硅谷硬件复兴阻力重重

    现在硅谷开始盛传这样一句话：硬件就是新的软件。也就是说，多年以来，在无数网站、应用和云计算纷纷闪亮登场，而硬件创新只能叨陪末座后，硬件创新又开始升温了。真是这样吗？事实上，几个高调亮相的新产品已经举步维艰了。本文兹举三例，以说明硬件创新有多么困难。

    To hear some in Silicon Valley tell it, hardware is the new software. In other words, after years of taking a backseat to the splashy launches of countless websites, apps, and the cloud, innovation on the hardware side is ramping up again. Is it? Several high-profile launches have stumbled. Here are three examples that prove how hard hardware really is.

例证A：电子腕带Jawbone UP

    2011年，当位于旧金山的无线设备生产商Jawbone公司推出令人惊艳的、能感知动作的腕带后，该公司立即陷入了一场舆论风暴。简单地说，就是用户纷纷抱怨这款设备不好用（比如，这个产品刚推出的那段时间里，我碰到的每5个用户中就有3个向我抱怨这个问题）。这种负面反映极为普遍，Jawbone只好在一个月后召回这款产品，向用户退款，并在去年年末重新发布了新版本。对Jawbone来说这么做当然十分明智，但对UP这款产品来说，它肯定是已经受到损害了。

Exhibit A: The Jawbone UP

    When Jawbone, the San Francisco-based purveyor of wireless devices, originally launched its head-turning, movement-sensing wristband in 2011, the company found itself in the middle of a firestorm. Put simply, users complained that the device didn't work. (Anecdotally, every 3 out of 5 users I spoke to in the device's early days complained to me about the problem.) The outcry was so widespread, Jawbone recalled the product just a month after, offered refunds, and relaunched a redesigned version late last year. Certainly that was a smart move on Jawbone's part, but for UP, it's fair to say the damage has been done.