巴塞羅那的世界移動通信大會（Mobile World Congress）總有那么一些狂歡節(jié)拉客的架勢，從巨頭手機(jī)廠商到最不知名的初創(chuàng)公司，所有人都在努力吸引大約10萬名參會觀眾的興趣。今年，三星（Samsung）、索尼（Sony）和其他公司的展臺前依舊集滿了試玩最新設(shè)備的游客。此外，還有幾架可以讓你在虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)環(huán)境中體驗(yàn)“打車”的無人駕駛空中的士、一款蝙蝠俠大戰(zhàn)稻草人的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)游戲，以及谷歌（Google）的尋寶游戲，雖然在擁擠的展會上這個游戲有點(diǎn)過于復(fù)雜了。

不過，吸引最多觀眾的是幾款無法觸碰的產(chǎn)品。三星、華為和TCL都公布了可以展開變成大屏平板電腦的手機(jī)，而且都把它們帶到了現(xiàn)場，并鎖在密封的玻璃展柜中。三星的Galaxy Fold在外部配有一塊手機(jī)屏幕，還可以像書本一樣展開，露出內(nèi)部另一塊7.3英寸的屏幕。它被放置在一個帶有微型游樂場鏡子廳模型的陳列柜里，觀眾很難看到它的兩側(cè)。這可能是因?yàn)榕c我們?nèi)缃窳?xí)慣的輕薄款手機(jī)相比，它顯得更加厚重。

我與三星的移動產(chǎn)品高級副總裁賈斯汀·丹尼森坐下來聊了一會，他把Fold說得近乎天花亂墜，卻也沒有拿出一部來讓我近距離觀察。Fold的起售價(jià)將近2,000美元，對于它可以同時在屏幕上運(yùn)行三個應(yīng)用的標(biāo)志性特色，我可沒有丹尼森那樣激動萬分。而即使他也承認(rèn)，這款手機(jī)還有些地方需要改進(jìn)。

他表示：“我認(rèn)為這款設(shè)備肯定是為早期嘗試者準(zhǔn)備的。通常，早期嘗試者是第一批愛好者，他們從這類創(chuàng)新上看到了最大的價(jià)值。”

TCL表示還需要一年時間來公布正式的折疊產(chǎn)品，公司希望把它的價(jià)格降到1,000美元以下。丹尼森暗示三星也會這么做。他表示：“對于任何技術(shù)創(chuàng)新，你都會希望它不要那么高不可攀，不過此次我們不會做出特別說明或承諾。”當(dāng)記者在4月26日產(chǎn)品上市之前拿到樣機(jī)時，還會有更多內(nèi)容揭露。

華為的Mate X似乎更加輕薄，可能會讓一些人更為激動。它的起售價(jià)為2,600美元。這款設(shè)備的折疊屏位于外側(cè)。當(dāng)折疊成手機(jī)模式時，這塊8英寸的屏幕有大約一半位于正面，另一半位于背面。你可以把它打開，將其轉(zhuǎn)變成平板電腦模式。它同樣位于陳列柜里，不過玻璃四面透明，更易看清。一位友好的華為員工甚至為我拍了一張鉸鏈后側(cè)的照片。然而，這款手機(jī)的發(fā)貨日期是今年年中，具體時間有些不確定，而且華為手機(jī)并未在美國廣泛發(fā)售。

一臺像手機(jī)一樣又小又輕，卻又能在需要的時候提供大屏幕的設(shè)備顯然非常實(shí)用。另一方面，使用早期的版本需要做出一些犧牲，例如它價(jià)格更高、外形更笨重，軟件也可能存在問題。我認(rèn)為我會靜待第二代產(chǎn)品上市，你呢？（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona always has a bit of carnival barker’s edge, as everyone from giant phonemakers to the most obscure startups vie for the attention of some 100,000 attendees. This year, in addition to the usual packed hands on areas for playing with the latest devices from Samsung, Sony, and others there are a couple of autonomous air taxis you can sit in for a “ride” in virtual reality, a Batman versus Scarecrow VR game, and some kind of Google scavenger hunt that was little too convoluted for this busy conference goer.

But it’s a couple of the items that you can’t touch that are drawing the biggest crowds. Samsung, Huawei and TCL have all announced one form or another of phones that unfold into larger-screened tablets. And they’re all here on site–locked up in sealed glass cases. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, which has a phone screen on the outside and opens like a book with a separate 7.3-inch screen on the inside, is set in a mini funhouse hall of mirrors display case that makes it hard to see the sides. That may be because the device is on the thicker and heavier side compared to the thin phones we’ve grown used to carrying.

When I sat down with Justin Denison, Samsung’s senior VP of mobile products, he was almost giddy in discussing the Fold, though he didn’t bring one along for closer inspection. Starting at almost $2,000, I’m not sure I’m as excited as Denison about the Fold’s signature feature of placing three mobile apps on screen at once. And even he concedes it’s a bit of a work in progress.

“I definitely think this device is for an early adopter,” he says. “Typically your early adopters are the ones that engage first, that find the most value in that type of innovation.”

TCL said it was holding off a year before announcing actual folding products, hoping to get under the $1,000 price level. As you’d expect, Denison hinted Samsung’s products would do the same. “With any technology innovation that takes (hold), you will tend to expect it to move down the portfolio but we’re not making any particular announcements or promises at this time,” he says. There will be a lot more to say when review units get into reporter’s hands ahead of the expected April 26 launch date.

Some people have been more excited about Huawei’s seemingly thinner Mate X device, which will start at $2,600. Here, the folding screen is on the outside. When the device is closed in phone mode, about half of the 8-inch display can be used on the front and half on the back. You unfold it outwards to get the tablet mode. It’s also locked up on display here although easier to see in an all-clear glass case. A friendly Huawei staffer even snapped a picture of the back hinge side for me. The shipping date of the middle of the year is a little vague, however, and Huawei phones don’t have wide distribution in the United States.

There’s obviously great utility in having a device that’s as small and light weight as a phone but offering a much larger screen when you want it. On the other hand, early versions will have trade-offs, like the higher prices, heftier sizes and likely software oddities. I think I’ll wait for the second generation. How about you?