Facebook公司斥资190亿美元收购了移动通讯平台WhatsApp，让人大跌眼镜。仅仅是过去的9个月中，WhatsApp的用户数就从2亿飙升到了4.5亿。今天一早，我受邀到消费者新闻与财经电视频道（CNBC）点评了这宗交易。简言之，CNBC的主持人们想知道，这项交易是否明智？

    坦率地说，现在就下判断还为时过早。乍看上去，这笔交易确实金额过高；但我不会只凭这一点，就质疑马克•扎克伯格的决定。要知道当初收购Instagram时，人们也觉得数额过大。

    现在很清楚的一点事，这笔交易值得许多竞争对手警惕。谷歌公司（Google）就是其中一家，它花了一年多的时间，希望收购WhatsApp，最后却未能如愿。再比如WhatsApp在简讯应用行业中的竞争对手，如Kik、Snapchat和微信（WeChat）等，它们因此失去了一个重量级的买家，现在只能奋力争夺业界第二的位置。再比如电信服务商，它们之前靠短信服务赚得盆满钵满，但现在WhatsApp实际上已经在免费提供短信服务。此外，苹果公司（Apple）也是一样。当然，前提是苹果的股东们现在终于醒悟过来了，虽然他们拥有能够击败Facebook的资源，但面对巨大的新机遇，他们已然错失了良机。（财富中文网）

    译者：朱毓芬/汪皓

    Earlier today I appeared on CNBC to discuss Facebook's (FB) stunning $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp, the mobile messaging platform that has grown from 200 million users to over 450 million users in just the past nine months. In short, the hosts wanted to know if it was a smart or dumb deal.

    In all honesty, it's WAY too early to say. But I wouldn't bet against Mark Zuckerberg just because this deal feels oversized at first blush. Remember, so did Instagram.

    What does seem clear, however, is that this deal should seriously concern some other players. Like Google (GOOG), which spent more than a year (unsuccessfully) trying to buy WhatsApp. Or rival messaging apps like Kik, Snapchat and WeChat -- all of which just lost a major suitor, and now may need to battle it out to be number two. Or current wireless carriers, who make a fortune off of SMS (the functionality that WhatsApp virtually gives away for free). Or Apple (AAPL), if only because some of its shareholders may now feel that it has totally missed the boat on a giant new opportunity, despite having the resources to have bested Facebook.