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Business: The internet of things: Where the smart is
商業(yè)：物聯(lián)網(wǎng)：智能家居，路在何方
Connected homes will take longer to materialise than expected.
真正實現(xiàn)互聯(lián)家庭仍是長路漫漫。
The fanfare has gone on for years.
有關(guān)“互聯(lián)家庭”的大肆宣傳已持續(xù)多年。
Analysts have repeatedly predicted that the “internet of things”, which adds sensors and internet capability to everyday physical objects, could transform the lives of individuals as dramatically as the spread of the mobile internet.
分析師已經(jīng)多次預測給日常用品加入傳感器以及聯(lián)網(wǎng)功能的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)，可能會像移動互聯(lián)網(wǎng)普及一般顯著改變?nèi)藗兊纳睢?/p>
Providers have focused on the home, touting products such as coffee pots that turn on when the alarm clock rings, lighting and blinds that adjust to the time of day, and fridges that send an alert when the milk runs out.
供應商主要關(guān)注家居領(lǐng)域，他們兜售各種家居產(chǎn)品。例如：當鬧鐘響起時就會自動啟動的咖啡壺、可根據(jù)一天時間變化自動調(diào)節(jié)的智能燈具和百葉窗簾，以及當牛奶喝光時就會自動發(fā)送提醒的冰箱等等。
But so far consumers have been largely resistant to making their homes “smart”.
然而，迄今為止，顧客大力抵制實現(xiàn)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.
這并不是因為科技公司沒有全力以赴，為使家居產(chǎn)品具備聯(lián)網(wǎng)功能，科技公司投入了大量財力。
In 2014 Google made the biggest statement of intent so far, spending $3.2 billion to acquire Nest, a smart thermostat-maker, and $550m to buy Dropcam, which makes home-security cameras.
谷歌已于2014年發(fā)表了有史以來最重要的意向聲明，即以32億美元價格收購智能溫控器制造商Nest，接著，又以5.5億美元價格收購家庭視頻監(jiān)控廠商Dropcam。
Nest absorbed Dropcam; it is now one of the best-known smart-home brands.
Nest隨后合并了Dropcam；自此，Nest便成為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 gadgets to enter the mainstream.
然而智能家居何時成為主流值得人們注意。
Nest has undoubtedly disappointed Google.
不出意料，Nest公司的表現(xiàn)讓谷歌十分失望。
It sold just 1.3m smart thermostats in 2015, and only 2.5m in total over the past few years, according to Strategy Analytics, a research firm.
根據(jù)研究公司Strategy Analytics調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2015年，Nest公司僅銷售出130萬臺智能溫控器，而過去幾年智能溫控器的總銷售量僅250萬臺。
For a couple of years the firm has mainly tweaked existing products rather than introducing new ones.
幾年來，Nest公司注重于改良現(xiàn)有產(chǎn)品，而非推陳出新。
That may explain why Tony Fadell, Nest’s founder and boss, stepped down on June 3rd to take an advisory role at Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
這或許可以解釋為什么Nest創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官托尼·法德爾（Tony Fadell）于6月3日離職Nest，轉(zhuǎn)而以顧問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.
這位蘋果公司前主管、iPod之父，沒能將他的看家本領(lǐng)帶入到智能家居行業(yè)。
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, according to Frank Gillett of Forrester, a research firm.
研究公司Forrester的主要分析師弗蘭克·吉利特（Frank Gillett）表示，僅有6%的美國家庭擁有智能家居，包括具備聯(lián)網(wǎng)功能的家電、家庭監(jiān)測系統(tǒng)、音箱和燈具。
Breakneck growth is not expected; by 2021 the number will be just over 15%.
智能家居銷量不大可能突飛猛進；到2021年，擁有智能家居的家庭數(shù)僅超出15%。
Too few consumers are convinced that the internet has a role to play in every corner of their lives.
確信互聯(lián)網(wǎng)將會影響人們生活方方面面的顧客寥寥無幾。
A survey conducted in Britain by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a consulting firm, found that 72% of people have no plans to adopt smart-home technology in the next two to five years and that they are unwilling to pay for it.
咨詢公司PwC（PricewaterhouseCoopers）在英國進行的調(diào)查顯示，在未來2-5年中，72%的人既不打算采用智能家居技術(shù)，也不樂意購買智能家居。
Last year consumers globally spent around $60 billion on hardware and services for the smart home, a fraction of the total outlay on domestic gadgets.
去年，用于購買智能家居及智能服務的全球消費總額約600億元，大大低于家居產(chǎn)品的消費總額。
There are several reasons for muted enthusiasm.
顧客熱情不高事出有因。
Businesses have an incentive to embrace the internet of things: there are cost savings to be had from embedding sensors in equipment and factories, analysing the data thus produced and improving efficiency.
商家熱衷于接受物聯(lián)網(wǎng)：在設(shè)備和工廠中內(nèi)置的傳感器可用于分析數(shù)據(jù)，進而提高效率，最終達到節(jié)約成本的目的。
A lot of smart devices for the home, in contrast, remain “fun but not essential”, says Adam Segar of Canary, a startup that makes cameras that lets people monitor what is happening in their house.
相反，“許多智能家居仍然是‘無足輕重的消遣品’，”家庭智能安保攝像頭創(chuàng)業(yè)公司（Canary）的創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官，亞當·西格（Adam Segar）如是說道。
Many smart gadgets are still too expensive.
許多智能家居仍舊價格不菲。
One of Samsung’s smart fridges, with cameras within that 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.
例如：三星公司推出的一款智能冰箱，售價高達整整5000美元/臺，顧客不僅可以通過冰箱內(nèi)部的攝像頭查看食物保鮮情況，還能在通過手機APP網(wǎng)購時查看所缺食材。
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