????現在看來，這種想法不能不讓人發笑。不過那時才2002年，當時如果能從手表上看到這些信息確實是夠酷的。但今天大家都能從智能手機上獲得這類信息，而且信息量要大得多。SPOT的服務需要用戶每月交60美元，還得戴上那個笨重的手表——這兩點在消費者眼里都夠不討喜的。等到無線運營商開始提供和手機捆綁的、便宜的數據套餐之后，SPOT手表就不可避免地走向了滅亡。

????如今所謂的智能手表跟SPOT手表相比純粹就是個傻瓜設備，因為它們要靠智能手機為它傳輸數據，而不是依靠調頻廣播或第三方數據來源。這就意味著，你這想象的智能手表如果旁邊沒有智能手機，那它就純屬廢物。如果這個笨重的“手表”的主要功能只是提供你能從口袋里掏出手機查看的那些信息，那它就實在沒什么用處。在手表上試著遙控點什么事，比如發短信，實在是不太可能，或至少，哪怕是通過語音合成軟件來完成，也是夠煩人的。通過它遙控音樂播放好像挺方便的，但現在隨便一副像樣的耳機就能做到。瞇著眼在一塊最多兩英寸大小的屏幕上笨手笨腳地操作，既施展不開手腳，也讓人分心。想象一下，除了手機、平板電腦和筆記本電腦，還得為手表充電。真是有點沒事找事。

????實際上，老百姓對這種手表似乎也是這種看法。你最近一次看到有人玩智能手表是什么時候？很可能從來就沒看到過。而這并不是因為傻瓜智能手表是什么新鮮事物。SPOT壽終正寢后，微軟的許多前合作伙伴，如手表制造商Fossil，就試著生產與索愛（Sony Ericsson）和Abacus這類品牌的智能手機相配的手表。這些表都非常時尚，不像它們的前輩們那么難看，主要是因為它們看起來像是傳統的指針盤手表。使它們“智能”起來的是手表底部安裝的一個電子板帶，它能在迷你屏幕上顯示來電和短信通知，還能發出振動提醒。

????最近，市面上出現了一種新一代智能手表，其中一些能和搭載谷歌（Google）安卓和蘋果iOS操作系統的設備很好地連接（但實際上還是沒什么用處）。由Allerta公司推出的InPulse智能手表幾年前就面世了，它主打黑莓手機（Blackberry）用戶。我覺得，這在那時候不失為一個好主意。該公司創始人后來到眾籌網站Kickstarter為一款名為Pebble的新手表籌資，這款手表能和安卓及iOS設備連接。Pebble是個有多種顏色的大家伙，起價150美元，剛開始在市場上出售（坊間對它評價不一）。而Fossil則繼續拿出不撞南墻不回頭的勁頭往前沖。這次推出的手表雅號叫MetaWatch，是一款有多種款式、專供安卓使用的藍牙連接手表。而去年剛剛去掉“愛立信”名字的索尼公司（Sony）則在2012年推出了多款時髦的手表，命名為LiveView（它們看起來都大同小異），以及一款聰明地取名為智能手表（Smartwatch）的產品。這兩款手表都是為安卓手機打造的，都很便宜——LiveView在亞馬遜網站（Amazon）上售價僅為25美元。

????今年的拉斯維加斯消費電子展（Consumer Electronics Show）上，有多款其他品牌的智能手表出售，其中搶眼的有：簡單的CooKoo，昂貴的i'm Watch，復古的Martian，運動型的WearIT和優雅的Leikr。你可能會覺得奇怪，怎么會突然冒出來這么多這類產品？這是因為手表是個極其個人化的物品。盡管智能手表因為自身的局限性，市場可能一直很小，但消費者還是想有多種選擇以反映自己的生活方式（時髦的、運動的或是復古的）以及時尚品味（比如書卷氣的嬉皮士，或是超級書呆子）。

????智能手表可能真正能有發展前途的地方是健身領域。目前健身手表市場絕大部分都被幾大巨頭品牌掌控，如佳明（Garmin）和天美時（Timex）。但這兩大品牌都還沒有生產專用的智能手表，所以對強有力的后來者而言，市場空間依然存在。對這類手表來說，時尚和設計感不如功能重要，所以人們不會認為你手上戴了個笨重的小屏幕，就認為你是個怪人。摩托羅拉（Motorola）推出的MotoActv就是主打健身的智能手表，它可能會很受運動迷的追捧。但是這些周末健身人士第二天上班會不會還戴著這款手表就不好說了。耐克公司（Nike）的Fuelband運動跟蹤器和手表則是另一個似乎有大賣跡象的例子。部分原因在于，它戴在手上非常不顯眼（請注意，大家談得很多的Jawbone UP根本就不是手表）。

