三星Galaxy S5最實用新性能:防水

Here's what you need to know about the new flagship smartphone from Samsung: It can swim, but it won't make any waves.

以下是關於三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)新款旗艦智能手機所必知的特性：它能游泳，但不會掀起水波。

The Galaxy S5 has a waterproof exterior that survived a dunking in a margarita, a plunge in to a toilet, and left overnight in strawberry Jell-O. (Yes, I tried.)

Galaxy S5配備有防水外殼，無論是泡在雞尾酒裏、掉進馬桶裏還是徹夜浸在草莓果凍中，它都能安然無恙。（是的，我都試過。）

In most other ways, this update to Samsung's top-selling Galaxy S4 barely moves the needle. Aside from the waterproofing, the Galaxy S5's most original new feature is a heart rate sensor that works well only if you hold very, very still. It also has a fingerprint reader more versatile than that in Apple's iPhone 5S, but a camera that still doesn't take great pictures in low light.

從其他方面來看，這款三星最暢銷S4手機的升級機型幾乎未有大的變化。 除防水以外，Galaxy S5最爲原創的新性能是心率感應器，但你得一絲不動地握穩手機，它纔能有效地發揮作用。S5還配備了較蘋果公司(Apple)手機iPhone 5S用處更多的指紋感應器，但其相機仍難以在暗光條件下拍出好照片來。

Anybody weighing this phone as an upgrade or a switch from another model may rightly wonder: Has smartphone evolution stalled?

任何考慮將S5當作換代機型，或是轉而改用S5的人或許都會問：智能手機的發展進程停滯了嗎？有這種疑問也不無道理。

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5 in February, the company said it was going 'back to basics,' simplifying the parts of the phone that matter most. Now that the phone is hitting stores, at $200 with 2-year contract, it is clear these adjustments do make for a better, faster phone -- but they often don't go far enough.

2月份三星發佈Galaxy S5時表示要“返璞歸真”，對手機最重要的部分進行了簡化。如今S5已開售，兩年合約機價格200美元。現在看來這些調整顯然有助於打造一款個更好更快的手機，但通常都並不夠。

The Galaxy S5 is easier to use than the S4. Samsung is playing down a long list of the dubious and confusing services it touted with the previous model, like 'air gesture' controls to manipulate the screen without touch. It also no longer pre-installs some space-hogging apps like the Samsung Hub for buying music and video.

Galaxy S5比S4使用起來更簡單，弱化了該公司在推出S4時宣傳的許多不實用且令人困惑的性能，例如無需接觸即可操作屏幕的“手勢感應”功能。S5也不再預裝一些佔據空間的應用，例如用於購買音樂和視頻的Samsung Hub。

A few of the Galaxy S5's software tweaks might make iPhone users envious, such as using keywords to search the ever-growing list of Android settings. My favorite feature, 'ultra power savings mode,' turns off nonessential services when battery-power is low and you want to preserve juice for phone service.

Galaxy S5軟件上的一些調整可能會讓iPhone用戶羨慕，這些調整包括可利用關鍵字搜索不斷加長的安卓設置列表。我最喜歡的一個功能是“超級省電模式”，這個功能可以在低電量、且用戶還想保持待機的時候關掉不必要的功能。

Samsung still needs to keep simplifying the interface. At the top edge of the screen, a dozen different blinking icons call attention to things you don't always need to know about. And for many basic functions, such as Web browsing, viewing pictures, even taking voice commands, the Galaxy S5 comes preloaded with two different apps. Good grief, does anyone really need the built-in 'gallery' and 'photo' apps?

不過，三星仍然需要簡化其界面。屏幕的最上端有一些閃爍的圖標，會將你的注意力拉到並不一定需要了解的程序上。而對於瀏覽網頁、瀏覽圖片甚至是發送語音命令等許多基本功能，Galaxy S5都預先裝入了兩套不同的應用程序。天啊，誰真的需要這些內置的“照片庫”和“照片”應用程序呢？

The Galaxy S5 hardware does offer some nice-to-have improvements.

不過，Galaxy S5的硬件確實有一些錦上添花的改進。

The waterproofing -- which Samsung calls 'dust and water resistance' works well, provided you use the included plug to seal the charging port. It passed all the torture tests I could cook up, but you shouldn't deliberately try such high jinks. Samsung says the waterproofing is really just for accidents.

被三星稱爲“防塵”、“防水”的Galaxy S5防水功能表現不錯，你可以將該款手機自帶的塞子塞住充電口。Galaxy S5通過了我能夠想到的防水考驗，不過你還是不要刻意嘗試這些“胡鬧”的做法。三星稱，防水功能只是?了以防萬一。

While the extra fortification is a welcome addition for those with slippery palms, it isn't unique -- Sony's flagship smartphone is also water-friendly.

