(单词翻译:单击)
Several factors have dogged the nascent wearable technology market. The lack of breakthrough innovation around batteries, for one, requiring wearers to plug in on-the-go gadgets more than they’d like. The lack of sophistication around tiny user interfaces is another, though that will no doubt improve over time.
有几个因素一直困扰着依然处于襁褓期的可穿戴技术市场。比如,电池领域缺乏创新,导致用户只能随身带着充电宝之类的设备。此外,可穿戴设备的界面过于简单,尽管随着时间的推移,这方面无疑将获得改善。
But a big one? The social factor. Beyond the geeks of Silicon Valley and elsewhere, it’s just not cool to wear a watch, glasses, or headset that’s as big as a hood ornament.
还有一个大问题,即社交因素。除了硅谷等地的少数极客以外,很少有人觉得戴着一个像汽车徽标那么大的手表、眼镜或耳机之类的设备,是件很酷的事。
That’s going to change, according to Juniper Research. The British market observer believes that the wearable technology market will grow to $80 billion by 2020—and the key will be making the connected gadgets virtually indistinguishable from their disconnected peers.
英国市场观察机构瞻博研究公司声称,这种情况可能会发生变化。该公司认为,到2020年,可穿戴市场的价值将增长至800亿美元。关键在于如何让可穿戴设备和谐地融入人们的穿着,看起来不那么“显眼”。
That means that Apple must be on to something as it continues to make atypical hires from the fashion and apparel world. Observers, includingFortune‘s own Philip Elmer-Dewitt, believe the new talent will help smooth the rough edges of a technology that’s as personal as a bracelet, watch, or ring. (So, apparently, does Google.) The best wearables, and the ones best positioned for profitability, may be those that allow their technology to completely recede into the background.
由此可以发现,苹果公司不断从时尚和服饰领域挖人的反常举动,必定是有所图的。包括《财富》记者菲利普o艾尔默o德怀特在内的许多观察人士都认为,新招募的时尚界人才将把智能手镯、手表、手环之类的私人物件打磨得更加精致(谷歌公司显然也在这样做)。最好且最有可能获利的可穿戴产品,可能就是那些能使它的技术完全融入到背景中的产品。
Nevertheless, wearables will be a diverse growth market that’s not merely Internet-connected jewelry. Wearables that attach to the skin, such as MC10’s Biostamp, are also part of this category—though they’re in a “more embryonic state” and require a much larger shift in consumer habits than a smart watch, Juniper says.
然而,可穿戴产品毕竟是一个多样化的增长市场,它的意义不仅是一件能上网的饰物。那种能够依附在皮肤上的产品,比如MC10公司开发的“生物印章”,也可归入这一类别,不过这种技术还处于“萌芽初期的状态”,和智能手表相比,它需要消费习惯的更大转变。
Many technology companies—including Apple, ARM, Google, Intel, Lenovo-Motorola, LG, MC10, Microsoft, Omate, Qualcomm, Sony, and Withings, plus wearables-savvy design firms like Gadi Amit’s NewDealDesign and Yves Béhar’sFuseproject—are well-positioned to benefit from the boom. With the right features, consumers are, too.
许多科技公司都准备从可穿戴潮流中获益,包括苹果、ARM、谷歌、英特尔、联想—摩托罗拉、LG、MC10、微软、Omate、高通、索尼、Withings,以及一些知名的可穿戴设备设计公司,比如加迪o阿米特的NewDealDesign和维斯o贝哈的Fuseproject公司。只要有了恰当的功能,消费者也会从中受益。