三星Galaxy S5最实用新性能:防水

Here's what you need to know about the new flagship smartphone from Samsung: It can swim, but it won't make any waves.

以下是关于三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)新款旗舰智能手机所必知的特性：它能游泳，但不会掀起水波。

The Galaxy S5 has a waterproof exterior that survived a dunking in a margarita, a plunge in to a toilet, and left overnight in strawberry Jell-O. (Yes, I tried.)

Galaxy S5配备有防水外壳，无论是泡在鸡尾酒里、掉进马桶里还是彻夜浸在草莓果冻中，它都能安然无恙。（是的，我都试过。）

In most other ways, this update to Samsung's top-selling Galaxy S4 barely moves the needle. Aside from the waterproofing, the Galaxy S5's most original new feature is a heart rate sensor that works well only if you hold very, very still. It also has a fingerprint reader more versatile than that in Apple's iPhone 5S, but a camera that still doesn't take great pictures in low light.

从其他方面来看，这款三星最畅销S4手机的升级机型几乎未有大的变化。 除防水以外，Galaxy S5最为原创的新性能是心率感应器，但你得一丝不动地握稳手机，它才能有效地发挥作用。S5还配备了较苹果公司(Apple)手机iPhone 5S用处更多的指纹感应器，但其相机仍难以在暗光条件下拍出好照片来。

Anybody weighing this phone as an upgrade or a switch from another model may rightly wonder: Has smartphone evolution stalled?

任何考虑将S5当作换代机型，或是转而改用S5的人或许都会问：智能手机的发展进程停滞了吗？有这种疑问也不无道理。

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5 in February, the company said it was going 'back to basics,' simplifying the parts of the phone that matter most. Now that the phone is hitting stores, at $200 with 2-year contract, it is clear these adjustments do make for a better, faster phone -- but they often don't go far enough.

2月份三星发布Galaxy S5时表示要“返璞归真”，对手机最重要的部分进行了简化。如今S5已开售，两年合约机价格200美元。现在看来这些调整显然有助于打造一款个更好更快的手机，但通常都并不够。

The Galaxy S5 is easier to use than the S4. Samsung is playing down a long list of the dubious and confusing services it touted with the previous model, like 'air gesture' controls to manipulate the screen without touch. It also no longer pre-installs some space-hogging apps like the Samsung Hub for buying music and video.

Galaxy S5比S4使用起来更简单，弱化了该公司在推出S4时宣传的许多不实用且令人困惑的性能，例如无需接触即可操作屏幕的“手势感应”功能。S5也不再预装一些占据空间的应用，例如用于购买音乐和视频的Samsung Hub。

A few of the Galaxy S5's software tweaks might make iPhone users envious, such as using keywords to search the ever-growing list of Android settings. My favorite feature, 'ultra power savings mode,' turns off nonessential services when battery-power is low and you want to preserve juice for phone service.

Galaxy S5软件上的一些调整可能会让iPhone用户羡慕，这些调整包括可利用关键字搜索不断加长的安卓设置列表。我最喜欢的一个功能是“超级省电模式”，这个功能可以在低电量、且用户还想保持待机的时候关掉不必要的功能。

Samsung still needs to keep simplifying the interface. At the top edge of the screen, a dozen different blinking icons call attention to things you don't always need to know about. And for many basic functions, such as Web browsing, viewing pictures, even taking voice commands, the Galaxy S5 comes preloaded with two different apps. Good grief, does anyone really need the built-in 'gallery' and 'photo' apps?

不过，三星仍然需要简化其界面。屏幕的最上端有一些闪烁的图标，会将你的注意力拉到并不一定需要了解的程序上。而对于浏览网页、浏览图片甚至是发送语音命令等许多基本功能，Galaxy S5都预先装入了两套不同的应用程序。天啊，谁真的需要这些内置的“照片库”和“照片”应用程序呢？

The Galaxy S5 hardware does offer some nice-to-have improvements.

不过，Galaxy S5的硬件确实有一些锦上添花的改进。

The waterproofing -- which Samsung calls 'dust and water resistance' works well, provided you use the included plug to seal the charging port. It passed all the torture tests I could cook up, but you shouldn't deliberately try such high jinks. Samsung says the waterproofing is really just for accidents.

被三星称为“防尘”、“防水”的Galaxy S5防水功能表现不错，你可以将该款手机自带的塞子塞住充电口。Galaxy S5通过了我能够想到的防水考验，不过你还是不要刻意尝试这些“胡闹”的做法。三星称，防水功能只是?了以防万一。

While the extra fortification is a welcome addition for those with slippery palms, it isn't unique -- Sony's flagship smartphone is also water-friendly.

