SDK. I'm not sure if this is true, but it shouldn't prevent the Pebble team from making an announcement about what is going on with the SDK.

I'm not trying to put Pebble down or trying to degrade what Pebble is in any way. I own an inPulse and I backed Pebble the second I found out about it. I hope for nothing but success for Pebble and think they could do amazing things. I think they could do even more amazing things if they let developers start making Pebble even better.

PEBBLE TEAM, if you are reading this...PLEASSSEEEE just tell us what/when to expect!

Maybe I'm biased given my background as an iOS guy, but...

I'm just happy they got the hardware out and it's working pretty damn well. I want to write code for this new platform more than anyone.

But they're a hardware startup! And they're shipping their hardware! That shit is impossible, and frankly, worth prioritizing over any other goal. Getting an SDK right takes time. It took Apple a year for the iPhone, and they had enormous resources and a comparatively luxuriously-appointed platform.

How much RAM do you think a little guy like the Pebble is working with?

So I can imagine there be dragons in Pebble SDK town. They're going to get there. But be realistic and cut some slack here. As a fellow backer, I'm looking at all of this as having gone infinitely better than expected. Maybe you want a bit more communication on this subject, and that's fair, but keep some perspective.

Creating the future takes time.

All their incentives are aligned with yours. The better the dev ecosystem for this platform, the more money they get to make over time. It's gonna be fine.

Good communication 101 in my books says they should write a statement about it, especially since they've indicated that it should be out before the watch. Or atleast comment on the questions.

I think people want pebble to succeed and there is lot of love for the product. And telling about the dragons and delays creating the SDK would just improve the image of fair and open culture they have.

I can imagine they've had a crazy year but an hour spent on commenting this would be time well spent in my oppinion.

danilocampos, I'm usually inclined to give Kickstarter projects the benefit of the doubt. I have backed so many projects that I have come to expect delays as part of the normal course of action. Keep in mind even the Pebble hardware was supposed to ship in September. But the team knew they would miss that date and communicated that to their backers. This is what a good Kickstarter project is all about.

However, not only their lack of communication but REFUSAL to answer questions about it (as evidenced by this post) is an unacceptable way to treat your backers and supporters. It would take Eric no more than 5 minutes to respond on the forums or do a Kickstarter update.

Still waiting...not so patiently.

A very early version of the SDK is available to the 200 Hacker Special backers, who had to sign an NDA.

This supports some of the rumors I have heard but raises more questions about why the silence on it to all other backers.

All well and good, but what about when you say you'll ship the SDK? When you tell Wired and other interviews publicly that you'll have it out, and then you never say a thing. I even emailed and got a response from Eric himself saying "working on it."

The cost of clarity in communication with your user base is $0. Really. All they seem to care about it KickStarter and the whole episode reeks of amateurism which is not what you're supposed to be $10M later. Put up a post. Say what you're doing. Don't let it fester.

Well if you want to start with the previous product, the inPulse, they have an SDK here: http://getinpulse.com/pulsesdk/

They have a simulator and some nice code samples. It is a fun C api and simulator. I am not sure when they will release the SDK for the Pebble.

No kidding! I'm dying to make a pomodoro timer for mine.

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