Win 7能勾起电脑购买欲？

惠普的 摸屏电脑TouchSmart

　　Cash-strapped consumers have been slow to buy personal computers in the recession. But with the launch of Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 operating system Thursday, PC makers are aiming to reverse that trend -- and then some.
　　经济衰退期间，囊中羞涩的消费者对于购买个人电脑一直不踊跃。但随着微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)推出新的电脑操作系统Windows 7，个人电脑生产商们正指望扭转这一趋势，并在此基础上有更多收获。

　　Companies are expecting that Windows 7's improved features over earlier Microsoft operating systems, including Vista and XP, will lure more consumers into stores. And they are betting that heightened demand will allow them to stanch recent price declines in the market.
　　这些公司预计，Windows 7在Vista和XP等微软以往操作系统基础上改进的功能将吸引更多消费者购买新电脑。他们还把遏制个人电脑价格下滑的希望寄托在了需求增长上。

　　Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc., Toshiba America Inc. and Acer Inc., among others, are releasing a flood of high-end laptops with slim cases and glossy designs, and new one-piece touch-screen desktops, that they hope consumers will be willing to pay a premium for. At the low end, some companies are charging an extra $20 or more for mini-PCs that combine Windows 7 with new finishes. And in the midrange, some PC makers are raising prices, or at least keeping them steady.
　　惠普(Hewlett-Packard Co.)、戴尔(Dell Inc.)、东芝美国公司(Toshiba America Inc.)和宏碁公司(Acer Inc.)等电脑厂商正纷纷推出高端笔记本电脑，这些电脑有着纤巧的机身、平滑的外形以及新式的单片触摸屏桌面，厂家希望消费者愿意出高价购买这些电脑。而在低端电脑方面，一些公司正在推出安装有Windows 7操作系统、具备新外形的迷你个人电脑，售价比老产品贵20美元或更多一些。而在中档电脑方面，一些电脑生产商也在提价，或至保持了价格稳定。

　　Windows 7 is Microsoft's first new version of the operating system that powers most PCs in three years, with a range of consumer-friendly improvements like a more modern user interface, a revamped taskbar for launching applications and commonly accessed files, and simplified home-networking functions for sharing music, pictures and other files between computers.
　　Windows 7是微软三年来首款可供大多数个人电脑使用的新版操作系统，它进行了一系列方便消费者使用的改进，比如用户界面更加现代，对可直接启动应用软件、进入共享文档的任务栏作了改进，对可使不同电脑分享音乐、图片和其他文件的家庭网络功能进行了简化。

　　Computer makers hope that Windows 7 gives the industry a breather from the 'race to the bottom in terms of price,' said Alex Gruzen, vice president of Dell's consumer-laptop division. Laptops based on earlier Windows operating systems -- excluding the cheap stripped-down machines known as netbooks -- dropped to an average price of $572 in August, down from $689 a year earlier, according to research firm NPD Group.
　　戴尔公司消费者笔记本电脑业务的副总裁格鲁增(Alex Gruzen)说，电脑生产商希望，Windows 7的推出能缓解一下他们之间的价格战。研究公司NPD Group的数据显示，不包括那些被称作上网本的简化型廉价笔记本电脑，使用以往版Windows 操作系统的笔记本电脑今年8月的平均价格已经降至572美元，大大低于上年同期的689美元。

　　Consumers looking to buy midrange laptops might be disappointed not to see the rapid price declines they've grown accustomed to. For example, H-P this month introduced a new laptop based on the Windows 7 operating system under its Compaq brand with a 15.6' screen called the Presario CQ61z, which sells for $499 (though H-P is offering $100 off until Dec. 19).
　　那些希望购买中档笔记本电脑的消费者，可能会对未见到他们已逐渐习以为常的价格迅速下跌感到失望。比如，惠普公司本月新推出了一款基于Windows 7操作系统的康柏(Compaq)牌笔记本电脑，它配有15.6英寸的显示屏，被称做Presario CQ61z，售价499美元(12月19日前可享受100 美元的打折)。

