谷歌推出OnHub智能路由器 Google takes on cable groups with a smart router
Google is attempting to put itself at the centre of domestic wireless networks with a new “smart router” that promises to improve WiFi quality and security.
谷歌(Google)正力求讓自己置身於家庭無線網絡的中心。該公司發佈了一款有望改善WiFi質量和安全性的新型“智能路由器”。
OnHub’s launch comes weeks before Apple is expected to unveil its latest home technology device, with an update to its Apple TV set-top box that will act as a wireless “smart home” hub. The launch also puts Google into competition with many cable companies which offer their own home hubs for watching TV and getting online.
谷歌發佈OnHub路由器，比外界預計蘋果(Apple)將推出其最新家庭技術設備的時間早了幾周——蘋果即將發佈最新款的電視機頂盒Apple TV，可用作無線“智能家居”中心。此次新品發佈也使谷歌處於跟有線電視公司競爭的境地，許多有線電視公司也提供用於看電視和上網的家居中心。
The inclusion of Bluetooth and other methods of wireless connectivity means Google’s $200 OnHub will be able to control the “internet of things” inside the home as more consumers buy connected peripherals such as wireless speakers, thermostats and security cameras.
谷歌定價200美元的OnHub路由器包含藍牙和其他無線連接技術，意味着它將能夠控制家庭內的“物聯網”。如今，越來越多的消費者購買了無線音箱、恆溫器和監控攝像頭等可連接外設。
The project has been developed over the past two years by teams who worked on the Chrome operating system and Google Access, the unit responsible for its superfast fibreoptic-based network.
這個項目是由負責Chrome操作系統的多個團隊和Google Access歷時兩年聯合完成研發的。Google Access是谷歌旗下負責其超快速光纖網絡的部門。
Google has taken an Apple-like approach to designing OnHub, concealing the antennas that usually protrude from a router inside a cylinder that can be customised with a range of colours and patterns. Google has made other internal improvements to regular routers that it says will make OnHub easier to manage and allow WiFi networks to run faster and over a wider area.
谷歌在OnHub設計上採用了類似蘋果的方法，把通常突出在路由器外面的天線隱藏到一個圓筒中，圓筒可以定製爲不同顏色和樣式。谷歌還在其他方面對常規路由器進行了內部改進，並表示，這將使OnHub更便於管理，使WiFi網絡運行得更快，覆蓋到更廣範圍。
While OnHub will remain part of Google after the internet company becomes a subsidiary of new parent Alphabet, under a corporate shake-up announced by chief executive Larry Pagelast week, no information about browsing or viewing behaviour will be used to tailor online advertising, the company says.
谷歌表示，儘管OnHub在公司重組後仍將是谷歌的一部分，但用戶瀏覽或觀看行爲的相關信息將不會被用於量身定做在線廣告。上週，谷歌首席執行官拉里槧奇(Larry Page)宣佈了公司的重組方案，谷歌此後將成爲新成立的母公司Alphabet的子公司。
The OnHub device may in time work with peripherals from Nest, the smart-home unit that will become a separate Alphabet subsidiary to Google.
OnHub以後或許會跟Nest的外設產品相互兼容。Nest這一智能家居部門將成爲Alphabet旗下一家平行於谷歌的獨立子公司。
