愛薇塔樂學英文

Keep Telling Yourself: Above All, It's a Phone 《紐約時報》: 手機不再僅僅是行動電話　　丹尼爾-阿貝

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Keep Telling Yourself: Above All, It's a Phone 
《紐約時報》: 手機不再僅僅是行動電話

　　丹尼爾-阿貝隆（Daniel Abelon）買了一部既可以打電話又可以聽MP3的手機，他的這部諾基亞手機帶有MP3播放機，記憶體為64MB，可以存儲十幾首歌曲，他利用手機的USB介面與電腦相連，每天可以換新的歌曲，如果有電話打進來，歌曲就會自動停播，一旦電話掛斷，歌曲又會自動恢復。24歲的丹尼爾說：“我當時正想買一個MP3播放機，同時我又需要一部新的手機，所以這促使我去買了這部有MP3功能的新手機。現在我的很多朋友都買了這樣的手機。”

　　分析人士稱，上述手機的多功能性、小巧精緻的外觀以及使用的簡單化反映出最近幾年手機行業取得了突飛猛進的發展。製造商們不僅在生產更小、更輕以及更精美的手機，而且他們還在給手機增加越來越多的功能，這使得以往那些功能單一的手機漸漸遭到用戶遺忘。

　　雖然丹尼爾的手機並非適合每個用戶，但如今大多數手機現在已經不僅僅是個行動電話，很多人用手機拍照，上網以及收發電子郵件，手機還成了個人數位助理，而且將來手機功能肯定還會繼續增加。

　　LetsTalk.com線上手機銷售網站的首席執行官德利-泰莫（Delly Tamer）表示：“過去一年中手機技術的進步與未來12個月手機技術的創新相比註定僅僅是九牛一毛。”
 

By KEN BELSON   

It is clear that Daniel Abelon loves his cellphone, but not only because he finds it stylish or easy to use. No, Mr. Abelon, 24, a business consultant in New York, loves his phone, a Nokia 3300, because he can listen to his favorite songs on its earphones when he rides to work on the subway.

His blocky phone, which he bought six months ago for just $25 when he renewed his plan with AT&T Wireless, includes an MP3 player and 64 megabytes of memory, enough for about a dozen songs. Mr. Abelon uses the phone's U.S.B. port to link to his computer to replace songs every day or so. What if a call comes in while he is absorbed in, say, Bob Dylan's "Hurricane"? No problem. The song automatically pauses when calls arrive and resumes when he hangs up.

"I was waiting for a while to buy an MP3 player, and I needed a new phone, so this gave me the impetus to buy one," said Mr. Abelon, who says strangers often strike up conversations about the phone when they see him using it. The versatility, size and simplicity of the phone are signs of how far the industry has come in recent years. Manufacturers are not only making smaller, lighter, slicker phones, but they are also adding features that make yesterday's models look like the clunky communicators on old "Star Trek" episodes.

Although Mr. Abelon's Nokia may not be for everybody, most phones these days are much more than just phones. Many now allow a user to snap photos, surf the Web, and send and receive e-mail; they also serve as personal digital assistants. And more change is inevitable.

"The advances in style in the past year are going to be nothing compared to the advances in innovation in the next 12 months," said Delly Tamer, chief executive of a Web site for cellphone buyers, LetsTalk.com.

Still, the abundance of technology packed into new phones has complicated shopping. Phone makers and carriers love to promote bells and whistles, but those add-ons can drown out a basic truth: mobile phones are still primarily about mobility and making phone calls.

That is why cellphone buyers should follow a few basic guidelines that have as much to do with self-awareness as with technology. Most problems with cellphones can be avoided if you are honest with yourself about what you need.

