平板電腦大戰硝煙四起

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.
過去一週可能是電子消費市場史上，或者更準確地說，是7英寸（約17.8釐米）平板電腦市場史上的“多事之秋”。有史以來，該行業的三大巨頭首次“撞車”般地相繼發佈了具有歷史意義的產品。

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 Nexus 10 tablet in New York on Oct 29, only two months after the release of its Nexus 7.
10月23號，蘋果公司正式推出iPad Mini，再次進軍蒸蒸日上的平板電腦市場。隨後，10月26號，微軟公司也發佈了自己的Surface平板電腦。此外，儘管谷歌公司受颶風桑迪影響不得不取消了一系列活動，但該公司還是於10月29號在紐約推出了最新的Nexus 10平板電腦，而兩個月前谷歌剛剛發佈了Nexus7平板電腦。

Who do you think will top the small tablet market? Let’s run a quick comparison to find out.
誰將稱雄平板電腦市場？下面我們來快速比評一下。

Apple’s iPad Mini
蘋果iPad Mini

Release date: Nov 2 (Wi-Fi version)
發佈日期：11月2號（無線版）

Operating system: iOS 6
操作系統：iOS6

Size: 19.9 x 13.5 x 0.7 cm
大小：19.9 x 13.5 x 0.7釐米

Prices: $329 (16GB Wi-Fi), $429 (32GB Wi-Fi), $519 (64GB Wi-Fi), or $459 (16GB Data), $559 (32GB Data), $659 (64GB Data)
價格：329美元(16GB無線版)，429美元(32GB無線版)，519美元(64GB無線版)；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 aesthetics 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.
儘管名字叫做“迷你”，但這款7.9寸屏的iPad Mini卻是迷你平板電腦中的巨人之一。它可以同此前的任何一款9.7寸平板電腦相媲美。7.2毫米的超薄機身，比iPad要輕薄23%。但同其他平板相比，美中不足的是，它只搭配了1024x768的顯示屏，未採用視網膜顯示技術。

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 Kindle Fire HD.
iPad Mini型號衆多，分爲16G、32G以及64G，所以集成存儲不成問題。不過，它的最低售價也高出競爭對手許多。而與巴諾Nook HD 1440x900的分辨率，或是與谷歌Nexus7以及亞馬遜Kindle Fire HD1200x800的分辨率相比，其1024x768的分辨率遜色了不少。

Google’s Nexus 10
谷歌Nexus10平板電腦

Release date: Nov 13
發佈日期：11月13號

Operating system: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
操作系統：安卓4.2“果凍豆”系統

Size: 26.4 x 17.8 x 0.9 cm
大小：26.4 x 17.8 x 0.9釐米

Prices: $399 (16GB), $449 (32GB)
價格：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.
儘管受颶風桑迪影響，谷歌公司不得不取消本定於10月29號在紐約舉行的安卓產品發佈會，但卻未阻止它發佈一個同樣重量級的消息。

Google has officially revealed the Samsung-made Nexus 10 tablet, and it seems like most of the rumors were true.
谷歌正式推出了由三星公司打造的Nexus10平板電腦，此前大多數的傳聞都被證實爲真。

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 RAM, so expect the Nexus10 to be a speedy little tablet.
首先，谷歌已證實，Nexus10平板電腦將創造性地搭配安卓4.2系統，這無疑是個令人振奮的好消息。它配有10英寸顯示屏，分辨率達到2560x1600，着實令人讚歎。內置A15 雙核處理器，2GB內存。所以，想象一下吧，Nexus10會是一臺高速的迷你平板。

Microsoft’s Surface
微軟Surface平板電腦

Release date: Oct 26
上市日期：10月26日

Operating system: Windows 8 RT
操作系統：Windows 8 RT

Size: 27.5 x 17.2 x 0.9 cm
尺寸：27.5 x 17.2 x 0.9釐米

Prices: $499 (32GB Wi-Fi)
售價：499美元（32GB Wi-Fi）

Surface is being launched alongside Windows 8, Microsoft’s overdue operating system, which is being described as the biggest change in the history of Windows.
Surface平板電腦與微軟公司備受矚目的Windows8操作系統幾乎同時上市，外界也稱其爲Windows歷史上最大的一次變革。

It is a bold product with some great touches, like the magnetic cover that turns into a keyboard, and a minimal, Apple-like design. It doesn’t feature a camera and focuses on Office software, which suggests Microsoft is pitching this gadget as an executive toy. There’s no 3G connection (only Wi-Fi) so owners won’t have to worry about an extra contract.
這是一個十分大膽且獨具特色的產品，擁有可以變身爲鍵盤的磁性保護蓋，以及類似蘋果產品的極簡設計。它並未主打拍照功能，而是將重點放在了Office軟件上，這也意味着微軟公司將這款電子產品定位爲高管人員的裝備。該產品不提供3G服務，只有Wi-Fi版本，所以用戶不必爲額外協議而擔憂。

The real delight, however, is Metro, the impressive navigation interface. 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.
而真正的亮點是Metro，這款導航界面令人印象深刻。它設計精美，擁有漂亮的字體和顏色鮮明的導航方格。在美國，Surface在一個週末的時間便被預訂一空，由此可見顧客們爲之狂熱。