3D Printing About to Change Our Economy for Good

Desktop 3D printers may have started out as a way to just make little plastic toys and trinkets, but they are fast outgrowing that mold. Even when 3DPrint.com was launched just over 13 months ago, the team here didn't necessarily recognize just how big an impact 3D printing would soon have on industries across the board. While anyone can still print out little knicknacks, applications have been exploding in number and quickly becoming real-world applicable. California-based startup Pebble is a clear indication of this growing trend, as they stand their ground against tech giant Apple in the smartwatch arena. Pebble's new Time smartwatch is on Kickstarter and proving a resounding success, having already raised over $15.5M with more than 3 weeks remaining in the campaign -- and a standout aspect of this design is the new watch's capability for customization. Pebble released their mechanical and electrical designs so DIYers can customize their own 3D printable smartstraps for their new watches. With uses like this only growing in number, 3D printing is sure to take hold far beyond mere trinkets. Check out more insight in the full article: http://3dprint.com/48534/pebble-smartstraps-3d-print/


Below is a diagram of the Pebble Time smartstrap design illustrating where users can customize:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/p3.png

People aren't primarily buying Pebble smart watches over the Apple Watch because of customization options. They're buying it because A) it's available now, and B) because it has a decent battery life. By all accounts the Apple watch will need daily charging, unless you make extensive use of the newly-added low power feature which turns it in to a dumb watch.

The Apple version of a product isn't always better. Often they are just better hyped.

As for customization. It's important to some consumers, but only to a point. Nokia died because they were focused on customization with their replaceable covers, and missed the rise of the smartphone, even though they were one of the smartphone pioneers. People want customization, but not at the cost of features, value, and coolness factor. In other words, customization is a bonus, not a primary selling point.