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People who can afford that probably don’t do their own shopping.
然而，買得起這款冰箱的人可能不會自己去購物。
Appliances such as fridges are also ones that households replace infrequently: that slows the take-up of new devices.
冰箱這樣的智能家居更換得并不頻繁，這拉低了智能家居購買率。
The technology is not perfect yet, either.
另外，智能家居技術(shù)尚未完善。
The smartphone, the link between the customer and smart-home device, has raised consumers’ expectations, explains Jamie Siminoff, the boss of Ring, a startup that makes a doorbell that can be answered remotely.
杰米·西敏諾夫（Jamie Siminoff）是遠(yuǎn)程控制智能門鈴創(chuàng)業(yè)公司（Ring）的創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官，他表示，作為顧客與智能家居的連接紐帶，智能手機(jī)提升了客戶的期望。
Smartphones have trained users to expect a level of quality and seamless ease of use that smart-home devices struggle to replicate.
智能手機(jī)促使顧客期待一種高品質(zhì)、無縫連接的使用體驗(yàn)，這也是智能家居竭力想要打造的地方。
And a lack of standardisation means that gadgets from different firms cannot communicate with each other.
而且，智能家居行業(yè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)缺失意味著不同公司生產(chǎn)的智能家居無法互聯(lián)互通。
There are exceptions. Devices that are easy to install and offer obvious benefits are gaining in popularity, such as motion sensors that send alerts when windows and doors are opened and cameras to monitor activity.
不過也有例外。那些安裝便捷、益處多多的智能家居日漸流行起來，例如：當(dāng)門窗打開時(shí)就會發(fā)送提醒的動作傳感器，以及監(jiān)視活動的攝像頭等等。
Some devices, such as smart smoke detectors, are in homes because insurance companies offer financial incentives for using them.
保險(xiǎn)公司對智能家居購買者施行財(cái)務(wù)激勵措施，諸如智能煙霧探測器等某些設(shè)備已應(yīng)用于家庭生活之中。
The smart-home sector is vibrant with startups and big firms betting that the hesitancy is temporary.
智能家居行業(yè)之所以展現(xiàn)勃勃生機(jī)，是因?yàn)閯?chuàng)業(yè)公司及巨頭公司大膽推測到顧客的遲疑不決只是暫時(shí)現(xiàn)象。
But consumer apathy has forced firms to rethink how they might woo customers.
然而，顧客們置若罔聞讓公司不得不重新考慮如何招徠顧客。
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Amazon, which failed miserably in its ambition to develop a smartphone, is showing the way.
或許最讓人頗感意外的是亞馬遜，盡管亞馬遜開發(fā)智能手機(jī)慘遭失敗，但亞馬遜卻在智能家居行業(yè)開辟出了一片新天地。
Amazon Echo is a smart speaker that can recognise and respond to voice commands.
其開發(fā)的智能音箱Echo能夠識別語音指令并做出相應(yīng)反應(yīng)。
It shares information about the weather and sports scores, plays music and turns lights on and off.
此設(shè)備不僅能夠查詢天氣預(yù)報(bào)、分享體育賽事，還能放音樂、開關(guān)燈。
The device, which costs around $180, is not yet a big seller.
雖然Echo售價(jià)僅180美元，但尚未暢銷。
Amazon does not release sales figures, but Strategy Analytics estimates that fewer than 1m Echos have been sold since it was released in November 2014.
目前，亞馬遜未公布其銷售額，但據(jù)研究公司Strategy Analytics估計(jì)，自2014年11月Echo發(fā)行以來，其銷量不到100萬臺。
Yet the Echo is the talk of Silicon Valley.
但是Echo已成硅谷熱點(diǎn)話題。
An interface that relies on voice commands could overcome one of the drawbacks of the piecemeal approach to the smart home, by becoming the standard integrator of all the other bits of smart kit.
通過為其他所有智能家居提供標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化集成入口，Echo的語音接口可以克服智能家居“連接方式標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化程度低”這一弊端。
Echo is open to outside developers, who can come up with all manner of devices and services that hook up with it.
目前，Echo向外部開發(fā)者開放，開發(fā)者能用各種方法讓各式家居及智能服務(wù)與Echo互聯(lián)互通。
Echo’s success may have come as a surprise, but competitors have cottoned on that it may be a crucial piece of equipment.
也許Echo的成功讓人頗感意外，但競爭對手已意識到，Echo可能是一款開啟智能家居新領(lǐng)域的關(guān)鍵設(shè)備。
Google has announced plans to build a stand-alone hub like Echo, called Google Home, which will also rely on voice commands.
谷歌宣布計(jì)劃開發(fā)類似Echo的Google Home，其同樣是一臺基于語音指令的獨(dú)立硬件設(shè)備。
Apple is also expected to announce new smart-home capabilities: there are rumours it could launch a stand-alone hub in the Echo vein at its annual developers’ conference on June 13th.
