更好的實用性 通過Wi Fi打電話的智能手機大綱

What if you could get a top-tier, current-model smartphone with all the bells and whistles, and pay between $5 and $40 a month for unlimited voice, text and data? And there's no contract required.
不妨想像一下，如果你能拿到一部擁有炫目功能的主流旗艦智能手機，每個月只要5-40美元（約合人民幣31至244元）話費就享受無限通話、短信與數據服務，怎麼樣？而且還不需要籤合約。

Well, you can if you sign up with an innovative carrier called Republic Wireless. Republic's secret is it modifies brand-name phones so they place voice calls and send texts over Wi-Fi instead of more expensive cellular networks. That lets the company charge less per month and forgo contracts. And now it offers a top-tier phone, the Moto X from Motorola.
現在如果你與一家叫Republic的創新運營商簽約，就可以享受到這些。Republic的祕訣是，他們對品牌手機進行了改裝，從而讓通話和短信都基於Wi-Fi，繞開了資費較貴的手機網絡。這樣一來，Repubilc就可以降低每月資費，而且無需合約限制。現在他們提供了一款摩托羅拉(Motorola)的旗艦手機Moto X。

When Wi-Fi is absent or too weak, Republic's phones switch to Sprint's cellular network for calling and texting. Cellular calls and texts don't cost extra. If you start a call via Wi-Fi and keep talking as you leave Wi-Fi range, the call switches over to cellular.
當沒有Wi-Fi或者信號太差的時候，Republic的手機就會切換到運營商Sprint的手機網絡進行通話和短信。而手機網絡的通話與短信也不會額外收費。如果你在Wi-Fi網絡下撥打電話，而通話過程中離開Wi-Fi覆蓋範圍，那麼通話就會切換到手機網絡。

Most other smartphones can make Wi-Fi calls, but these typically require an app. Republic modifies the phone's main dialer and texting functions to work over Wi-Fi whenever possible. You don't have to do anything special to initiate a Wi-Fi call or text.
雖然多數其他智能手機都可以通過Wi-Fi打電話，但它們通常需要安裝應用。Repubilc對Moto X的電話和短信功能進行了改裝，只要有Wi-Fi就啓動使用。你不需要任何特殊設置就可以通過Wi-Fi打電話或發短信。

Republic has been in business about a year, but its first offering had several drawbacks. First, it worked only with a clunky, limited phone, the Motorola Defy XT, which had skimpy memory, a small, low-res screen and only the older 3G cellular data network. Second, call quality over Wi-Fi was iffy, with audible echoes and some clipped words. Third, the handover between Wi-Fi and cellular was clumsy. The phone had to hang up the Wi-Fi call and redial over cellular.
Republic已經運營了約一年時間，但其首項業務存在幾大缺陷。首先，他們當時服務只有一款笨重機型摩托羅拉Defy XT，這款手機存儲空間不足，屏幕又小，分辨率低，而且只支持較老的3G手機網絡。其次，通過Wi-fi打電話並不穩定，經常有雜音和中斷。再次，Wi-fi與手機網絡之間切換也有問題。這款手機必須先掛斷Wi-Fi通話，然後用手機網絡重撥。

Now, all that has changed. I've been testing Republic's latest, improved service on the Moto X, and it has solved all three problems. There are still a couple of drawbacks, but I can recommend it as an option for people who want to save on monthly bills and don't mind being limited to a choice of a single modern Android phone.
但現在一切都改變了。我一直在測試Repubile最新的基於Moto X改進後的服務，上述三個問題都得到了解決。雖然還是存在一些缺陷，但我已經可以將其作爲一個選擇進行推薦，適合給那些想每個月省話費又不介意只有一款安卓(Android)手機選擇的人們。

The first improvement is the Moto X, which came out in August. The Google-owned handset maker's premier model has a vivid, 4.7-inch screen, fast 4G LTE data capability and 16 gigabytes of memory.
第一項改進就是使用了8月份發佈的手機Moto X。這款谷歌(Google)子公司的旗艦產品擁有色彩鮮明的4.7英寸（約合12釐米）顯示屏，支持4G LTE數據網絡以及擁有16GB的內存。

Second, I found call quality over Wi-Fi to be very good. I heard no echoes or clipped words, and everyone with whom I tested it said the Wi-Fi and cellular calls were indistinguishable.
其次，我發現Wi-Fi通話質量變得非常不錯。我沒有聽到迴音或是中斷，每個和我進行測試通話的人都說聽不出Wi-Fi通話與蜂窩網絡通話有什麼差別。

Third, handing off calls between Wi-Fi and cellular networks is now truly seamless. Neither I nor the people with whom I was speaking could detect the millisecond pause when I left Wi-Fi range and the calls switched to Sprint.
再次，Wi-Fi與手機無線網絡之間的切換也變得真正無縫順暢。當我離開Wi-Fi覆蓋範圍，通話切換到Sprint網絡的時候，不管是我還是我的通話對象，都沒有發現網絡切換帶來毫秒(千分之一秒)的中斷。

I used Republic's modified Moto X in my home, in several Starbucks shops and in a few other public Wi-Fi locations. All of the calls worked fine, as did the handover as I kept talking while walking out of Wi-Fi range. My only glitch came at one of the Starbucks, where the phone had trouble with the Wi-Fi and it took several tries to connect.
我在家裏、幾個星巴克(Starbucks)門店以及一些其他公共Wi-Fi場所使用了Republic這款改裝後的Moto X。所有通話都運行順暢，我在通話過程中走出Wi-Fi區域的網絡切換也是如此。我只在一個星巴克店遇到了問題，手機連接Wi-Fi有點問題，當時試了幾次才連上。

