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

????上周，谷歌發布了Android Wear系統，把它大受歡迎的移動操作系統引入了可穿戴市場。搭載這個系統的摩托羅拉（Motorola）Moto 360手表預計將于今年夏天上市。當Moto 360等設備接踵而至之時，它們背靠的是強大的Android生態系統；而市場調研機構高德納（Gartner）預計，2014年底Android設備出貨量有望一舉突破10億部。

????Pebble首席執行官米埃里克?米基科夫斯基對此點評道：“我們六年前開始嘗試可穿戴計算設備的時候，這個領域的參與者還比較少，外界對此也有很多質疑。我很高興看見可穿戴市場的快速發展——它將催生更多有意思的應用，我們所有人都可以專注于如何實現最優秀的用戶體驗?！?/p>

????米基科夫斯基的滿滿自信來自于Pebble不俗的開局。自2013年1月上市以來，Pebble已售出了超過40萬只智能手表。按這個數量估算，這家公司的營收約為6000萬美元。而據風投資本Charles River Ventures合伙人、Pebble投資人喬治?扎卡里的看法，Pebble 公司2014年營收有望實現翻番。（難怪Pebble在2013年上半年就能實現盈利）目前Pebble平臺的應用數量已超過1000款，而12000名注冊開發者還在繼續奮斗。扎卡里說：“這是我投資過的公司中增長最快的一家?！?/p>

????隨著營收增長，Pebble的規模也在擴大。它的員工數從1月份的45人增長至目前的70多人，管理層也相應補充了新鮮血液。蘋果（Apple）前硬件工程及生產法務主管杰夫?海曼將擔任Pebble首席法律顧問，而Jawbone前財務副總裁馬林?塔卡洛夫將出任首席財務官。

????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（the University of Waterloo）主持的一個學生項目。隨后，Pebble獲得了保羅?格雷厄姆旗下著名的YCombinator創業孵化基金的支持，房屋租賃網站Airbnb和大名鼎鼎的Dropbox也是這個基金的資助者。2012年4月，Pebble決定在眾籌網站Kickstarter上集資。僅僅一個月，它就獲得了1030萬美元投資，是米基科夫斯基最初設想的100倍之多。當然，風投資本的力助也少不了。Pebble從多位天使投資人手中獲得了2600萬美元資助，其中包括社交聚合網站FriendFeed的聯合創始人保羅?布赫特，以及位于加州門羅帕克的風險投資公司Draper Fisher Jurvetson的創始人蒂莫西?德雷珀。

????雖然許多分析師都看好可穿戴市場，但目前市場上的相關產品還比較少。去年秋天，三星（Samsung）推出了Galaxy Gear智能手表，但它續航時間太短，而且兼容性也存在問題，倒是有報告戲稱Gear能提高男人對異性的吸引力。（米基科夫斯基說道：“天哪，這也太悲催了?！保┎贿^，隨著Android系統的加入，未來可穿戴設備的競爭力有望加強。

????眼下，米基科夫斯基正在考慮如何將Pebble做得比谷歌更出色。他正在研究如何進一步提高Pebble目前已經長達一周的續航時間，以及如何應用新的屏幕技術，尤其是柔性屏技術。他說：“我理想中的手表應該只有屏幕，但這個理想目前暫時還無法實現?！泵谆品蛩够诖齈ebble有朝一日能擺脫極客電子產品的角色，邁入主流市場。他還希望Pebble能成為用戶控制汽車、家居產品和隨身物品的中樞設備?？偠灾谆品蛩够蛩銓ebble不斷創新，直到有一天，“如果其他人想跟我們競爭，就得按我們的規矩來?！?/p>

????換句話說，谷歌想玩嗎？盡管放馬過來。（財富中文網）

????譯者：項航

????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.