For the past week or so, I have been testing a sleek, light, silver-and-black tabletcomputer called an iPad. After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screendevice from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.

过去一周左右，我一直在测试一款光滑、轻盈、银色与黑色搭配的平板电脑，它的名字叫"iPad"。使用了很多小时后，我相信，苹果公司(Apple)的这款新漂亮触屏电脑有望带来一场便携电脑的深刻变革，并将挑战笔记本电脑的霸主地位。它最终甚至有可能让手指驱动、多点触控的用户界面战胜流行了几十年的鼠标驱动界面。

But first, it will have to prove that it really can replace the laptop or netbook for enough common tasks, enough of the time, to make it a viable alternative. And that may not be easy, because previoustabletcomputers have failed to catch on in the mass market, and the iPad lacks some of the features-such as a physical keyboard, a Webcam, USB ports and multitasking-that most laptop or netbook users have come to expect.

但首先，它得证明自己在多数情况能够取代笔记本电脑或上网本履行多数常见任务，这样它才能成为一种可行的替代选择。而这可能并不容易，因为以前的平板电脑在大众市场都没有能够流行起来，而iPad也没有多数笔记本电脑和上网本用户所期望的一些功能，像实体键盘、摄像头、UBS接口和多任务处理等。

If people see the iPad mainly as an extra device to carry around, it will likely have limitedappeal. If, however, they see it as a way to replace heavier, bulkier computers much of the time-for Web surfing, email, social-networking, video- and photo-viewing, gaming, music and even some light content creation-it could be a game changer the way Apple's iPhone has been.

如果人们觉得iPad主要是一款新的随身设备，那么它很有可能就没有多大的吸引力。但如果大家把它当成在很多情况下（比如上网、处理电子邮件、网络社交、浏览照片视频、玩游戏、听音乐，甚至是创建一些负荷量不大的内容）取代更笨重电脑的一种方式，那么它有可能像iPhone已经实现的那样，成为一个变革者。

The iPad is much more than an e-book or digital periodical reader, though it does those tasks brilliantly, better in my view than the Amazon Kindle. And it's far more than just a big iPhone, even though it uses the same easy-to-master interface, and Apple says it runs nearly all of the 150,000 apps that work on the iPhone.

iPad远远不止是一部电子书或电子杂志阅读器，虽然它在这方面的功能非常好用，而且在我看来，比亚马逊(Amazon)的Kindle阅读器都好。它也远不止是一款大号iPhone，尽管它使用同样好掌握的界面，而且苹果公司说，iPhone所用的15万个应用软件在它上面几乎都可以运行。

It's qualitatively different, a whole new type of computer that, through a simple interface, can run more-sophisticated, PC-like software than a phone does, and whose large screen allows much more functionality when compared with a phone's. But, because the iPad is a new type of computer, you have to feel it, to use it, to fully understand it and decide if it is for you, or whether, say, a netbook might do better.

它是一种质的飞跃，一种全新型的电脑，通过一个简单的界面，就可以运行复杂程度超过手机、与台式电脑相当的软件。和手机相比，它的硕大屏幕也可以容纳多得多的功能。但由于iPad是一种全新类型的电脑，你必须亲手触摸、亲自使用，才能对它获得完全的理解，然后确定它是不是适合你，抑或你更适合用上网本。

So I've been using my test iPad heavily day and night, instead of my trusty laptops most of the time. As I got deeper into it, I found the iPad a pleasure to use, and had less and less interest in cracking open my heavier ThinkPad or MacBook. I probably used the laptops about 20% as often as normal, reserving them mainly for writing or editing longer documents, or viewing Web videos in Adobe's Flash technology, which the iPad doesn't support, despite its wide popularity online.

所以我这几天没日没夜地高强度使用iPad样机，而不是我常用的那部可靠的笔记本电脑。随着使用越来越深入，我发现iPad用起来很舒服，越来越没有兴趣打开更笨重的ThinkPad或MacBook。这期间我使用笔记本电脑的时间可能只有平时的20%，主要是用来撰写或编辑更长的文档，或者是观看 Adobe Flash格式的网络视频。虽然这种格式在网上非常普遍，但iPad却不支持。

My verdict is that, while it has compromises and drawbacks, the iPad can indeed replace a laptop for most data communication, content consumption and even limited content creation, a lot of the time. But it all depends on how you use your computer.

