該帶哪些電子產品去度假 Pick of the gadgets to pack for a summer getaway

As I prepare for a couple of weeks of summer travels, I am considering which gadgets to take with me, and which to leave behind.

我正在爲爲期兩週的夏日旅行準備行囊，現在我在考慮一件事：哪些電子設備要帶走，哪些留下。

Much of the packing boils down to: how many screens do I really need?

我的打包工作在很大程度上可以歸結爲一點：我到底需要多少塊屏幕？

This is surprisingly hard to answer. My trip is part holiday, part work, all from the same carry-on suitcase.

這個問題出人意料地難以回答。我這次旅行是半度假、半工作性質的，所帶的東西全都要裝在一個隨身攜帶的手提箱裏。

The most minimal pack would avoid bringing two screens where one would probably do, for the most part. But I am also a big believer in having the right device for the right job, rather than a Swiss army knife gadget that does several things badly.

若想讓行囊儘可能的小，那就別一塊屏幕基本上能解決問題還帶兩塊。但我同時也堅信幹什麼事就得用什麼設備，瑞士軍刀似的設備倒是多用途，但樣樣都幹不好。

A Kindle is perhaps the best example of this. I could read books on a tablet or a smartphone, and save some packing space. But my iPhone’s battery struggles to last a full day as it is, without keeping the screen lit for long stretches of reading, while a Kindle’s charge can last for a whole trip. E-paper screens hold up well in bright sunlight. And for those of us with short attention spans, the fact that an ereader offers nothing but distraction-free immersion earns its space in my case. Just in time, Amazon recently updated its Kindle Paperwhite with higher resolution display ($119/99).

Kindle也許是最能支持我上述觀點的例子。我可以在平板電腦或智能手機上看書，同時節省出一些行李空間。但我iPhone的電池可撐不了一整天，這還是在沒有爲了長時間閱讀而讓屏幕一直亮着的情況下，而Kindle充一次電夠整個旅程用。電子墨水屏上的字即使在耀眼的陽光下也能看得清楚。而且，對我們當中那些注意力短暫的人來說，電子閱讀器除了能用來專心閱讀什麼也幹不了，這一點幫它在我的手提箱裏爭得了一席之地。剛好，亞馬遜(Amazon)最近推出了新款Kindle Paperwhite，擁有更高分辨率的顯示屏，售價119美元或99英鎊。

Some people view trips away from the office as an opportunity to disconnect entirely from the digital world. It’s an admirable objective, if you can manage it, but true de-screening means leaving the iPhone behind, which can impede basic and necessary communication. One solution is the Nokia 105, an ultra-cheap, ultra-simple phone with a “classic” Nokia candybar design. Costing $20 (20) unlocked, its battery lasts for weeks and provides a way to keep in touch without being sucked into Facebook or email. (Playing Snake doesn’t count as breaking a digital detox, right?)

有些人將告別工作去旅行視作一次完全脫離數字世界的契機。這一目標令人欽佩，前提是你真能做到，但真正脫離屏幕意味着你不能帶iPhone，這會讓你無法進行基本而必要的溝通。解決方案之一是帶一部諾基亞(Nokia) 105，這是一款超低價、超簡單的手機，外觀採用了諾基亞“經典”的直板造型設計。解鎖版售價爲20美元（或20英鎊），電池續航時間可長達數週，爲人們提供了一個既能保持聯絡、又可不受Facebook或電子郵件打擾的選擇。（玩貪食蛇不算破壞“數字排毒”，對吧？）

But I won’t be leaving my iPhone 6 behind because it also functions as my camera and music player.

但我可不會把我的iPhone 6留在家裏，因爲我還要拿它當相機和音樂播放器。

While smartphone cameras are now good enough for all but the biggest photography enthusiasts, there are ways to make them even better. Apps such as ProCam and Manual help to more finely tune an image when capturing, and VSCO Cam and Darkroom bring Photoshop-style retouching into the phone. For wider landscape shots and close-ups, try Olloclip’s 4-in-1 lens, which for $80 (70), provides macro and fisheye lenses that slot neatly over an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy camera.

