谷歌超级本策略内幕

    它还有个优点——可能也是为了弥补它的局限性——Pixel在Google Drive上有着巨大的1TB在线存储空间，足够供大多数人在3年中收藏照片和音乐。几个月之后，谷歌还会提供去年获得的Quickoffice网络版本，它与微软（Microsoft）Office软件的兼容性比目前的Google Docs要更好。

    Pixel也代表着谷歌对硬件的最新尝试。不同于之前由三星（Samsung）、宏基（Acer）和惠普（Hewlett-Packard ）等厂商制造的Chromebook，Pixel完全是谷歌的产品，虽然它是由亚洲的一家签约制造商组装的。

    所有迹象都表明，谷歌正在加速从一家网络公司向同时制造软、硬件的计算机公司转型。在硬件方面，将会有谷歌眼镜（Google Glass），当然，还有许多谷歌和安卓合作伙伴制造的Nexus移动设备。还将会有谷歌125亿美元收购的摩托罗拉移动（Motorola Mobility）制造的手机和平板电脑。按照拉里•佩奇的说法，这都是为了跟上个人计算领域史无前例的剧变。佩奇在最近一次的收益电话会议上说：“这就是为何我们要如此关注设备。它们是我们最近几年来最大的努力之一——还包括与设备相关的软件，Chrome和安卓。”

    未来的形势十分有趣。如果Pixel获得成功，它将是对谷歌纯粹云计算的巨大肯定。公司长期以来都将赌注押在了安卓上，它可以同时运行云端或是设备本身的应用。但是，如果纯粹的云计算成为了PC机一个真正可行的选择，那这个行业中的人们将很难再有什么新的作为。

    译者：严匡正

    As an additional enticement -- or perhaps to make up for its limitations -- the Pixel comes with a whopping 1 terabyte of free storage on Google Drive, enough to store most people's photo and music collections many times over, for 3 years. In a couple of months, Google will also offer a Web-version of Quickoffice, which Google acquired last year, and which will provide better compatibility with Microsoft Office programs than Google Docs does currently.

    The Pixel also represents Google's latest foray into hardware. Unlike prior Chromebooks, which were made by the likes of Samsung, Acer, and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the Pixel is entirely a Google product, though it is being assembled by a contract manufacturer in Asia.

    All indications suggest the transformation of Google from an Internet company into a computing company that makes both hardware and software will continue apace. On the hardware front, there will be Google Glass, of course, and more Nexus-branded mobile devices made by Google or its Android partners. There will also be handsets and tablets, made by Motorola Mobility, whichGoogle purchased for $12.5 billion. In the words of Larry Page, it's all about keeping up with the unprecedented rate of change in personal computing. "It's why we've put so much focus on devices," Page said during the company's most recent earnings call. "They've been one of our biggest bets in the last few years -- along with the software to go with the devices, Chrome and Android."

    It will be interesting to watch. If it succeeds, the Pixel would be a huge validation for Google's cloud-only vision of computing. The company has long hedged its bets with Android, which runs apps whether they live in the cloud or on the device itself. But no one in the industry would have more to gain if pure cloud computing becomes a truly viable alternative to the PC.