????如果Pebble是智能手表領(lǐng)域的大衛(wèi)，那么哥利亞（圣經(jīng)中被大衛(wèi)殺死的巨人——譯注）一定非谷歌（Google）莫屬。

????上周，谷歌發(fā)布了Android Wear系統(tǒng)，把它大受歡迎的移動(dòng)操作系統(tǒng)引入了可穿戴市場(chǎng)。搭載這個(gè)系統(tǒng)的摩托羅拉（Motorola）Moto 360手表預(yù)計(jì)將于今年夏天上市。當(dāng)Moto 360等設(shè)備接踵而至之時(shí)，它們背靠的是強(qiáng)大的Android生態(tài)系統(tǒng)；而市場(chǎng)調(diào)研機(jī)構(gòu)高德納（Gartner）預(yù)計(jì)，2014年底Android設(shè)備出貨量有望一舉突破10億部。

????Pebble首席執(zhí)行官米埃里克?米基科夫斯基對(duì)此點(diǎn)評(píng)道：“我們六年前開始嘗試可穿戴計(jì)算設(shè)備的時(shí)候，這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的參與者還比較少，外界對(duì)此也有很多質(zhì)疑。我很高興看見(jiàn)可穿戴市場(chǎng)的快速發(fā)展——它將催生更多有意思的應(yīng)用，我們所有人都可以專注于如何實(shí)現(xiàn)最優(yōu)秀的用戶體驗(yàn)?！?/p>

????米基科夫斯基的滿滿自信來(lái)自于Pebble不俗的開局。自2013年1月上市以來(lái)，Pebble已售出了超過(guò)40萬(wàn)只智能手表。按這個(gè)數(shù)量估算，這家公司的營(yíng)收約為6000萬(wàn)美元。而據(jù)風(fēng)投資本Charles River Ventures合伙人、Pebble投資人喬治?扎卡里的看法，Pebble 公司2014年?duì)I收有望實(shí)現(xiàn)翻番。（難怪Pebble在2013年上半年就能實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利）目前Pebble平臺(tái)的應(yīng)用數(shù)量已超過(guò)1000款，而12000名注冊(cè)開發(fā)者還在繼續(xù)奮斗。扎卡里說(shuō)：“這是我投資過(guò)的公司中增長(zhǎng)最快的一家?！?/p>

????隨著營(yíng)收增長(zhǎng)，Pebble的規(guī)模也在擴(kuò)大。它的員工數(shù)從1月份的45人增長(zhǎng)至目前的70多人，管理層也相應(yīng)補(bǔ)充了新鮮血液。蘋果（Apple）前硬件工程及生產(chǎn)法務(wù)主管杰夫?海曼將擔(dān)任Pebble首席法律顧問(wèn)，而Jawbone前財(cái)務(wù)副總裁馬林?塔卡洛夫?qū)⒊鋈问紫?cái)務(wù)官。

????Pebble可謂歷史悠久，最初誕生于米基科夫斯基2009年在滑鐵盧大學(xué)（the University of Waterloo）主持的一個(gè)學(xué)生項(xiàng)目。隨后，Pebble獲得了保羅?格雷厄姆旗下著名的YCombinator創(chuàng)業(yè)孵化基金的支持，房屋租賃網(wǎng)站Airbnb和大名鼎鼎的Dropbox也是這個(gè)基金的資助者。2012年4月，Pebble決定在眾籌網(wǎng)站Kickstarter上集資。僅僅一個(gè)月，它就獲得了1030萬(wàn)美元投資，是米基科夫斯基最初設(shè)想的100倍之多。當(dāng)然，風(fēng)投資本的力助也少不了。Pebble從多位天使投資人手中獲得了2600萬(wàn)美元資助，其中包括社交聚合網(wǎng)站FriendFeed的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人保羅?布赫特，以及位于加州門羅帕克的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司Draper Fisher Jurvetson的創(chuàng)始人蒂莫西?德雷珀。

