I love what they are attempting to do. I hope they succeed.

Would anyone mind explaining to me their value proposition? Or why one would use this instead of their smartphone?

It's not a replacement for the smartphone -- it's additive.

It's so you can get a notification on your watch instead of pulling out your phone, for small, specific, targeted notifications.

Would you buy it?

Nope. I'm waiting for the next Nano, which might come as early as September.

Ahh, ok. So their function overlaps? This is helpful. I'm trying to understand Pebble and what attracts people to it.

Function does not overlap yet but Apple watches everyone.