Apple Inc.'s iPhone has been the world's most influential smart phone since its debut a year ago, widely hailed for its beauty and functionality. It was a true hand-held computer that raised the bar for all its competitors. But that first iPhone had two big drawbacks: It was expensive, and it couldn't access the fastest cellular-phone networks.
    自一年前推出以来，苹果公司(Apple Inc.)的iPhone一直是全球最有影响力的智能手机，其设计美感与强大功能赢得了市场的普遍赞誉。该手机是一款真正的手持电脑，给所有对手抬高了竞争门坎。但第一代iPhone存在两个主要缺点：价格昂贵，无法接入最快的3G网络。
    On Friday, Apple is launching a second-generation iPhone, called the iPhone 3G, which addresses both of those problems, while retaining the look and feel of the first model's hardware and software.
    本周五，苹果公司将推出第二代iPhone。这款命名为“iPhone 3G”的新产品弥补了上述两个不足，同时保留了第一代产品软硬件上的感观。
    The base version of the new iPhone costs $199 -- half the $399 price of its predecessor; the higher-capacity version is now $299, down from $499. Yet, this new iPhone is much, much faster at fetching data over cellphone networks because it uses a speedy cellular technology called 3G. And it now sports a GPS chip for better location sensing.
    第二代iPhone的8G款的售价是199美元，是第一代同类产品价格399美元的一半；16G款的新iPhone售价为299美元，远远低于此前的499美元。而且，新iPhone将使用速度更快的3G技术，因此在网络连接方面将显著提速；新iPhone还内置了全球定位系统(GPS)芯片，能够更好确定用户位置。
    The company also is rolling out the second generation of its iPhone operating system, with some nice new features, including wireless synchronization with corporate email, calendars and address books. And there's a new online store for third-party iPhone programs that Apple hopes will make the device usable for a wider variety of tasks, including gaming and productivity applications. This new software and store will also be available on older iPhones, through a free upgrade.
    苹果公司还推出了第二代iPhone操作系统。新系统拥有许多很棒的新功能，包括与企业邮箱、日程表和通讯录实现无线同步。苹果公司还开设了一家新的第三方iPhone软件网上商店，进一步扩展iPhone的应用领域，包括在游戏与有助于提高效率的软件等方面。第一代iPhone进行免费升级后，同样可以使用新软件与网店服务。
    I've been testing the iPhone 3G for a couple of weeks, and have found that it mostly keeps its promises. In particular, I found that doing email and surfing the Internet typically was between three and five times as fast using AT&T's 3G network as it was with the older AT&T network to which the first iPhone was limited.
    过去几周，我一直在对iPhone 3G进行测试。我认为，新产品基本兑现了自己的承诺。尤其需要指出的是，我发现新iPhone使用美国电话电报公司(AT&T)的3G网络时，其连接电邮与上网浏览的网速一般比第一代iPhone使用AT&T旧网络时快了3-5倍。
    The iPhone 3G is hardly the first phone to run on 3G networks, and it still costs more than some of its competitors. But overall, I found it to be a more capable version of an already excellent device. And now that it's open to third-party programs, the iPhone has a chance to become a true computing platform with wide versatility.
    iPhone 3G并不是第一款3G手机，价格也仍然高出许多竞争对手。但总的来说，我认为新手机在第一代iPhone已经非常出色的基础上进一步增强了功能。而且新手机已经向第三方软件开放，因此新iPhone有望成为一个真正的多功能处理平台。
    But there are two big hidden costs to the new iPhone's faster speed and lower price tag. First, in my tests, the iPhone 3G's battery was drained much more quickly in a typical day of use than the battery on the original iPhone, due to the higher power demands of 3G networks. This is an especially significant problem because, unlike most other smart phones, the iPhone has a sealed battery that can't be replaced with a spare.
    不过，新iPhone速度提高与价格下调的背后存在着两个隐性成本。首先，在我的日常使用测试中，iPhone 3G的电池消耗要比第一代iPhone快的多，这是因为3G网络耗电量更大。这是个非常严重的问题，因为不同于其他大多数智能手机，iPhone电池是封死的，用户不能更换备用电池。
    Second, Apple's exclusive carrier in the U.S., AT&T Inc., has effectively negated the iPhone's up-front price cut by jacking up its monthly fee for unlimited data use by $10. Over the course of the two-year contract you must sign to get the lower hardware prices, that adds $240, overwhelming the $200 savings on the phone itself. If you want text messaging, the cost rises further. With the first iPhone, 200 text messages a month came free. Now, 200 messages will cost $5 a month, or another $120 over the two-year contract.
