亚马逊于周四推出了一系列价格更高的新款 Alexa 平板电脑，并表示将放弃其经济实惠的 Fire 产品线，标志着这家电商巨头在设备战略上的重大转变。
Amazon on Thursday debuted a set of new, pricier Alexa tablets and said it's ditching its budget-friendly Fire lineup, marking a significant shift in the e-commerce juggernaut's devices strategy.
该公司发布了 8 英寸、11 英寸和 12 英寸的机型，起售价为 230 美元，最高可达 550 美元。所有设备均于周四开放预购，并将于 10 月 14 日开始发货。
The company unveiled 8-inch, 11-inch and 12-inch models, which start at $230 and run up to $550. All devices are available for preorder on Thursday and will begin shipping Oct. 14.
亚马逊过去一直以接近制造成本的价格销售其设备，一方面是为了以极低的价格压制竞争对手，另一方面也是为了推广其其他产品和服务。公司希望每售出一台售价 80 美元的 Echo 智能音箱，就能促使用户购买电影、有声书订阅服务或从其庞大的网上商店选购商品，而这些产品的利润率通常更高。
Amazon has historically sold its devices at or near the cost of manufacturing them, partly to undercut competitors with extremely cheap prices, but also with the goal of promoting its other products and services. It's hoped that for every $80 Echo smart speaker it sells, users will purchase movies, audiobook subscriptions or items from its sprawling webstore, which tend to have higher margins.
在首席执行官安迪·贾西（Andy Jassy）的带领下，亚马逊近期已采取措施，试图从设备业务中赚取更多利润。贾西于 2021 年接替创始人杰夫·贝索斯（Jeff Bezos）。去年，该公司推出了价格更高的 Echo 智能音箱版本，并开始向非 Prime 会员收取 Alexa+ 订阅费——这是其数字助手功能的增强版。
The company has recently taken steps to make more money from its devices business under CEO Andy Jassy who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos in 2021. Last year, it introduced pricier versions of its Echo smart speakers and began charging non-Prime members a subscription for Alexa+ the souped-up version of its digital assistant.
售价 550 美元的 Alexa Tablet 12 Pro 价格超过亚马逊基础型号 Fire HD 10（售价 155 美元）的两倍，与苹果 iPad 的价格更为接近，后者售价从 449 美元到 1199 美元不等。
The $550 Alexa Tablet 12 Pro costs more than double the price of the $155 Fire HD 10, Amazon's base model, and puts it more in line with Apple 's iPad, which runs from $449 to $1199.
此次发布正值亚马逊及其他设备制造商应对内存价格历史性飙升之际。8 月份，内存短缺导致 Echo、Kindle、Fire TV 及其他硬件价格上涨。今年早些时候，亚马逊还上调了 MacBook 和 iPad 的价格，而任天堂也提高了其 Switch 2 游戏机的售价。
The launch comes as Amazon and other devicemakers are grappling with a historic surge in memory prices in August boosted prices on Echos, Kindles, Fire TVs and other hardware, citing the memory crunch. And earlier this year, raised its prices on MacBooks and iPads, while Nintendo hiked the price of its Switch 2 console.
亚马逊否认内存成本上涨对其决定提高Alexa平板电脑价格起到了作用。但该公司设备部门主管帕诺斯·帕奈承认，由于供应短缺，要在合理价格下制造一款高端平板电脑而又不做任何“权衡”，确实“相当棘手”。
Amazon denied that rising memory costs played a role in its decision to charge more for the Alexa tablet. But Panos Panay, the company's devices boss, acknowledged that the shortage made it "quite tricky" to build a premium tablet at a reasonable price without making any "trade-offs."
“我认为团队在没有做出这种权衡的情况下，完成了出色的设计。”帕奈在接受CNBC采访时说，“他们为你呈现了一款产品应有的完整工艺，同时还能维持这一价格水平。”
"I think the team did a good job designing without making that trade," Panay told CNBC in an interview. "They gave you the full craftsmanship of a product, but are able to keep it at that price point."
该公司表示，Alexa平板电脑在速度、性能、人工智能功能和设计上的提升，使其更高的定价具有合理性，并让该设备与“市场上最出色的平板电脑”处于同一水平。
The company said the Alexa tablet's improved speed and performance, artificial intelligence features and upgraded design warrant a higher price tag and put the devices on par with "the best tablets on the market."
亚马逊为其产品增添了更轻薄、更坚固的铝制后盖、更高分辨率的显示屏以及更快速的处理器。在最高端的Alexa平板电脑12 Pro型号中，公司还采用了与康宁合作开发的“Nanomatte”显示技术，以“显著减少屏幕反光”。最显著的升级之一是，所有设备均运行谷歌的安卓操作系统，这与早期型号形成了重大转变——早期型号使用的是名为Fire OS的定制安卓版本，并依赖亚马逊自己的应用商店，导致可用应用数量有限。
Amazon added a sleeker, sturdier aluminum backing, higher resolution display and faster processors. On the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, the highest-end model, it incorporated "Nanomatte" display technology that was developed in partnership with Corning to "dramatically reduce screen glare." One of the most notable upgrades is that all of the devices run Google 's Android operating system, a major departure from earlier models, which relied on a custom Android version dubbed Fire OS and used Amazon's own app store, limiting the number of apps that were available.
这也是亚马逊首次将一系列设备统一纳入Alexa品牌。该品牌的智能助手最初于2014年通过Echo智能音箱推出。在新款平板电脑中，Alexa被置于核心位置：主屏幕上的“动态标签”会提供推荐内容，并让用户能够快速继续之前中断的阅读或电视节目观看。
It's also the first time Amazon has attached a set of devices to the Alexa brand, the company's automated assistant first launched in 2014 via the Echo smart speaker. Alexa is front and center in the new tablets, via a "dynamic tab" on the home screen that offers recommendations and lets users quickly pick up where they left off reading or watching a TV show.
该公司还推出了一项名为“屏幕智能”的新功能，用户可让Alexa查看屏幕上的内容，并提供建议或执行操作。
The company also introduced a new feature called "On-Screen Intelligence," where users can ask Alexa to look at what's on their screen and make suggestions or take actions.
在一次演示中，Panay 展示了用户如何观看一段有人在烤架上烹饪的 TikTok 视频，然后让 Alexa 购买视频中使用的汉堡压模。亚马逊表示，用户还可以调出比赛赛程，并将所有日期添加到日历中。
In a demo, Panay showed how users could watch a TikTok clip of someone cooking on a grill and ask Alexa to shop for a burger press used in the video. Users can also pull up a game schedule and add every date to their calendar, Amazon said.
Panos 说：“她会完成这些工作，如果一切顺利，她还会生成一份购物清单，我可以直接点击‘立即购买’。”
"She'll do the homework, and if things work out, she's gonna bring up a shopping list where I can just hit buy now," Panos said.
亚马逊表示，它将继续支持 Fire 系列产品线，消费者也可以像现在一样继续使用这些设备，但公司已经不再生产新设备。Fire 产品线包括 10 英寸和 8 英寸的型号，以及两款面向儿童的产品。
Amazon said it will continue to support the Fire lineup and consumers can continue using their devices as they do today, but it is no longer manufacturing new units. The Fire lineup includes a 10-inch and 8-inch model, as well as two versions targeted for kids.
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