Android Wear智能手錶操作系統評測
In the 16th century, the clock took its first step into becoming what we now know as a wristWatch. The pocket watch was born from a practical desire for a more portable way of telling time, but it quickly became a status symbol, only to be worn by the influential or royal. Indeed, the first true wristwatch, an oblong 1812 invention by the Swiss watchmaker Breguet, was created for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples. (Napoleon’s youngest sister was somewhat of a collector: she purchased 34 timekeeping devices from Breguet in a six-year span.)
16世紀懷錶的出現，使鐘錶朝着如今爲我們所熟知的腕錶的發展方向邁出了重要一步。懷錶的誕生有其實用需求的原因，因爲它更加便攜。但懷錶很快成了一種身份的象徵，只有社會名流或王公貴族才能佩戴得起。世界上第一款真正的腕錶於1812年誕生，乃是瑞士寶璣公司（Breguet）的作品，它是爲那不勒斯王后卡羅琳o穆拉特定做的（她是拿破崙的妹妹，也是一個鐘錶收藏家，六年裏她一共從瑞士寶璣公司購買了34塊鐘錶）。In today’s world, where digital devices are ubiquitous and clocks are on everything from phones to coffeemakers, the watch is almost entirely a status symbol. An expensive watch can equally project elegance, arrogance, or convention, depending on one’s company; an inexpensive one can project humility or frugality. (Consider the narrative created when it was revealed in 2005 that Russian president Vladimir Putin wore $60,000 Patek Philippe and U.S. president George W. Bush wore a $50 Timex.) All of which prompts the questions: With the act of time-keeping commoditized, what kind of status symbol could a smart watch become? Or does it create another use case altogether?
如今智能設備已經變得無處不在，不光是手機，就連咖啡機上都可以顯示時間，因此手錶再次變成了一種身份的象徵。一塊昂貴的手錶可能象徵着主人的典雅、高傲或傳統，一塊廉價的手錶可能象徵着主人的勤儉或謙卑。（大家不妨回憶一下2005年一樁軼事給美俄兩國總統帶來的口碑：當時俄羅斯總統普京戴了一塊價值6000美元的百達翡麗（Patek Philippe）腕錶，而美國總統小布什則戴了一塊價格僅有50美元的天美時（Timex）手錶。）這些都讓我們不禁想到這樣一個問題：隨着計時設備的商業化，智能手錶將扮演什麼樣的身份象徵？抑或它將成爲與身份無關的其它東西？The “smart watch” is no longer a new product category. Today, Qualcomm QCOM -0.21% , Pebble, and Samsung all manufacture pioneering smart devices for the wrist. For Google, however, smart watches are an altogether new direction for its Android mobile operating system. The announcement of Android Wear earlier this year signaled that Google GOOG -0.42% was getting serious about wearable devices—serious in a way that the novel Glass project did not. At its developer conference in June, Google revealed that first two Android Wear watches would begin shipping—well, today.
所謂“智能手錶”已經不再是一個全新的產品類別。如今，高通（Qualcomm）、Pebble和三星(Samsung)等公司都在生產具有創新意義的智能腕錶。不過對於谷歌來說，智能手錶對於安卓平臺仍是一個全新的發展方向。谷歌（Google）於今年早些時候發佈的Android Wear平臺意味着它已經開始嚴肅看待可穿戴設備——就連新穎的谷歌眼鏡項目都不曾享受過這種待遇。在今年六月的谷歌開發者大會上，谷歌宣佈其頭兩款安裝了Android Wear的手錶正好將於美國時間7月7日開始發貨。
Those watches are the Samsung Gear Live, listed at $199, and LG’s G Watch, listed at $229. After testing, it is possible to get a sense of what Google is trying to accomplish with Android Wear. (It should be noted that Google severely limits what manufacturers can do to customize the operating system; as a result, both devices offer essentially the same software experience. For the purposes of this review, I consider my experience with the G Watch reflective of Android Wear in general.)
