適合返校學生的兩款筆記本電腦

While many potential laptop buyers are waiting for the Oct. 26 release of Windows 8 and the new hardware designed to use it, not everyone can afford to tarry. Students going back to school, or folks whose computers desperately need replacing, are in the market now, and computer makers are bringing out new models to entice them.

儘管很多有意向購買筆記本電腦的消費者正在等待10月26日Windows 8及其配套新硬件設備的發佈，但是不是每個人都等得起。即將開學返校的學生、迫切需要換電腦的人現在都有出手的意願，電腦廠商也推出了一些新機型來吸引這些人羣。

Apple has recently refreshed its laptop lineup and equipped it with a new version of its operating system called Mountain Lion. These Macs are excellent machines, well worth considering. But for people who prefer Windows PCs, there are new choices packaged with Windows 7, but upgradable later to Windows 8.

蘋果(Apple)最近更新了其筆記本電腦系列，併爲其配備了名爲“Mountain Lion”的新版操作系統。這些Mac電腦都非常不錯，很值得考慮入手。但是，對於更喜歡Windows電腦的消費者，市面上也有一些安裝了Windows 7並可升級爲Windows 8的新機型可供選擇。

I tested two new Windows laptops, aimed at different ends of the market. One, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, is a high-end, thin and light ultrabook model with a high price tag. The other, the Hewlett-Packard Envy 6 Sleekbook, is a handsome, midrange machine meant for the budget-conscious.

我測試了兩款新推出的針對不同市場定位的Windows筆記本電腦。其中一款爲聯想ThinkPad X1 Carbon，這是一款機身輕薄的高端超級本，價格也相當不菲；另一款是惠普(Hewlett-Packard)的Envy 6 Sleekbook，這款筆記本外形美觀，價格適中，專爲預算有限的人打造。

Both machines have their virtues. I much preferred the ThinkPad, from a design and performance standpoint, but it starts at a whopping $1,399 and is meant for people like business travelers with deep pockets. The H-P delivers good value and a larger screen for a very attractive $599 starting price, and is meant more for students or people who are willing to trade price for somewhat slower performance, and greater bulk and weight.

這兩款機型均各有優點。從設計和性能角度來看，我對ThinkPad機型要喜歡得多，但是它起價就高達1,399美元，針對的是錢包豐厚的商務人士。惠普那款機型比較實惠，屏幕也更大，599美元的起價也非常有吸引力，其目標客戶是學生或者是願意爲了實惠價格而犧牲一些性能、不介意機身更大更重的消費者。

Neither machine was very impressive in my battery tests, and the costly Lenovo did worse than the much more affordable H-P.

在我進行的電池續航時間測試中，這兩款機型的表現都不是非常讓人滿意，其中價格不菲的聯想機型的表現遜色於價格要便宜得多的惠普機型。

Before getting into the details of each of these laptops, a word of caution is in order. Windows 8 is designed to work with touch-screen computers, and neither of these two laptops, nor most others on the market today, have touch screens. Microsoft says Windows 8 will still work fine with a standard, nontouch-screen laptop, and both Lenovo and H-P assured me these models will handle Windows 8 well. But as I've said before, you'll get more out of Windows 8 with a touch-screen PC.

在詳細介紹這兩款筆記本之前，我還得提醒大家一句：Windows 8操作系統針對觸摸屏電腦而設計，但這兩款筆記本，包括現在市面上的大多數筆記本，都不帶觸摸屏。微軟(Microsoft)稱Windows 8在標準的非觸摸屏筆記本電腦上也同樣好用，聯想和惠普的這兩款機型也讓我相信它們能很好地運作Windows 8。但是，如我以前所述，如果用觸摸屏電腦的話，你將會獲得更好的Windows 8使用體驗。

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, available Aug. 21, pulls off an impressive feat: It fits a 14-inch screen into a body more typical of a 13-inch laptop. It weighs just 3 pounds, is less than 3/4-inch thick, and is only about 13 inches long and 9 inches deep. It is eminently portable, easily usable on an airplane seat tray.

聯想ThinkPad X1 Carbon於8月21日上市，整個產品的品質讓人讚歎。它在更常見於13英寸筆記本的機身中安配了一塊14英寸的屏幕，它只有三磅重（約1.36千克），厚度不到3/4英寸（約1.9釐米），大概只有13英寸（約33釐米）長、九英寸（約23釐米）寬。它的便攜性也非常好，方便在飛機座位的摺疊桌上使用。

One reason for the machine's light weight is that it uses carbon fiber, a strong but light material, for much of its tapered body, which is in the traditional ThinkPad black. It felt rugged and solid.

這款筆記本重量輕的一個原因是，它的楔形機身（顏色爲ThinkPad的經典黑色）大部分採用碳纖維製造，這種材料材質輕又不失堅固。總的來說，它給人一種堅實牢固的感覺。

Not only has Lenovo crammed a larger screen into a small case, but it has endowed the screen with an especially high resolution of 1600 by 900. That means that more of a Web page or document is visible without scrolling than on some larger displays.

聯想這款機型不僅在小機殼中嵌入了大屏幕，其屏幕的分辨率也特別高，達到1600×900。這表示在未滾屏的情況下，其網頁或文檔顯示的內容比一些更大屏幕所顯示的還要多。

ThinkPads have long been known for great keyboards and the X1 Carbon is no exception. For this model, Lenovo has tweaked the keys to provide a larger top surface and greater separation. I found typing on this backlit keyboard to be a real pleasure.

