酷兔英语


Thanksgiving is coming, but techies are salivating over something that doesn't involveturkey and stuffing: Ice Cream Sandwich -- the operating system of the newest Google phone, the Galaxy Nexus.


今年感恩节,令数码爱好者馋涎欲滴的不是火鸡,而是"冰激淋三明治"(Ice Cream Sandwich,简称ICS),即Galaxy Nexus手机所使用的谷歌(Google)最新操作系统。



The Galaxy Nexus from Samsung is the first device to run Google's Android 4.0 operating system, known by its dessert code name. Ice Cream Sandwich is designed to be a blend of the Android phone and tablet operating systems that irons out many geeky wrinkles. Android's former annoying reliance on menus to perform tasks is reduced with the inclusion of more user-friendly icons, and these dynamically change according to whateverprogram is opened.


三星公司(Samsung)推出的Galaxy Nexus是第一款使用谷歌安卓(Android) 4.0操作系统的设备。安卓系统一直都以各种甜点来命名,"冰激淋三明治"是一款专用于安卓手机和平板电脑的操作系统,改进了以往的许多缺陷。由于加入更多使用简便的图标,安卓以前依靠菜单来完成任务的状况得以好转,无论打开什么程序,用户界面都有较大改善。



It has familiar swiping gestures across apps, of which there are over 300,000 available in the Android Market, as well as playful new features like facialrecognition to unlock the phone. Several existing Android devices from HTC and Motorola will receive free software updates so that they, too, can run this OS.


针对安卓市场(Android Market)上的30多万款应用程序,新系统都能采用类似于苹果IOS的手势动作加以控制,并增加了一些好玩的新功能,如解锁手机时的面部识别技术等。HTC公司和摩托罗拉公司(Motorola)的几款安卓设备可以获得免费的软件升级,以使用新的操作系统。



There's much speculation that the Galaxy Nexus will be available in the U.S. in the next two weeks, since its release in the U.K. last week. A Verizon spokeswoman says it will be out sometime before the end of the year and it will run on the carrier's 4G network. It could cost as much as $300 if it's treated like some other recent Android phones considered flagship models.


许多人曾预期Galaxy Nexus会于11月底在美国上市,因为11月初该手机已在英国市场推出。美国电信公司Verizon的发言人表示,该手机将于年底前发售,并运行该运营商的4G无线网络。如果参考近期推出的其他旗舰版安卓手机的价格,Galaxy Nexus的售价可能在300美元左右。



I got my hands on a U.K. version of the Galaxy Nexus and enjoyed using Ice Cream Sandwich, which is the most well-rounded version of Android yet. My phone's battery lasted nearly a full day under heavy testing.


我手头有一部英国发售的Galaxy Nexus,我很享受使用"冰激淋三明治"的过程,这应该是安卓系统到目前为止最全面的一个版本。即使在高强度的测试中,这款手机的电池依然坚持了将近整整一天。



But some of Android's inelegant traits remain, like the confusing way it organizes Widgets (icons representing programs) and restricts their placement on home screens according to the icons' various shapes and sizes. And its folders for apps look cluttered.


不过,安卓系统的一些老毛病依然存在,如应用程序图标界面的排列方式令人困惑,主屏上对不同形状和大小的图标存在摆放限制,应用程序文件夹看上去有些杂乱等。



The Galaxy Nexus itself is stylishly designed. Its giant 4.65-inch display may be overkill for some people. But its svelte build, which measures just over three-tenths of an inch thick, balances it out. Its rear- and front-facing cameras capture 5- and 1.3-megapixel images, respectively, and it records video in full 1080p HD quality. A built-in barometer helps with more precise GPS detection, and an NFC (near field communication) chip enables swapping data with other NFC-enabled Android phones, a process called Android Beam.


Galaxy Nexus手机本身的设计很时尚,4.65英寸超大显示屏可能让一些人感觉尺寸过于庞大,但其只有0.3英寸多一点的纤薄厚度是个很好的弥补。前后摄像头分别有130万像素和500万像素,能拍摄1080p的全高清影像。内置的气压计能让GPS卫星定位更精确,NFC近场通讯芯片用于与其他配备NFC功能的安卓手机交换数据,这一交换过程叫做Android Beam。



I found the facial-recognition feature to be unreliable. To set this up, I held the Galaxy Nexus up as if I was about to take a photo of myself with the front-facing camera, and a traced image of my face appeared on the screen. I also set up a back-up unlocking option: tracing a pattern on the screen. Whenever I wanted to use the phone, I held it up to my face and if facialrecognition worked, it unlocked.