這兩款智能手錶分別是三星的Gear Live（售價199美元）和LG的G Watch（售價229美元）。實測一番之後，我們對谷歌寄希望於Android Wear實現什麼樣的目標也就大概有了初步的認識。（值得注意的是，谷歌嚴格限制廠商對Android Wear私自進行定製，因此這三星和LG的這兩款設備的軟件體驗大同小異。爲了行文方便，筆者僅用試用G Watch的體驗來代表Android Wear的總體感覺。）To set up Android Wear, you must first pair the watch in question to an Android device (such as a phone or tablet) running version 4.3 or above of the operating system. (Check if your Android phone is compatible by visiting this page.) Once paired, the watch will begin displaying notifications from your phone or tablet—every single one. Jarring is the only word to describe the sudden sensation of an object on your wrist vibrating for every email, Twitter mention, or text message you receive, but once you remember that you’re in control, you can limit the onslaught of alerts within a minute or two. (As a rule, the watch will vibrate with every alert displayed on your phone, but the Android Wear companion app allows you to blacklist a specific app’s notifications from also showing up on your watch.)
要安裝Android Wear，你必須首先將手錶與一臺至少安裝了安卓4.3以上的設備（比如手機或平板電腦）進行配對。配對成功後，你的手機或平板電腦上的新的通知就能夠通過手錶顯示出來。每當有新郵件、Twitter提醒或短信到來的時候，你的手錶就會震動並顯示消息，給人嚇一跳的感覺。但是你只需要一兩分鐘的設置就可以調整它的報警聲。（手機每次有新的通知，手錶就會默認自動震動，但是Android Wear的原生應用允許你屏蔽若干應用的通知。）The first wave of smart watches were one-way streets of communication: a connected watch would receive and display an alert to which you could only respond using your phone. Pebble did a tremendous job laying the ground work for further interaction; Google has wisely decided to pick up where it left off. With a series of touch gestures, the Android Wear wearer can scroll through alerts and interact. I’m not ashamed to say that I found immense satisfaction in my newfound ability to discretely manage my inbox by archiving emails directly from my watch.
第一批智能手錶可以說只是通訊的“單行道”。一隻手錶可以接收和顯示手機上的通知，但要想回復的話就只能通過手機。之前Pebble公司爲了給智能手錶的互動功能鋪平道路已經做了大量工作，而谷歌則明智地選擇“接過Pebble的槍”。Android Wear的使用者可以通過手勢翻動處理通知消息和互動。發現通過手錶就可以直接對我的Email收件箱的內容進行歸檔以後，我獲得了極大的滿足感。It’s not all hunky dory. Notification management falls short in some areas, particularly for Hangouts, Google’s communication tool. The quibbles are small but frequent: for example, it makes sense for a notification to disappear after you reply to a message, yet it persists until you manually clear it. And third-party apps that allow you to reply display a green check mark upon the selection of that option, rather than the usual input dialogue.
但是Android Wear也並非沒有瑕疵。它的通知管理在某些地方做得仍然不足，比如不支持谷歌的通訊工具Hangouts。另外還有不少小問題，比如當你回覆了一條信息之後，通知就應該自動消失，但是Android Wear上的通知卻不會自動消失，而是要等你去手動清除它。另外有些第三方應用的回覆欄上面會顯示出一個綠色的複選框，而不是通常的輸入界面。In addition to touch input, Android Wear supports Google’s speech recognition software. I’m happy to report that it takes very little time to fire off instructions like “OK Google, remind me to flip the steaks in 7 minutes.” The same can be done to search, compose an email or text message, set a timer, or even call a Lyft car with a Batman-eqsue, “OK Google, call a car.”
除了觸摸輸入之外，Android Wear也支持谷歌的語音識別軟件。我很高興地發現，只需要很短的時間，它就可以識別出“OK谷歌，7分鐘後提醒我給牛排翻一下面”這樣複雜的指令。語音指令同樣可以用在搜索、撰寫郵件或短信、定鬧鐘甚至是在Lyft網站上打車——只要你像蝙蝠俠一樣很酷地說一聲：“OK谷歌，給我叫輛車。”In testing, Android Wear’s voice commands mostly worked without issue. (An exception: when I was in a room full of screaming kids, I couldn’t get the initial “OK Google” command to work. I may be a modern-day Maxwell Smart, but I lack a cone of silence.) I regularly found myself setting or sending an item just by lifting my wrist and uttering some words. The best part: all of it was done in 10 seconds or less. (Try doing that on a smartphone.)
