Nomad giving away chargers for Pebble devices after Fitbit takeover

By Julian Chokkattu December 20, 2016

Pebble 2 — Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Pebble smartwatch owners may be feeling left in the dust after the company announced it was shutting down following its acquisition by Fitbit. Pebble is no longer manufacturing or selling any devices and don’t expect much — if any — support for your device. But another company with a similar backstory is throwing Pebble owners a bone.

Like Pebble, Nomad debuted on Kickstarter in 2012. While it didn’t rake in millions like Pebble, it was successful enough that the company now has a portfolio of mobile and wearable accessories.

Recommended Videos

Pebble’s demise has had an effect on Nomad as the company was set to release a new charger for the watch — those plans have been ruined with the acquisition, but the company is taking it in stride by giving away the charger for free.

“The Pebble story was a big inspiration to companies like ours,” said Noah Dentzel, Nomad’s CEO. “Understandably, we were truly saddened to hear that Pebble recently had to cease operations in the wake of some of the challenges that we all face as growing hardware companies. It was also in 2012 that Nomad got started with our own Kickstarter project, ChargeCard. While our $160,000 is small potatoes compared to Pebble’s epic whopper of a campaign, we nonetheless got the funds we needed to get our production up and running.”

Nomad was going to price the charger at $15, but anyone can grab up to two per household for free — you only have to pay for shipping.

There is a key-sized cable for the original Pebble, or you can grab two adapters for the Pebble Time and Pebble 2. The adapters work with MicroUSB or USB Type-C cables, allowing you to charge your device with the USB cable you carry around.

“We had originally planned to retail this product for $14.95, but decided that we’d rather offer it up as a gift to the Pebble community as a thank you for your contributions to the crowdfunding ecosystem,” Dentzel said.

You can grab the free charger and adapters here.

Topics

Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs. Fitbit Sense

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatch, worn on a person's wrist.

The Galaxy Watch 4 is Samsung's take on a modern, hi-tech wearable that doesn't imitate an old-school analog wristwatch. It eschews the classic design of its predecessors for a sleeker, more streamlined look, while also providing some excellent hardware and features. These include a Super AMOLED touchscreen, 16GB of internal storage, generous battery life, and some great health-tracking software.

It's certainly one of the best smartwatches out there, but in a market saturated by Apple Watches and various Android equivalents, it certainly isn't without competitors. One of these is the Fitbit Sense, which in 2020 emerged to offer a premium version of the core Fitbit experience, replete with an ECG sensor, a choice of virtual assistants, and a wealth of fitness features.

Mobile

This $4,000 titanium beauty is the ultimate square G-Shock

The G-Shock MRG-B5000B.

Do you want the very best Casio offers in manufacturing, design, and technology from your new G-Shock, all wrapped up in that highly recognizable square case? In other words, the ultimate version of a truly classic G-Shock watch? If so, the new MRG-B5000B is exactly the model you will want, provided cost is no object. We’ve been wearing it.
What makes MR-G so special?
Although Casio is best known for tough watches that won’t break the bank, Casio also has decades of watchmaking experience, and it showcases its talents most effectively in its highly exclusive MR-G family of watches. These models, its most luxurious, are assembled by hand on Casio’s Premium Production Line located in the Yamagata factory in Japan, where only the company’s most experienced, specially certified technicians work on the top MT-G and MR-G models.

The square G-Shock is one of the most popular models, having been around since the G-Shock brand first started in the early 1980s, and bringing it to the luxury MR-G range is going to see a lot of people reaching for their wallets. What makes it so special? It’s the first time the classic, beloved square G-Shock has been given the MR-G treatment, with most other MR-G models over the past few years featuring an analog dial. There's a huge section of an already large fan base waiting for this.

Mobile

Fitbit recalls Ionic smartwatch after several burn reports

best walmart deals on apple watch garmin and fitbit ionic smartwatch adidas edition ice gray silver

Fitbit Ionic smartwatch users need to stop using their devices right now. The company has recalled its Ionic wearable after over 150 reports of the watch’s lithium-ion battery overheating, and 78 reports of burn injuries to the users. It will offer a refund of $299 to the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch users who return the device.

Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the United States and over 50 reports internationally about the Ionic smartwatch's battery overheating. It is recalling the device as there are two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns out of the 78 total burn injuries report.