????對蘋果和三星來說，時尚和生活方式問題是個大事。按照蘋果的路數，如果它真的推出一款“iWatch”，它可能會是一款有各種顏色的手表。而缺乏想象力的三星最有可能干的就是亦步亦趨地跟著蘋果學。這就意味著，這兩款產品如果功能和上述手表完全一樣，那它們將會吸引一小幫真的認可其設計、同時相信這種手表符合自己風格的消費者。而這兩條都不容易辦到——哪怕實力雄厚如蘋果者，也不是那么容易交出漂亮的答卷。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????Today's smartwatches are mere dummies compared to the SPOT watch as they depend on smartphones to feed it data, as opposed to FM broadcasts or a third-party source. So that means you’r supposed smartwatch would be pretty dumb without a smartphone in close proximity. There is little utility in wearing a clunky "watch" whose main purpose is to deliver messages that you can see by reaching in your pocket and looking at your phone. Trying to do anything remotely useful on the watch, like, say, sending a text message, is pretty much impossible, or at the very least, really annoying if done through text-to-speech software. Controlling your music remotely seems handy, but you can already do that with any decent pair of headphones these days. Squinting and fumbling with a screen that is at its maximum two inches by two inches is both limiting and distracting. Imagine having to remember to juice up your watch in addition to your phone, tablet and laptop. It all seems so unnecessary.

????Indeed, it appears that the general public thinks so as well. When was the last time you saw a person sporting a smartwatch? Chances are you haven't. And it is not because the dummy smartwatch is something new. After the demise of SPOT, many of Microsoft's former partners, like watchmaker Fossil, attempted to make watches that paired with smartphones under the Sony Ericsson (SNE) and Abacus brands. The watches were actually quite stylish and weren't as ugly as their predecessors, mainly because they looked like normal analogue watches. What made them "smart" was an electronic strip at the bottom that displayed data in a ticker-tape fashion.

????Recently, a whole new generation of smartwatches has hit the market, some with pretty good (but still practically useless) links to devices running Google's (GOOG) Android and Apple's iOS operating systems. The InPulse smartwatch by Allerta hit the scene a couple years ago targeting Blackberry (RIMM) users, which, I guess, seemed like a good idea at the time. The founders later went on to social begging site Kickstarter to fund a new watch, Pebble, which connects to both Android and iOS devices. The Pebble, which is big and comes in an array of colors, goes for $150 and just started shipping (to mixed reviews). Fossil continued to beat its head against the wall, this time under the moniker MetaWatch, which are an array of Bluetooth-connected watches for Android. Sony, which dropped the Ericsson name last year, came out with a couple of sleek watches in 2012 (that pretty much look the same), the LiveView, and cleverly named Smartwatch. Both are made for Android phones and are pretty cheap – the LiveView goes for under $25 on Amazon (AMZN).

????At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year there were a number of other smartwatches up for grabs, notably: the simple Cookoo, the pricy i'm Watch, the retro Martian, the sporty WearIT and the elegant Leikr. You might be wondering why there are so many of these things? Well, that's because the watch is an extremely personal item. While the market for smartwatches will probably remain quite small given its limitations, consumers still want an array of choice to reflect their lifestyle (trendy vs sporty vs classic) as well as their fashion sense (nerdy hipster vs nerdy nerd, for example).

????The one place where smartwatches may have a future is in the fitness space. The market for fitness watches is pretty much locked up by a few big names at the moment including Garmin (GRMN) and Timex. Neither has made a dedicated smartwatch, yet, so there is an opening for a strong alternative. Fashion and design here take a backseat to function, so people won't think you are weird for having a chunky screen on your wrist. Motorola MotoActv is a fitness centric smartwatch and could become very popular with hard-core athletes, but it is doubtful if those weekend warriors will wear their smartwatch when they go to work the next day. Nike's (NKE)Fuelband motion tracker and watch is another example that has seemed to take off, in part because it is so inconspicuous on the wrist. (Note that the much-talked-about Jawbone UP is not a watch at all...)

????This fashion and lifestyle issue is a big problem for both Apple and Samsung. Knowing how Apple works, if it does launch an "iWatch," it will probably be just one watch that comes in a variety of colors. The unimaginative Samsung will most likely just copy whatever Apple does to the letter. That means that both products, which will probably have the same features as all those watches mentioned above, will appeal to a narrow subset of consumers who really dig its design and who believe it will fit their style. Both are tall orders–something that even the mighty Apple, will have a hard time trying to deliver.