我的结论是，虽然iPad有一些缩水和缺陷，但在很多时候，它确实可以取代笔记本电脑来做大部分的数据传输和内容消费，甚至是有限度的内容创建。但这一切都取决于你用电脑做什么。

The iPad is thinner and lighter than any netbook or laptop I've seen. It weighs just 1.5 pounds, and its aluminum and glass body is a mere half-inch thick. It boasts a big, bright color 9.7-inch screen that occupies most of the front. As on all Apple portabledevices, the battery is sealed in and nonreplaceable. It has a decentspeaker, and even a tiny microphone.

iPad比我见过的任何上网本或笔记本电脑都更薄、更轻。重量只有1.5磅，铝和玻璃机身只有半英寸厚。它硕大、明亮的彩色9.7英寸屏幕占据了正面的大部分面积。和所有的苹果便携设备一样，电池是密封的，不可替换。它有个不错的扩音器，另外还有个微型话筒。

I was impressed with the iPad's battery life, which I found to be even longer than Apple's ten-hour claim, and far longer than on my laptops or smart phones. For my battery test, I played movies, TV shows and other videos back-to-back until the iPad died. This stressed the device's most power-hogging feature, its screen. The iPad lasted 11 hours and 28 minutes, about 15% more than Apple claimed. I was able to watch four feature-length movies, four TV episodes and a video of a 90-minute corporate presentation, before the battery died midway through an episode of 'The Closer.'

iPad的电池寿命给我留下了很深的印象。我发现它比苹果公司所说的10个小时还长，也远远长于我的笔记本电脑和智能手机。为测试电池寿命，我连续播放了电影、电视剧和其他视频，直到电池用完。这对iPad最耗电的功能也就是屏幕显示形成了很大的负荷。结果iPad一直用了11小时28分钟，比苹果所说的还长大约15%。这段时间里，我可以看四部一般长度的电影、四集电视剧再加一段90分钟的公司演示会视频，最后电池在电视剧《罪案终结》(The Closer)某集的播放过程中死掉了。

I also was impressed with the overall speed of the iPad. Apple's custom processor makes it wicked fast. Screens appear almost instantly, and the Wi-Fi in my home tested as fast as it does on a laptop.

iPad的整体速度也让我印象深刻。苹果的定制处理器让iPad出奇得快。屏幕几乎即时显现，在我家里测试Wi-Fi的速度也和笔记本电脑一样快。

I found email easy and productive to use, and had no trouble typing accurately" title="ad.准确地；精密地">accurately and quickly on the iPad's wide on-screen keyboard. In fact, I found the iPad virtual keyboard more comfortable and accurate to use than the cramped keyboards and touchpads on many netbooks, though some fast touch typists might disagree. Apple's $39 iPad case, which bends to set up a nice angle for typing, helps.

我发现电子邮件功能非常易于使用，且功能丰富，iPad宽大的触摸屏键盘便于用户进行精确、快捷的输入。事实上，我认为iPad的虚拟键盘比许多上网本的紧凑型键盘和触摸屏用起来更舒服也更准确，但一些善于用触摸屏打字的人可能会不同意我的说法。苹果还推出了售价39美元的iPad case保护套，它可以折成合适的角度以便于用户打字。

The Web browser also works beautifully, and takes advantage of the big screen to show full pages and cut down on scrolling. It even now has a bookmarks bar at the top. As noted, however, it doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology.

网络浏览器使用起来也得心应手。得益于它的大屏幕，iPad能显示整个网页，减少了用户滚屏的次数。顶端甚至还提供了书签栏。然而，我曾经说过，它不支持奥多比(Adobe)的Flash技术。

I also was able to easily sync the iPad's calendar and contacts apps with Google and Apple's MobileMe.

我还能够轻松地利用谷歌(Google)和苹果的MobileMe同步iPad的日历并管理应用程序。

Watching videos, viewing photos, listening to music, reading books and playing games was satisfying and fun. I used the device heavily for Twitter and Facebook. And I even got some light work done in the optional iPad word processor, called Pages, which is part of a $30 suite that also includes a spreadsheet and presentationprogram.

用iPad观看视频、浏览照片、聆听音乐、阅览书籍和玩游戏是一件令人满意又有趣的事。我长时间地用它在Twitter和Facebook网站流连。我甚至还用iPad可供选装的文字处理程序Pages完成了一些简单的工作。iPad的选装程序包售价30美元，除Pages外，它还包括一个电子数据表和演示程序。

I did run into some other annoying limitations. For instance, the email program lacks the ability to create local folders or rules for auto-sorting messages, and it doesn't allow group addressing. The browser lacks tabs. And the Wi-Fi-only version lacks GPS. Also, videophiles may dislike the fact that the iPad's screen lacks wide-screen dimensions, so you either get black bars above or below wide-screen videos, or, if you choose an option to fill the screen, some of the picture may get cut off.

