一向不走尋常路的Snapchat(閱后即焚)這次在硬件設(shè)備的首次嘗試也遵循了之前的傳統(tǒng)——推出視頻共享墨鏡Spectacles,當(dāng)你按下側(cè)邊按鈕,眼鏡就可錄制視頻,而且還能與手機同步!
測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識:
unveil揭開;揭幕[?n've?l]
integrated綜合的;完整的;互相協(xié)調(diào)的['?nt?gre?t?d]
teal水鴨;青色,藍綠色[ti?l]
coral珊瑚的;珊瑚色的['k?r(?)l]
accumulation累積;堆積物[?kju?mj?'le??(?)n]
By Hannah Kuchler
Snapchat,the app used for rapid fire exchange of selfies and stories,has unveiled its first ever hardware product,launching sunglasses with an integrated video camera named Spectacles.
The company also announced it had changed its name to Snap,as it tries to move beyond its app for disappearing messages and 24-hour collections of photos to redefining photography in the internet age.
Snap said it believed“reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate”.
It said it had created one of the smallest wireless video cameras in the world. The glasses — which come in black,teal and coral — will cost $129.99 and are not expected to be a significant revenue driver at first. Snapchat is in the early days of generating revenue from advertising.
The new photos will be circular with a 115 degree field of view,capturing all that human eyes can see in a scene. Spectacles can take one day’s worth of snaps on a single charge and connect directly to Snapchat via Bluetooth or WiFi.
Evan Spiegel,Snap’s founder and chief executive,told the Wall Street Journal that he saw the sunglasses as a toy but one which helped Snap with its mission to harness the power of the camera for“instant expression”.
“It’s not about an accumulation of photos defining who you are,”he said.“What it does is allow you to share your experience of the world while also seeing everyone else’s experience of the world,everywhere,all the time.”
Snapchat,which last raised funds at a valuation of at least $15bn,has an audience of more than 150m daily active users and high engagement rates for a social media app. What started as a teen phenomenon has spread to millennials and even some parents of teens.
The Financial Times reported earlier this month that Snapchat had joined the industry group that runs the Bluetooth wireless standard,the strongest hint yet that it was moving from the app into hardware.
Mr Spiegel had been spotted sporting the glasses on vacation,prompting speculation that the company could be trying to go where Google had failed with Google Glass: designing an internet-connected wearable for the face. Google Glass was a pricey device widely criticised for being the domain of only super geeks and lacking a‘killer app’that could lure a wider market.
Many guessed Snapchat would look at creating an‘a(chǎn)ugmented reality’device,as Apple,Google,Facebook and Microsoft have all recently shown interest in the technique,where virtual images are laid on top of real world images(most recently shown in the hit gaming app Pokémon Go). But the glasses so far appear to focus on capturing reality with no lenses or stickers shown in the introductory video.
Snapchat had been hiring hardware experts since the beginning of the year,recruiting electrical engineers,marketers and product managers from Nest,the smart thermostat maker,sports camera company GoPro and start-ups including Ring,Canary and Sphero. It also acquired Vergence Labs,which had been developing a headset similar to Google Glass,for a reported $15m in 2014.
1.What did Snapchat announce besides the new hardware product?
A. redefined the photography
B. said goodbye to the age of the Internet
C. changed its CEO
D. changed its name
答案(1)
2.Which one of the following is wrong for the glasses?
A. it has three colors
B. it is made from coral
C. it can capture all that human eyes can see in a scene
D. it is not a significant revenue driver
答案(2)
3.How to send the video from glasses to the phone?
A. via Bluetooth or WiFi
B. by scanning printed code
C. via converters
D. automatically synchronize by the app
答案(3)
4.where had Google failed with Google Glass?
A. too expensive
B. received an email
C. designed an internet-connected wearable for the face
D. lacked a‘killer app’that could lure a wider market
答案(4)
(1) 答案:D.changed its name
解釋:Snapchat發(fā)布了第一款硬件產(chǎn)品Spectacles太陽鏡,同時宣布公司將更名為Snap Inc,這意味著Snapchat將成為不會僅靠軟件營收的公司。
(2) 答案:B.it is made from coral
解釋:眼鏡有三款顏色:黑色、青色和珊瑚色,目前并不會成為公司的主要收入來源。
(3) 答案:A.via Bluetooth or WiFi
解釋:視頻可通過無線網(wǎng)或藍牙同步到手機。
(4) 答案:C.designed an internet-connected wearable for the face
解釋:在谷歌失敗的地方,Snapchat繼續(xù)前行。