經典百搭款智能手表即將上市

????將于本月晚些時候與Steel一道發布的還有它正在開發中的應用商店。Pebble應用程序和桌面的下載次數已超300萬，但迄今為止，用戶必須通過MyPebbleFaces.com等第三方網站來進行下載。而Pebble應用商店將為用戶提供一個重要的官方下載平臺，應用類別包括游戲、通知、工具和實用程序等。

????過去一年，Pebble智能手表的銷量突破了30萬。米基卡夫斯基和他的團隊相信，造型經典的Steel將吸引那些富有遠見的買家，進一步推升Pebble智能手表的銷量。可穿戴設備在2012年的表現乏善可陳，Google Glass和三星（Samsung）Gear手表等設備不僅功能有限，而且有粗制濫造之嫌。然而，據預計，可穿戴設備到2016年有望熱銷，市場總值有望達到60億美元。鑒于其早期銷量甚佳，Pebble極有希望成為可穿戴設備市場的領導者。

????米基卡夫斯基稱，過去四年令人激動不已。米基卡夫斯基是滑鐵盧大學（University of Waterloo）工程專業的畢業生。有一天，他在騎自行車時有了開發智能手表的設想，并于在校期間圍繞這個主題做了一個項目。他當時想，假如不用掏出手機，就能查收短信、電子郵件、來電提醒等等，豈不快哉？

????當然，索尼（Sony）和摩托羅拉（Motorola）等大企業已經嘗試過開發這類設備，但成果都不如與iPhone和Android高度兼容的Pebble有前景，而且遠沒有作為新創企業的Pebble引人關注。Pebble當初在Kickstarter網站吸金近1030萬美元，比米基卡夫斯基原本打算募集的金額高出近100倍，可謂賺足了眼球。（迄今為止，Pebble已從風險資本家蒂莫西?德雷珀、企業家保羅?布克海特以及Charles River風投公司等支持者手中募得2500多萬美元。）

????對米基卡夫斯基而言，創業初期既令人興奮，又令人沮喪。米基卡夫斯基說：“我認為，當人們看到我們在Kickstarter網站上募得巨額資金，他們常常忽視了這一事實，那就是我們是一家做了四年的公司，我們并不是一夜成名。”米基卡夫斯基回憶道，2009年，他幾度被迫從自己的銀行賬戶里拿錢支付早期員工的工資，這些員工中有些是辭職來投奔米基卡夫斯基的朋友。Pebble不公布財務狀況，不過，如今這家公司的雇員數已從去年初的11人增加到了45人。Pebble每周五由米基卡夫斯基主持召開周會，會上討論各位員工正在進行的工作。米基卡夫斯基說：“就算重來一次，我也不會做過多的改變……那些時光對我來說千金不換，因為是它們造就了今日的Pebble。”（財富中文網）?????????

????Also in development: an app store that will launch alongside Steel later this month. Over 3 million apps and watch faces have been downloaded, but until now, users have had to download those via third-party sites like MyPebbleFaces.com. The Pebble appstore will finally offer an official, central location for users to do that, with app categories like Games, Notifications, Tools & Utilities, and so on.

????Over 300,000 Pebble smartwatches have been sold in the last 12 months, and with Steel, Migicovsky and crew bet its classier looks will convince some forward-thinking shoppers to buy in and goose sales further. Although 2012 was lackluster for wearable computing, with some devices like Google Glass (GOOG) and Samsung's Gear watch proving limited and rough, it's estimated wearables could be a booming market worth as much as $6 billion by 2016. And given its solid early sales, Pebble stands as good a chance as any company to be a dominant player.

????To call the last four years a thrill would be an understatement, says Migicovsky, a University of Waterloo engineering graduate who first dreamed up Pebble while he was out cycling one day and developed it as a school project. Wouldn't it be great, he thought, if you could check texts, emails, call notifications, and other digital bits and bytes without whipping out that phone?

????Certainly larger companies like Sony (SNE) and Motorola had already tried such devices, but few were as promising as the iPhone- and Android-friendly Pebble, and none had the buzz the startup generated when it raked in nearly $10.3 million in funding on Kickstarter, or 100 times the original amount Migicovsky sought. (To date, the company has raised over $25 million from backers that include venture capitalist Timothy Draper, entrepreneur Paul Buchheit and Charles River Ventures.)

????For Migicovsky, those earlier days were both thrilling and frustrating. "When people think of us and they see our Kickstarter success, I think they overlook the fact that we're a four-year-old company -- not an overnight success," he says, recalling the few times in 2009 he was forced to dip into his personal bank account to pay early employees, several of whom were friends who left their jobs to work at the startup. Now the company, which does not disclose its financials, employs 45 -- up from 11 early last year -- and holds Friday meetings over which Migicovsky presides to discuss what everyone is working on. Says Migicovsky: "If I had to go back, I wouldn't change too much ... I wouldn't take back any of that time because it all contributed to Pebble."???