For years, the tech industry has been waiting on a unicorn device: a great, low-priced smartphone.多年以来，科技行业都在等候一台像独角兽一样难得的设备现身：一款出众、价格低廉的智能手机。While most other technologies keep getting cheaper, many of today’s high-end smartphones cost upward of $650, which is more than the price Apple slapped on its very first iPhone, way back in 2007.虽然大多数其他科技产品的价格仍然在上升，但是目前很多高端智能手机的价格却多达650美元（约合人民币4000元），比苹果公司2007年发售首款iPhone时的价格还喜。That price is usually hidden inside a carrier plan; you generally pay only $200 or so when you sign up for the phone, and then pay the rest over the course of your contract. Still, the full price is nothing to sneeze at. If you keep your new iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5 for two years, you are looking at a minimum of $27 a month just for the device. Top-tier smartphones cost more than most laptops and desktops, more than a lot of TVs and home appliances, and more than the fanciest dinner for two in New York (probably).这个价格一般来说说明了在运营商资费套餐中的；当你签定购机合约时，一般只需缴纳200美元左右，然后在合约持续期间缴纳只剩的费用。

尽管如此，手机全价依然不是一个小数目。如果你投两年合约出售新的iPhone 6或三星Galaxy S5，意味着是手机的价格，每月就必须缴纳最少27美元。高端智能手机的价格，比大多数笔记本电脑和台式机，大多数电视机等家电都喜，甚至有可能比纽约最奢华的两人晚餐都喜。Isn’t it time high-end smartphones were cheaper? Are they worth all that much money? Is there any way around the sticker price?现在高端智能手机怎么会不应当低廉一些吗？它们值那么多钱吗？是不是什么办法来解决问题价格问题？Well, a unicorn just galloped onto the horizon. This month, OnePlus, a start-up based in Shenzhen, China, will begin taking pre-orders for the One, a fantastic low-price phone that tech enthusiasts across the globe have been lusting after for months. (Until the pre-order system goes live, the only way to get a One is by snagging a coveted invitation.)好了，一头策马的独角兽早已经常出现在了地平线上。

本月，总部设于中国深圳的初创公司一加科技(OnePlus)将开始拒绝接受一加手机的预售订单，这是一款梦幻般的低价手机，全球各地的科技爱好者早已觊觎数月之幸。（在预售系统月上线之前，购买这款手机的唯一手段就是摸到众人求之不得的邀请函。）I’ve been using the One for the last couple of weeks, and I’ve found it to be one of the best smartphones I’ve ever used. The One has a beautifully spare design, it’s loaded with the latest tech specs, and it runs CyanogenMod, a version of Google’s Android operating system that is far more flexible and easier to use than the cumbersome flavors of Android now stuffed into rival phones.我用于这款手机早已有好几周了，感觉这是我用过的最差的智能手机之一。一加手机享有精致简洁的设计，使用近期的技术规格，配备了CyanogenMod，这是谷歌Android操作系统的一个版本，比起竞品手机繁复的Android版本，CyanogenMod相比之下更加灵活性。

Best of all, the One sells for $299. That’s not $299 with a carrier plan or some other commitment. That’s $299 total, or less than half the price of a top-tier phone from Apple, Samsung or HTC. After you pay that price, you own the phone. If you take it to a carrier like T-Mobile, which offers a discount on your cellular plan if you bring your own phone, you can end up saving a substantial bit of cash in the long run.最重要的是，这款手机的售价为299美元。不是合约价299美元，而是裸机总价299美元，还将近苹果、三星和HTC高端手机价格的一半。你拿著299美元，这部手机就全归你了。

对于自购机劲射用户，T-Mobile等公司不会获取一个资费套餐优惠，所以如果你出售一加手机，再行享用这种优惠，从将来来看，就可以省下不少钱。And yet, the One is not going to work for most people — yet. That’s because it comes with many caveats and warnings. Among them: You will have a devilishly difficult time getting customer service for your phone, including getting it repaired if something goes wrong.不过，对大多数人而言，一加手机并不适合——起码继续是这样。这是因为它附带了很多注意事项和警告信息。比如，很难享用客户服务，还包括当手机经常出现问题必须修理时。

