????蘋果（Apple）最新產品發布會令人失望，但如果蘋果同時發布一款所謂“智能手表”產品，那恐怕就不只是失望那么簡單了。面對三星（Samsung）和日產汽車（Nissan）最近推出的智能手表，果粉們一直期待蘋果公司能在上周二的“特殊活動”上推出蘋果自己的電子腕表。但這款被科技媒體命名為iWatch的神秘設備并沒有出現在發布會上。

????投資者和蘋果公司的消費者應該把iWatch的缺席看作一件好事。蘋果根本沒有必要涉足競爭激烈、回報率低的手機配件行業，尤其是智能手表這種荒謬的設備。它應該把時間和資金用于為現有的產品開發新市場，致力于下一件“大”事，來真正提高公司的收益和回報，這才是對公司和股東都有利的做法。

????蘋果最新產品發布會令人深感遺憾。以前的發布會，蘋果公司精心挑選的書呆子和果粉們總是會不時發出贊美或驚嘆的聲音，如今這樣的日子已經一去不復返。最新發布的iPhone 5C用塑料制成，而不是金屬，而且還提供了各種艷俗的顏色——毫無新意。iPhone 5C也沒有讓分析師感到興奮。分析師們一直期待蘋果推出“廉價版”iPhone，來吸引新興市場更多的消費者加入蘋果的生態系統。可結果呢，看看無補貼無合約款iPhone 5C在美國的價格，32G（這是如今活躍用戶的最低要求）的售價竟然高達649美元。這樣的價格就算對于美國消費者來說也太過昂貴，所以，就別指望這款手機能吸引新興市場和國際市場的消費者了。因為，除了無補貼價格之外，其他地區的消費者還要支付溢價。

????除了iPhone 5C，這次發布會上沒什么新鮮的。所以，可以肯定的說，蘋果創新已死，或者至少已經滑入低谷。這一點非常可惜，但蘋果并沒有失去一切。蘋果依然有深受歡迎的產品，依舊是一部賺錢機器。它有資本放松那么一陣兒，重新部署，然后它會重整旗鼓，用另外一款改變游戲規則的產品來沖擊市場。

????現在蘋果最不應該做的就是推出一大堆玷污公司形象的糟糕產品，既浪費了現金，又稀釋了公司品牌。“iWatch”就是這樣一款產品——根據科技媒體的“傳言”，蘋果對這款智能手表的研究已經有一年有余。蘋果從沒說過要發布這樣一款設備，也沒有公開傳達任何與此有關的信息。

????那么，到底什么是智能手表？說法有很多，但一般而言，智能手表就是一款戴在手腕上的電子設備，可以通過藍牙與智能手機連接，不需要看手機就能查看通知等。如果有來電呼入，手表會提醒用戶，手表還可以顯示短信，甚至可以控制某些應用和電話上的音樂播放器。當然，它還有一個功能，就是告訴你時間。

????實際上，智能手表的概念并不新鮮，它在體育市場只取得了有限的成功，一直未能作為一款可行的產品進入大眾市場。為什么？很簡單——它太荒謬了。一只手表的屏幕只有一至二平方英寸，能顯示的信息非常有限。像“至尊神探”那樣對著手表說話，只能用怪異來形容。而在手表上打字更是不太可能。此外，目前的語音文本轉換軟件并不成熟，所以，想用手表來發短信只會讓人失望。

????然而一年多來，一直有傳言稱蘋果正在研發一款智能手表，搭配下一代的iPhone手機。據傳，蘋果公司有100多名工程師從事這款設備的研發，而且公司還挖來了研究過其他智能手表的開發人員，比如耐克公司（Nike）的開發人員。

????Apple's latest product launch party was a real dud, but it could have been a lot worse if it had launched a line of so-called smartwatches. Apple enthusiasts had expected the company to counter recent smartwatch offerings from the likes of Samsung and Nissan by unveiling its own electronic wrist device at Apple's "Special Event" in Silicon Valley Tuesday, but the so-called iWatch, as the tech media has named the mythical device, was a no-show.

????Investors and Apple consumers should see this as a good thing. Apple has no business delving into the crowded and low-margin cellular accessories business, especially for a device as ridiculous as a smartwatch. The company and its shareholders would be better served if it spent its time and money developing new markets for its current products and working on the next "big" thing that will actually move the needle for the company in terms of revenue and profit.

????Apple's latest product launch party was pretty sad. Gone were the days when Apple was able to extract legitimate "oohs and aahs" from its hand-picked audience of nerds and Apple fanboys. The newly unveiled iPhone 5C is made from plastic instead of metal and is available in a bunch of loud colors -- snore. Analysts aren't excited with the 5C, either. It was hoped this "cheaper" iPhone would help bring in new customers into its ecosystem from the emerging markets, but it is hard to see how that can happen given that the 5C's unsubsidized contract-free price in the U.S. with 32G of onboard storage (a minimum for today's active user) will cost a shocking $649. That's expensive for the U.S. market, so you can forget about this phone appealing to those in the emerging and international markets where consumers pay a premium on top of the unsubsidized price.

????Beyond the iPhone 5C there wasn't much else announced that we didn't already know. So it is pretty safe to say that innovation at Apple is dead, or, at the very least, hibernating. That's sad, but all is not lost. Apple is still a cash-generating machine with a beloved product line. The company has the luxury to coast a bit and regroup before it comes back around and hits the market with another game-changing product.

????The absolute worst thing Apple could do now would be to set off on a path of cash destruction and brand dilution by launching a bunch of terrible products that would tarnish its image. Enter the "iWatch"-- the Apple smartwatch that the company has supposedly been working on for over a year or so, that is, of course, if you believe the tech press. Apple (AAPL) has never said anything about launching such a device nor has it leaked any information out to the public.

????So what exactly is a smartwatch? Well, there are many interpretations, but generally it can be defined as an electronic device you wear on your wrist that connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth to deliver notifications and such without having to look at your phone. The watch can alert you if you have an incoming call, display text messages, and could possibly control some apps and the phone's music player, as well. It can probably tell you the time, too.

????To be sure, the smartwatch concept is not new and while it has had limited success in the athletic market, it has failed consistently to emerge as a viable product offering for the mass market. Why? That's easy -- it's absurd. The amount of information that one can get from a watch screen that is one to two square inches is pretty limited. Talking into a watch, a la Dick Tracy, is just weird, and typing into one is a near impossibility. Meanwhile, speech-to-text software is still rough, so having the watch deliver a text message can be super-frustrating.

????Nonetheless, rumors have floated around for over a year that Apple was developing a smartwatch to pair with its next generation iPhone. There was talk that the company had over 100 engineers working on such a device and that it had hired away developers who have worked on other smartwatches, such as those for Nike (NKE).