科技前沿:諾基亞發佈新款手機Lumia 925
Scrambling to keep pace with its U.S. and Asian rivals, Finnish phone maker Nokia Corp. -5.17% on Tuesday launched another addition to its Lumia Windows phone lineup, emphasizing high-end camera features, wireless charging and use of lightweight components.
爲努力追趕美國和亞洲競爭者的步伐，芬蘭手機生產商諾基亞公司(Nokia Corp.)週二發佈了搭載Windows操作系統的Lumia系列手機的又一成員，主打高品質拍照功能和無線充電，機身重量也更輕。While not considered a revolutionary product for Nokia, the Lumia 925 could help maintain momentum that Nokia has worked to create with the launch of a series of phones in recent weeks. By introducing a phone that incorporates aluminum in its construction and new photo apps into its operating system, the company is betting it can grab the attention of smartphone buyers who have a broader selection of mobile devices to choose from than ever before.
雖然Lumia 925沒有被認爲是諾基亞的革命性產品，但它可能在一定程度上維持諾基亞這幾周通過發佈一系列手機所觸發的良好勢頭。這款手機採用鋁製機身，操作系統中加入了新的圖像處理軟件。諾基亞通過該手機的發佈押注自己能獲得智能手機買家的注意。買家現在可選擇的移動產品比以往任何時候都更多。Nokia first launched its Lumia lineup in late 2011, as an attempt by Chief Executive Stephen Elop to spruce up the company's line of smartphones as it was losing market share to the likes of Apple Inc. AAPL -2.39% and Samsung Electronics Co. +1.56% Ltd. Now, more than a dozen different Lumia models are sold around the world.
2011年末，諾基亞首次發佈Lumia系列產品。這是在諾基亞的市場份額被蘋果(Apple Inc.)和三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)等奪去後，諾基亞首席執行長埃洛普(Stephen Elop)塑造其智能手機陣容的一次嘗試。目前，全球範圍內有十幾款不同的Lumia手機在售。
Lumia sales rose significantly on a quarterly basis during the first three months of 2013, helping offset a dramatic decline in the sales of Nokia's basic mobile phones. But Nokia's rivals are still way ahead in terms of sales. About 5.1 million Lumias were sold in the first quarter, compared with Samsung's 64.7 million smartphone sales and Apple's 38.3 million iPhone deliveries, according to data released by research firm Gartner Inc. IT +1.40% on Tuesday.
2013年前三個月，Lumia銷量較去年第四季度明顯增加，這在一定程度上抵消了諾基亞基本款手機銷量大幅下降的影響。但諾基亞的競爭對手在銷量方面仍遙遙領先。研究公司Gartner Inc.週二發佈的數據顯示，今年第一季度諾基亞售出了約510萬部Lumia，三星電子售出了6,470萬部智能手機，蘋果iPhone的出貨量爲3,830萬部。Tuesday's Lumia 925 launch, staged in London after months of speculation about Nokia's plans, comes as the company continues to fall behind Samsung in global mobile device sales. In the first quarter of 2013, once-dominant Nokia held 14.8% of the market, far behind Samsung's 23.6%, Gartner said.
諾基亞週二在倫敦舉行了Lumia 925發佈會，此前外界曾連續數月猜測該公司的手機計劃。在全球移動產品銷售方面，諾基亞仍落後於三星。據Gartner 統計，2013年第一季度，曾爲手機“霸主”的諾基亞佔有14.8%的市場份額，遠落後於三星的23.6%。The Lumia 925, a traditional smartphone with a 4.5-inch screen, was launched after months of speculation suggesting Nokia would enter the so-called phablet fray with a device that is a hybrid between a tablet and a phone. In terms of technical hardware and screen size, the Lumia 925 is very similar to the Lumia 920 flagship device that started selling in November last year.