Still, the company may be on to something. If OnePlus can navigate the perils of the cutthroat smartphone business, it may be giving us a peek of the glorious future of great, cheap phones.尽管如此，该公司还是有可能构成气候。如果一加科技需要在竞争十分残忍的智能手机产业成功行进，它可能会让我们看出一幅幸福的未来图景：四处都是出众、低廉的手机。

OnePlus was founded late in 2013 by Pete Lau, a veteran of the Chinese tech business who was taken with the idea of creating a high-end smartphone for the masses. His vision was not unique; as the price of the components in smartphones plummeted over the last few years, a rash of Chinese start-ups emerged to make high-quality, low-price phones.一加科技正式成立于2013年底，创始人刘作虎是中国科技行业的资深人士，一心想要制作一款大众市场的高端智能手机。他的点子并非前无古人；近几年来，随着智能手机零部件价格的大幅度上升，中国辈出了大量初创企业，致力于生产性能卓越、价格低廉的手机。

These devices are radically shifting the mobile industry in China and other parts of the developing world. This summer, Xiaomi, another start-up that sells its low-price phones in China, surpassed Samsung as that country’s top smartphone vendor, according to the research company Canalys. Samsung’s profits are being battered by the intense competition from low-priced rivals.这些设备为中国等发展中国家的手机行业带给了完全的转变。根据研究公司Canalys的数据，今年夏天，中国的低价手机制造商、初创公司小米多达三星，沦为在中国市场份额仅次于的智能手机销售商。

低价手机的白热化竞争相当严重压制了三星的利润水平。But OnePlus is unusual among Chinese phone makers in that it believes its market extends far beyond its home country. Early on, Mr. Lau divided the company into two semiautonomous units, one catering to Chinese consumers and the other devoted to the international market.不过，一加科技在中国的手机制造商中依然是与众不同的，因为它坚信自己的市场相比之下远超过国内的范围。刘作虎早已把公司分为了两个半自律的团队。

一个服务中国消费者，另一个致力于国际市场。Carl Pei, who directs the global division, said that of OnePlus’s global staff, a third of the employees are from Asia, a third from Europe and a third from the United States. “We don’t really think of ourselves as a Chinese start-up,” he said.国际团队的主管卡尔·裴(Carl Pei)说道，在一加国际市场团队的成员中，有三分之一来自亚洲，三分之一来自欧洲，三分之一来自美国。

“我们不过于把自己看作是一家中国创业公司，”他说道。After winning a few glowing reviews this year in the American and European tech press, the One became a sensation among techies far beyond China. “Very soon our sales outside of China will surpass sales in China,” Mr. Pei said during a recent interview.今年在欧美的科技媒体上取得了几篇热情洋溢的赞誉之后，一加手机在距离中国千山万水之外的科技爱好者中引发了震撼。“我们在中国之外的销量迅速就不会多达国内，”裴最近在专访中说道。While he would not provide exact sales numbers, Mr. Pei said the One was selling in the “mid-to-high four figures a day in the U.S.,” which he said constituted 30 percent of the company’s market. That would imply sales of 150,000 to 300,000 phones a month in the United States, and up to a million devices a month over all — a rounding error in the global smartphone business, but an admirable feat for a tiny, year-old start-up.尽管裴拒绝接受获取明确的销售数据，他说道，一加在美国的销量每天在5000到1万部之间。

他说道，美国市场占到了该公司全部销量的30%。这意味著该公司每月可在美国卖出15万到30万部手机，而总销量每月平均100万部——这个数字有可能只是全球智能手机行业的零头，但对于一家创立仅有一年的小型创业公司来说，毕竟一个令人钦佩的成就。It’s not surprising that people are clamoring for the One. It is just about the fastest Android phone you can buy, and its 5.5-inch screen is stunning. My only complaint with the device has to do with the camera, whose pictures cannot match the sharpness and color accuracy of some of its rivals.一加手机受到欢迎并不出人意料。