雖然對於使用手機時不太小心的人來說，這是個受到歡迎的新功能，但是並非只有Galaxy S5才擁有這一功能，索尼公司(Sony co., , 又名:新力公司)的旗艦手機同樣也可防水。

Though the plastic phone lacks the stylishness and luxury feel of the new all-metal HTC One (M8), the back of the phone now features a dotted Band-Aid-like texture, which helps with grip.

雖然這款塑料外殼手機缺少宏達國際電子股份有限公司(HTC Co., , 簡稱：宏達國際)全金屬外殼手機One (M8)時髦和奢華的感覺，不過Galaxy S5背面使用了點狀紋理材質，易於手握。

Samsung improved things inside the case, too. Notably, the Galaxy S5 showed an edge in 4G LTE connectivity. During simultaneous testing with an iPhone 5S on the AT&T network, the Galaxy S5 logged faster median downloads and uploads in five of six San Francisco area locations.

三星也改進了手機內部的一些硬件，其中引人注意的是在連接4G LTE時的表現。將iPhone 5S和Galaxy S5同時在美國電話電報公司(AT&T Inc., T)網絡下運行，在舊金山六個地點中的五個，後者都比前者的上傳下載平均速度更快。

The Galaxy S5 has impressive battery life, running a streaming online video test for more than six hours of continuous use -- about 20% longer than the iPhone 5S. But beware of screen controls, a max brightness setting pared the Galaxy S5's battery performance.

Galaxy S5的電池壽命也給人深刻印象。在與iPhone 5S進行比較時，不間斷運行在線流視頻超過六個小時之後，Galaxy S5的電池壽命比前者多出約20%。不過要注意屏幕亮度控制，將屏幕亮度調到最大會縮短Galaxy S5的電池壽命。

The fingerprint sensor also is a welcome addition to the Galaxy S5. Unlike the iPhone 5S, which only uses the fingerprint sensor for Apple-based authorizations, the Galaxy 5S's lets you make PayPal payments, too. The downside: it is incompatible with Microsoft Exchange server security; Samsung said it is working on a solution.

指紋傳感器也是Galaxy S5一個受歡迎的新增功能。與iPhone 5S的傳感器只適用於蘋果公司授權的應用不同，Galaxy 5S的傳感器還可用於進行貝寶(PayPal)支付。不足之處是：與Microsoft Exchange服務器的安全系統不兼容；三星稱，公司正在尋找解決方案。

The larger screen is probably the Galaxy's single biggest advantage over the iPhone, but with the S5, Samsung took a step in the wrong direction. At this point, we generally expect phones to get slimmer and lighter, but the Galaxy S5 is actually heavier and wider than its predecessor.

屏幕更大可能是Galaxy手機與iPhone相比的最大優勢，不過在S5上，三星走錯了方向。目前人們普遍預期手機會更輕更薄，但是Galaxy S5實際上比之前的機型更重更寬。

We've also come to expect that each new phone will feature a better camera. Samsung says it improved the sensor and the camera's control software, including a superfast autofocus. Yet the Galaxy S5 struggled in my real-world stress tests, especially in low light. Samsung said the effect was caused by its 'picture stabilization' software, which can be turned off.

人們也期待每一款新手機的照相功能都能更進一步。三星表示，公司改善了照相傳感器及其控制軟件，包括超快速自動對焦的功能。然而Galaxy S5仍難以通過筆者的壓力測試，尤其是在低光情況下。三星稱，這是由其圖像穩定軟件造成的，該功能可以關閉。

Samsung may market the Galaxy S5 as a significant upgrade, but it is best seen as a refinement. Smartphone technology may be reaching a plateau where core elements like the processor, screen and sensors no longer matter as much as the software that helps you use them. And that is an area where Samsung still trails.

三星或許會宣傳Galaxy S5的功能有顯著提升，但是說小幅改進爲佳。智能手機技術可能到達了這樣一個階段：處理器、屏幕和傳感器等核心元素不再像軟件那麼重要。而軟件正是三星仍然落後的領域。

The Samsung Galaxy S5 offers a powerful phone with a big screen, but it is not the only phone that now does, despite Samsung's marketing dominance. Existing Galaxy SIII and S4 customers will appreciate the ways its software has matured, but should look at HTC One and Moto X Android phones, too. IPhone users itching for a larger screen should wait, however, to see what new form factors Apple might deliver this fall.

三星Galaxy S5是一款功能強大的大屏手機，但並非目前唯一具有這些元素的手機，儘管三星在市場居於主導地位。現有的Galaxy SIII和S4的用戶將會欣賞其成熟的軟件，但也應該看看HTC One和Moto X等安卓手機。不過渴望更大屏幕的IPhone用戶應會等待，觀望蘋果公司在今年秋天可能會推出什麼新元素。