　　Some PC prices are still expected to remain attractive, with many sub-$600 notebooks and sub-$300 desktops available this holiday season. With Windows 7, some PC companies are now trying to offer 'better performance for the same price' as in the past, said Sumit Agnihotry, an executive at Acer, the world's second-largest PC maker by units, after H-P.
　　某些个人电脑的价格预计仍将具有吸引力，今年的假日购物季市场上有许多售价低于600美元的笔记本电脑和售价低于300美元的台式电脑。全球第二大个人电脑生产商宏碁公司的管理人士阿格尼霍特里(Sumit Agnihotry)说，由于Windows 7操作系统的推出，一些个人电脑生产商正努力推出性能改进、但价格持平的电脑。

　　Mr. Gruzen, the Dell executive, said that in the long term he expects computer prices to continue to decline as prices for components continue to drop and PC makers compete for sales.
　　戴尔公司的格鲁增说，长期而言他预计电脑价格会继续下滑，因为电脑零部件的价格仍在下跌，而各电脑生产商也在为增加销量而彼此竞争。

　　Many manufacturers hope new high-end offerings will help offset low prices elsewhere. Toshiba's Satellite M505 Touch laptop, which debuts Thursday, taps into Windows 7's new touch-control capabilities with a screen that lets people operate it with their fingers. Toshiba-designed software also makes it easier to organize programs. One program, called ReelTime, lets people search for files by when they last opened them using visual preview windows.
　　许多电脑生产商希望，新推出的高端电脑有助于弥补它们其他电脑卖低价所造成的损失。东芝公司将于周四推出的笔记本电脑Satellite M505 Touch利用了Windows 7的触摸-控制功能，使用者用手指触摸显示屏就能实现对电脑的操作。东芝公司自己设计的软件也使用户能够更加容易地综合使用各种电脑程序。该公司一款被称做ReelTime的软件能让人通过视觉预览窗口搜索他们上次打开过的文档。

　　The trade-off is that the laptop costs $949, far more than the average price of about $550 for retail Windows notebooks based on older operating systems in September, according to NPD. It's also triple the cost of many netbooks, which sold for an average of $321 in August, NPD said.
　　NPD称，作为换取这些新功能的代价，消费者需花949美元购买这款笔记本电脑，价格远高于9月份时安装旧版Windows操作系统的笔记本电脑平均约为550美元的售价。NPD还说，Satellite M505 Touch的售价是许多笔记本电脑的三倍，后者今年8月的平均售价为321美元。

　　Some manufacturers are offering new designs in their high-end models. H-P recently introduced a new line of ultra-thin laptops called Envy that start at $1,699 and include special music software and a slim metal case with decorative etching. It's also charging $399 for a new Windows 7 netbook with a decorative design from a Dutch designer, $100 more than a similar model introduced last year.
　　一些制造商正在推出新设计的高端电脑。惠普公司最近新推出了一系列被称做Envy的超薄笔记本电脑，起价1,699美元，它们配有特别的音乐软件，具有苗条的金属机身，外壳上有起装饰作用的铜版画。该公司新推出一款配备Windows 7操作系统的上网本售价399美元，其装饰性设计出在一位荷兰设计师之手，这一价格比惠普去年所推一款类似产品高100美元。

　　Dell is debuting a new high-end laptop with Windows 7 that will cost close to $2,000, say people briefed on the matter. The company's Mr. Gruzen said he also expects consumers will be willing to pay a premium for machines that combine new Windows software with a faster Intel Corp. microprocessor known as Quad Core, which was introduced last month.
　　据知情人士说，戴尔公司也将推出一款配备Windows 7操作系统的高端笔记本电脑，售价接近2,000美元。该公司的格鲁增说，他预计消费者愿意出高价购买结合了Windows 7操作系统和英特尔公司(Intel Corp.) Quad Core微处理器的电脑，这款速度更快的微处理器是英特尔上个月推出的。

　　Another reason the new machines will cost more: Windows 7 itself is more expensive for PC makers. Most netbooks in the past included Windows XP, an eight-year-old operating system that Microsoft heavily discounted to gain market share in the low-end laptop category. Microsoft won't say how much it charges computer makers, but the company says it's getting a better price for Windows 7.
　　新款电脑标价更高的另一个原因是，个人电脑生产商购买Windows 7的价格也更高了。大多数上网本以往配备的都是Windows XP操作系统，微软为了扩大这款软件在低端笔记本电脑中的使用，曾给这版已推出8年的操作系统大幅打折。虽然微软不愿说其操作系统开给电脑厂商的价格是多少，但该公司表示Windows 7的卖价更高。
　　
　　Justin Scheck / Nick Wingfield