敢不敢抛弃智能手机 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，英国演员埃迪雷德梅因(Eddie Redmayne)成为全球头条新闻，因为他加入了人数越来越多的智能手机拒绝者的行列。

“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.

他解释说：“这是对于在清醒时刻与我的iPhone永远粘在一起的反应。”他转而使用只能接打电话的老式“傻瓜手机”。

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.

他并非唯一这么做的人。在智能手机变得越来越复杂和昂贵之际，简单而廉价的手机拥有一个规模不大但颇为忙碌的市场。

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.

研究机构IDC的欧洲移动设备研究总监弗朗西斯科瀠坧尼莫(Francisco Jeronimo)表示，功能手机（具备一些基本功能的手机，例如播放音乐和上网）正逐渐被低价智能手机取代。但更老式的手机仍有可观需求。

Strategy Analytics, a research group, estimates that 44m basic phones were sold in 2015, accounting for 2 per cent of the global market.

研究机构Strategy Analytics估计，2015年基础手机销量为4400万部，占全球手机市场的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.

一些手机制造商（例如索尼(Sony)和LG）已放弃这块市场。但微软(Microsoft)和三星(Samsung)等其他厂商仍年年推出瞄准功能手机市场的设备。

Many smartphone users bemoan having to buy devices that are easily broken, require daily recharging and which will be superseded by a new, better version within a year.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.

很多智能手机用户抱怨称，他们不得不购买很容易被摔坏、需要每天充电，以及不到一年就被新的更高版本取代的手机。就连入门型号的智能手机也提供并非很多人需要的计算能力。

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.

一些用户为了有意识地试图与现代数字世界隔绝，而购买上网功能有限或者没有上网功能的手机。Light Phone创始人乔攠利耶(Joe Hollier)就是其中的一员。这位25岁的前滑板运动员开发了一款信用卡大小的手机，除接打电话外，没有数据连接或其他额外功能。他形容，移除查看邮件或更新状态功能带来一种巨大的放松感觉。

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.

分析师们表示，越来越多的人使用两部手机：白天使用昂贵智能手机或平板手机，晚上外出时则换成较为廉价的袖珍手机。

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就像是智能手机的伴侣，但奥利耶希望它还会鼓励人们时不时暂别现代互联网世界。

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.

一些人放弃智能手机也有实际的原因。手机电池续航时间短是人们抱怨连连的一个原因，同时很多旅行者仍喜欢老式手机的可靠性和超长待机时间。

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.

微软仍在服务于这块市场，该公司现在拥有诺基亚(Nokia)品牌。去年，微软推出诺基亚215，这是一款简单而坚固的手机，电池待机时间达到29天。诺基亚515的电池待机时间则长达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.”

这款手机的应用软件简单，仅具备基本的数据连接，但主要吸引力在于其30美元的价格。正如微软所夸耀的那样：“出色的电池待机时间以及令人印象深刻的耐用性是标准配备。如果你有一部诺基亚，你就拥有了一部可以天长地久的手机。”

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，非智能手机还具备一些比较特定的用途，例如，给孩子用来打电话给家里。它们简单、结实，如果丢失也不贵。

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.

同样，还有一些专为老年人设计的简单手机，例如Doro生产的手机，该公司的手机优先考虑大按键和音量放大，而不是接入互联网的速度有多快。

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的杰罗尼莫表示，这类产品正成为一些公司占据一席之地的机遇。他补充称，Doro已成长为西欧第三大功能手机制造商，仅次于微软和三星。

Feature phones are also more popular in developing markets because of the combination of low prices and long battery life.

此外，由于价格低和电池待机时间长，功能手机在发展中国家更受欢迎。

“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.

杰罗尼莫表示：“例如，在非洲一些国家，对很多用户来说，使用智能手机并非可行选择，因为它需要每天充电。”

“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，使用智能手机对那些无法接入3G网络的用户而言几乎无用，这要么是因为3G网络不可用，要么是接入价格极其高昂。”

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.

对于那些认为连基础手机都显过分的人而言，这里有一个解决方案：5美元的NoPhone Zero（见右上图）。这款手机自称是目前最低级的手机，它没有按键和零部件，只是一块长方形塑料。它是个搞笑产品，但它在很大程度上揭示了现代社会的科技焦虑。