我觉得面部识别功能不太靠谱。启动该功能时,要把Galaxy Nexus举起来面对自己,就像打算用前置摄像头自拍一样,然后脸部就会实时出现在屏幕上。我还设置了一个备用的解锁功能,即在屏幕上滑动一个图案。我想用手机时,就把它对着自己的脸,如果面部识别生效,手机就会解锁。



But this only worked half the time, sometimes because of low lighting, whether outside at night, in restaurants or even in my own kitchen. Other times it just didn't recognize me. When I stood on city streets and held the phone up to my face to unlock it, I looked as if I was taking a photo of the people around me. And it's impossible to slyly check your phone under the table during meetings or dinners using this unlocking method.


然而,有一半的时间面部识别没有生效,有时候是因为光线太暗,如晚上在户外,或在餐厅,甚至在自家的厨房;有时候手机就根本没认出我来。我站在街上拿手机对着脸解锁时,看上去就像在对周围的人拍照一样。而且,在这种解锁模式下,你根本不可能在开会或用餐时在桌子下面查看手机。



Google warns users this isn't necessarily the safest method for locking a phone. Case in point: I was able to unlock the phone by holding a photo of my face up to its lock screen. But a Google engineer noted most people who find lost phones don't know what the phone's owner looks like.


谷歌公司警告用户说,面部识别并非锁定手机的最安全方式。举例而言,我用一张自己脸部的照片就能解锁手机。不过,谷歌一名工程师表示,大多数拣到丢失手机的人并不知道失主长什么样。



Like Microsoft's Windows Phones and the iPhone, the Galaxy Nexus can be unlocked just for using its camera, or unlocked fully to access the rest of the phone's features. When calls come in, a large image representing the caller appears on the screen along with options to drag an on-screen icon to ignore, answer, or send a text reply.


与微软公司的Windows Phone和苹果公司的iPhone一样,Galaxy Nexus可以在不解锁的状态下使用拍照功能,其他功能则在完全解锁后才能使用。当有电话打进来时,屏幕上会出现一张代表来电者的较大图片,同时可以拖动图标来忽略电话、接听电话或以文字回复。



In Ice Cream Sandwich, app folders can be created by dragging app icons on top of one another. These icons seem to stack up in a messy pile; in one folder I made, called 'Social,' only the blue beak of Twitter's bird icon was visible.


"冰激淋三明治"系统可以通过拖动应用程序图标放到另一个图标上来创建文件夹,但里面的图标会一个个叠起来。我创建了一个名叫"社交"(Social)的文件夹,却只能看到Twitter图标上的那张鸟嘴。



In place of the Android Menu button, a small three-dot icon appears in all apps and this opens the menu. More icons at the bottom of each app screen perform actions, such as an envelope with a plus sign beside it in Gmail that opens a screen for composing an email. A Multitasking soft key displays all opened apps in one tap. Small images show the screen last opened on these apps like a webpage or a search term in a box.


在所有应用程序中,取代安卓系统原先菜单按钮位置的是一个由三个小点组成的小图标,点击就能打开菜单。应用程序界面下方有更多的图标,用于进行各种操作,如Gmail程序中一个信封和加号的图标代表着撰写新邮件。单击一个多任务软键就能显示所有打开的应用程序。屏幕上会显示最近打开的一些页面的小图像,如网页或搜索内容等。



The photo gallery feels more lush and magazine-like than the text lists of albums in previous versions of Android. Thumbnail images representing albums appear side-by-side and fill the phone's screen in a checkerboard fashion. Albums from my Flickr account were automatically pulled in here, and any photos I captured on the phone were automatically sent to my Google+ account using Instant Upload, a feature also available on other iterations of Android.


与老版本的安卓系统相比,"冰激淋三明治"的照片库功能更流畅,更有杂志的阅览效果。代表不同相簿的缩略图标以棋格方式在手机屏幕上陈列。我Flickr在线相簿里的照片会自动下载到手机上,我用手机拍的照片也能用Instant Upload功能自动发送到Google+账户上去,这一功能在其他安卓手机上也有。



If you've been curious about Android, the release of Ice Cream Sandwich will mark a good time to jump in.


如果你对安卓系统感兴趣,"冰激淋三明治"的发布是你加入安卓阵营一个很好的时机。



Katherine Boehret