After several days of rumours, speculation and an accidental official image leak, Pebble is finally ready to show off its new smartwatch for the first time.

The Pebble Time is set to take on the Apple Watch and Android Wear devices head-to-head as it's the first in the company's line up to feature a colour screen. But as it utilises full colour e-paper technology, battery life doesn't suffer. Indeed, Pebble claims that the Pebble Time will have a battery life of up to seven days with each charge.

Other new features over the original Pebble and Pebble Steel include a built-in microphone to send voice replies to incoming notifications or compose voice notes. It is also water resistant, so you can swim or take showers wearing the Pebble Time.

The watch is thinner than the original Pebble - 20 per cent thinner in fact. And it is also compatible with iPhone and Android smartphones, although you will need iOS 8 or above on your Apple device. All Android 4.0 and above smartphones are supported.

The Pebble Time has a new version of the Pebble operating system pre-installed that organises notifications, weather, news, travel and reminders chronologically. That way you can easily see what's coming up next at the press of one button. And you can scroll back to see anything you might have missed.

pebble time arrives to give apple watch some serious competition image 2
Pebble

It is fully compatible with all Pebble apps and watchfaces, while new, dedicated software is planned, with the company working with partners such as The Weather Channel, ESPN, Jawbone, Evernote and Pandora in the US. The new APIs and tools will also be released to teh development community.

Pebble has decided to return to its original hunting ground to fund and sell the new smartwatch. It has launched a page on Kickstarter where it had such success in getting the original watch off the ground. There you will be able to purchase Pebble Time in three different colours for $159 (around £103) with worldwide shipping. It will be released in May.

After the Kickstarter process, the new watch will be made available through traditional channels and stores, including getpebble.com, for the full retail price of $199 (around £130).