璀璨科技:回首蘋果iPhone的歷史
2007年 
iPhone問世
• Year: 2007
Inspired by a multi-touch display Steve Jobs encountered in the early 2000s, the first iPhone made competition like the BlackBerry (BBRY) look downright antediluvian with a striking industrial design that paired mostly aluminum and scratch-resistant glass. But perhaps more innovative was use of touch: no more trackballs or styluses. Instead, users swiped, pinched, and scrolled with their fingers, making for a more immersive experience. Such innovation cost Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) $150 million in initial development costs, according to one insider, a paltry figure given the company has sold well north of 250 million units since.
第一代iPhone的靈感來自於史蒂夫•喬布斯在21世紀初接觸到的多點觸控屏幕，它用令人驚歎的工業設計、鋁製機身和防刮屏幕，讓黑莓（BlackBerry）等競爭對手看起來成了徹頭徹尾的老古董。不過，iPhone最創新的地方也許是對觸控操作的運用：再也用不着軌跡球或觸控筆了。相反，用戶可以通過手指的滑動、收縮以及滾動，獲得更加生動的體驗。據一位知情人士稱，這樣的創新產品讓蘋果公司（Apple）花費了1.5億美元的初始開發成本。而考慮到iPhone自推出以來已經售出超過2.5億臺，這筆成本現在看來微不足道。
The first-generation iPhone
第一代iPhone
• Year: 2007
2007年
The first-generation iPhone, which initially sold for as much as $599, weighed 4.8 oz. with features considered cutting-edge for the time: a 400-MHz processor, 128 MB of memory, 2-megapixel camera, 3.5-inch display with 320 by 480 resolution, and up to 16 gigabytes of built-in storage. It also ran on AT&T's EDGE networks instead of the faster 3G standard. "Despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer," Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg wrote then.
第一代iPhone最初的售價爲599美元，其重量是4.8盎司，它具備當時被認爲最頂尖的特性：一顆400MHz的處理器，128MB的內存，200萬像素的攝像頭，3.5英寸的顯示屏（分辨率爲320X480），以及最高達16GB的內置存儲空間。第一代iPhone只支持美國電話電報公司（AT＆T）的EDGE網絡，而不是更快的3G網絡。“儘管存在一些漏洞和功能缺失，但總的來說，iPhone是一款漂亮而且具有突破性的掌上電腦。”《華爾街日報》專欄作家沃爾特•莫斯伯格當時這樣寫道。
iPhone 3G
• Year: 2008
2008年
How should Apple follow up the 3G-less first-gen iPhone? Why, with the iPhone 3G, of course. The following July, Apple released a 3G-compatible successor that kept many of the same key features but swapped out the aluminum chassis for an optional black or white plastic rear. The company also upgraded iOS to version 2.0 and introduced the App Store, a software platform that now offers 900,000-plus apps.
蘋果在不支持3G網絡的第一代iPhone之後應該推出什麼產品呢？毫無疑問，答案就是iPhone 3G。該公司在次年7月發佈了這款兼容3G網絡的新產品，它保留了第一代iPhone的很多主要特性，但換掉了鋁製後蓋，代之以可以選配的黑色或白色塑料背殼。蘋果還將iOS升級到2.0版本，併發布了App Store，這個應用平臺如今向消費者提供超過90萬款應用產品。
iPhone 3GS
• Year: 2009
2009年
The iPhone 3GS featured improvements all across the board: a faster processor running at 600 MHz, double the RAM, better 3G performance and battery life, and a 3.2-megapixel rear camera. These upgrades translated to performance Apple claimed was twice as fast as older models. The 3GS sold 1 million units over the first weekend alone.
iPhone 3GS進行了全面升級：一顆速度更快的600MHz處理器，內存增加一倍，更強大的3G聯網性能以及電池續航能力，以及一個320萬像素的後置攝像頭。通過這些功能升級，蘋果稱iPhone 3GS要比老機型快上兩倍。這款手機在上市首個週末即售出100萬臺。
iPhone 4的“天線門”
• Year: 2010
2010年
"Out with the old, and in with the new" seemed the iPhone 4's design motto, ditching previous models' plastic entirely for a glass front and back, surrounded by a stainless steel frame. The frame also served as the 4's antenna, a design decision that raised controversy when users complained that signal strength weakened when they held the phone's lower-left edge. "Antennagate," as it was eventually called, became such an issue Apple released a software update correcting the signal strength indicator and even offered all iPhone 4 users free bumpers, a case that covered the phone's antenna and resolved the issue.
“辭舊迎新”似乎是iPhone 4的設計宗旨，它完全拋棄了以往機型的塑料材質，而是在機身前後採用玻璃，並在四周包裹不鏽鋼的框架。這個框架還充當了iPhone 4的天線，這種設計引發了爭議，用戶抱怨當他們手握手機的左下邊緣時，手機信號會減弱。這次事件被稱爲“天線門”，它最終演變的結果是：蘋果發佈了軟件更新以修正信號強度指示器；該公司甚至還向所有iPhone 4用戶提供免費的保護套，它能蓋住手機的天線並解決信號變弱的問題。
iPhone 4的特性
• Year: 2010
2010年
Antenna aside, the iPhone 4 introduced a number of impressive enhancements. Among them: a sharp new screen dubbed the Retina display, which more than doubled the pixel resolution to 960 by 640, a faster 800 MHz A4 chip, a 5-megapixel camera, and double the RAM. "If what you care about, however, is size and shape, beauty and battery life, polish and pleasure, then the iPhone 4 is calling your name," opined New York Times columnist David Pogue then.
