Eric Migicovsky, creator of the latest runaway Kickstarter project, the Pebble smart watch which I’m sure you’ve all heard about by now, shares a little bit of the funding and development story.

I haven’t yet backed the Pebble. If I did it would be for science rather than for my personal desire for the watch. While I do think an iPhone-connected smart watch could be very cool, it would need to be more than a “read-only” device. Other than accessing the Music app, the Pebble can do little more to control your iPhone. It can’t answer your phone calls, reply to your text messages, dismiss a Twitter DM notification, tell you the weather, etc.

The Pebble is certainly on the right track. Their Kickstarter project alone proves that there is a market for watches that connect to our phones. And, the Pebble is useful without a smartphone to connect to as well, due to its built-in functionality and SDK. But for those picking up a Pebble so they can pair it with their iPhone, I can’t help but wonder if the Pebble will prove to be more novelty than utility.

A Brief Story of the Pebble Smartwatch