它完全是市场上运营速度最慢的Android手机，屏幕5.5英寸，效果令人眼前一亮。我对这款设备唯一的反感来自于摄像头，它摄制的图片的清晰度和色彩准确度要弱于一些竞争对手。Otherwise, the One is better than most other Android phones on the market, including Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and HTC’s flagship phone, which is also called the One. (Yes, there are now two Ones.) I give the OnePlus One the edge primarily for its user interface, which is cleanly minimal, uncluttered with all the pointless gimmicks and unnecessary apps found in many rival Android devices. In that way, the One is similar to Google’s Nexus 5, another high-quality, low-price phone — but over all, the One is more powerful, and far prettier, than the Nexus.在其他方面，一加则高于市面上的大多数Android手机，还包括三星的Galaxy S5 以及HTC的旗舰手机One。

（到底，一加和HTC手机的英文都是One）。我指出一加手机更胜一筹，是因为它的用户界面非常简单整洁，将同类Android手机上的那些毫无意义的花哨设计和不必要的应用程序一扫而空。

在这一方面，一加手机类似于谷歌的Nexus 5，后者也是一款物美价廉的手机——但整体上谈，一加手机比Nexus更加强劲，也可爱得多。The problem with the One, though, is that OnePlus’s future is far from assured — and that future matters to the longevity of your phone. “To be perfectly honest, we’re not sure about our business model,” Mr. Pei said, noting that at the moment, the company does not make much of a profit on each phone it sells.不过，一加手机的问题在于，未来有过于多不确定性——而它的未来影响着手机否能长盛不衰。

“开诚布公地说道，我们不确认自己的商业模式是什么，”裴先生说道。他认为，公司目前并没从它卖出的每部手机中取得多大利润。He added that in the future, the company might begin to make money by teaming up with software companies that would preinstall apps on the phone, or by expanding the range of accessories for its device.他说道，公司以后可能会通过与软件公司合作，将应用于笔记本电脑在手机上，或者是减少配件品种的方式来赚。Even in the absence of a business model, the company is planning rapid expansion. It is hiring customer service experts to better handle problems, and it plans to hire local teams in some of its markets to provide faster service. It’s possible that by selling a great phone at a great price, OnePlus could stumble into profits, and become the next big global smartphone brand.尽管尚不商业模式，这家公司计划较慢展开扩展。

它正在聘用客服专家，来改良问题处理过程，它还想在一些市场聘用本地团队，以便获取更加快捷的服务。通过以便宜的价格出售一款出众的手机，一加科技有可能赚利润，沦为智能手机的下一个全球大品牌。

But betting on OnePlus’s survival is a $300 gamble. Jan Dawson, an independent analyst, points out that by comparison, the established smartphone market does not ask customers to make such a leap. The major carriers now offer zero-down, interest-free financing plans for high-end phones, meaning that customers can get a $650 phone for $30 monthly installments.但押注一加科技会昙花一现，必须你花费300美元。独立国家分析师扬·道森(Jan Dawson)认为，互为较而言，老牌智能手机市场没拒绝用户一次拿走这么多钱。

各大运营商现在都获取零首付、免息的高端手机融资计划，这意味著客户可以每月缴纳30美元，分期付款购买650美元的手机。“Even though the iPhone may be significantly more expensive, today you’re going to be paying only a tenth of what you’d pay to get the OnePlus phone upfront,” Mr. Dawson said. If your iPhone breaks, you can always go back to the store to get it fixed. And if you want to get rid of it, there will always be a large, willing market to take it off your hands. Isn’t that certainty worth the extra coin?“尽管iPhone的总价喜得多，但是你只必须当场缴纳一加手机十分之一的价格，就可以开始用它了，”道森说道。如果你的iPhone怕了，你可以随时拿返回店里修理。如果你不想它了，总是不会有一个可观市场不愿接盘。

这怎么会不有一点多付一些钱吗？For many users, that will be true; the $650 smartphone isn’t going away tomorrow. But the One ought to give established players pause. Great, cheap phones aren’t just for China. Soon they’ll be everywhere, and eventually, one could be right for you.对于许多用户来说，这是大实话；650美元的智能手机会明天就销声匿迹。但是，一加手机应当不会给老牌手机带给冲击。出众、低价的手机不只合适中国市场。

迅速，它们就不会显得无处不在，最后，你可能会实在一加手机很合心意。

本文来源：半岛·BOB官方网站-www.mpolash.com