科技達人的困惑 找一臺能幹正事的平板電腦
My iPad is with me every night when I doze off to sleep, it entertains me on long flights and keeps me informed during my morning commute. But when it comes to real work, the tablet fails me.
我每天晚上在倦意中睡去的時候都抱着我的iPad，坐飛機長途旅行時它是我的娛樂工具，早上坐車去上班的路上它讓我知曉天下大事。可是一到真正幹活的時候，這臺平板電腦卻令我大失所望。If I'm writing long emails or working on office documents, I want a larger screen, a roomy keyboard and the ability to easily juggle programs. The iPad doesn't cut it. Now, though, there are tablets that are literally standing up to the productivity challenge. Samsung's Galaxy Note Pro tablets are just hitting shelves, including a $749 model with a 12.2-inch screen and optional keyboard dock. Then there are Microsoft's Surface tablets, which are heavily promoted as the 'most productive tablets.'
如果我在寫一封長長的電子郵件或在使用office文檔，那麼我就需要更大的屏幕、寬大的鍵盤以及在多項程序中切換的能力。我這臺iPad還達不到這樣的要求。不過，幾乎可以經得起工作效率挑戰的平板電腦現在已經面世了。三星(Samsung)的Galaxy Note Pro系列平板電腦剛剛上市，其中一款12.2英寸顯示屏、選配鍵盤底座的機型售價爲749美元（約合人民幣4,568元）。還有微軟(Microsoft)的Surface平板電腦系列，該系列產品被大肆宣傳爲“工作效率最高的平板電腦”。But are any really as good as a laptop? To find out, I hid my MacBook Air under the bed and replaced it with four tablets paired with keyboard covers.
然而，有沒有平板電腦可以真正和筆記本比肩的？爲了探個究竟，我把我的蘋果筆記本MacBook Air藏到牀下，用四臺配有鍵盤蓋的平板電腦取而代之。
In addition to the Android-powered Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, I borrowed two Windows 8.1 tablets, the Surface Pro 2 and Nokia's Lumia 2520. Microsoft has two tablet operating systems -- one for heavy computing and one for lighter work -- so I wanted to try both flavors. I didn't want to ignore the most popular tablet, so I paired an iPad Air with Logitech's Ultrathin Bluetooth keyboard cover.
除安卓系統(Android)驅動的12.2英寸的Galaxy Note Pro之外，我還借了兩臺安裝Windows 8.1系統的平板，即Surface Pro 2和諾基亞(Nokia)的Lumia 2520。微軟有兩種平板操作系統――一種用於高強度的計算，另一種用於輕鬆點的工作――因此兩種滋味我都想嘗試一下。我不想冷落最受歡迎的 平板，所以我給一臺iPad Air配上了羅技科技公司(Logitech)的超薄藍牙(Ultrathin Bluetooth)鍵盤蓋。I concentrated on the four aspects where my laptop continues to beat tablets: multitasking, text input, business-app selection and that delicate balance of speed and battery life.
我專門測試的是筆記本仍然勝過平板的四個方面：多任務處理、文本輸入、商務應用程序選擇以及速度與電池壽命之間的微妙平衡。Multitasking
多任務處理I mostly toggle between email, a Web browser, a word processor, Skype and a Twitter app. My software needs may be tablet friendly, but I rely on keyboard commands, trackpad gestures and other shortcuts to maximize my multitasking.
我主要是在電子郵件、網頁瀏覽器、文字處理程序、Skype（網絡語音通訊工具――譯註）和推特 (Twitter)應用程序之間進行切換。我的軟件需求也許平板電腦都是支持的，但我得依賴鍵盤命令、觸控板手勢以及其它快捷方式來最大程度地執行多重任務。When it came to moving between programs, the Galaxy Note Pro had some good tricks. I arranged up to four apps on the large high-resolution display (though two fit best), and switched between full-screen apps by using the Alt + Tab keyboard shortcut.
在程序間進行轉換的時候，Galaxy Note Pro有些妙招。我在大大的高分辨率顯示屏上佈列了多達四個應用程序（雖然兩個是最好的 ），通過使用Alt + Tab快捷鍵就可以實現應用程序間的全屏切換。It sure beat using the iPad, which displays one app at a time and requires you to press the home button twice to switch apps. The Logitech keyboard and its shortcuts didn't help much.
這當然比用iPad強。iPad一次只能顯示一個應用程序，你需要按home鍵兩次才能切換應用程序。羅技鍵盤和它的快捷方式沒起多大作用。But it was the Windows tablets that let me multitask the fastest, locking apps side by side, or quickly toggling between them with keystrokes. Unlike the $499 Nokia, the $899 Surface Pro 2 has a 'full' version of Windows 8.1 -- with wider support for Windows software and greater use of the traditional desktop. I set up the tablet with my preferred classic Windows layout and could plug in a full-size keyboard and mouse, and up to four HD displays. That's important since the classic interface isn't optimized for a 10.6-inch screen.
