Pebble's new third-gen smartwatch, the Pebble Time, has smashed its $500,000 USD Kickstarter funding goal within minutes.

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The Kickstarter campaign went live today and, at the time of writing, has already raised nearly $5 million with still 31 days left to go. The watches have a planned retail price of $200 each, though early Kickstarter backers have the opportunity to grab one at a discounted price.The Pebble Time features a new colour e-paper display, maintains compatibility with existing Pebble apps and watch faces, and claims to last up to a week on a single charge. Pebble's notifications are also now streamlined: rather than hiding notifications in individual apps, they're now arranged in a single chronological list.The Pebble Time is estimated to land in Kickstarter backers' hands this May, with a retail release "later this year."Our 2013 review of the Pebble smartwatch deemed the gadget a great entry point for those looking to try out smartwatches; apparently we weren't the only ones who thought so, as over 400,000 units were sold in its first year

Katie Williams is a freelance writer and journalist. She tweets at @desensitisation and hopes that one day, a bird will tweet back.