iPhone 4S真的让人失望吗？

    iPhone 4S的视频摄相头也有了明显的进步。它可以拍摄1080p的高清视频。视频的每一帧都像照片一样清晰，而且成像稳定，这样一来，我就没必要总是带着我的Flip Ultra HD高清摄相机了。有了iOS5系统，现在我们终于可以更直接地调用摄像头：在锁屏状态下，只要按两下Home键就可以唤醒相机。另外还可以把音量大小键当成拍照快捷键。

    考虑到选择的运营商和居住地的不同，通话质量和下载速度也会有些差异。比如美国电话电报公司（AT&T）在旧金山是出了名的不给力，但iPhone 4S在这里的表现还是可圈可点的。虽说通话质量比起iPhone 4并没有出现明显的提高（比较好，但称不上非常好），而且依然出现了通话中断的情况，但是下载速度却的确提高了。尽管iPhone 4S在技术上还算不上4G设备，但网页和应用的下载速度总的来说还是要快于iPhone 4，不过在该区域内还是比不上威瑞森（Verizon）的4G网络。

    Siri语音助手

    iPhone 4S最大的亮点在于它独有的智能语音识别助手（Siri）。现在看来，Siri还有一个最讨喜的地方，那就是它有时会跟你玩一点冷幽默。我在拿到评测机之后才几个小时，就问“她”（如果调到“英国英语”模式，则是个男版的“他”）愿不愿意嫁给我，结果Siri答道：“我才刚认识你。”如果你追问下去，她就会说：“我的终端授权协议里不包含结婚这项服务。”而且如果问她一个20世纪最大的悬疑问题之一——“舔多少下才能舔到一个tootsie pop夹芯棒棒糖的芯？”她还会一本正经地告诉你答案：3,481下。

    如果不恶搞的话，Siri也的确会出色地帮人解决一些实际的问题。比如，如果你问它最近的寿司店在哪里，它就会按远近程度列出一个清单；如果问她其中哪家最好，它就会根据网友的评价进行筛选。另外通过Siri发短信或写比较短的电子邮件也很方便，虽说我也注意到标点符号并不是它的强项。另外Siri还可以帮忙安排预约，甚至避免约会撞车。我以前从没有在iPhone上用过日历应用，不过现在由于有了Siri，我开始使用日历应用了。

    不过Siri也不是完美无缺。苹果公司称这款应用现在仍然是测试版，我们在评测中也暴露出了这一点。Siri有的时候听不懂我在说什么，哪怕在很安静的环境下也是如此。苹果公司表示，等到Siri熟悉了用户的说话习惯之后，这种现象就会改观。而且它的逻辑也不是完全不会出错的。有一次我叫它“给我爸爸打电话。”Siri列出了一个选项：“你是要打爸爸的工作电话、爸爸的家庭电话，还是打给（我的同事）亚当•拉辛斯基。”（我和亚当可没有亲戚关系。）

    用户很快就会发现Siri的局限性，这也挺让人沮丧。因为Siri的确会使某些任务变得简单得多，这样一来人们就会想让它做更多的事，或者想弄清楚它究竟能做多少工作。Siri可以帮忙查找电影院，但查不到电影的放映时间。它可以帮忙发短信，但是不能添加联系人。Siri的许多缺点未来都会得到修正。但现在它能做的事还不是太多，这还是挺遗憾的。

    最后

    iPhone 4S是不是值得购买呢？这要看情况。

    我能看出为什么Siri对消费者来说有很大的吸引力。苹果为我们展现了一个诱人的前景，Siri为我们提供了一个非常简单的用户界面，有了Siri，许多与iPhone的互动都可以通过语音来完成。只要是它能做到的事，它都做得很好。（比如现在用Siri搜索餐馆、安排预约都是小菜一碟。）但Siri显然还处于早期阶段，在执行任何任务的时候，它都可能出现许多状况，跟“老式的”的触屏手机相差无己。它给人的感觉虽然是一项智能的尖端技术，但仍然处在萌芽期，短期之内难成气候。

