As early as 2008, wearable technology—which can range in anything from measuring your heart rate to curating music based on your mood—has been touted as the next big moment in consumer electronics.早在2008年，从测量心率到根据用户情绪播出音乐等的一系列可穿着技术就早已被讥讽为消费电子产品的下一个最重要契机了。In the wake of the Fitbit and Google’s GOOG 0.26% Glass, a flurry of companies has flooded the market with iterations of sensor-laden armbands, apparel, and eyewear. It’s a buzzy category, but early adopters seem to be waiting for a moment when they are no longerthat guy. (You know. The “Glasshole.”)紧跟Fitbit和谷歌眼镜（Google Glass）之后，许多公司开始四散转入这一市场，带给了许多装有感应器的臂章、服饰以及眼镜。这个领域现在炙手可热，但最先用于这些设备的人们或许都在等候那个时刻，让他们仍然变得特立独行。（你告诉的，谷歌眼镜的粉丝们现在有了个专门的该词称谓“Glasshole”。
）But that moment, try as Google might, has yet to come. Some reports have named 2014 as the year when wearable devices will hit the mainstream, but a newer study from L2, a digital research firm, confirms what many have been quietly fighting for: wearables are still not socially acceptable, creating a significant hurdle to further sales.尽管谷歌早已竭尽所能，那一刻却仍然还并未来临。许多报告都声称，可穿着设备将在2014年沦为主流。不过来自数字研究公司L2的近期报告证实了许多人正在默默地为之希望的一件事：可穿着设备依然没获得社会的普遍拒绝接受，要不断扩大销量依旧障碍重重。
According to the study, 75% of consumers are aware of wearable technology (whether as futuristic fashion or new-age tech tool), but only 9% actually have any interest in wearing it. A meager 2% admitted to owning a wearable tech device, most of which consist of fitness trackers and smart watches, according to the study.调查表明，75%的顾客都告诉可穿着技术（无论是作为前卫的时尚潮流，还是新时代的技术工具），但是只有9%的顾客有兴趣用于它们。根据调查，仅有2%的人回应自己享有可穿着设备，其中大部分都是健美追踪器或智能手表。
Wearables typically fall into three categories: complex devices such as fitness trackers; smart accessories such as smart watches, defined by their ability to run third-party applications; and fully autonomous smart wearables that connect directly to the Internet, such as Google’s Glass headset.可穿着设备一般来说分成三大类：像健美追踪器这样的简单设备；像智能手表这样的智能配件（由于它们可以运营第三方应用于）；还有像谷歌眼镜这样几乎自律、可以必要联网的智能可穿着设备。Estimates vary, but the research firm IDC projects that wearable tech will exceed 19 million units this year—more than triple last year’s sales—and will soar to 111.9 million units by 2018. Credit Suisse values the industry at somewhere between $30 billion and $50 billion in the next two to four years. But before that happens, the nascent market has that pesky wouldn’t-be-caught-dead-wearing-it hurdle to clear.人们对于可穿着设备销量的估算各不相同。研究公司IDC指出，这类设备今年的销量将多达1,900万件量，超过去年的三倍以上。
到2018年，它的销量将不会超过1.119亿件。瑞士信贷（Credit Suisse）预计，在接下来的2-4年中，这个行业的价值将不会低约300亿至500亿美元。
不过，在这一切构建之前，这个方兴未艾的市场必须挣脱人们对于“穿着这种设备就是出丑”的偏见。The June announcement of collaboration between Google and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to create a new line of Google Glass underscored Silicon Valley’s current strategy to enlist the fashion elite to sanction wearables as de rigueur.今年六月，谷歌宣告与时尚设计师黛安o冯o芙丝汀宝合作，联手发售新款谷歌眼镜。这个措施突显了硅谷当下的策略：召募时尚精英，彰显可穿着设备以时尚内涵。