Battery life was decent: The phone lasted a full day on a single charge.
電池續航時間也不錯：這款手機一次充電可以堅持一整天。Republic charges $299 for this Wi-Fi-centric Moto X. That's much more than what traditional carriers charge with a contract. AT&T sells the same phone for $50 with a two-year contract.
Republic爲這款基於Wi-Fi的Moto X定價299美元（約合人民幣1,824元）。這個價格比普通運營商的合約機價格高出不少。這款機型在AT&T的兩年合約價是50美元（約合人民幣305元）。

But Republic's price is considerably less than the no-contract price carriers offer. Without a contract commitment, Sprint charges $550 for the Moto X.
但Republic的價格也比運營商的裸機價格要低很多。Sprint賣的Moto X裸機價是550美元（約合人民幣3,355元）。

If you're willing to pay more upfront, your monthly fees are much lower with Republic. The upstart carrier offers four service plans for the Moto X. The first is just $5 a month, for unlimited calls, text and data over Wi-Fi only. Under this plan, the phone can't be used out of Wi-Fi coverage. The next plan, for $10 a month, gives you unlimited talk and text on both Wi-Fi and Sprint cellular, but only data on Wi-Fi, not cellular.
如果你願意一開始支付更多，那以後給Republic的月資費就更低。這家新晉運營商爲Moto X提供四種服務套餐。第一種是每月5美元（約合人民幣31元），無限通話、短信與上網，但只能通過Wi-Fi。選擇這個套餐的話，手機離開Wi-Fi覆蓋區域就不能使用了。第二種套餐是每月10美元（約合人民幣61元），可以在Wi-Fi與手機網絡下進行無限通話與短信，但只能通過Wi-Fi上網。

The third, and most popular, plan, costs $25 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data on both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular. Finally, for $40 a month, you get unlimited talk, text, and data on both Wi-Fi and 4G LTE cellular.
第三種也是最受歡迎的套餐是每月25美元（約合人民幣153元），可以在Wi-Fi與3G網絡下進行無限通話、短信與上網。最後一個套餐是每月40美元（約合人民幣244元），可以在Wi-Fi與4G LTE網絡下無限通話、短信與上網。

Over time, these lower monthly fees can more than offset the higher cost of the phone. Sprint says unlimited talk, text and data on its network is at least $80 a month for the unsubsidized Moto X.
隨着時間的推移，這些較低資費帶來的實惠會抵消掉購買手機時的較高價格。Sprint表示，如果是Moto X裸機要入其網絡享受無限通話、短信與數據的話，每月資費至少是80美元（約合人民幣488元）。

And Republic offers another cool feature: Twice a month, you can change plans right on the phone and the new fees will be pro-rated for the remaining days in the month. So if you opted for the $5 Wi-Fi-only plan, but you now need cellular coverage, you could switch on the fly to a cellular plan.
Republic還提供了另一種很酷的功能：你每個月可以在手機上兩次改變套餐，而新資費會按比例適用於當月剩餘時間。所以，如果你選擇了每月5美元的套餐，而又需要使用手機無線網絡，你可以隨時換個手機網絡的套餐。

Republic is also planning to offer a feature that lets you change your phone number, via its app on the phone.
而且，Republic還計劃推出一項新功能，讓你可以通過他們的手機應用來改變電話號碼。

For the increasing number of people who are in Wi-Fi coverage most of the day, Republic Wireless might well make sense.
隨着越來越多的人每天大多數時間都在Wi-fi網絡覆蓋下，Republic的服務可能很有意義。

Republic says it errs on the side of caution when placing calls. It will use cellular, which costs it more, if it judges the available Wi-Fi to be too unreliable for a good call. And it doesn't try to switch you back to Wi-Fi if you start a call on cellular.
Republic表示，用戶在打電話時，手機會自動選擇網絡，而這種謹慎卻可能導致一些問題。如果手機判斷可用的Wi-fi網絡太不穩定不能保證通話質量，就會選擇無線網絡，但這樣Republic成本就較高。而且一旦你通過手機網絡撥打電話了，手機就不會試圖切換回Wi-Fi網絡。

So what are the drawbacks? For one thing, you can't order the Moto X in colors, as you can with other carriers. And the Republic's Moto X can't be switched to other carriers, even Sprint, because it has been modified.
好了，那選擇Republic的服務有什麼缺點呢？其中之一是，你不能像在其他運營商那裏可以選擇Moto X的顏色。而且Republic的Moto X不能用到其他運營商網絡，即便是Sprint也一樣，因爲這款手機已經經過了改裝。

Also, Republic has very limited customer service and relies mainly on its users to help other customers through online forums.
而且，Republic的客戶服務非常有限，主要依靠網絡論壇上的用戶互助來答疑。

Overall, however, Republic is offering a clever, modern service on a good smartphone, and is showing that Wi-Fi calls can be as good as cellular ones.
但總的來說，Republic基於一款出色的智能手機提供了一項更加智能與先進的服務；他們展示了Wi-Fi通話的音質可以和手機通話一樣出色。