    如果你是从第一款iPhone、iPhone 3G或iPhone 3GS升级过来的，那么iPhone 4S的运行速度和高质量的摄像头会让你十分享受。不过如果你已经有了一台iPhone 4，那么升级到iPhone 4S会不会让你感到那么兴奋，就比较难以确定了，尤其是如果你今年年初刚买了一台威瑞森版iPhone 4的话。因为iPhone 4S的变化不够吸引人，感觉有点换汤不换药，也许是因为iPhone 4一开始用起来就没什么可挑剔的。不管怎样，iPhone 4S还是有很多讨人喜欢的地方，哪怕它所做的改进只是渐进性的，而不是革命性的。

    译者：朴成奎

    The video camera got a bump, too. Now it captures video in 1080p. Video is every bit as clear as stills, and thanks to image stabilization, I don't need to carry my Flip Ultra HD around anymore. With iOS5, you finally have more direct access to the camera: double tap the home button when the phone is off, and a camera icon appears. You can also press the volume up button to snap shots.

    Depending on which mobile carrier you're with and where you live, you'll get different results with call quality and download speeds. In San Francisco, where AT&T is notoriously spotty, the 4S did fine. We didn't notice a huge improvement in call quality (good, not great), and we still experienced dropped calls. Download speeds fared better. While the 4S isn't technically a 4G-labeled device, downloads of web sites and apps were generally quicker than the iPhone 4, though not as fast as Verizon's 4G network in the area.

    A Siri-ous voice assistant

    Much has already been made of Siri, the voice recognition "intelligent assistant" that's exclusive to the 4S. It seems one of her (of if you switch to the English UK option, his) best assets is an especially dry sense of humor. Ask Siri to marry you as I did mere hours after receiving the phone to review, and it'll say that it hardly knows you. Push the subject, and it'll claim that her "End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage." And if you ask it about one of the 20th century's biggest mysteries -- "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?" -- you'll get an answer (3,481).

    When you're not kidding around, Siri's also good at performing some practical tasks. Ask it where the nearest sushi place is, and it'll present a list of sushi restaurants in descending order based on proximity; ask it which one is the best, and it'll sort those nearby restaurants by rating. Siri is also handy with basic text message dictation and short emails, though I've noticed punctuation isn't its strong suit. Likewise, scheduling appointments and even avoiding double-bookings, is much easier. I didn't use the calendar app on the iPhone, but because of Siri, I do now.

    But Siri isn't without its quirks. Apple says the app is still in beta, and our experiences bore that out. Siri sometimes has problems understanding what I'm saying, even if I'm in a quiet setting. Apple says that situation will improve as Siri adapts to the way you speak. Its logic isn't entirely foolproof, either. When I asked it to "call dad," it presented me with three dialing options: "Dad work, Dad home, or [colleague] Adam Lashinsky." (For the record, Adam and I aren't related.)

    You also run into its limitations quickly, which will also be frustrating. Because Siri makes certain tasks much easier, you try to push the boundaries and figure out just how many tasks you can offload. You can look up movie theaters, but you can't look up show times. You can send texts, though you can't add contacts. Many of Siri's shortcomings ought to be fixed in the future. It's just a shame you can't do more with it now.

    In the end

    Whether the iPhone 4S warrants a purchase all depends.

    I can see why Siri is a big draw. Apple's offering a tantalizing future: a simple, streamlined user interface where many interactions with the iPhone are conducted via voice. And what it does do, it often does well. (Looking up restaurants and booking appointments are a breeze now.) But Siri is clearly still in its early days, and for every task it can do, you'll run into just as many situations where you're better off navigating the "old-fashioned" touchscreen way. It feels like a smart, nascent piece of technology that can't grow up soon enough.

    If you own the original iPhone, 3G, or 3GS, you'll enjoy the speed gains and quality camera. If you own an iPhone 4, the upgrade path is less certain, especially if you just bought a Verizon iPhone earlier this year. The improvements will seem far less dramatic and more iterative, probably because using the iPhone 4 never felt like a drag to begin with. Either way, there's a lot to like, even if the changes are evolutionary, not revolutionary.