ThinkPad系列電腦向來以鍵盤好用而爲人稱道，這款X1 Carbon也不例外。聯想對這款機型的按鍵進行了微調，使鍵盤的盤面更大，各個按鍵之間的間距也更大。我覺得在這個背光鍵盤上打字確實是一種享受。

The touch pad, which is made of glass, is 37% larger than on the prior model and the company says it will accommodate the gestures built into Windows 8. It was smooth and responsive in my tests.

這款機型的觸摸板由玻璃製成，比上一款機型的觸摸板加大了37%，據聯想稱它也適用於Windows 8中的手勢操作功能。在我的測試中，它使用起來順暢而且反應靈敏。

The new ThinkPad handled every app or program I tested quickly and well. It doesn't use a traditional hard disk, but instead relies on a solid-state drive -- essentially flash memory -- and was able to resume from sleep almost instantly. The downside of this is that you only get 128 gigabytes of storage in the base model.

對於我測試的每一款應用或程序，這款ThinkPad新機型都處理得又快又好。它以固態硬盤（實質上就是閃存）取代了傳統硬盤，而且從“睡眠”狀態重新啓動差不多就是一瞬間的功夫，其缺點就是這款筆記本的基本機型只有128G內存。

I was disappointed that such a premium laptop was mediocre in my harsh battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features, set the screen brightness to 100%, leave the Wi-Fi on to collect email in the background and play a continuous loop of music.

讓我感到失望的是，這麼一款優質筆記本在我嚴格的電池測試中卻表現平平。我在電池測試中關掉了所有節能功能，將屏幕的亮度調到100%，一直連着無線網絡在後臺收郵件並且不停地循環播放音樂。

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon got just four hours, one minute in this test, which means that in more normal use, you'd likely get about five hours. That is well below the company's claim of 6.3 hours.

在這次測試中，ThinkPad X1 Carbon的電池續航時間只有四小時一分鐘，這表示在正常使用情況下，它的續航時間可能有五個小時，這遠遠低於聯想聲稱的6.3個小時。

H-P's Envy 6 Sleekbook, available now, is an entirely different type of laptop. It costs less than half as much, but is a lot larger. It has a 15.6 inch screen, though with a lower resolution of 1366 by 768, so it actually displays less of a Web page or document without scrolling.

惠普的Envy 6 Sleekbook現在就能在市面上買到，這是一款與聯想ThinkPad X1 Carbon截然不同的機型。它的價格只有聯想機型的不到一半，但機身要大得多。它的顯示器有15.6英寸（約40釐米），但其分辨率較低，只有1366×768，因此在未滾屏的情況下，其網頁或文檔實際顯示的內容要比聯想機少。

H-P calls this laptop a Sleekbook, not an ultrabook, because it uses an AMD processor, and ultrabook is a term that applies to Intel-based laptops. The Envy 6 Sleekbook is almost 15 inches long and 10 inches deep and just under 0.8 inch thick. It weighs 4.5 pounds. It isn't hard to carry, but if you're used to a smaller, lighter laptop, there's no mistaking the fact you're lugging something bigger. The design makes the machine look lighter, with a black, brushed aluminum cover and a red, rubbery bottom.

惠普把這款筆記本稱爲“Sleekbook”而非“超級本”(Ultrabook)，因爲它採用的是AMD處理器，而超級本是一個用於採用英特爾(Intel)處理器筆記本的稱號。Envy 6 Sleekbook差不多有15英寸長（約38釐米）、10英寸（約25.4釐米）寬，厚度差一點點就到0.8英寸（約二釐米），重量是4.5磅（約2.04千克）。它並不難攜帶，但是如果你習慣了機身更小更輕的筆記本，你確實會覺得提着它就像提着個挺大個的東西一樣。它採用了鋁質拉絲黑色頂蓋，底部面板爲紅色的彈力材質，這些設計使它看上去顯得比較輕巧。

In general, I found the Sleekbook to be a bit sluggish, though it handled every program properly. The touch pad also felt stiff, though the keyboard was fine. The desktop is marred by icons for trial software, especially games.

總的說來，我認爲Sleekbook使用起來有些不順暢，儘管它對每個程序的處理都還算不錯。它的鍵盤還不錯，但是觸摸板用起來感覺也不太靈活。此外，電腦桌面上的試用軟件的標識，特別是遊戲軟件的標識，破壞了它的美觀。

But the Sleekbook has some advantages beyond price. It boasts a 500 gigabyte hard disk, an HDMI port for connecting to a TV, and an Ethernet port for wired Internet connections -- ports that the costlier Lenovo lacks.

除了價格便宜之外，Sleekbook還有其他一些優點。它的硬盤容量高達500G，還配有一個連接電視的高清晰度多媒體接口(HDMI)和一個用於有線網絡連接的以太網接口，而價格更貴的聯想機型則沒有配備這些接口。

The H-P also outperformed the Lenovo on my battery test, clocking in at four hours, 40 minutes, which means you might get six hours in normal use. The company claims up to nine hours.

此外，惠普這款機型的電池續航能力也好於聯想那款測試機型，它在測試中的續航時間是四小時40分鐘，這表示在正常使用情況下的續航時間可能達得到六小時。惠普聲稱這款機型的電池續航時間是九個小時。

The X1 Carbon continues the tradition of the ThinkPad's superior design and performance, and is a solid choice for those who can live with its price tag and middling battery life. The Envy 6 Sleekbook is a good choice for students, provided they want a heavier, larger laptop.

聯想X1 Carbon延續了ThinkPad一貫以來的一流設計和性能，對於能夠接受其高價格和表現平平的電池續航能力的人來說是一個可靠的選擇。惠普Envy 6 Sleekbook對於學生來說是一個不錯的選擇，如果他們可以接受一個比較重比較大個的筆記本電腦的話。