The No. 1 rule: Pick a service plan first. After all, over the life of a contract, you will spend far more on the plan's monthly charges than on the phone itself. Choosing a plan - using the usual criteria, like the number of free minutes and the coverage in your area - also makes it easier to choose a phone, by automatically narrowing the possibilities. A carrier may have a lineup of, say, two dozen phones, with a wide range of features. High-end models can cost $200 or more, but you can get heavy discounts if you sign one- or two-year contracts or buy phones that are about to be discontinued. In addition, manufacturers often offer rebates of about $50. Some companies, like Verizon Wireless, offer even greater discounts if you renew a two-year contract for two more years.

Beware, though, of deals that look too good. Some independent shops, in particular, may push phones that have performed poorly. Web sites like a1wireless.com and cellphoneshop.net can help gauge a phone's quality.

Better deals also come with risks: If a small shop that sells several brands goes out of business, you may have a hard time having your phone repaired. Consider extra insurance, especially for expensive phones. Carriers offer the insurance for about $3 a month.

When it comes to shapes, most phones fall into three categories: candy-bar-size blocks, clamshells, and those with screens that slide back to reveal the keypad. All have their merits, but many people like clamshells and sliding-screen phones because the buttons are hidden, reducing the chances of making an accidental call.

Clamshells often transmit better sound, too, because the mouthpiece is closer to your lips.

The other main variables are a phone's weight, size and styling. Here, the differences are fuzzier, the choices more emotional. Pick up the phone and get the feel of it. Are the buttons easy to push? Is the keypad confusing? Are the letters so small that you have to squint to read them?

The LG VX6000 from Verizon Wireless, and several models from Samsung and Sony Ericsson, get high marks for their screens.

Then there is the question of how you use your phone. If you work in an office, carry your phone in a case and are a light to moderate user, you have many options: most phones should last a few years under those conditions, without major problems. But if you work outside - say, at a construction site - you may want to consider a model sold by Nextel, whose Motorola lineup includes some of the most durable phones on the market.

Nextel is also the leader in push-to-talk, a service that turns cellphones into walkie-talkies. Like a lot of workers in the field, Alan Sheinwald chose Nextel for this service. Mr. Sheinwald, who owns a gutter-and-leader business in Central Islip, N.Y., tried several phones and service plans for his eight teams of workers who install, clean and repair gutters.

With the Nextel service, his workers can communicate with one another instantly, and because push-to-talk calls travel entirely over Nextel's network, the company says its service is more reliable than regular cellular service. Because the teams work outdoors all day, often on roofs, many phones are dropped or broken; Mr. Sheinwald bought the cheapest versions and insured them.

More expensive models, including the i305, are rain-resistant and meet military standards for shock and vibration.

ALTHOUGH Mr. Sheinwald's team uses its phones primarily for work, many consumers expect a little whimsy from their phones. Most models include calculators, calendars and speed-dial functions. Increasingly, they also include games, personalized ring tones and cameras.

But intriguing as those features are, will the average person really use many of them? Probably not. Besides, they drain batteries, and too many demands on the computer chips inside a phone can sometimes weaken reception.

The best way to find out if the extras are right for you, and whether a phone gets good reception where you live, is to take advantage of a 15- or 30-day trial period. That would have saved Ellen Anderson a headache. When Ms. Anderson, 49, of Austin, Tex., upgraded her plan with Cingular, she was told that her old Nokia phone would not work with the new service because Cingular was switching to a different network technology. So, reluctantly, she bought a Nokia 6340i and soon found that, for her needs, it had a weak signal and poor sound. She asked Cingular if she could pay extra for a Motorola T720, but was told, apparently in error, that she could not upgrade her phone because her contract had just started.

"I didn't want to change my plan; I just wanted a better phone," Ms. Anderson said.

Cingular says its policy is to always sell customers new handsets if they ask for them.

Out of desperation, she bought a used Motorola model on eBay, and an employee at a Cingular shop programmed it for her.

Ms. Anderson says she regrets not having returned the Nokia phone during the trial period but, like many other people, she was busy and assumed that the phone's fickleness would correct itself over time. "I kept thinking it'll get better," she said.

Fortunately, most phones work just fine. But it does pay to take nothing for granted.