敢不敢拋棄智能手機 Digitally weary users switch to dumb phones
In January, British actor Eddie Redmayne made headlines around the world as he became the latest in a growing band of smartphone refuseniks.
今年1月，英國演員埃迪雷德梅因(Eddie Redmayne)成爲全球頭條新聞，因爲他加入了人數越來越多的智能手機拒絕者的行列。
“It was a reaction against being glued permanently to my iPhone during waking hours,” he explained, turning instead to an old-fashioned “dumb phone” handset that could only make and take calls.
他解釋說：“這是對於在清醒時刻與我的iPhone永遠粘在一起的反應。”他轉而使用只能接打電話的老式“傻瓜手機”。
He is not alone. There is a small but busy market for phones that are simple and cheap at a time when smartphones are becoming ever more complex and expensive.
他並非唯一這麼做的人。在智能手機變得越來越複雜和昂貴之際，簡單而廉價的手機擁有一個規模不大但頗爲忙碌的市場。
Feature phones — handsets with some basic functions such as playing music and accessing the internet — are gradually being replaced by low cost smartphones, according to Francisco Jeronimo, research director for European mobile devices at IDC, the research group. But there is still a significant demand for older-style phones.
研究機構IDC的歐洲移動設備研究總監弗朗西斯科瀠坧尼莫(Francisco Jeronimo)表示，功能手機（具備一些基本功能的手機，例如播放音樂和上網）正逐漸被低價智能手機取代。但更老式的手機仍有可觀需求。
Strategy Analytics, a research group, estimates that 44m basic phones were sold in 2015, accounting for 2 per cent of the global market.
研究機構Strategy Analytics估計，2015年基礎手機銷量爲4400萬部，佔全球手機市場的2%。
Some phonemakers, such as Sony and LG, have already turned their back on the market. But others like Microsoft and Samsung are still producing devices every year aimed at the feature market.
一些手機制造商（例如索尼(Sony)和LG）已放棄這塊市場。但微軟(Microsoft)和三星(Samsung)等其他廠商仍年年推出瞄準功能手機市場的設備。
Many smartphone users bemoan having to buy devices that are easily broken, require daily recharging and which will be superseded by a new, better version within a year. Even basic smartphones offer computing power that not many people need.
很多智能手機用戶抱怨稱，他們不得不購買很容易被摔壞、需要每天充電，以及不到一年就被新的更高版本取代的手機。就連入門型號的智能手機也提供並非很多人需要的計算能力。
Some users buy phones with limited or no internet connections in a conscious attempt to decouple from the modern digital world. Light Phone founder Joe Hollier falls into this camp. The 25-year-old former skater has developed a credit card-sized phone without a data connection and no extra functions other than to make calls. He describes a feeling of huge relief when the ability to check emails or status updates is removed.
一些用戶爲了有意識地試圖與現代數字世界隔絕，而購買上網功能有限或者沒有上網功能的手機。Light Phone創始人喬攠利耶(Joe Hollier)就是其中的一員。這位25歲的前滑板運動員開發了一款信用卡大小的手機，除接打電話外，沒有數據連接或其他額外功能。他形容，移除查看郵件或更新狀態功能帶來一種巨大的放鬆感覺。
Analysts say that there is a growing number of “second phoneys” who use an expensive smartphone or “phablet” during the day, but turn to cheaper, pocket-sized devices when they go out in the evening.
分析師們表示，越來越多的人使用兩部手機：白天使用昂貴智能手機或平板手機，晚上外出時則換成較爲廉價的袖珍手機。
The Light Phone functions as a compnion device to a smartphone but Mr Hollier hopes it will also encourage people to unplug from the modern internet world.
Light Phone就像是智能手機的伴侶，但奧利耶希望它還會鼓勵人們時不時暫別現代互聯網世界。
There are also practical reasons why some are turning their backs on smartphones. The short battery life of devices is a source of constant complaint and many travellers are still attracted to the reliability and long battery life of older phones.
一些人放棄智能手機也有實際的原因。手機電池續航時間短是人們抱怨連連的一個原因，同時很多旅行者仍喜歡老式手機的可靠性和超長待機時間。
This market is still being served by Microsoft, which now owns the Nokia brand. The US group last year launched the Nokia 215, for example, a simple, robust device that has a standby battery life of 29 days. The Nokia 515 has a massive 38 days standby time.
微軟仍在服務於這塊市場，該公司現在擁有諾基亞(Nokia)品牌。去年，微軟推出諾基亞215，這是一款簡單而堅固的手機，電池待機時間達到29天。諾基亞515的電池待機時間則長達38天。
The phone has a simple layer of apps and basic data connectivity, but the main attraction is the $30 price tag. As Microsoft boasts: “Exceptional battery life and impressive durability are standard features. When you own a Nokia, you own a phone that’s built to last.”
這款手機的應用軟件簡單，僅具備基本的數據連接，但主要吸引力在於其30美元的價格。正如微軟所誇耀的那樣：“出色的電池待機時間以及令人印象深刻的耐用性是標準配備。如果你有一部諾基亞，你就擁有了一部可以天長地久的手機。”
Dumb phones have more specific uses, however, for example being given to children for calling home. They are simple, robust and cheap if lost.
然而，非智能手機還具備一些比較特定的用途，例如，給孩子用來打電話給家裏。它們簡單、結實，如果丟失也不貴。
Likewise, there are simple phones for the elderly, such as those made by Doro, which prioritise large buttons and the amplification of volume rather than how quickly they can access the internet.
同樣，還有一些專爲老年人設計的簡單手機，例如Doro生產的手機，該公司的手機優先考慮大按鍵和音量放大，而不是接入互聯網的速度有多快。
Mr Jeronimo says that such products are becoming a niche opportunity for companies. Doro has grown to become the third-largest feature phonemaker in western Europe after Microsoft and Samsung, he adds.
IDC的傑羅尼莫表示，這類產品正成爲一些公司佔據一席之地的機遇。他補充稱，Doro已成長爲西歐第三大功能手機制造商，僅次於微軟和三星。
Feature phones are also more popular in developing markets because of the combination of low prices and long battery life.
此外，由於價格低和電池待機時間長，功能手機在發展中國家更受歡迎。
“Using a smartphone in some countries in Africa, for instance, is not an option for many users, as it would require to charge it on a daily basis,” says Mr Jeronimo.
傑羅尼莫表示：“例如，在非洲一些國家，對很多用戶來說，使用智能手機並非可行選擇，因爲它需要每天充電。”
“On the other hand using a smartphone means little for users who cannot connect to a 3G network, either because they are not available or because the connectivity is extremely expensive.”
“另一方面，使用智能手機對那些無法接入3G網絡的用戶而言幾乎無用，這要麼是因爲3G網絡不可用，要麼是接入價格極其高昂。”
And, for those that find even basic phones are too much, there is a solution: the $5 NoPhone Zero. It claims to be the least advanced phone ever created, has no buttons or components and is just a plastic rectangle. It is a joke, but one that says much about our modern anxiety about technology.
對於那些認爲連基礎手機都顯過分的人而言，這裏有一個解決方案：5美元的NoPhone Zero（見右上圖）。這款手機自稱是目前最低級的手機，它沒有按鍵和零部件，只是一塊長方形塑料。它是個搞笑產品，但它在很大程度上揭示了現代社會的科技焦慮。
