2008 really is shaping up to be Apple's year. With the MacBook Air – the world's thinnest laptop – leading the charge， Apple seem to be gunning for dominance of the technology market on a scale not seen since Microsoft's great XP push of the late 1990's.

2008年是蘋(píng)果大展身手的一年。自從MacBook Air——世界上最輕薄的筆記本——獨(dú)占鰲頭后，蘋(píng)果如同微軟在上個(gè)世紀(jì)90年代發(fā)行了偉大的XP系統(tǒng)那樣開(kāi)始在科技市場(chǎng)上奪取主導(dǎo)地位。

With Mac fans firmly in love with the company's new computer toys， CEO Steve Jobs and co. have set their sights on the telecommunications market， announcing the new iPhone 3G – a faster， smaller， and cheaper version of the original iPhone – just over a year after the original was released.

Mac迷們愛(ài)極了這個(gè)新電腦玩具，CEO斯蒂文#8226;喬布斯以及整個(gè)公司都將眼光放在了電信市場(chǎng)，在舊版iPhone發(fā)行了僅一年后就推出了全新3G版iPhone——比舊版iPhone速度更快、更輕薄、更便宜。

In typical soundbite fashion， Jobs said in a press release: \"Just one year after launching the iPhone， we're launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price.\"

在新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上，喬布斯宣稱：“在iPhone發(fā)布僅一年后，我們就推出了速度兩倍、價(jià)格減半的全新3G版iPhone。”

\"iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box， runs the incredible third party apps created with the iPhone SDK， and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year.\"

“3G版iPhone支持Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync，可以通過(guò)iPhone SDK（軟件開(kāi)發(fā)工具包）運(yùn)行第三方軟件，并且在全球70多個(gè)國(guó)家都可以購(gòu)買到?！?/p>

So what's good about this little doohickey? First up， it has all the features that made the original iPhone such an innovation – the multi-touch touchscreen interface， a built-in WiFi link， and an all-in-one iPod multimedia player are just some of the gadgets hidden inside the iPhone's sleek black shell. It's also got a built-in camera for those all-important Kodak moments， and a Bluetooth connection for those of you on the go.

那么這個(gè)小玩意好在哪呢？首先，它擁有舊版iPhone的全部功能——多方觸摸屏、內(nèi)置WiFi鏈接以及iPod多媒體播放器，這些小功能就隱藏在iPhone的圓滑黑色外殼里。還有內(nèi)置柯達(dá)攝像頭以及為那些忙碌人士提供的藍(lán)牙功能。

Oh， it also has GPS as well， in case you were wondering.

對(duì)了，我要告訴你它還內(nèi)置GPS模塊，免得你有疑問(wèn)。

There are also hundreds of third-person applications available for the iPhone， ranging from video games to mapping programmes and e-book readers. In short， there's very little the 3G can't pull off， technology and entertainment-wise.

3G版iPhone可以運(yùn)行多類第三方軟件，從視屏游戲到貼圖程序到電子書(shū)閱讀器，應(yīng)有盡有。簡(jiǎn)言之，無(wú)論在技術(shù)性還是娛樂(lè)性上，3G版iPhone幾乎無(wú)所不能。

On top of all this， the 3G packs 10 radio bands into its tiny， slender body， including 4 GSM bands and 4 3G bands alongside the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. In addition， the 3G comes with a massive battery capacity， capable of up to 10 hours of 2G talk， 5 hours of 3G talk， 5 (3G) or 6 (Wi-Fi) hours of Internet use， 7 hours of video playback， and up to 24 hours of audio playback， lasting over 300 hours on standby.

最重要的一點(diǎn)，3G版iPhone在它纖細(xì)的身材中囊括了10類無(wú)線頻段，包括4類GSM頻段、4類3G頻段還有藍(lán)牙以及Wi-Fi。而且3G版iPhone擁有強(qiáng)大的電池續(xù)航功能、2G下10小時(shí)通話時(shí)間、3G下5小時(shí)通話時(shí)間、5小時(shí)（3G）和6小時(shí)（Wi-Fi）網(wǎng)頁(yè)瀏覽、7小時(shí)視屏播放、24小時(shí)音頻播放以及300小時(shí)待機(jī)時(shí)間。

The price is pretty damn impressive too. The basic 8GB version retails at a stunning US$199， or 1，400 RMB. Meanwhile， the 16GB version， also available in Original-iPod White， comes in at an extra hundred bucks (2，100 RMB).

而且價(jià)錢實(shí)在讓人心動(dòng)。8G版本已經(jīng)降到驚人的199美元（即人民幣1400元）。同時(shí)，16G版白色iPhone只貴了幾百元（人民幣2100元）。

When we put all of this into English， what it basically means is this: The new 3G is cheaper， more technologically compatible， and all-around more kick-ass than the previous incarnation.Although Hong Kong and Macau are both in line to receive 3G service， right now there are no plans for any telephone operators to carry the iPhone in mainland China. Which is， of course， a little bit irksome， especially considering that many of the iPhone's parts are produced and assembled in factories around the country. We can only hope Apple and the telecoms industry change their minds sooner rather than later.

當(dāng)我們把這一切用英語(yǔ)來(lái)總結(jié)一下，大意就是：新3G版iPhone比舊版更便宜、更兼容、更強(qiáng)大。盡管香港和澳門(mén)已經(jīng)引進(jìn)3G版iPhone，但在中國(guó)大陸卻仍然沒(méi)有一家電話運(yùn)營(yíng)商有此計(jì)劃。當(dāng)然，有點(diǎn)討厭，尤其是想到很多iPhone的零件是在這里生產(chǎn)和組裝的。我們只希望蘋(píng)果和電信運(yùn)營(yíng)商們能夠盡快改變他們的思想。