The line of prescriptive frames and sunglasses, named “DVF | Made for Glass,” costs upwards of $1,600. Google has already partnered with Luxottica, the eyewear conglomerate behind Ray-Ban and several high-fashion eyewear offerings such as Prada. It also hired fashion executive Ivy Ross, most recently the chief marketing officer of Art.com, to lead its Glass team.这个系列的特制镜框和太阳墨镜以“DVF|为谷歌眼镜设计”为标签，价格高达1,600美元以上。迄今为止，谷歌早已和雷朋（Ray-Ban）眼镜的生产商陆逊梯卡（Luxottica）以及其他几家获取时尚眼镜的公司如普拉达（Prada）等进行过合作。它还召募了曾在艺术网站Art.com兼任首席市场官的时尚总监艾维o罗斯来领导谷歌眼镜团队。
The company is hardly alone in its efforts to woo talent of a different sort. Earlier this year Intel announced a collaboration with the Council of Fashion Designers of America, or CFDA, kicking off a partnership with the high-concept retailer Opening Ceremony to design its smart bracelet. Tory Burch partnered with Fitbit to design pendants and bracelets akin to the Shine Tracker by Misfit Wearables. And Apple AAPL -1.03% has tapped a diverse group of people, including former Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts (to lead its retail efforts), former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, and former Nike NKE -0.71% design director Ben Shaffer.在手牵手其他领域的精英这一点上，谷歌并非独家。今年早些时候，英特尔（Intel）之后宣告与美国时尚设计师协会（Council of Fashion Designers of America，CFDA）和奢侈品零售商Opening Ceremony合作，设计智能手镯。
时尚品牌汤丽柏琦（Tory Burch）也与Fitbit联手设计了与可穿着技术创业公司Misfit Wearables的无线运动跟踪器Shine Tracker类似于的吊坠与手镯。而苹果（Apple）也考古了各行各业的人才，还包括博柏利（Burberry）前任首席执行官安吉拉o阿伦德茨（兼任零售主管）、伊夫o圣o洛朗（Yves Saint Laurent）前任首席执行官保罗o丹尼佛以及耐克（Nike）的前任设计主管本o谢弗。These collaborations signal a moment where the cradle of innovation and the arbiters of fashion are finally embracing one another, says L2 research director Colin Gilbert. Style is not the only missing piece to the wearable puzzle, but it’s something to look forward to, Gilbert says. More than half of the report’s respondents want devices that feel more like jewelry while 62 percent would like more than wrist-worn devices.L2研究总监科林o吉尔伯特回应，这一系列合作标志着创意的发祥地与时尚的发源地再一开始手牵手。吉尔伯特说道，要解决问题可穿着领域的难题，缺乏的某种程度是设计这一种要素，但设计显然是这个领域期望的元素。
这份报告的调查表明，多达一半的受访者期望享有看起来更加像珠宝的可穿着设备，62%的受访者更喜欢腕戴式设备。“Brands that are known for going it alone are partnering with unexpected allies,” Gilbert says. “If you dig into Apple’s investment, the special projects team reads like a who’s who list of some of the best talent in the world coming from every sector imaginable.”吉尔伯特说道：“那些以单打独斗著称的品牌都开始与意想不到的伙伴合作。如果细心研究苹果的投资，你不会找到这个类似队伍的成员名单，看上去就看起来世界上能想象到的各行各业中最杰出的人才的名人录。
”The “cool” factor isn’t the only issue. Security and privacy, particularly around the management of consumer data, remain a concern as the tech industry seeks to bring more of our body parts online. As The Economist notes, the glamour of developing sensors and algorithms for wearables is distracting everyone from glaring missing elements, “standards, interoperability, integration and data management” and “intellectual-property rights and regulatory compliance” among them. All this in an environment where paranoia remains over the National Security Administration’s activities.要让产品变得很“酷”并不是唯一的目的。科技行业如果想要让我们身体的更好部位连上网络，那么安全性问题和隐私问题，特别是在是顾客数据管理问题，依旧必须慎重考虑。正如《经济学人》（The Economist）所说，蓬勃发展的传感器的魅力，以及可穿着设备的算法，集中了人们对于其他要素的注目。
