Smart phones are getting so smart that they’re now outwitting other consumer-electronics devices. Smart phones such as Research in Motion Ltd/s BlackBerry and Apple Inc/s iPhonecome with an operating system, do e-mail, and surf the Internet. They also offer digital music, digital camera and personal-navigation features.
智能手机正变得更加智能，它们的智商超过了其他消费电子产品。Research in Motion的黑 莓手机和苹果的iPhone都是智能手机的代表，它们不仅配置操作系统，支持发送电子邮件和上网， 还可以提供数码音乐、数码相机和个人导航等功能。
For a long time, these offerings paled in comparison to what you could get by buying separate specialized devices. But more recently, smart phones have improved their horsepower and added larger screens, five-to-eight-megapixel digital cameras, programs that can display tum-by-tum navigation, and free one-year subscriptions for unlimited downloads of music.
很长一段时间以来，这些功能与消费者通过分别购买设备所获得的体验根本无法相提并论。但是最近开始，智能手机不仅大大提升了速度，而且增加了更大 的屏幕，500万至800万像素的数码相机，还装有可以显示语音导 航软件turn-by - turn的程序，并且免费赠送无限制下载音乐的 一年订阅期。
For many consumers, that means the time has finally come to shed multiple devices. Chester Vargas, for example, picked up a $ 319 Nokia Corp. E71 smart phone last month. Since then, the 30-year-old Miami resident has downloaded Google Maps onto the phone to help him find his way around town and purchased an eight-gigabyte memory card to store music on the phone.
对于许多消费者来说，这意味着摒弃多种电子设备的时候终 于到来了。比如说，上个月，切斯特?维加斯就购买了售价319美元 的诺基亚E71智能手机。从那以后，这位30岁的迈阿密居民不仅下 载了谷歌地图以免自己在城镇周围迷路,还购买了一个8G的内存 卡,在手机上存储音乐。
Earlier this month, he also took pictures of his baby son using the AG’s camera and printed them at a local shop; he says his family couldn’t tell the difference between those photos and ones taken on his Canon Inc. digital camera.
本月初，维加斯还利用E71的数码相机功能给他的宝宝拍了 照，并把照片在当地的一家商店打印了出来。他说,他的家人看不 出这些照片和他的佳能数码相机拍出的照片有什么区别。
Meanwhile, sales of some stand-alone electronics gadgets like digital music players and GPS devices are running into trouble. Unit sales of portable navigation devices in the US are projected to increase 15% to just over 17.4 million units this year, after jumping 73% last year, says the CEA.
与此同时，数码音乐播放器和全球定位系统设备等独立电子 产品的销售正在遭遇困境。消费电子协会表示,今年美国的便携式 导航设备预计将仅增加15%，达到1,740万台，而去年此类电子设备 的销量猛增了 73%。
Consolidating your mobile tech needs in one gadget can save money, at least initially. Consumers can expect to pay $ 199 for an eight-gigabyte iPhone with a two-year AT&T Inc. contract, a price that is heavily subsidized by AT&T. BlackBerry smart phones can be had for $ 199 for the Storm, or free for some models of the Pearl, with a Verizon Wireless contract. The BlackBerry Bold costs $299 with a two-year AT&T contract. By contrast, a best-selling camera, GPS device and MP3 player from manufacturers such as Canon, Garmin International Inc. and Apple on the Best Buy Co. Web site add up to just under $ 390.
将各种移动技术需求整合到一件电子设备上可以节省开支， 至少初期是这样的。内存8G、包括两年期美国电话电报公司合同的 iPhone，用户只需支付199美元即可拥有。这个价格是AT&T大力 补贴的结果。黑莓风暴智能手机售价仅为199美元，而Pearl的一些型号甚至可以随Verizon Wireless的合同免费获得。包括两年期AT&T合同的黑赛Bold只需299美 元。相比较而言,百思买的网站显示，来自佳能、嘉闵国际有限公司以及苹果等著名厂商最为畅销 的数码相机、全球定位系统设备以及MP3播放器加在一起的价格不到390美元。
But consumers need to keep in mind that smart phones require data plans from carriers, which together with voice plans can drive the subscription fees above $ 100 a month.
但是，消费者需要谨记，智能手机需要来自电信运营商的数据计划支持，和通话记录加在一 起,月租费可能会超过100美元。
Using a smart phone, such as the G1 from Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA, for every application has other drawbacks. For one, using the digital camera or digital music functions of a smart phone too often can drain the device’s battery.
使用智能手机——如德国电信旗下的T-MoMe USA推出的G1——的各种功能也会存在其 他缺陷。首先，过于频繁地使用智能手机上的数码相机或者数码音乐功能会过早耗尽手机电池的 使用时间。
Smart phones also don’t offer many of the specialized functions that stand-alone devices do. For example, the phones don’t offer red-eye reduction or most image-editing features that digital cameras typically include.
另外，智能手机缺乏独立电子设备所配置的专业功能。比如说,智能手机就没有数码相机通常 包括的红眼减弱或者影像编辑功能。
Makers of stand-alone electronics devices are fighting back, sometimes by borrowing some of the features of smart phones. In the past year, camera manufacturers such as Nikon Corp. and Panasonic Corp. have launched new models with built-in wireless technology or geo-tagging, which uses GPS to note the location where a picture was taken. The new digital cameras, for instance, can send pictures wirelessly to photo-sharing Web sites.
独立电子设备制造商正在进行反击,有时候会借用智能手机的一些功能。去年，诸如尼康和松 下等相机制造商已经推出内置无线技术或者定位功能(使用全球定位系统技术指示拍照地点）的 新款相机。比如说，新款数码相机可以将照片无线发送到照片分享网站。
Other device makers have decided to join forces with smart phones instead of trying to beat them. Mark Perini, Garmin’s director of business development for wireless markets, says the company is moving into phones in part because consumers are increasingly installing software-based navigation applications onto their phones. “We see there’s a place for stand-alone automobile devices . . . but what we see with the Nuvifone is you’re able to get so much more.”
其他设备制造商已经决定与智能手机联盟,而不是试图击败它们。嘉闵负责无线市场的业务 拓展总监马克?佩里尼表示,公司正在进军手机领域,在一定程度上是因为消费者越来越多地将 导航软件安装到手机上。“我们认为独立汽车导航设备自然有它的市场……但是，我们认为通过 Nuvifone手机可以为用户带来更多的服务。”