????我們很難想象，在形式和功能方面，蘋果還能為智能手表帶來哪些創新。可以通過藍牙通信的內容只有那么多，所以它的選擇余地有限。這樣一款設備的定價也很麻煩。現在市面上的智能手表，有的只賣25美元，有的售價卻高達數百美元。而這些產品的功能基本一樣，唯一的區別只是款式不同而已。

????這正是智能手表復雜的地方。一個人戴上這款設備以后，它便不僅僅是另外一款電子產品，而是變成一種時尚配件。進入大眾市場的智能手表，不僅要有不同的顏色，還要有各種款式。它意味著，蘋果要想在手表市場取得成功，需要提供數十種不同的設計和尺寸，來滿足消費者的不同品味。

????蘋果肯定不想進入時尚業。它更喜歡外形幾乎完全一樣的高品質暢銷產品，以保持庫存渠道不會產生積壓。蘋果提供過保護套之類的產品，但這些東西造價低廉，而且可以作為第三方市場的模板，告訴他們哪些是可以接受的設計。但如果公司開發智能手表，就必須與幾千家公司直接競爭。這些公司競爭激烈，都想在在龐大、混亂的手機配件市場奪得優勢地位。自從第一款iPhone手機推出以來，蘋果公司就一直避免涉足這個領域(這是明智的做法）。

????例如，在本周的法蘭克福車展（Frankfurt Motor Show）上，日產汽車公司宣布推出一款智能手表，可通過藍牙與日產汽車連接。手表與汽車連接可以跟蹤車速等性能數據。這款手表造型時尚，外形很酷。媽媽們會戴嗎？當然不會。喜歡開著日產汽車飆車的人會喜歡嗎？有可能。這是蘋果希望進入的市場嗎？絕對不是。智能手表是超個性化的產品，可能會有太多變化，而進入門檻則太低——我是說，連汽車公司都推出了智能手表。

????不過，今年早些時候，蘋果在手機行業的主要競爭對手三星表示，它正在研發智能手表。幾乎所有分析師和科技觀察家都將三星的新聞解釋成對蘋果研發自己的智能手表這一傳聞的反擊。兩周前，三星推出了新款Galaxy Gear智能手表，與其價高質優的Galaxy手機配合使用。Galaxy手機不論價格還是性能，都是iPhone的直接競爭對手。時間的選擇也并不是巧合——三星強烈渴望處處領先蘋果。很可惜，三星的智能手表沒能收到好評。

????蘋果在日前的發布會上并沒有推出自己的智能手表，對此，三星公司的高管肯定會大吃一驚。科技專家猜測，iWatch之所以缺席是因為蘋果不希望它搶了新款iPhone的風頭。或許確有其事，但或許蒂姆?庫克和蘋果團隊比我們想象的更狡猾。可能，當然只是可能，蘋果根本沒有什么手表。想想吧，到現在為止，沒有任何iWatch的照片流出，一張都沒有，中國方面也沒有蘋果正在生產任何手表的報道。或許，iWatch與iTelevision一樣，只不過是被杜撰出的東西。盡管過去三年來，外界一直猜測蘋果“即將”揭開iTelevision的神秘面紗。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓??

????It is hard to see what if anything innovative Apple can bring to a smartwatch in terms of form and function. There is just so much that can be communicated via Bluetooth, so the company's options are limited. Pricing such a device is also tricky. There are smartwatches out there going for as low as $25 and others going for hundreds. They all pretty much do the same things -- the only difference is the styling.

????This is where it gets complicated. Since one wears the device it ceases to just be another electronic gadget and instead becomes a fashion accessory. A smartwatch worn outside of the gym would need to not only come in different colors but totally different styles as well. This means if Apple were to be truly successful in serving the watch market, it would need to offer dozens of different designs and sizes to fit the variegated tastes of their disparate consumer base.

????Apple doesn't want to be in the fashion business. It prefers to mass-market quality items that pretty much all look the same to keep its inventory channels clear. Sure, Apple has offered a case or a "bumper" now and then, but those were cheap to make and served as a template for the third-party market as to what was and what wasn't acceptable. But if it were to develop a smartwatch, the company would be in putting itself in direct competition with thousands of companies all vying for dominance in the massive and disjointed mobile accessories market -- a place it has (rightly) avoided ever since the first iPhone came out.

????For example, carmaker Nissan announced that it had created a smartwatch this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show that would link to its cars via Bluetooth. The watch would link to the car track performance data like speed. The styling of the watch is sleek and admittedly has a "cool" look to it. Would my mom wear one? No. Would someone who loves racing in their Nissan like one? Maybe. Is that a market Apple wants to be in? Absolutely not. A smartwatch is super-personal, and there are simply too many variations and too few barriers to entry -- I mean, Nissan just made one.

????But earlier this year Samsung, Apple's mobile phone archrival, said it was developing its own smartwatch. Pretty much every analyst and tech watcher interpreted the news from Samsung as a counter to the rumors that Apple was developing its own smartwatch. Last week, the company revealed its new Galaxy Gear line of smartwatches to go with its top-end Galaxy phones, which compete directly with the iPhone in price and feature. The timing of the announcement wasn't seen as a coincidence -- Samsung desperately and pathetically tries to one-up Apple at every turn. Unfortunately for Samsung, its smartwatch hasn't been well received.

????It must have come as quite a shock to Samsung executives when Apple didn't "unveil" its own smartwatch yesterday. Technology experts speculated that the iWatch was a no-show because Apple didn't want it to steal the spotlight away from the new iPhone models. That could be true, but maybe Tim Cook and the Apple team are far more Machiavellian than we give them credit for. Maybe, just maybe, there isn't a watch at all. Think about it, there hasn't been one, not one, leaked photo of the iWatch, nor have there been any reports from China that Apple was building a watch of any kind. Could it be that the iWatch is as real as the much fabled iTelevision the company has supposedly "been on the brink" of unveiling for the last three years now????