????雖然許多分析師都看好可穿戴市場(chǎng)，但目前市場(chǎng)上的相關(guān)產(chǎn)品還比較少。去年秋天，三星（Samsung）推出了Galaxy Gear智能手表，但它續(xù)航時(shí)間太短，而且兼容性也存在問(wèn)題，倒是有報(bào)告戲稱Gear能提高男人對(duì)異性的吸引力。（米基科夫斯基說(shuō)道：“天哪，這也太悲催了?！保┎贿^(guò)，隨著Android系統(tǒng)的加入，未來(lái)可穿戴設(shè)備的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力有望加強(qiáng)。

????眼下，米基科夫斯基正在考慮如何將Pebble做得比谷歌更出色。他正在研究如何進(jìn)一步提高Pebble目前已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)達(dá)一周的續(xù)航時(shí)間，以及如何應(yīng)用新的屏幕技術(shù)，尤其是柔性屏技術(shù)。他說(shuō)：“我理想中的手表應(yīng)該只有屏幕，但這個(gè)理想目前暫時(shí)還無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)?！泵谆品蛩够诖齈ebble有朝一日能擺脫極客電子產(chǎn)品的角色，邁入主流市場(chǎng)。他還希望Pebble能成為用戶控制汽車、家居產(chǎn)品和隨身物品的中樞設(shè)備?？偠灾?，米基科夫斯基打算對(duì)Pebble不斷創(chuàng)新，直到有一天，“如果其他人想跟我們競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，就得按我們的規(guī)矩來(lái)?！?/p>

????換句話說(shuō)，谷歌想玩嗎？盡管放馬過(guò)來(lái)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????If Pebble is the smartwatch category's David, surely Google is its Goliath.

????This week, Google (GOOG) announced Android Wear, a version of its popular mobile operating system, with launch partners such as Motorola and its Moto 360 watch, due in the summer. When devices like the Moto 360 arrive, they'll join the massive Android community, one Gartner estimates will have 1 billion users by year's end.

????"When we started working on wearables six years ago, there were few players in the space and a lot of skeptics," says Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky of Google's news. "It's exciting to see this market grow so quickly -- enabling more interesting use cases and keeping all of us laser-focused on creating the very best user experiences we can."

????If Migicovsky doesn't seem nervous, it's because his startup is off to a solid start. The company has sold over 400,000 Pebble smart watches since January 2013. Back-of-the-envelope math estimates $60 million in revenues for that time frame. According George Zachary, a Charles River Ventures partner and Pebble investor, the company will make twice last year's revenue in 2014. (No wonder Pebble became profitable in early 2013.) There are now over 1,000 Pebble apps available, with 12,000 registered developers all-but-assuring more are on the way. Brags Zachary: "It's my fastest-growing company ever."

????As revenues have ballooned, so has Pebble. The startup employs around 70, up from 45 this January, and just added two new members to management. Jeff Hyman, Apple's (AAPL) ex-Director of Hardware Engineering and Manufacturing Law, will serve as general counsel. Meanwhile, former Jawbone VP of Finance Marin Tchakarov will act as CFO.

????Migicovsky has already come a long way from the University of Waterloo in 2009, where he developed Pebble as a school project. It passed through Paul Graham's famed YCombinator, the same startup incubator that yielded Airbnb and Dropbox. But it wasn't until April 2012 when the startup joined the crowd funding site Kickstarter, that Pebble took off. Little over a month later, Pebble had raked in $10.3 million from early backers -- 100 times the original amount Migicovsky hoped for. It also raised $26 million from angels including FriendFeed co-founder Paul Buchheit and Timothy Draper, founder of the Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

????While many analysts are bullish on the wearable computing market, today's offerings remain scarce. Last fall, Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy Gear, a device hobbled by poor battery life, limited device compatibility, and a wacky commercial suggesting the Gear could help men attract women. ("Oh, my god, that was kind of sad," Migicovsky concedes.) But Android-based devices will likely make wearables that much more competitive.

????For now, Migicovsky is more worried about making his products better than Google shaking up the market. He's exploring technologies that could help boost Pebble's week-long battery life further and keeping tabs on newer screen displays, particularly ones made from flexible materials. "My dream watch would be something that is just screen, but we're going to live with reality for a little while," he says. Migicovsky also looks forward to a day when Pebble becomes more than an early-adopter digital accessory, when the watch can act as a central controller to some of the user's other devices: their car, items in their home and on their body. His plan is to innovate upon Pebble to the point where "if other people compete with us, they would have to do it on our terms."

????In other words, Google? Game on.