Lumia 925配有4.5英寸屏幕，屬傳統智能手機。該手機發布前，外界持續數月的猜測認爲，諾基亞將攜一種集平板電腦和手機爲一體的混合產品進入所謂的“平板手機”領域。在技術硬件和屏幕尺寸方面，Lumia 925與旗艦產品Lumia 920非常相似，後者於去年11月發售。Jo Harlow, Nokia's head of smart devices, said the company will continue evolving its Windows phones in the months to come. 'Later this summer we will continue to bring innovation and new experience to our Lumia portfolio,' Ms. Harlow said, without giving more detail.
諾基亞智能手機業務負責人哈洛(Jo Harlow)說，未來幾個月公司將繼續研發基於Windows系統的手機。她說，今年夏天晚些時候Lumia組合將繼續帶來創新和新體驗。此外她沒有透露更多細節。The Lumia 925 will go on sale in Europe and China in June, available through Vodafone Group 0.00% PLC in Europe for 469 ($609) and two Chinese operators─China Moblie and China Unicom. It will launch in other markets, including the U.S. via T-Mobile Inc. stores, at a later date.
Lumia 925將於今年6月在歐洲和中國發售。該手機的歐洲售價爲469歐元（合609美元），其運營商爲沃達豐空中通訊公司(Vodafone Group)，在中國則由中國移動(China Moblie)和中國聯通(China Unicom)銷售。晚些時候，這款手機還將在美國等市場開售。美國市場將由運營商T-Mobile Inc.銷售。The announcement follows two phone debuts last week─the Asha 501 for emerging markets and the Lumia 928 for U.S. consumers.
Lumia 925問世前，諾基亞在上週剛剛發佈了兩款手機，分別是面向新興市場的Asha 501和麪向美國消費者的Lumia 928。Ms. Harlow, one of Mr. Elop's top lieutenants, spent much of Tuesday's news briefing discussing the Lumia 925's abilities as a camera and photo publisher. A sixth lens, for instance, will assist photography in lowlight situations and a 'Smart Camera' feature captures multiple features at once.
在週二的新聞發佈會上，身爲埃洛普高級助理的哈洛主要都在介紹Lumia 925的拍照和圖片發佈功能。例如，該手機配備的第六個光學鏡片可在光線較暗的環境下協助成像，而Smart Camera功能則能在極短時間內連拍多張照片。At one point, a Nokia executive joined Ms. Harlow on stage and said, 'We push camera technology like crazy.'
在發佈會現場，諾基亞某高管有段時間與哈洛同時站在臺上，並說諾基亞在瘋狂推動拍照技術。Ms. Harlow also introduced a new photo app developed exclusively for Nokia's new phone: Oggl. The app, developed by Hipstamatic, allows users put different filters to the images they have taken with their smartphones and upload their images easily to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
哈洛還介紹了一個專爲Lumia 925研發的新圖片應用程序：Oggl。該程序由Hipstamatic研發，用戶可通過這款軟件對手機拍攝的照片使用不同的濾鏡，然後將圖片輕鬆上傳到Facebook、推特(Twitter)和Instagram等社交媒體平臺。Stuart Robinson, an analyst at Strategy Analytics, called the new device 'good,' but said it falls short of being 'a leap forward in the industry.' He was disappointed by the new device's 8.7-megapixel image sensor, which is already available on the Lumia 920 that was launched late last year.
Strategy Analytics的分析師魯賓遜(Stuart Robinson)說，這款新手機不錯，但還不是業界的跨越之作。他對Lumia 925配備的870萬像素圖像傳感器感到失望。去年末發佈的Lumia 920配備了同樣的傳感器。Mr. Robinson, however, applauded Nokia's move to use aluminum to take about 25% of the weight out of the device, representing 'a definite improvement.' The Lumia 925 also features a charging cover that attaches to the back of the device and refreshes the battery without the use of a cord.
不過對於諾基亞使用鋁材從而將整機重量減輕了約25%的做法，魯賓遜卻大加讚賞，說這是一大改進。此外，Lumia 925還有一個充電外殼，可附於機身後部進行無線充電。