在實測過程中，Android Wear的語音指令大多數時候可以毫無問題地運行。（只有一個例外：當我在一個有很多“熊孩子”大喊大叫的屋子裏時，機器無法識別我發出的“OK谷歌”的啓動指令。雖然我可能是當代的“糊塗偵探”，但我卻沒有一個隔音區。）我常常只要一擡手腕，就能設置一些項目或者發送一些文字。最妙的是這些在10秒鐘之內就能完成（你可以試試看在智能手機上需要多長時間）。True, I was overcome with embarrassment the first time I caught someone looking at me as I dictated a text message to my watch. I got over it in a way that I wasn’t able to with, say, Google Glass.
我要坦白，當我第一次發現有人盯着我對一塊手錶喃喃自語的時候，我感覺非常尷尬，但是後來我克服了這種尷尬感。相比之下，我上次試用谷歌眼鏡就沒有過去這個“心理關”。There are a number of new capabilities opening up as Android developers bundle Android Wear functionality into existing Android apps in Google’s Play Store, setting the platform apart from other smart watch offerings on the market. For example, the Fly Delta app also includes an Android Wear app: Once you pair a watch to your smartphone, the Wear app is installed and you’re able to use the screen on your wrist as your boarding pass. (Finding a TSA agent that allows you to use it, on the other hand, is another story.) I hope for a Starbucks Android Wear app with which I can display my Starbucks Card barcode for quick payment.
由於安卓開發者們給谷歌Play Store裏的很多現有應用也添加了Android Wear功能，因此使這款智能手錶平添了許多新的能力，也使Android Wear在目前市場上智能手錶產品中一枝獨秀。比如達美航空公司（Delta Airlines）出品的Fly Delta應用就包含了一個Android Wear版，一旦你把智能手錶與手機進行配對，Wear版的應用就會自動安裝，然後你就可以將腕錶的屏幕當成登機牌來使用。（至於航空運輸管理局的安檢人員是否認可這張“登機牌”，那就是另外一回事了。）從我本人來說，我希望星巴克（Starbucks）也能早日推出相應的Android Wear應用，這樣我就可以在智能手錶上顯示我的會員卡條形碼來進行快速支付了。And what about that status symbol, you ask? Though it’s far from Google’s fault, the first models of Android Wear watches lack a compelling look to serve as a replacement for more analog alternatives. LG’s G Watch looks like nothing more than a block of black plastic, while Samsung’s Gear Live offers a plastic face with a silver bezel. The watches’ hardware design clearly took a backseat to software and services. For once, that’s not OK. (The better looking, if large, Moto 360 arrives later this summer. Apple’s rumored iWatch? September, supposedly.)
再回到前文提到的身份象徵問題。智能手錶是否成爲一種身份的象徵？雖然這也不是谷歌的錯，但是搭載Android Wear的第一批智能手錶缺乏具有吸引力的外觀，恐怕暫時難以取代傳統手錶。LG的G Watch看起來就像一個黑色的塑料方塊，三星的智能手錶則飾以銀色塑料邊框。這樣看來，這兩款手錶的硬件設計顯然是讓位於軟件和服務了。就這一點，我要給個差評。（外觀更好看的摩托羅拉Moto 360智能腕錶將在今年夏天上市。而傳言已久的蘋果iWatch據悉要等到九月份才能與消費者見面。）But they’re headed in the right direction. There’s a lot of work yet to be done on the smart watch, and though the companies that make them aren’t quite facing the same stakes as their analog counterparts in the 16th century, there is no question that they will change the way we live our lives.
但是，它們的確是在朝着正確的方向發展。智能手錶需要提高的方面還有很多。雖然對於生產廠家來說，他們面臨的風險與16世紀生產懷錶的廠商可能無法同日而語，但有一點毫無疑問，他們將改變我們的生活方式。