但是多任務處理速度最快的是安裝Windows系統的平板，無論是並排鎖定應用程序還是敲擊鍵盤在應用間快速切換。與售價499美元（約合人民幣3,043元）的諾基亞平板不同的是，售價899美元（約合人民幣5,483元）的Surface Pro 2安裝有“完全”版本的Window 8.1系統――可以獲得更廣泛的Windows軟件支持及更多傳統臺式機的使用體驗。我把這臺平板設置成我喜愛的經典Windows頁面佈局，可以接入全尺寸的鍵盤和鼠標以及多達四臺的高清顯示器。這一點很重要，因爲經典的界面並未針對10.6英寸的屏幕進行優化。Text Input
文本輸入There was a tie for best keyboard. I was able to type 82 words a minute on the Surface Pro Type cover and the Galaxy Note Pro's keyboard cover, slightly down from my usual 92 words a minute. The Samsung keyboard was the closest in size to my laptop's, though my fingers felt most at home on the Surface's firm, backlit keys. (Both tablets also come with a stylus, which proved useful during meetings, converting my handwriting into text.)
最佳鍵盤之選不分伯仲。我在Surface Pro和Galaxy Note Pro的鍵盤蓋上一分鐘可以敲82個單詞，略少於我平時一分鐘敲的92個單詞。三星平板的鍵盤在大小上最接近我的筆記本鍵盤，雖然我的手指在Surface結實的背光按鍵上感覺最舒適。（兩款平板也都配有觸控筆，這在開會期間證明很有用處，可以把手寫的文字轉換成文本。）I typed 80 words a minute on the Nokia keyboard case, and 72 on the iPad's Logitech cover. All of these let me type faster than on a screen. The keyboard cases did share one problem: They don't sit on laps very well. They all at some point did an Olympic-style dive off my legs.
我在諾基亞鍵盤盒上一分鐘敲了80個單詞，在iPad的羅技鍵盤蓋上的速度爲一分鐘72個單詞。所有這些鍵盤讓我的打字速度都比在屏幕上輸入快。鍵盤盒確實也存在一個通病：它們不能很好地呆在腿上，到某個時候全都要從我的腿上做出奧運會式的跳水動作。App Selection
應用程序選擇Each tablet except the Surface Pro comes with productivity software. Samsung provides third-party apps that look like exact copies of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The iPad includes Apple's Pages, Keynote and Numbers. If you want the real deal, Microsoft Office comes preloaded on the Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet. (With the Surface Pro, you have to buy Office separately.)
除Surface Pro外，每款平板都自帶有工作效率軟件。三星提供的第三方應用程序看上去酷似Word、PowerPoint和Excel。iPad裝有蘋果的Pages、Keynote和Numbers。如果你想要貨真價實的東西，諾基亞Lumia 2520平板上預裝有微軟辦公軟件(Microsoft Office)。（至於Surface Pro，你必須單獨購買Office應用程序。）The app selection gets more dicey when it comes to job-specific software or accessing a company network. There are now iPad and even Android versions of business software, but you have to check first.
當涉及具體工作軟件或者接入公司網絡的時候，應用程序的選擇就更具有不確定性了。現在已經有用於iPad甚至安卓版本的商務軟件了，但你必須先進行查驗。If your work relies on specialized software that hasn't been updated in a while, stick with the Surface Pro.
如果你的工作依賴的專業化軟件有一段時間沒有升級了，Surface Pro是不二之選。Speed and Battery Life
速度與電池壽命I expected the tablets to need Red Bull to keep up with my daily routine, including having 10 or more websites open at once, yet they held their own. That said, the Galaxy Note Pro was occasionally slow to launch and switch apps. The Surface Pro, with its Intel Core i5 laptop-class processor, was the peppiest.
我原來預計這些平板電腦都需要喝紅牛飲料(Red Bull)才能趕得上我日常工作的節奏，包括同時打開10個或更多的網站，然而它們的表現都可圈可點。儘管如此，Galaxy Note Pro在啓動和切換應用程序的時候偶爾有點慢。裝有英特爾酷睿(Intel Core)i5筆記本電腦處理器的Surface Pro啓動速度是最快的。But the Surface Pro's power comes with a big sacrifice in battery life, not to mention size. The half-inch-wide, 2-lb. Surface was out of juice after 5.5 hours, while the thinner iPad and Galaxy Note Pro streamed video for over nine hours, and the Lumia chugged along for nearly eight.
但是Surface Pro的強勁能力是以犧牲電池壽命爲巨大代價的，更別提它的尺寸大小了。這款半英寸厚（約合1.27釐米）、兩磅重（約合0.9公斤）的Surface在用了5.5小時之後就沒電了，而厚度更薄的iPad和Galaxy Note Pro播放視頻的時間超過了九個小時，Lumia堅持了將近八個小時。While the Galaxy Note Pro fared admirably, the Surface Pro did the best in multitasking, text input and software compatibility. Still, I wouldn't prefer it over my MacBook Air, or any 13-inch Windows laptop. And as a tablet, it falls behind most competitors. The more useful for work these devices become, the further they get from being really good tablets, which means it might take awhile before that perfect all-in-one device arrives. Until then, you'll find a tablet on my nightstand -- and a laptop in my lap.
雖然Galaxy Note Pro的表現令人欽佩，但在多任務處理、文本輸入和軟件兼容性方面做得最好的卻是Surface Pro。儘管如此，我對它的喜歡程度仍然不及我的蘋果MacBook Air筆記本或者任何一款13英寸的Windows系統筆記本電腦。而且從平板電腦的功能上來說，它也落後於大多數競爭對手。這些設備越對工作有用，它們就越不成其爲真正優秀的平板電腦。這就是說製造出一臺功能齊全的完美設備尚需時日。在那之前，你會發現我的牀頭櫃上放着平板電腦――腿上放着筆記本。
