VOA慢速英语2012 Technology Report - Tablet Computers Most Wanted Gift This Holiday（在线收听）

Technology Report - Tablet Computers Most Wanted Gift This Holiday

科技报道 - 平板电脑继续引领节日礼物市场

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。

Consumer electronics once again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this holiday season.

消费类电子产品再次高居今年节日最心仪礼物名单之列。

“Seventy-six percent of consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts say that they will spend money or buy at least one technology product; definitely a solid vote of confidence for technology.”

76%计划购买节日礼物的消费者表示至少会购买一种科技产品，对科技具有坚实的信心。

Steve Koenig is with the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the group’s latest research also shows that Americans this year are spending more on technology products.

史蒂夫·凯尼格(Steve Koenig)就职于美国消费者电子协会。他表示，该协会的最新研究还表明，今年美国人在科技产品上花费更多。

“Here in 2012, $252 on average – the technology spend for consumers this year.”

“今年消费者在科技产品上的平均支出为252美元。”

From tablet computers to smartphones, American shoppers have been lining up to get the newest and coolest electronic devices on the market. There are more choices today than ever before.

从平板电脑到智能手机，美国消费者一直在排队购买市场上最新最酷的电子设备。市场上如今比以往任何时候都有更多选择。

“It’s kind of hard to make a decision.”

“要作出决定有点难。”

Tablet computers are one of the best-selling products this year. Brian Tong is Senior Editor of CNET.com. The website reports on tech news and examines the latest electronic products. He says the Apple iPad Mini is one of the most popular tablets. Its starting price is $329. One of Apple’s biggest competitors is the Google Nexus 7. It starts at $199.

平板电脑是今年最畅销的产品之一。Brian Tong是CNET.com的资深编辑，该网站报导科技新闻并探讨最新的电子产品。他表示，苹果的iPad Mini是最受欢迎的平板电脑，起价329美元。苹果最大的竞争对手之一是谷歌的Nexus 7，起价199美元。

“The hardware inside is more powerful than what’s in the iPad Mini, but also it offers you a lot of things like maps that work better than Apple’s maps.

谷歌Nexus 7的硬件比iPad Mini更为强大，还为您提供很多东西，例如比苹果地图更好用的谷歌地图。”

Brian Tong says there is one reason why people may like the iPad Mini more than the Nexus 7. 

Brian Tong表示，人们喜欢iPad Mini超过Nexus 7只有一个原因。

“If you just want to read books and surf the Internet, really you don’t really need to get an iPad Mini, but if you want the largest robust group of apps that’s where the iPad and Apple’s ecosystem shines the most.”

“如果只是看书和上网，你真的不需要买台iPad Mini。但如果你想要最强劲的应用程序，那么iPad和苹果的生态系统是最牛掰的。”

Elman Chacon is with the electronics store Best Buy. He says another hot product this season is smart cameras. They connect to the Internet through WiFi. This makes it easy for users to email or upload photographs directly from the camera.

埃尔曼·查孔（Elman Chacon）就职于电子商城百思买（Best Buy）。他表示，本季度另一个热点产品是智能相机。它能够通过WiFi连上互联网，这让用户可以很方便地直接从相机发送照片邮件或上传照片。

“You can literally take a picture, upload it into your Facebook in a matter of seconds. These things are pretty cool because they do a lot of things.”

“拍照并上传到你的Facebook只要几秒钟功夫。这些功能很酷，因为它们帮你干了大部分工作。”

Streaming media boxes also connect to the Internet. People are able to watch web content such as movies and YouTube videos on their televisions. Another popular item is wireless speaker systems. The newest ones work with any device that has Bluetooth technology, including smartphones, laptops and tablets.

流媒体盒也接入了互联网。人们能够在电视上看到电影和Youtube视频这些网页内容。另一种受欢迎的产品是无线音箱，这种最新的产品可以连接任何具有蓝牙技术的设备，包括智能手机、笔记本和平板电脑。

With the growing popularity of Internet shopping, many consumers will visit a store first to look at a product, and then go online to find it at a lower price. Stores like Best Buy understand that and they want to stay competitive.

随着网上购物的日益普及，很多消费者会先去商场看产品，然后到网上寻找更低价格。百思买之类的商场知道这一点，它们想要保持竞争力。

“We have something called the perfect match promise which means if you buy a certain device and you find it cheaper within 30 days we’ll go ahead and price match that for you.”

“我们有完善的价格承诺，如果购买某些设备并在30天内发现更低价，我们会退还给你差价。”