经济学人:物联网 智能家居让你无力抗拒(上)

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　Connected homes will take longer to materialise than expected. 真正实现互联家庭仍是长路漫漫。

　　The fanfare¹ has gone on for years. 有关“互联家庭”的大肆宣传已持续多年。

　　Analysts² have repeatedly predicted that the “internet of things”, which adds sensors³ and internet capability⁴ to everyday physical objects,  分析师已经多次预测给日常用品加入传感器以及联网功能的物联网，

　　could transform the lives of individuals as dramatically as the spread of the mobile internet. 可能会像移动互联网普及一般显著改变人们的生活。

　　Providers have focused on the home, touting⁵ products such as coffee pots that turn on when the alarm clock rings,  供应商主要关注家居领域，他们兜售各种家居产品。例如：当闹钟响起时就会自动启动的咖啡壶、

　　lighting⁶ and blinds that adjust to the time of day, and fridges that send an alert when the milk runs out. 可根据一天时间变化自动调节的智能灯具和百叶窗帘，以及当牛奶喝光时就会自动发送提醒的冰箱等等。

　　But so far consumers have been largely resistant⁷ to making their homes “smart”. 然而，迄今为止，顾客大力抵制实现家庭智能化。

　　That’s not for want of trying by tech firms, which have poured cash into their efforts to connect everyday objects to the internet. 这并不是因为科技公司没有全力以赴，为使家居产品具备联网功能，科技公司投入了大量财力。

　　In 2014 Google made the biggest statement of intent so far, spending $3.2 billion to acquire Nest, a smart thermostat-maker,  谷歌已于2014年发表了有史以来最重要的意向声明，即以32亿美元价格收购智能温控器制造商Nest，

　　and $550m to buy Dropcam, which makes home-security cameras. 接着，又以5.5亿美元价格收购家庭视频监控厂商Dropcam。

　　Nest absorbed Dropcam; it is now one of the best-known smart-home brands. Nest随后合并了Dropcam；自此，Nest便成为了全球最知名的智能家居品牌之一。

　　But it is also a warning about how long it will take for such gadgets⁸ to enter the mainstream⁹. 然而智能家居何时成为主流值得人们注意。

　　Nest has undoubtedly¹⁰ disappointed Google. 不出意料，Nest公司的表现让谷歌十分失望。

　　It sold just 1.3m smart thermostats¹¹ in 2015, and only 2.5m in total over the past few years, according to Strategy Analytics, a research firm. 根据研究公司Strategy Analytics调查数据显示，2015年，Nest公司仅销售出130万台智能温控器，而过去几年智能温控器的总销售量仅250万台。

　　For a couple of years the firm has mainly tweaked existing products rather than introducing new ones. 几年来，Nest公司注重于改良现有产品，而非推陈出新。

　　That may explain why Tony Fadell, Nest’s founder¹² and boss, stepped down on June 3rd to take an advisory¹³ role at Google’s parent company, Alphabet. 这或许可以解释为什么Nest创始人兼首席执行官托尼·法德尔（Tony Fadell）于6月3日离职Nest，转而以顾问身份留在谷歌母公司Alphabet一事。

　　Mr Fadell, a former executive at Apple and designer of the iPod, failed to bring his magic touch to the smart home. 这位苹果公司前主管、iPod之父，没能将他的看家本领带入到智能家居行业。

　　Nest’s problems are symptomatic. Nest公司的遭遇有所征兆。

　　Only 6% of American households have a smart-home device, including internet-connected appliances, home-monitoring systems, speakers or lighting,  仅有6%的美国家庭拥有智能家居，包括具备联网功能的家电、家庭监测系统、音箱和灯具。

　　according to Frank Gillett of Forrester, a research firm. 研究公司Forrester的主要分析师弗兰克·吉利特（Frank Gillett）说道。

　　Breakneck growth is not expected; by 2021 the number will be just over 15%. 智能家居销量不大可能突飞猛进；到2021年，拥有智能家居的家庭数仅超出15%。

　　Too few consumers are convinced that the internet has a role to play in every corner of their lives. 确信互联网将会影响人们生活方方面面的顾客寥寥无几。

　　A survey conducted in Britain by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a consulting firm,  咨询公司PwC（PricewaterhouseCoopers）在英国进行的调查显示，

　　found that 72% of people have no plans to adopt smart-home technology in the next two to five years and that they are unwilling¹⁴ to pay for it. 在未来2-5年中，72%的人既不打算采用智能家居技术，也不乐意购买智能家居。

　　Last year consumers globally spent around $60 billion on hardware and services for the smart home, a fraction of the total outlay¹⁵ on domestic gadgets. 去年，用于购买智能家居及智能服务的全球消费总额约600亿元，大大低于家居产品的消费总额。

　　There are several reasons for muted enthusiasm. 顾客热情不高事出有因。

　　Businesses have an incentive¹⁶ to embrace the internet of things:  商家热衷于接受物联网：

　　there are cost savings¹⁷ to be had from embedding¹⁸ sensors in equipment and factories, analysing the data thus produced and improving efficiency. 在设备和工厂中内置的传感器可用于分析数据，进而提高效率，最终达到节约成本的目的。

　　A lot of smart devices for the home, in contrast, remain “fun but not essential”,  相反，“许多智能家居仍然是‘无足轻重的消遣品’，”

　　says Adam Segar of Canary, a startup that makes cameras that lets people monitor what is happening in their house. 家庭智能安保摄像头创业公司（Canary）的创始人兼首席执行官，亚当·西格（Adam Segar）如是说道。

　　Many smart gadgets are still too expensive. 许多智能家居仍旧价格不菲。

　　One of Samsung’s smart fridges, with cameras within that  例如：三星公司推出的一款智能冰箱，顾客不仅可以通过冰箱内部的摄像头

　　check for rotting food and enable consumers to see what they are short of while shopping (through an app on their phone) , sells for a cool $5,000. 查看食物保鲜情况，还能在通过手机APP网购时查看所缺食材，这台冰箱的售价高达5000美元/台。

分享到：