儘管對普通人來說，智能手機攝像頭現在已經足夠好了（當然對攝影發燒友來說還不夠好），但我們還有方法提升它們的性能。ProCam和Manual等應用可以幫助你在拍照時對圖像作更細微地調整，VSCO Cam和Darkroom則讓手機可以實現Photoshop式的修圖。如果想拍較大景觀和特寫照片，可以試試Olloclip的四合一鏡頭，這款售價80美元（或70英鎊）的鏡頭集微距鏡頭和魚眼鏡頭於一身，可嚴絲合縫地插在iPhone或三星(Samsung) Galaxy手機的鏡頭上。

If your getaway is more action-packed than mine, GoPro’s new Hero 4 Session is a compact version of its rugged HD video cameras. In a cube that is half the size of regular Heros and waterproof without a case, its simple button controls and wireless connection make it a great action camera, if a little pricey at $400 (320). (I attached it to an electric skateboard for a video review last month and the quality of footage was impressive.) A bonus: because it uses a smartphone to view images, the Session does not count as an extra screen.

如果比起我的假期，你的假期在運動方面的節目更多一些，那麼建議你選擇GoPro新推出的Hero 4 Session，它是GoPro結實的高清視頻攝像機的緊湊版。正方形的機身只有Hero常規版本的一半大小，無需防水外殼就具備防水能力，再加上簡便的按鈕控制及無線網連接能力，令它成爲一款絕佳的運動型攝像機，就是價格略貴——單價要400美元（或320英鎊）。（上個月，我曾把它掛在一個電動滑板上，以評估其拍攝效果，得到的視頻片段品質令人印象深刻。）選擇Hero 4 Session還有個好處：由於它使用智能手機瀏覽拍攝到的畫面，帶上它不能算多帶了一塊屏幕。

So the Kindle and the iPhone go in the bag, but what about a bigger screen?

就這樣，Kindle和iPhone都已塞到了包裏，不過大一點的那塊屏幕選什麼呢？

There is something much more leisurely about using a tablet rather than a laptop. However, for this trip I need a proper keyboard for writing and emailing. Were money no object, I would buy Apple’s new MacBook (about $1,199/1,050), which with its high-resolution screen and 920g weight is one of the best laptops I’ve used in years.

說起來，用平板電腦要比用筆記本電腦休閒得多。不過，在這次旅程中，我需要一塊像樣的鍵盤，用於寫作、以及處理電子郵件。如果不考慮價錢，我會購買蘋果(Apple)推出的新款MacBook（單價大約1199美元或1050英鎊）。這款筆記本電腦的高清屏幕和920克的重量，令它成爲多年來我用過的最好的筆記本電腦之一。

Instead, I’m taking a hybrid approach. At about $230 (250), Asus’s new Chromebook Flip has the same light weight and portability as the MacBook. It even has a so-so tablet, as its touchscreen display can be folded so it lies flat against the device. This breaks my Swiss-army-knife rule, but some tablet is better than no tablet.

不過，我還是選擇了折衷方案。華碩(Asus)新推出的Chromebook Flip，價格約爲230美元（或250英鎊），卻擁有和MacBook同樣輕盈的重量和同樣出色的可攜帶性。在將其觸摸顯示屏翻轉至該電腦背後之時，它甚至還提供了一臺能湊合使用的平板電腦。這種設計違反了我避免瑞士軍刀式設備的原則，不過有平板電腦總比沒有好。

Like many netbooks running Google’s cloud-oriented operating system, it struggles a bit with handling documents offline and all but requires using Gmail, Google Docs and other Google apps. Battery life is good at up to 11 hours and the keyboard, while a little cramped, is decent too.

正如許多搭載谷歌(Google)雲技術操作系統的上網本一樣，該電腦離線處理文檔會有點困難，必須使用Gmail、谷歌文檔(Google Docs)及其他谷歌應用。電池續航時間還不錯，可以達到11個小時。鍵盤雖然有點小，但使用也很順手。

For iPad Air owners looking for something similar, Logitech’s Type+ Bluetooth keyboard (about $100/90) doubles as a protective case that props up the tablet. The keyboard is good quality for an add-on, but not quite full-sized.

對於擁有iPad Air、在尋找鍵盤產品的的人來說，羅技(Logitech)的Type+藍牙鍵盤提供了雙倍功能，可以當作保護套、支撐平板電腦。作爲平板電腦附件，這款鍵盤品質不錯，不過還算不上全尺寸鍵盤。

The verdict

總結

I’m confident that three screens — iPhone, Kindle and Chromebook — are enough to get me through the fortnight. But if I were going for an indulgently tech-free break, dumping them all for a basic Nokia has a definite allure.

我相信，iPhone、Kindle和Chromebook這三塊屏幕，足以讓我安然度過這兩週了。然而，如果我打算放縱自己，度過一個沒有高科技產品的假期，那麼把它們都從包裏扔出來，換成一部只有基本功能的諾基亞手機，絕對是一種誘惑。