    其次，iPhone在美国的独家运营商AT&T已经将手机上网包月费上调了10美元，显著削弱了新款iPhone降价的吸引力。为了获得低价的新款iPhone，用户必须签下两年合约，这就增加了240美元，超过了手机本身降价的200美元。如果你需要发短信，费用还会进一步上涨。第一代iPhone每月可以免费发送200条短信，但现在每月200条短信需要交5美元的费用，两年下来又多了120美元。
    The iPhone 3G still has a couple of features that made the first version unpalatable to some potential buyers. It uses a virtual on-screen keyboard instead of a physical one. While I find the virtual keyboard easy and accurate, not everyone does. Also, in the U.S. and in many other countries, the iPhone is still tied to a single exclusive carrier, whose coverage or rate plans may be unacceptable to some.
    令一些潜在用户拒绝第一代iPhone的一些功能，iPhone 3G上也同样存在。iPhone使用的是虚拟的 摸键盘，而不是传统按键。尽管我觉得虚拟按键简单易用又反应准确，但并不是所有人都这么认为。而且，在美国和其他许多国家，iPhone仍然与一家独家运营商捆绑销售，而一些人可能无法接受该运营商的网络和费率。
    Here is a rundown of the changes in the new model.
    下面粗略列举了第二代iPhone的改进之处。
    -- Design: The new iPhone looks almost exactly like the old one. It is the same length and width, has the same big, vivid screen, and has the same number and layout of buttons. The main difference is the back, which is now plastic instead of mostly metal and curved instead of flat. It's very slightly thicker in the middle, with tapered edges, and weighs a tiny bit less.
    设计方面。新iPhone外形和第一代几乎完全一样。两代产品拥有同样的长宽尺寸，有同样巨大鲜明的显示屏，按键数量和排列也没有变化。最主要的区别是在手机背面，新产品用塑料代替了第一代的金属材料，形状也从平面改成了弧线。新iPhone中部稍稍加厚，边缘逐渐变薄，重量略有下降。
    Like its predecessor, the iPhone 3G comes in two models distinguished only by storage capacity: 8 gigabytes and 16 gigabytes. The top model is available in black or white.
    与第一代iPhone一样，iPhone 3G也分8G与16G两款。16G的iPhone有黑白两种颜色可供选择。
    Apple has greatly improved the audio on the new iPhone. I found the speaker was much louder, for music and for the speakerphone. But the new phone produced an echo when used with the built-in Bluetooth system in my car. Also, the headphone jack is now flush with the case instead of recessed as on the first model, so it can accept any standard stereo earphones.
    新iPhone的音频功能得到了显著改善。我发现新手机扬声器在播放音乐与通话方面的音量都有明显提高。但新手机在我的车内使用内置蓝牙设备的时候会产生回声。而且，耳机插孔从第一代的深陷式改成了贴平设计，因此用户可以使用任何标准耳机。
    The camera, however, is still bare-bones. It can't record video and has a resolution of just two megapixels. The power adapter is now tiny, at least in the U.S., but Apple no longer includes a dock for charging, just a cable.
    不过摄像功能仍然薄弱，不能录像，而且只有200万像素。新手机的电源适配器更小，至少美国市场是这样；不过不再提供座充，只有一根电源线。
    -- Software: The basic software is similar. The biggest addition for some users will be full compatibility with Microsoft's widely used Exchange ActiveSync service, which many corporations use. In my tests, I was able to connect the iPhone 3G to my company's Exchange servers in a few minutes, and my corporate email, calendar and contacts were replicated on the phone. Any changes I made on the iPhone were reflected almost instantly in Microsoft Outlook on my company PC, and vice versa. Email was pushed to the phone as soon as it was received on the company's servers.
    软件方面。两代iPhone的基本软件是类似的。对一些用户来说，最大的改进是可以完全兼容市场普遍使用的微软(Microsoft) Exchange ActiveSync软件，许多企业用户需要使用这一服务。在测试中，我能在几分钟内将iPhone 3G连接到我公司的Exchange服务器上，然后将我的公司电邮、日程表与通讯录复制到手机上。我在iPhone上进行的任何改变都可以几乎同步地在公司电脑上的Microsoft Outlook上反映出来，反之亦然。公司邮箱收到的邮件会在第一时间传到我的iPhone上。
    One drawback: While you can have both personal and Exchange email accounts on the new iPhone, if you synchronize with Exchange calendars and contacts, your personal calendar and contacts are erased.
    这里面存在一个缺点：尽管你可以在新iPhone上同时使用个人以及Exchange两个邮箱帐户，但如果你与Exchange邮箱的日程表与通信录进行同步，你个人邮箱的日程表与通信录就会被删除。
    The new iPhone and upgraded older iPhones also will be able to use a new Apple consumer service, MobileMe, which offers synchronized push email, calendars, photos and contacts.
