中英双语新闻——227 Tablet market on fire

 　　The past week was possibly the most eventful in the history of customer technology markets, or to be precise, the 7-inch (17.8-cm) tablet market. Never before have three of the biggest players in the industry scheduled what could be truly historic product launches so close together.

 

　　过去一周可能是电子消费市场史上，或者更准确地说，是7英寸（约17.8厘米）平板电脑市场史上的“多事之秋”。有史以来，该行业的三大巨头首次“撞车”般地相继发布了具有历史意义的产品。

 

　　Not only did Apple officially join the blossoming market by releasing the iPad Mini on Oct 23, but Microsoft launched its Surface tablet on Oct 26, and Google, despite having to cancel events due to hurricane Sandy, annouced its latest Nexus¹ 10 tablet in New York on Oct 29, only two months after the release of its Nexus 7.

 

　　10月23号，苹果公司正式推出iPad Mini，再次进军蒸蒸日上的平板电脑市场。随后，10月26号，微软公司也发布了自己的Surface平板电脑。此外，尽管谷歌公司受飓风桑迪影响不得不取消了一系列活动，但该公司还是于10月29号在纽约推出了最新的Nexus 10平板电脑，而两个月前谷歌刚刚发布了Nexus7平板电脑。

 

　　Who do you think will top the small tablet market? Let’s run a quick comparison to find out.

 

　　谁将称雄平板电脑市场？下面我们来快速比评一下。

 

　　Apple’s iPad Mini

 

　　苹果iPad Mini

 

　　Release date: Nov 2 (Wi-Fi version)

 

　　发布日期：11月2号（无线版）

 

　　Operating system: iOS 6

 

　　操作系统：iOS6

 

　　Size: 19.9 x 13.5 x 0.7 cm

 

　　大小：19.9 x 13.5 x 0.7厘米

 

　　Prices: $329 (16GB Wi-Fi), $429 (32GB Wi-Fi), $519 (64GB Wi-Fi), or $459 (16GB Data), $559 (32GB Data), $659 (64GB Data)

 

　　价格：329美元(16GB无线版)，429美元(32GB无线版)，519美元(64GB无线版)；459美元 (16GB Data版)，559美元 (32GB Data版)，659美元 (64GB Data版)。

 

　　Despite its name, the 7.9-inch iPad Mini is one of the largest among the mini-tablets. It’s got all the aesthetics² of its original 9.7-inch counterpart and is incredibly thin–just 7.2 mm, 23 percent thinner than the iPad. But it falls short of other tablets due to its non-Retina 1024×768 display.

 

　　尽管名字叫做“迷你”，但这款7.9寸屏的iPad Mini却是迷你平板电脑中的巨人之一。它可以同此前的任何一款9.7寸平板电脑相媲美。7.2毫米的超薄机身，比iPad要轻薄23%。但同其他平板相比，美中不足的是，它只搭配了1024x768的显示屏，未采用视网膜显示技术。

 

　　The iPad Mini comes in different models–16GB, 32GB, and 64GB–so onboard storage shouldn’t be an issue. The base price, however, is significantly higher than the competition, and the 1024x768 display resolution pales in comparison to the Nook HD’s 1440x900 or the 1280x800 of the Nexus 7 and Kindle³ Fire HD.

 

　　iPad Mini型号众多，分为16G、32G以及64G，所以集成存储不成问题。不过，它的最低售价也高出竞争对手许多。而与巴诺Nook HD 1440x900的分辨率，或是与谷歌Nexus7以及亚马逊Kindle Fire HD1200x800的分辨率相比，其1024x768的分辨率逊色了不少。

 

　　Google’s Nexus 10

 

　　谷歌Nexus10平板电脑

 

　　Release date: Nov 13

 

　　发布日期：11月13号

 

　　Operating system: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

 

　　操作系统：安卓4.2“果冻豆”系统

 

　　Size: 26.4 x 17.8 x 0.9 cm

 

　　大小：26.4 x 17.8 x 0.9厘米

 

　　Prices: $399 (16GB), $449 (32GB)

 

　　价格：399美元 (16GB)，449美元(32GB)

 

　　Google may have been forced to cancel its Android event in New York City on Oct 29 due to the threat of hurricane Sandy, but that isn’t stopping it from making same big announcements.