虽然对于使用手机时不太小心的人来说，这是个受到欢迎的新功能，但是并非只有Galaxy S5才拥有这一功能，索尼公司(Sony co., , 又名:新力公司)的旗舰手机同样也可防水。

Though the plastic phone lacks the stylishness and luxury feel of the new all-metal HTC One (M8), the back of the phone now features a dotted Band-Aid-like texture, which helps with grip.

虽然这款塑料外壳手机缺少宏达国际电子股份有限公司(HTC Co., , 简称：宏达国际)全金属外壳手机One (M8)时髦和奢华的感觉，不过Galaxy S5背面使用了点状纹理材质，易于手握。

Samsung improved things inside the case, too. Notably, the Galaxy S5 showed an edge in 4G LTE connectivity. During simultaneous testing with an iPhone 5S on the AT&T network, the Galaxy S5 logged faster median downloads and uploads in five of six San Francisco area locations.

三星也改进了手机内部的一些硬件，其中引人注意的是在连接4G LTE时的表现。将iPhone 5S和Galaxy S5同时在美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc., T)网络下运行，在旧金山六个地点中的五个，后者都比前者的上传下载平均速度更快。

The Galaxy S5 has impressive battery life, running a streaming online video test for more than six hours of continuous use -- about 20% longer than the iPhone 5S. But beware of screen controls, a max brightness setting pared the Galaxy S5's battery performance.

Galaxy S5的电池寿命也给人深刻印象。在与iPhone 5S进行比较时，不间断运行在线流视频超过六个小时之后，Galaxy S5的电池寿命比前者多出约20%。不过要注意屏幕亮度控制，将屏幕亮度调到最大会缩短Galaxy S5的电池寿命。

The fingerprint sensor also is a welcome addition to the Galaxy S5. Unlike the iPhone 5S, which only uses the fingerprint sensor for Apple-based authorizations, the Galaxy 5S's lets you make PayPal payments, too. The downside: it is incompatible with Microsoft Exchange server security; Samsung said it is working on a solution.

指纹传感器也是Galaxy S5一个受欢迎的新增功能。与iPhone 5S的传感器只适用于苹果公司授权的应用不同，Galaxy 5S的传感器还可用于进行贝宝(PayPal)支付。不足之处是：与Microsoft Exchange服务器的安全系统不兼容；三星称，公司正在寻找解决方案。

The larger screen is probably the Galaxy's single biggest advantage over the iPhone, but with the S5, Samsung took a step in the wrong direction. At this point, we generally expect phones to get slimmer and lighter, but the Galaxy S5 is actually heavier and wider than its predecessor.

屏幕更大可能是Galaxy手机与iPhone相比的最大优势，不过在S5上，三星走错了方向。目前人们普遍预期手机会更轻更薄，但是Galaxy S5实际上比之前的机型更重更宽。

We've also come to expect that each new phone will feature a better camera. Samsung says it improved the sensor and the camera's control software, including a superfast autofocus. Yet the Galaxy S5 struggled in my real-world stress tests, especially in low light. Samsung said the effect was caused by its 'picture stabilization' software, which can be turned off.

人们也期待每一款新手机的照相功能都能更进一步。三星表示，公司改善了照相传感器及其控制软件，包括超快速自动对焦的功能。然而Galaxy S5仍难以通过笔者的压力测试，尤其是在低光情况下。三星称，这是由其图像稳定软件造成的，该功能可以关闭。

Samsung may market the Galaxy S5 as a significant upgrade, but it is best seen as a refinement. Smartphone technology may be reaching a plateau where core elements like the processor, screen and sensors no longer matter as much as the software that helps you use them. And that is an area where Samsung still trails.

三星或许会宣传Galaxy S5的功能有显著提升，但是说小幅改进为佳。智能手机技术可能到达了这样一个阶段：处理器、屏幕和传感器等核心元素不再像软件那么重要。而软件正是三星仍然落后的领域。

The Samsung Galaxy S5 offers a powerful phone with a big screen, but it is not the only phone that now does, despite Samsung's marketing dominance. Existing Galaxy SIII and S4 customers will appreciate the ways its software has matured, but should look at HTC One and Moto X Android phones, too. IPhone users itching for a larger screen should wait, however, to see what new form factors Apple might deliver this fall.

三星Galaxy S5是一款功能强大的大屏手机，但并非目前唯一具有这些元素的手机，尽管三星在市场居于主导地位。现有的Galaxy SIII和S4的用户将会欣赏其成熟的软件，但也应该看看HTC One和Moto X等安卓手机。不过渴望更大屏幕的IPhone用户应会等待，观望苹果公司在今年秋天可能会推出什么新元素。