    新iPhone与升级后的第一代iPhone都可以使用一项新的苹果用户服务MobileMe，该软件可以提供同步化的电邮功能、日程表、图片与通信录。
    There are other improvements. You can now delete multiple emails at once, set parental controls and search your contacts. You can also save photos in emails or from Web sites. You can also now open Microsoft PowerPoint files sent as attachments, though I found in my tests that opening larger PowerPoint files crashed the phone.
    新手机还有其他改进之处。现在你可以一次删除多封邮件，进行子机控制并搜索联系人。你还可以保存邮件与网页上的图片；可以打开Microsoft PowerPoint文档作为附件发送，但我在测试中发现，打开较大的PowerPoint文件会造成手机死机。
    Some software features missing from the first iPhone are still AWOL on the new one. There's no copy and paste function, no universal search, no instant messaging and no MMS for sending photos quickly between phones.
    第一代iPhone缺失的部分功能在第二代中依旧没有出现：没有复制粘贴功能，没有全域搜寻功能，没有即时信息和手机间迅速传递图片的彩信功能。
    -- Network: Like the old iPhone, the new one can perform Internet tasks using either Wi-Fi wireless networking or the cellphone networks. But the addition of 3G cellular capability makes the new model more useful for Web surfing, email and other data tasks when you're not in Wi-Fi range. In my tests, in Washington and New York, I got data speeds mostly ranging between 200 and 500 kilobits per second. By comparison, the original iPhone, tested in the same spots at the same time, mostly got cellular data speeds between 70 and 150 kbps on AT&T's old EDGE network. The new iPhone typically was between three and five times as fast as the old one.
    网络方面。和第一代一样，第二代iPhone可以使用Wi-Fi无线网络或手机网络。但加入3G功能使得新手机在无法使用Wi-Fi的时候能更便捷地浏览网页、发送电邮以及完成其他数据任务。我在华盛顿和纽约用新iPhone进行了3G网速测试，网速基本保持在每秒200-500KB。为了进行比较，我也在同样地点和时间对第一代iPhone进行了测试；在AT&T的EDGE网络上，第一代iPhone的数据流量在每秒70-150KB。
    While AT&T now has 3G networks in 280 U.S. cities, and aims to be in 350 by year end, it is converting its cellphone towers gradually, so not all areas of included cities have 3G coverage. The new iPhone falls back to EDGE speeds when 3G isn't present.
    尽管AT&T目前在全美280个城市设立了3G网络，并计划年底前扩展到350个城市；但该公司正在逐步升级信号塔，因此开通3G业务的城市也存在信号盲区。当无法使用3G业务的时候，新iPhone的网速也就降回到原先的EDGE网络速度。
    One side benefit to 3G is that in some areas, voice coverage improves. At my neighborhood shopping center, where the first iPhone got little or no AT&T service, the iPhone 3G registered strong coverage. But I still found that calls regularly broke up on some major streets. In New York City, riding in a taxi along the Hudson, one important call was dropped three times on the new iPhone. Finally, I borrowed a cheap Verizon phone and got perfect reception.
    3G业务的另外一个好处是，某些区域手机通话信号会得到改善。在我家附近的购物中心，第一代iPhone很难或无法收到AT&T的信号，iPhone 3G却信号强劲。但我也发现，一些主要街道新iPhone会出现通话中断的问题。我曾在纽约市沿着哈德逊河乘坐出租车时使用新款iPhone，当时一个重要电话断线了三次。最后，我借了一只廉价的Verizon手机，得到完美的通话质量。
    -- Battery life: Apple claims that over 3G, the new iPhone can get up to five hours of talk time, or five hours of Internet use. Talk time is twice as long on the older EDGE network, and Internet time is an hour better with Wi-Fi.
    电池续航时间。苹果公司宣称，新手机的电池在使用3G网络时可以进行至多5小时通话，或5个小时的网络服务。新手机在EDGE网络下的通话时间是原来的两倍，而使用Wi-Fi网络的上网时间则延长了一个小时。
    I ran my own battery tests using the phone's 3G capability. Although I left the Wi-Fi function on, I didn't connect it to a network, so the phone had to rely on 3G. In my test of voice calling, I got 4 hours and 27 minutes, short of Apple's maximum claim and nearly three hours less than what I recorded in the same test last year on the original iPhone. In my test of Internet use over 3G, I got 5 hours and 49 minutes, better than Apple's claim, but far short of the nine hours I got using Wi-Fi in last year's tests.
