Pebble Steel Available for $229 in Best Buy June 15

Consumers looking for Pebble's high-end smartwatch won't have to go far to get their fix. The popular Pebble Steel will be available in Best Buy starting June 15 for $229 in two finishes: Brushed Stainless and Black Matte. This makes Best Buy the first retailer to sell the Steel, and at $20 less than its original price.

Best Buy was also Pebble's first retail partner last year when it stocked the startup's original smartwatch. Pebble is also adding Arctic White as a new color option to the existing Jet Black and Cherry Red hues for the original device ($149).

MORE: Pebble Steel Review

In our review of the Steel, we loved the smartwatch's premium, elegant design, smooth setup process and convenient app store. It pairs with an Android or iOS device via Bluetooth and brings notifications, music controls and alarms to your wrist. Compared to rival products such as the Galaxy Gear and Sony's Smartwatch 2, the Pebble had more apps and offered more juice. 

With Apple rumored to announce an iWatch later this year and Google's launch of its Android Wear platform for wearable devices, the smartwatch movement seems to be gaining momentum.

You can still get Pebble products directly from the company's website, but we imagine the Best Buy partnership will get smartwatches on the wrists of more consumers in the market.

Follow Cherlynn Low @cherlynnlow and on Google+. Follow Tom's Guide at @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.

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Cherlynn Low

Cherlynn is Deputy Editor, Reviews at Engadget and also leads the site's Google reporting. She graduated with a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University before joining Tom's Guide and its sister site LaptopMag as a staff writer, where she covered wearables, cameras, laptops, computers and smartphones, among many other subjects.

  • sevags
    The smart watch movement isn't gaining any momentum. Who writes this stuff? The smart watch market as a whole has been a big disappointment so far to everyone both customers and the companies making them. There will be more watches to come out but none of them will hit mainstream especially not for another half decade.
    Also who are these watches designed for? Maybe kids in high school who want to be able to interact with their phone but without the teacher taking it away? Some business people who absolutely need to be aware of all alerts on their phone at all times. For anyone else? nah. Most people do not wear watches these days and when they do it is usually little cheapy fashion watches or every day just time telling watches. Then there are people like me who are huge watch fans but I only purchase quality or high end time pieces. Every single smart watch out doesn't fit into either one of those categories; If i am too cheap for a $200-300 watch I am not going to change my mind for a smart watch. If I like expensive $200-$5000 watches then I know better than to waste my money on a digital quartz smart watch.
    Sorry but the smart watch isn't going to take off (anyone remember the Seiko Pager watch from like 1998?), it is other tech wearables that will be gaining momentum.
    Reply
  • zgillet
    Smart watches will never catch on unless they can REPLACE phones. You know, those things you carry with you everywhere at all times anyhow?
    Reply
  • sevags
    The smart watch movement isn't gaining any momentum. Who writes this stuff? The smart watch market as a whole has been a big disappointment so far to everyone both customers and the companies making them. There will be more watches to come out but none of them will hit mainstream especially not for another half decade.
    Also who are these watches designed for? Maybe kids in high school who want to be able to interact with their phone but without the teacher taking it away? Some business people who absolutely need to be aware of all alerts on their phone at all times. For anyone else? nah. Most people do not wear watches these days and when they do it is usually little cheapy fashion watches or every day just time telling watches. Then there are people like me who are huge watch fans but I only purchase quality or high end time pieces. Every single smart watch out doesn't fit into either one of those categories; If i am too cheap for a $200-300 watch I am not going to change my mind for a smart watch. If I like expensive $200-$5000 watches then I know better than to waste my money on a digital quartz smart watch.
    Sorry but the smart watch isn't going to take off (anyone remember the Seiko Pager watch from like 1998?), it is other tech wearables that will be gaining momentum.
    Reply
  • mortsmi7
    That screen resembles my flip phone from 10 yrs ago. One step forward, ten steps back.
    Reply