讲解人 · Natasha
原文
And they’re rejecting the ways these phones can sap concentration, impact sleep and exacerbate mental health concerns.
There are plenty of relatively simple ways to address these issues, but some people are deciding to go further, returning to a time before constant connection.
They’re transitioning to “dumbphones”, a catch-all term for phones with basic functions such as calling, texting and setting alarms.
Some dumbphones resemble 90s flip phones.
Others are niche, high-end products that provide a downgraded smartphone experience at a surprising premium.
Feature phones remain consistent in the US as their simple design, affordability and ruggedness still pander to specific demographics.
Although there will not be a significant spike for feature phones in the market, there are consistent needs that create the steady demand for feature phones in a smartphone-dominated market.
Yet while phone manufacturers do pull in notable sums from feature phone sales, they have struggled to turn a profit on the stripped-down hardware.
Many of these tech giants generally generate revenue on either software or highly specialised hardware for which consumers will pay hefty price tags.
Simply, these companies have little incentive to cater to dumbphone users, whose revenue potential is relatively miniscule.
Alongside precarious profit margins, there’s also the wrinkle that the technology on which these devices run will become so outdated they won’t be able to function.
For instance, dumbphone users across the globe will be out of luck if the 2G and 3G networks that sustain their functionality disappear entirely.
Plus, many jobs — even low-wage positions — require employees to carry phones with app capabilities.
At the end of the day, there may not be enough customers to buoy even the savviest business model.
带着问题听讲解
- 根据文章，智能手机带来了什么负面影响？
- 怎么理解 catch-all 这个词？
- 功能手机对美国消费者来说，有哪些卖点？
讲解
重点词汇
acutely
/əˈkjuːt.li/
adv. 强烈地，深深地
- 搭配短语：acutely aware/conscious
- 例句：Students are becoming acutely aware that they need more than just paper qualifications.
相关词汇：acute（adj. 严重的）- 英文释义：an acute problem is very serious
have something at one’s fingertips
手头有某物（可供随时使用）
- 例句：We have all the facts and figures at our fingertips.
sap
/sæp/
v. 削弱；使耗尽
- 搭配短语：to sap somebody's strength/courage/energy
- 例句：The sickness has sapped my strength.
exacerbate
/ɪɡˈzæs.ɚ.beɪt/
v. 使恶化；使加重
- 同义词：aggravate
catch-all
/ˈkætʃ.ɑːl/
adj. 宽泛的；包罗万象的
- 近义词：general
resemble
/rɪˈzem.bəl/
v. 像；与……类似，与……相似
- 词根词缀：re-（强调）；-sem-（一样的，一致的）例句：He grew up to resemble his father.搭配短语：closely/strongly/vaguely/slightly resemble
niche
/nɪtʃ/
adj. 针对特定小群体的
- 搭配短语：a niche market（小众市场）词性拓展：niche（n. 独特的商机，市场定位）搭配短语：carve a niche for oneself（给自己创造独特优势）
at a premium
超出平常价格，溢价的
- 例句：Shares are selling at a premium.
affordability
/əˌfɔːrdəˈbɪləti/
n. 价格合理；多数人买得起
- 相关词汇：affordable
ruggedness
/‘rʌgidnis/
n. 结实耐用
- 相关词汇：rugged （adj. 崎岖的；粗狂的；坚固结实的）
- 搭配短语：the rugged beauty of the Highlands
- 搭配短语：his rugged good looks
- 搭配短语：rugged outdoor clothing
pander to
迎合；投其所好
- 搭配短语：pander to sb's wishes近义词：cater to
- 例句：They only publish novels which cater to the mass market.
spike
/spaɪk/
n.（数量或比率的）激增
- 英文释义：a sudden large increase in the number or rate of something
pull in
挣，赚（钱）
- 例句：I only pull in 15,000 a year as a social worker.近义词：make/earn
stripped-down
adj. 只保留最基本特征的；简约的
- 例句：I think the stripped-down version of your proposal has more chance of being accepted.相关词汇：strip （v. 脱去衣服）
- 搭配短语：strip down
- 例句：They taught us how to strip down a car engine.
hefty
/ˈhef.ti/
adj.（体积、重量或数量）巨大的
- 例句：She was quite a hefty woman.搭配短语：hefty camera equipment搭配短语：a hefty fine
incentive
/ɪnˈsen.t̬ɪv/
n. 刺激；动力；鼓励
- 搭配短语：have/lack incentive to do something
- 例句：People lack any incentive to save fuel.
近义词：motivation
miniscule
/ˈmɪn·əˌskjul/
adj. 极小的
- 搭配短语：a miniscule amount of food同义词：minute
- 例句：Her handwriting is minute.
词根词缀：min-（小的）
precarious
/prɪˈker.i.əs/
adj. 不稳定的；危险的
- 例句：They crawled up precarious ladders.例句：Our financial situation has become precarious.
wrinkle
/ˈrɪŋ.kəl/
n. 小问题；小麻烦
- 搭配短语：iron out the wrinkles
- 例句：There are still a few wrinkles to iron out before the agreement can be signed.
sustain
/səˈsteɪn/
v. 保持；维持
- 例句：She found it difficult to sustain the children's interest.近义词：maintain
buoy
/ˈbuː.i/
v. 使漂浮；使浮起
savvy
/ˈsæv.i/
adj. 聪明有见识的，能应对实际情况的
- 搭配短语：savvy consumers近义词：sophisticated