这些关键的其它要素还包括：“标准、互通性、一体化、数据管理”，以及“知识产权、继续执行标准”。对国家安全局（National Security Administration）而言，这些技术发展都必需以网络安全为前提。
Atlas Wearables founder Peter Li says battery technology and user retention are two more obstacles facing the wearables market. Some use cases require significant improvements to battery technology for a compelling experience, he says, and there’s always a balance to be struck between wear time between charges and processing power and features.可穿着设备公司Atlas Wearables创始人彼得o李回应，电池技术和用户的激进是可穿着市场面对的两大障碍。他说道，在一些情况下，电池技术必须有充足大的改良才能构建不足以唤起用户兴趣的体验，而在穿着时间、电池时间、处置能力和产品特点上，各家公司也必须作出均衡。The pace of innovation has been rapid. Fitbit has released five or six distinct models since the company launched in 2008, and Samsung released three or four variants of the Galaxy Gear in a nine-month period. Sony SNE 0.77% , Pebble, Google, and Facebook’s FB 0.25% Oculus Rift are positioned to follow.这个领域的创意速度十分慢。自从Fitbit于2008年正式成立以来，各家公司早已公布了五到六个几乎有所不同的产品。
三星（Samsung）则在九个月内公布了可穿着设备Galaxy Gear的三到四个派生产品。索尼（Sony）、Pebble、谷歌和Facebook的头戴式虚拟现实设备Oculus Rift也紧随其后。
“It’s very easy to see the leaders in the current market are in a fairly tenuous or precarious position right now,” Gilbert says. “That’s evident by how quickly they’re innovating on each new device type.”吉尔伯特说道：“我们很更容易看见，在当下的市场中，领头羊们都处在非常薄弱危险性的地位。想到他们在每款新的设备上作出创意的速度，我们可以很显著地找到这一点。”Interest in wearable technology isn’t limited to technology companies. Mercedes-Benz is porting its mobile experience to a wearable device, while Virgin Atlantic is exploring the customer service aspect of Google Glass on a trial basis. Kenneth Cole is also using Glass as part of a marketing campaign.对可穿着技术有兴趣的好比是科技公司。
梅赛德斯-飞驰（Mercedes-Benz）正在将移动体验重制到可穿着设备上，而维珍航空（Virgin Atlantic）正在试验性地探寻谷歌眼镜在顾客服务上的应用于。Continued experimentation with wearables is important, but the near-term requires a conversation “about whether current wearables, driven by a combination of organic efforts and corporate tech efforts, are really adhering to customer needs and wants or if companies need to explore a different set of partnerships to push wearables beyond early adopters and into the mainstream,” Gilbert says.吉尔伯特回应，对可穿着设备的大大试验十分最重要，但是现在短期内，人们还必须探究一下：“技术的演变以及企业的研发力量联合推展了现有可穿着产品的发展，但它们否知道需要满足用户的市场需求；各公司又否必须探寻有所不同的合作模式，让可穿着设备不仅仅限于早期使用者的圈子，而是被主流人群所拒绝接受”。The winter holiday season will help thin the herd, but the true litmus test will be when a company can introduce a wearable that passes the “turnaround test,” Gilbert says—when a person walks a few steps from their front door and decides to turn around to retrieve a forgotten wearable device like they would a forgotten wallet, keys, or phone.吉尔伯特称之为，冬季假期不会让这个领域的热度减少，但确实的试金石在于各家公司能否研发出有可以通过“回到考验”的可穿着设备——如果人们早已走进了家门好几步，仍然要求回到送忘带了的可穿着设备，就像他们送忘记的钱包、钥匙、手机一样，这个设备就顺利了。“Right now the fitness tracker isn’t on that list,” he says, “but the next generation of wearables has the potential to pass that critical milestone.”他说道：“目前为止，健美追踪器还不属于这类产品。
但是下一代可穿着设备有潜力横跨这个至关重要的里程碑。
本文来源：BOB博鱼-www.qhdhbzs.com
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