谷歌推Project Fi 整合蜂窩通訊與網絡電話

Now you can Google a phone call.

現在你可以用谷歌(Google)打電話了。

On Wednesday, Google unveiled its long-awaited phone service, called Project Fi, putting the search giant in competition with Verizon, AT&T and other wireless service providers. In addition to new turf, the service is an attempt to blend several communication tools and the multiplying ways of calling people — cellular calls, online calls like those offered by Skype — into a single phone number and service.

週三，谷歌推出了人們期待已久的手機服務Project Fi，這家搜索巨頭因此加入了與威瑞森(Verizon)、AT&T等無線服務提供商的競爭中。除了涉足新領域，這項服務還試圖把各種通訊工具，以及日益增多的通話方式——手機、Skype提供的那種網絡電話——整合進一個單獨的號碼和服務。

For now, Project Fi could be considered an experiment. It will be available only to people using Google’s Nexus 6 phone, limiting its reach.

就目前而言，Project Fi可以被看做是一種嘗試。只有谷歌Nexus 6的用戶才能使用它，這限制了它的影響範圍。

Analysts see the new service as a bid to reimagine phone calls so that they have greater overlap with Google’s expanding world of devices and services.

分析人士認爲，這項新的服務是對手機通話的重新構想，從而讓它與谷歌不斷擴大的設備和服務有更大的交集。

Video by GoogleProject Fi: Innovating in connectivity and communication

谷歌Project Fi的視頻：連通與通訊的革新。

Unlike your typical cell service, Project Fi will mix traditional wireless technology, where calls are routed through cellular towers, with the wireless Internet service found in Starbucks, airports and elsewhere. Google has teamed with Sprint and T-Mobile to provide the traditional wireless service, and said it had about a million wireless hotspots for the rest.

與一般的手機服務不同，Project Fi將把傳統的無線技術——通過蜂窩信號塔傳輸的手機通話——與星巴克、機場和其他地方的那種無線互聯網服務結合起來。谷歌已經與Sprint和T-Mobile合作，提供傳統的無線服務，並表示，除此之外還提供了約100萬個無線熱點。

“Wherever you’re connected to Wi-Fi — whether that’s at home, your favorite coffee shop or your Batcave — you can talk and text like you normally do,” wrote Nick Fox, Google’s vice president of communications products, in a blog post. “If you leave an area of Wi-Fi coverage, your call will seamlessly transition from Wi-Fi to cell networks so your conversation doesn’t skip a beat.”

“無論你在哪裏連接Wi-Fi——家裏、你最喜歡的咖啡館還是你的祕密基地——你都可以正常打電話發短信，”谷歌通訊產品副總裁尼克·福克斯(Nick Fox)在一篇博客中說。“如果你離開Wi-Fi覆蓋的區域，你的通話將自動從Wi-Fi轉入蜂窩網絡，對話不會中斷。”

In addition to changing networks, the service will move users’ phone numbers between screens, so they can talk and text on phones, tablets or laptops. And as with most things Google does, the service is meant to be cheap.

除了切換網絡，該服務還可以讓用戶在不同設備上使用同一個號碼，這樣以來，他們在手機、平板和筆記本電腦上都能打電話和發信息。就像谷歌的多數產品一樣，這項服務同樣價格不高。

Traditional cellphone carriers like AT&T and Verizon charge customers upward of $100 a month for their services, including phone calls and mobile data. Google’s service will be $20 a month for basic voice and text service, along with a flat $10 per gigabyte of cellular data.

對包括電話和移動數據在內的服務，AT&T和威瑞森等傳統手機運營商每月向用戶收取超過100美元（約合620元人民幣）的費用。谷歌的基本語音和短信服務月費將爲20美元，同時1G移動數據的收費爲固定的10美元。

“Since it’s hard to predict your data usage, you’ll get credit for the full value of your unused data,” according to the blog post. “Let’s say you go with 3GB for $30 and only use 1.4GB one month. You’ll get $16 back, so you only pay for what you use.”

“因爲很難預計數據使用情況，未使用數據的全部費用會被返還，”福克斯的博客說。“比如，你花30美元購買了3G的流量，但一個月只用了1.4G。所以你會收到返還的16美元，只有用過的數據才花錢。”

In many ways, the wireless service is similar to the Google Fiber Internet service that has been introduced in a handful of American cities, including the Kansas City area and Austin, Tex.

在很多方面，該無線服務都和Google Fiber互聯網服務類似。後者已在美國一些城市引入，包括堪薩斯城地區和德州的奧斯汀。

Google is piggybacking on giant physical networks that are owned by other companies, creating a barrier that, for now at least, limits Google’s competitive threat to traditional carriers. But Google has a long history of trying to cut out middlemen — including Internet service providers, online stores and delivery businesses — that stand between the company and users.

谷歌目前所依附的大型實體網絡屬其他公司所有，由此生出的障礙，至少在目前限制了谷歌對傳統運營商的競爭威脅。但在將阻擋在自己和用戶之間的中間人——包括互聯網服務供應商、網店和快遞企業——踢出局上，谷歌有着悠久的歷史。

With the wireless service, Google will be operating as what is called a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, which provides a service on other mobile carriers’ networks.

有了該無線服務，谷歌將能以所謂的移動虛擬運營商(MVNO)的身份進行運營，這是一種用其他移動運營商的網絡提供服務的方式。

“It’s always an interesting business because you are dependent on the companies who you are trying to compete with,” said Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research. “And they will only support you if they think you’re targeting a niche they can’t target themselves.”

“這一直都是一個有意思的領域，因爲你依賴的，正是你想與之競爭的公司，”穴鳥研究公司(Jackdaw Research)首席分析師簡·道森(Jan Dawson)說。“只有讓它們認爲，你的目標是它們做不了的小衆市場，它們纔會支持你。”