我着实遇到了另一些令人懊恼的限制。例如，邮件程序缺少创建本地文件夹的功能，也没有邮件自动分类的规则，且不允许添加组群地址。浏览器没有标签。只提供 Wi-Fi功能的版本不支持GPS。而且iPad没有宽屏尺寸的屏幕，电视迷们可能会不喜欢。所以在观看宽屏视频时会在上面或下面出现黑条，或者可以选择全屏观看，但部分图像可能会缺失。

All in all, however, the iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it's a real challenger to the laptop and netbook.

无论如何，iPad总体而言是一个进步，在一款纤小、轻薄的设备上利用简单的触摸界面实现了更复杂的计算。至于它是否会对笔记本电脑和上网本构成真正的挑战，只有时间才能告诉我们答案。

Walter S. Mossberg

• computer [kəm´pju:tə] n.计算机；电子计算器 (初中词汇)
• device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中词汇)
• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中词汇)
• replace [ri´pleis] vt.放回；复置；取代 (初中词汇)
• previous [´pri:viəs] a.先，前，以前的 (初中词汇)
• physical [´fizikəl] a.物质的；有形的 (初中词汇)
• mainly [´meinli] ad.主要地；大体上 (初中词汇)
• screen [skri:n] n.银幕 vt.遮蔽 (初中词汇)
• normal [´nɔ:məl] a.正规的 n.正常状态 (初中词汇)
• writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中词汇)
• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中词汇)
• communication [kə,mju:ni´keiʃən] n.通信；通讯联系 (初中词汇)
• creation [kri´eiʃən] n.创作；作品；创造 (初中词汇)
• speaker [´spi:kə] n.演讲人；代言人 (初中词汇)
• wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中词汇)
• instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中词汇)
• productive [prə´dʌktiv] a.生产的；富饶的 (初中词汇)
• accurate [´ækjurət] a.准确的；精密的 (初中词汇)
• advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中词汇)
• reading [´ri:diŋ] n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中词汇)
• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中词汇)
• program [´prəugræm] n.说明v.为...安排节目 (初中词汇)
• ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中词汇)
• dislike [dis´laik] vt.&n.不喜爱，厌恶 (初中词汇)
• slender [´slendə] a.细长的；微薄的 (初中词汇)
• tablet [´tæblit] n.碑；牌；匾额 (高中词汇)
• potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中词汇)
• limited [´limitid] a.有限(制)的 (高中词汇)
• appeal [ə´pi:l] vi.&n.请求；呼吁；上诉 (高中词汇)
• kindle [´kindl] v.点燃；(使)激动 (高中词汇)
• popularity [,pɔpju´læriti] n.普及；流行；名望 (高中词汇)
• consumption [kən´sʌmpʃən] n.消耗；结核病 (高中词汇)
• battery [´bætəri] n.炮兵连；炮台；电池 (高中词汇)
• decent [´di:sənt] a.体面的，正派的 (高中词汇)
• calendar [´kælində] n.日历；月历；历法 (高中词汇)
• profoundly [prə´faundli] ad.深深地 (四级词汇)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli] ad.最后，终于 (四级词汇)
• alternative [ɔ:l´tə:nətiv] a.二中选一的 n.选择 (四级词汇)
• periodical [,piəri´ɔdikəl] a.定期的 n.期刊 (四级词汇)
• amazon [´æməzən] n.女战士 (四级词汇)
• trusty [´trʌsti] a.可靠的 n.可信任的 (四级词汇)
• verdict [´və:dikt] n.裁决，判决；判定 (四级词汇)
• aluminum [,ælju´miniəm, ,ælə´miniəm] n.铝 (四级词汇)
• presentation [,prezən´teiʃən] n.介绍；赠送；提出 (四级词汇)
• midway [,mid´wei] n.中途 ad.&a.中途(的) (四级词汇)
• episode [´episəud] n.插曲；一段情节 (四级词汇)
• accurately [´ækjuritli] ad.准确地；精密地 (四级词汇)
• beautifully [´bju:tifəli] ad.美丽地；优美地 (四级词汇)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən] n.翻译；说明；译本 (四级词汇)
• portable [´pɔ:təbəl] a.轻便的 n.手提打字机 (六级词汇)
• propel [prə´pel] vt.推进；推动 (六级词汇)
• brilliantly [´briljəntli] ad.灿烂地；杰出地 (六级词汇)
• disagree [,disə´gri:] vi.不同意 (六级词汇)
• twitter [´twitə] vi.(鸟)吱吱叫 n.鸟鸣 (六级词汇)
• annoying [ə´nɔiiŋ] a.使人气恼的；讨厌的 (六级词汇)