PBS高端访谈:Galaxy Note7的停销会对三星造成什么影响?

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: It's an eventful day and a humbling¹ one for the electronic giant Samsung, the world's largest maker² of smartphones.

　　Today, the company announced that it is halting production of its beleaguered³ Galaxy⁴ Note 7 phone. Reports of the Note 7 catching⁵ fire caused the company to issue a recall and then create replacement⁶ devices that were also found to be a fire risk.

　　It comes, coincidentally, as a prolonged battle between Apple and Samsung over money, patents and the designs of those phones you use went before the U.S. Supreme⁷ Court today.

　　Jessi Hempel is with Backchannel, a Web-based platform that covers the tech world. She joins us now.

　　So, tell us a little bit about the issues surrounding this. We have seen dribs and drabs of people saying, look at this burned-out battery, look at this burned-out shell. How long has this been going on? How serious it is?

　　JESSI HEMPEL, Backchannel: Well, it's quite serious.

　　I mean, it's really impossible to underestimate how serious this is for Samsung. It's been a month-and-a-half. You know, at first, when the phones started catching fire, Samsung acted decisively and immediately and got a lot of credit for that. It said, we issued a recall. People went and returned their phones.

　　And then the new phones started catching fire. And that's when it became a very serious problem for Samsung. It suggests that we really can't trust the brand. And, frankly⁸, when people think about this, yes, maybe they will remember that it's the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, or maybe they will just think about the brand name Samsung.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Right. And that's a big company. They make everything from washers and dryers⁹ to lots of other bigger things.

　　JESSI HEMPEL: Yes. Right.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: But how important is this? This is sort of the flagship phone, the thing they're supposed to be the most proud of.

　　JESSI HEMPEL: This is their flagship phone. And, therefore, it's really important. And it's important for a couple reasons.

　　First off, this was what they put forward to compete with Apple's new iPhone. And, quite frankly, it didn't work. It will be a huge financial loss for the company. Now, it's hard to say exactly how much, and it will be a while before we know, but I have seen estimates put it at between $4 and $5 billion. So it's very important.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, so, speaking of Apple, they're in the Supreme Court today, the arguments.

　　JESSI HEMPEL: Right.

　　Galaxy Note7的停销会对三星造成什么影响?

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: What's the sort of core of the disagreement between Apple and Samsung?

　　JESSI HEMPEL: You know, anybody who has watched Samsung and Apple over the last five years has seen this play out in ticktock, this ongoing¹⁰ fight between Samsung and Apple.

　　What's at issue today is no longer the question of, did Samsung copy Apple? Yes, everyone has agreed Samsung has copied Apple. It's no longer the question of, should Samsung pay Apple? Yes, the courts have agreed. Samsung already paid Apple. What is at question now is, how much money does Samsung really owe Apple?

　　Now, the courts, the federal courts in California said, according to the law, Samsung owed the total profit on the phones that it ripped off pieces of the design from Apple. Samsung at this point is saying, no, wait, hold on a minute, why should we pay total profit? You're raising an objection over three design elements on this phone. Surely, we shouldn't have to pay the total profit for the phone just over three design elements.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: So, this is really just about deciding how much money either Apple will continue to keep or if it would have to give it back?

　　JESSI HEMPEL: That's right.

　　And, you know, the reason why this matters, the reason why the Supreme Court would even decide to look at this right now is because it raises the question and the importance of design to a product. And that, of course, is a big issue for Silicon¹¹ Valley write large.

　　And it's been a very long time, I think 130 years, since the courts took up this issue of patent, of design patent. It gets to the question of, what is core to a product? What differentiates¹² it in the market?

　　And, you know, it's funny. These three design elements, each on their own, they just don't seem that big. There's the question of the rectangle shape of the face of the phone. There's the question of the raised glass on the front of the phone, and then there's the question of the icons¹³ on the front of the phone.

　　Now, if you think about all these things, right, they have become central to what we think of as not just an iPhone at this point, but a smartphone. Apple says, hey, we get credit for that. We designed those. We own those. And you owe us all the money off of the phones that you sold that ripped those off.

　　Samsung says, well, wait a minute, you know, parallel to this is like a car and a cup holder¹⁴ in the car. Would you say that if I ripped off the design of a cup holder in the car, that I should pay you the total profits on the entire car? Is that what differentiates it to the consumer?

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Jessi Hempel from Backchannel, thanks so much.

　　JESSI HEMPEL: Thank you.

1 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 dryers   

n.干燥机( dryer的名词复数 )；干燥器；干燥剂；干燥工

参考例句：

• Men also have hair dryers and, if they suffer from baldness, they use a growth stimulator, buy hairpieces, or have hair transplanted from the hirsute part of the scalp to the bare areas. 男士也有他们的吹风机，而且如果他们秃顶的话，还会用毛发生长剂、买假发，或者把头发从密集的地方移植到谢顶的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dryers can be automated. 干燥机可以自动化作业。 来自辞典例句

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

12 differentiates   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• This genus of plants differentiates into many species. 这种植物可分为许多种类。
• Our fax machine differentiates between an incoming fax signal and a voice call. 我们的传真机能区分接收传真信号和语音信号。

13 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。