智慧型手錶在最近才被大公司看上眼，不過其實這已經不知什麼新玩意啦。WIMM Labs 這間智慧型手錶製造商早在 2011 年便推出過運行 Android 的智慧型手錶 WIMM One，後來在 2012 年的夏季，他們在網站上宣佈公司已經跟一位匿名的伙伴，在技術的層面上進入獨家合作階段，並停止發售其產品。雖然至今他們的硬體和平台都沒有盛行，不過這公司卻被 Google 看上，後者的發言人剛剛確認公司已經將 WIMM Labs 收購了；意味著上述那位神秘伙伴就是 Google 吧。
Google 當然不會這麼快就公佈他們在收購的計劃，但根據 GigaOM 報導，WIMM 大部分留下來的員工都正在為 Android 團隊效力。他們所負責的計劃很可能就是 Google 自家研製的智慧型手錶了，據稱其會融入很多 WIMM 的 SDK 和其餘平台工具。不過 WIMM 在官網上指出他們是一間志於開發配戴型科技的公司，所以說不定他們會為 Google Glass 效力啊。
Watch out, Samsung: Google has some smartwatch development projects of its own, and it quietly snapped up Los Altos, Calif.-based WIMM Labs last year to kickstart these efforts. WIMM Labs not only gives Google the talent and technology to build a smartwatch, but actually an Android-based app platform tailored for consumers’ wrists.
WIMM Labs was incubated around five years ago by Pillar Ventures, the investment company of former Rambus President Dave Morring, who subsequently became WIMM’s CEO. The company first developed an Android-based developer platform for wearable displays, and then followed up in late 2011 with its own, developer-centric smartwatch dubbed the WIMM One.
An exclusive, confidential relationship
But about a year ago, WIMM Labs suddenly went dark. The company deleted its Twitter accounts, stopped sales of the WIMM One, and published the following message on its website:
“During the summer of 2012, WIMM Labs entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship for our technology and ceased sales of the Developer Preview Kit (…) We’d like to thank all of our developers for their interest and willingness to experiment with our platform and look forward to exciting advances in the wearable market.”
At the time, some publications speculated that Apple may have snatched up WIMM Labs to bolster its iWatch efforts, but GigaOM has now learned that the buyer actually was Google. The acquisition was facilitated by Woodside Capital Partners, and a source told me that at least some of WIMM’s staff stayed on to join Google. Most of WIMM’s senior staff still list their original company on their Linkedin profile, but a few have updated it with a mention of their new employer. A Google spokesperson confirmed the acquisition Friday afternoon.
At Google, WIMM’s employees are working with the Android team, which may seem natural since WIMM’s platform was based on Android, but it is actually a pretty good indicator of the role this acquisition is playing for Google. The company chose not to turn its smartwatch efforts into a Google X moonshot project that may take years to see the light of day, but instead brought it to the division that is making the world’s most popular smartphone operating system. In other words: In the nascent world of smartwatches, Google means business.
What WIMM brings to Google
WIMM is an interesting acquisition for Google because the company didn’t just develop a smartwatch device with a limited number of apps. It actually launched its very own developer program to let third-party developers build what it called “micro apps” — applications that were meant to provide more than just notifications for your smartphone, but actually work independently from the device in your pocket and provide additional functionality. (For more on the differences between mobile phones and smart watches, also check out our Mobilize Conference in October, where Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky will be speaking about the future of wearable computing.)
資料來源:http://chinese.engadget.com/
資料來源:http://gigaom.com/2013/08/30/google-wimm-labs-smartwatch-acquisition/
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