除了天線問題以外，iPhone 4引入了一些令人印象深刻的功能升級。其中包括：一塊更清晰的新視網膜顯示屏，其分辨率增加一倍以上，達到960X640；一顆速度更快的A4處理器，其運行頻率爲800MHz；一個500萬像素的攝像頭；內存比上一代機型增加了一倍。“要是你只關心尺寸和形狀、漂亮外觀、電池續航能力、夠不夠閃亮好玩，那麼iPhone 4正在對你發出召喚。”《紐約時報》專欄作家大衛•波格這樣寫道。
iPhone 4S
• Year: 2011
2011年
Apple cemented a new tradition in 2011: When the letter "S" trails the name of a new iPhone, it will look a lot like last year's model. Such was the case with the iPhone 4S, which looked like the 4 on the outside. But on the inside, it included a dual-core A5 processor, 8-megapixel camera and 1080p (a.k.a. HD) video recording capability. The voice-recognition assistant Siri also made its debut, entertaining users with the occasional witty repartee. When proposed to mere hours after setting up the phone, it would say it hardly knew you. Push the subject, and it'll claim that her "End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage." Like we said, sassy.
蘋果在2011年確立了一個新的傳統：當新一代iPhone的名字裏帶有“S”時，那它的外觀就跟上一年的機型差不多。iPhone 4S就是這樣，它從外表看起來跟iPhone 4非常相像。不過，從裏面來看，新iPhone採用了一顆雙核A5處理器，800萬像素的攝像頭，並支持錄製1080P（即高清）視頻。個人語音助理Siri同樣隨着iPhone 4S首次亮相，它通過偶爾爲之的機智對答讓用戶獲得了不少樂趣。當你在設置好手機僅僅幾小時之後向Siri求婚，它就會說，它跟你不是很熟。當你堅持這個話題，它就會聲稱，其“最終用戶許可協議不涉及婚姻”。就像我們說的，酷斃了。
iPhone 5
• Year: 2012
2012年
Instead of early summer, Apple opted for a September announcement and roll-out of the iPhone 5, which expanded the screen to 4 inches and used both aluminum and glass on the back, resulting in a sliver of a device that was 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the year before. A new custom-made A6 processor, 1 GB of RAM, an improved 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, and a tweaked 8-megapixel shooter rounded out the hardware side, resulting in real-world performance up to twice as fast.
這一年，蘋果沒有在初夏發佈新一代iPhone，而是選在9月份推出iPhone 5並隨即上市銷售。iPhone 5將屏幕尺寸擴大到4英寸，並在機身背部同時採用鋁和玻璃材質，比iPhone 4S厚度和重量分別減少18%和20%。這款iPhone採用新的定製A6處理器，內存爲1GB，並配備改進的130萬像素前置攝像頭以及800萬像素的後置攝像頭，使其現實當中的性能表現要比上一代產品快兩倍。
iOS 6
• Year: 2012
2012年
The iPhone 5 came loaded with iOS 6, perhaps most notable in hindsight for the introduction of an all-new Apple Maps. While many users reported a hassle-free experience, many others complained of incorrect directions or inaccurate maps with missing landmarks. The Maps controversy became so bad, Tim Cook apologized in a letter to customers. "We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers, and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," he wrote. Apple has reportedly been working hard since to improve the app, frequently updating map information and hiring to beef up efforts.
iOS 6伴隨iPhone 5一同發佈，事後看來它最引人注目的地方就是推出了全新的蘋果地圖。雖然很多用戶報稱這款應用提供了輕鬆的使用體驗，但還有很多人對蘋果地圖指示方向錯誤或信息不準確和地標缺失發出抱怨。蘋果地圖引起的爭議變得如此糟糕，以至於蒂姆•庫克在發給消費者的公開信中表達了歉意。“我們對於這一問題給用戶帶來的失望表示深深的歉意。我們將採取一切可能的舉措，使地圖服務變得更好。”他這樣寫道。據報道，蘋果自那以後一直在努力工作以改善這款應用，並經常更新地圖信息和招募人手加強這方面的努力。
iPhone 5C和iPhone 5S
• Year: 2013
2013年
This year marked the introduction of not one, but two distinct, flavors of iPhone: the high-end 5s and long-rumored, budget-minded 5c. The former keeps the industrial design of last year's model but also comes in champagne gold. It also sports a 64-bit A7 processor, which doubles performance, and a fingerprint scanner called Touch ID. Available in five different colors, the "unapologetically plastic" 5c starts at $99, or $100 less than its sibling. Despite speculation that sales might not match previous years, Apple surprised yet again, selling 9 million 5s and 5c devices during their first three days on sale -- a new record, Cook pointed out.
蘋果在今年一改往日作風，推出了兩款不同口味的iPhone：高端的iPhone 5S和傳聞已久的所謂“廉價版”iPhone 5C。前者保留了去年機型的工業設計，但新增了香檳金的配色版本。iPhone 5S還搭載了讓手機性能翻番的64位A7處理器，以及一個名爲Touch ID的指紋掃描器。“不掉價的塑料”iPhone 5C有5種不同的配色可供選擇，它的起價是99美元，比iPhone 5S便宜100美元。儘管市場預期新一代iPhone的銷量可能不及往年，但蘋果再一次出人意料，iPhone 5S和iPhone 5C上市前三天即售出900萬臺——庫克指出，這是一個新的紀錄。