預(yù)計(jì)蘋果公司也將參與其中：據(jù)傳蘋果公司可能于6月13日年度開發(fā)者大會上發(fā)布一款Echo風(fēng)格的獨(dú)立硬件設(shè)備。
Its smart-home platform, called HomeKit, has been a failure so far.
迄今為止，其智能家居平臺（HomeKit）一直受阻。
That Apple, despite its large base of affluent acolytes, has not yet cracked the smart home is a sign of its difficulty, points out Geoff Blaber at CCS Insight, which tracks mobile-industry trends.
移動咨詢公司CCS Insight分析師杰夫·布拉伯（Geoff Blaber）指出：“盡管蘋果公司有豐富的人力資源為基礎(chǔ)，但仍未破解智能家居行業(yè)的發(fā)展難題，這說明智能家居普及路上困難重重?！?/div>
Each tech giant has a different reason for trying to overcome the indifference of consumers, and to embed itself more deeply in the home.
出于不同原因，每家科技巨頭均試圖化解顧客的冷漠心態(tài)、使自家產(chǎn)品深度融入顧客家居生活。
The Echo can help Amazon learn how people spend their time, and make it easier for them to spend money too by suggesting things they might buy.
就亞馬遜而言，Echo能幫助其了解到顧客的時(shí)間分配，并通過“相關(guān)推薦”使購物便捷化。
Google, whose main business is advertising, also wants to draw from a fresh well of data; by learning as much about users as possible, it can target them with appropriate ads.
盡管廣告才是谷歌的主營業(yè)務(wù)，谷歌也想盡可能了解用戶來獲取第一手資料，以精準(zhǔn)推送適合的廣告。
Apple, with a track record of simplifying and creating ecosystems where others before it could not, wants its devices to be the gateway through which people go to organise their lives.
在打造簡化的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)方面取得前所未有成就的蘋果，也希望自家產(chǎn)品能充當(dāng)打造人們生活的鑰匙。
If the tech giants retain their ambition to sit at the centre of the smart home, uncertainty prevails over where the profits lie.
如果科技巨頭仍有在智能家居行業(yè)發(fā)展進(jìn)程中發(fā)揮核心作用的野心，那么將要自負(fù)盈虧。
“It remains unclear what the economic model for the smart home will be,” says Andy Hobsbawm of Evrythng, an internet-of-things platform.
物聯(lián)網(wǎng)軟件公司Evrythng創(chuàng)始人安迪·霍布斯鮑姆（Andy Hobsbawm）說道：“未來智能家居行業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)模式如何尚不明確?！?/div>
Some firms will try to make enough profit just from hardware.
部分公司試圖從硬件中賺取足夠利潤。
Others will try to sell services, such as archiving security videos, as well as devices, and charge a fee.
另一部分公司則除了銷售智能家居外，還試圖銷售諸如監(jiān)控錄像存檔的智能服務(wù)來收取一定費(fèi)用。
The products that fill houses are diverse, personal and durable.
家居產(chǎn)品不僅多種多樣，而且個(gè)性十足、非常耐用。
That should give plenty of companies a shot at lodging themselves in the home—but only when consumers decide to put out the welcome mat.
然而，只有當(dāng)顧客欣然接受智能家居技術(shù)時(shí)，許多公司才會嘗試入駐智能家居行業(yè)。
譯文屬譯者說外刊
| 重點(diǎn)單詞 | 查看全部解釋 | |||
| tracks |
想一想再看 n. 軌道（track的復(fù)數(shù)）；磁道；輪胎 |
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| insurance | [in'ʃuərəns] |
想一想再看 n. 保險(xiǎn)，保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)，安全措施 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| quality | ['kwɔliti] |
想一想再看 n. 品質(zhì)，特質(zhì)，才能 |
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| indifference | [in'difərəns] |
想一想再看 n. 不重視，無興趣，漠不關(guān)心 |
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| respond | [ris'pɔnd] |
想一想再看 v. 回答，答復(fù)，反應(yīng)，反響，響應(yīng) |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| vibrant | ['vaibrənt] |
想一想再看 adj. 震顫的，響亮的，充滿活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| obvious | ['ɔbviəs] |
想一想再看 adj. 明顯的，顯然的 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| gadgets | [gæ,dʒets] |
想一想再看 n. 小配件；小工具（gadget的復(fù)數(shù)） |
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| conference | ['kɔnfərəns] |
想一想再看 n. 會議，會談，討論會，協(xié)商會 |
聯(lián)想記憶 | |
| vein | [vein] |
想一想再看 n. 靜脈，紋理，葉脈，巖脈 |
