Samsung’s ‘iPhone killer’ scrapped after failure to resolve battery fires

三星停售Note 7智能手机

《金融时报》

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=g13096yw0ic&width=500&height=375&auto=0

Samsung’s ambitions to rival Apple in the smartphone market suffered a deep setback after a series of fires in its flagship Galaxy Note 7 forced the South Korean giant to abandon the model in one of the most ignominious[1] chapters in consumer electronics.

三星(Samsung)在智能手机市场叫板苹果(Apple)的雄心遭到一个严重挫折，其旗舰手机Galaxy Note 7发生的一系列起火事故迫使这家韩国巨擘放弃这一型号，这件事已成为消费电子产品史上最不光彩的篇章之一。

More than $19bn was wiped off the company’s market value amid growing fears that the safety issues around the Note 7 could damage the group’s reputation and have an impact on the group’s other consumer products.

该公司的市值已蒸发了逾190亿美元，市场越来越担心，围绕Note 7的安全问题可能损害该集团的声誉，并对该集团的其他消费产品产生冲击。

There have already been some signs of contagion[2], with a slowdown in S7 sales this week, according to one network, which cautioned that it was too early to tell if there had been sustained damage to the Samsung brand.

已经有一些蔓延迹象。一家网络运营商称，本周S7销售放缓，它告诫称，现在要判断三星品牌是否已受到持久损害还为时过早。

“Samsung’s credibility is on the line[处于危险状态],” said Bryan Ma, analyst at IDC. “Samsung needs to make sure that consumers can trust its brand or else other products [and future products] are at risk.”

“三星的可信度岌岌可危，”IDC分析师Bryan Ma表示。“三星需要确保消费者能够信任其品牌，否则其他产品乃至未来产品将面临风险。”

The decision to scrap[3] the line, once viewed as an “iPhone killer”, came after the company was forced to make a second recall of the smartphone as photos of the devices ablaze[4] shot across social media worldwide.

决定放弃这款一度被视为“iPhone杀手”的手机之前，该公司被迫对其进行第二次召回，因为这款手机起火燃烧的照片在世界各地社交媒体上热传。

Samsung thought it had solved the battery fire problems last month after US regulators ordered the first recall following 92 reports of batteries overheating. But the incidents continued, putting intense pressure on the group. After initially scaling back production[缩减生产] earlier this week, it finally took the unprecedented step to kill it off.

三星上月以为它已经解决了电池起火问题，此前美国监管机构在接到92份电池过热报告后下令其进行第一次召回。但起火事件仍接二连三发生，给该集团带来巨大压力。本周早些时候宣布缩减生产后，它终于采取了前所未有的淘汰举措。

According to one person who has spoken to Samsung executives, problems with the phone appeared to have arisen from tweaks[5] to the processor to speed up the rate at which the phone could be charged. That would suggest it was not an issue with the battery itself, as Samsung initially speculated[分析,推测], or the design of the phone, but with the underlying technology[底层技术].

曾与三星高管交谈的一名人士称，这款手机的问题似乎源自对处理器进行的调整，其目的是加快手机充电速度。如果是这样的话，问题就不是像三星最初推测的那样在于电池，也不是手机的设计，而是在于基础技术。

“If you try to charge the battery too quickly it can make it more volatile[不稳定的;易变的]. If you push an engine too hard, it will explode. Something had to give. These devices are miracles of technology — how much we can get out of that tiny piece of lithium-ion[锂离子(电池)],” the person told the Financial Times.

“如果您尝试对电池太快充电，可能会使其更加不稳定。如果你把一台发动机用过头，它会爆炸。有得就会有失。这些装置是技术奇迹——我们能够从这么一点点锂离子获得这么大电量，”上述人士对英国《金融时报》表示。

Samsung was not available for comment, but insiders had previously said it would not comment before a thorough investigation had been conducted.

记者联系不上三星请其置评，但内部人士曾表示，该公司在进行彻底调查之前不会表态。

Shares in the South Korean company fell 8 per cent — their biggest percentage decline since October 2008 — as analysts warned that damage from the recall fiasco[惨败;可耻的失败;尴尬的结局] was likely to hit Samsung’s reputation as well as sales in coming months. That could be a boon[恩惠;恩赐;福利] to rivals such as Apple and Google, just as their new devices hit the market ahead of the crucial holiday sales season.

这家韩国公司股价下跌8%，这是自2008年10月以来的最大百分比跌幅。分析师们警告称，召回失败的损害很可能会打击三星的声誉以及未来几个月的销售。这对苹果和谷歌(Google)等竞争对手可能是一个利好，因为他们的新款产品在关键的假日销售季之前进入市场。

······

[1]ignominious [.ɪɡnə'mɪniəs]

(especially of events or behaviour) embarrassing because of being a complete failure （尤指事件或行为）耻辱的，丢脸的

an ignominious defeat/failure/retreat

声誉扫地的落败／失败／撤退

[2]contagion [kən'teɪdʒ(ə)n]

the situation in which a disease is spread by touching someone or something 接触传染

The doctor says there's no chance/danger of contagion.

医生说不存在传染的可能／危险。

[3]scrap

to not continue with a system or plan 放弃；取消

They're considering scrapping the tax and raising the money in other ways.

他们正在考虑废除这个税种，用其他方法募集款项。

We scrapped our plans for a trip to France.

我们取消了法国之行的计划。

to get rid of something that is no longer useful or wanted, often using its parts in new ways 销毁；毁掉

Hundreds of nuclear weapons have been scrapped.

数百件核武器已被销毁。

[4]ablaze：burning very strongly 猛烈燃烧的；烈火熊熊的

The house was ablaze, and the flames and smoke could be seen for miles around.

房子燃起了熊熊大火，方圆几英里都能看到烈焰和浓烟。

[5]tweak：to change something slightly, especially in order to make it more correct, effective, or suitable 稍稍改进

The software is pretty much there - it just needs a little tweaking.

软件差不多好了——只需要一点点改进。

You just need to tweak the last paragraph and then it's done.

你只需要把最后一段稍作修改就可以了。

······