 

　　尽管受飓风桑迪影响，谷歌公司不得不取消本定于10月29号在纽约举行的安卓产品发布会，但却未阻止它发布一个同样重量级的消息。

 

　　Google has officially revealed the Samsung-made Nexus 10 tablet, and it seems like most of the rumors⁴ were true.

 

　　谷歌正式推出了由三星公司打造的Nexus10平板电脑，此前大多数的传闻都被证实为真。

 

　　For starters, Google has confirmed that the Nexus 10 will be running Android 4.2 out of the box, so get excited. It will also come equipped with a 10-inch display running at an impressive 2560x1600 resolution. On the inside, it’ll have a A15 dual-core processor running alongside 2GB of RAM⁵, so expect the Nexus10 to be a speedy little tablet.

 

　　首先，谷歌已证实，Nexus10平板电脑将创造性地搭配安卓4.2系统，这无疑是个令人振奋的好消息。它配有10英寸显示屏，分辨率达到2560x1600，着实令人赞叹。内置A15 双核处理器，2GB内存。所以，想象一下吧，Nexus10会是一台高速的迷你平板。

 

　　Microsoft’s Surface

 

　　微软Surface平板电脑

 

　　Release date: Oct 26

 

　　上市日期：10月26日

 

　　Operating system: Windows 8 RT

 

　　操作系统：Windows 8 RT

 

　　Size: 27.5 x 17.2 x 0.9 cm

 

　　尺寸：27.5 x 17.2 x 0.9厘米

 

　　Prices: $499 (32GB Wi-Fi)

 

　　售价：499美元（32GB Wi-Fi）

 

　　Surface is being launched alongside Windows 8, Microsoft’s overdue⁶ operating system, which is being described as the biggest change in the history of Windows.

 

　　Surface平板电脑与微软公司备受瞩目的Windows8操作系统几乎同时上市，外界也称其为Windows历史上最大的一次变革。

 

　　It is a bold product with some great touches, like the magnetic cover that turns into a keyboard, and a minimal⁷, Apple-like design. It doesn’t feature a camera and focuses on Office software, which suggests Microsoft is pitching this gadget⁸ as an executive toy. There’s no 3G connection (only Wi-Fi) so owners won’t have to worry about an extra contract.

 

　　这是一个十分大胆且独具特色的产品，拥有可以变身为键盘的磁性保护盖，以及类似苹果产品的极简设计。它并未主打拍照功能，而是将重点放在了Office软件上，这也意味着微软公司将这款电子产品定位为高管人员的装备。该产品不提供3G服务，只有Wi-Fi版本，所以用户不必为额外协议而担忧。

 

　　The real delight, however, is Metro⁹, the impressive navigation interface¹⁰. It is beautifully designed with a zingy typography and brightly colored squares for navigation. Pre-orders for Surface in the US sold out over the weekend, so it would seem customers are excited.

 

　　而真正的亮点是Metro，这款导航界面令人印象深刻。它设计精美，拥有漂亮的字体和颜色鲜明的导航方格。在美国，Surface在一个周末的时间便被预订一空，由此可见顾客们为之狂热。

1 nexus   

n.联系；关系

参考例句：

• Shared ambition is the vital nexus between them.共同的志向是把他们联结在一起的重要纽带。
• Either way,the nexus between the consumer and consumer prices is important.无论那个方面，消费者与消费价格之间的关系是至关重要的。

2 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

3 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。

4 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

6 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

7 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

8 gadget   

n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿

参考例句：

• This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。
• She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。

9 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

10 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。