    我对新手机在3G网络下的电池续航能力进行了测试。尽管我打开了Wi-Fi功能，但没有连接网络，因此手机只使用3G网络。在我的测试中，手机完成了4小时27分钟的通话，低于苹果公司所宣称的最长通话时间，而且较我去年对第一代iPhone测得的通话时间少了将近3个小时。新手机在3G网络下的最长上网时间是5小时49分钟，好于苹果公司宣称的标准，但仍远远低于去年使用Wi-Fi网络同类测试获得的9个小时。
    More important, in daily use, I found the battery indicator on the new 3G model slipping below 20% by early afternoon or midafternoon on some days, and it entirely ran out of juice on one day. I overcame this problem by learning to use Wi-Fi instead of 3G whenever possible, turning down the screen brightness and even turning off 3G at times, which the phone permits.
    更重要的是，我在日常使用中发现，新手机的电池指示条好几次在午后或者下午三时左右跌到20%以下，有一天则完全罢工。最后，我在任何时候都尽可能的使用Wi-Fi网络代替3G网络，调低屏幕亮度，甚至不时的关闭3G网络（新手机有这个功能），这才解决了这一问题。
    The iPhone 3G's battery life is comparable to, or better than, that of some other 3G competitors. But they have replaceable batteries. The iPhone doesn't.
    与其他一些3G产品相比，iPhone 3G的电池续航时间可以说是不相上下或更加出色。但其他产品可以更换备用电池，iPhone却不行。
    -- Third-party software: If things go as Apple hopes, third-party software could be the biggest attraction to the new iPhone 3G, and to upgraded older iPhones. By some estimates, there will be hundreds of these programs, some free and some paid, almost immediately.
    第三方软件。如果事情如苹果所希望的发展，第三方软件或将成为iPhone 3G和升级后的第一代iPhone最大亮点。据一些人估计，目前几乎立即能用的有数百款软件，有免费软件，也有需要付费的。
    Apple didn't supply me with programs for testing, but I managed to try several on older devices upgraded to the new operating system. I tested a game that used the phone's motion sensors to control the action, and I tested several programs from America Online, including AOL Instant Messenger; AOL Radio, which streams music from the Internet; and AOL's Truveo video search engine. All worked very well.
    苹果公司并没有向我提供测试软件，但我将第一代iPhone升级到了新的操作系统，随后对几款软件进行了测试。我测试了一款游戏，使用手机的感应器控制游戏动作。我还测试了几款来自美国在线(America Online)的软件，有AOL Instant Messenger，从网上听歌的AOL Radio，以及AOL的 Truveo视频搜索引擎。所有软件都运行非常良好。
    Among the programs Apple has publicly previewed were a sales automation program from Salesforce.com, a game called Super Monkey Ball from Sega and a program for bidding on eBay. Also made public were a news reader from the Associated Press, a program for following live games from Major League Baseball and several programs for doctors, including the Epocrates drug reference.
    苹果曾公开预演的软件包括：一款来自Salesforce.com的销售自动化软件、世嘉公司(Sega)的游戏超级猴子球(Super Monkey Ball)，以及在eBay上进行竞拍的软件。同时公开的软件还包括美联社(AP)的新闻阅读软件、美国职棒大联盟(MLB)的游戏软件，以及Epocrates药物应用软件等几款医生软件。
    -- Bottom line: If you've been waiting to buy an iPhone until it dropped in price, or ran on faster cell networks, you might want to take the plunge, if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life. The same goes for those with existing iPhones who love the device but crave faster cellular data speeds. But if you already own an iPhone, and can usually use Wi-Fi for data, you probably should hold off and get the free software upgrade before deciding whether it's worth getting the new hardware.
    综上所述，如果你一直持币等待iPhone降价或升级到更快的网络，那你可能会对iPhone 3G感兴趣，只要你可以接受更高的服务费与较弱的电池能力。那些已经拥有第一代iPhone，但想要更快的手机上网速度的人，可能也会有购买兴趣。但如果你已经有了iPhone，一般使用Wi-Fi网络上网，那你可能应该先免费升级手中的iPhone，再决定是否值得购买iPhone 3G。
    （本文作者Walter S. Mossberg是《华尔街日报》科技栏目Personal Technology，Mossberg's Mailbox等栏目的专栏作家。这些栏目主要介绍一些最新的消费类科技产品和解决方案，并解答读者提出的问题。）

Apple

苹果的新iPhone操作系统包括一个App
商店，用户可以通过这个商店浏览并
下载第三方软件

Apple

iPhone 3G（左）利用手机网络进行互联网下载的速度
远远快于第一代iPhone（右）