【英语科技】手机、相机、iPad……一样都不能少

Phil Libin owns Apple Inc.'s latest phone, which enables him to surf the Web, fire off emails, tweet, use GPS to avoid getting lost in Japan, and play a videogame he likes called 'Age of Zombies.'

It's not enough, he says.

Which is why Mr. Libin, chief executive of Evernote Corp., a start-up that makes list-keeping software, carries around a backpack that weighs 26.2 pounds. Speaking of lists, the backpack contains: a 17-inch notebook computer, an iPad tablet, a Samsung tablet, two phones, an SLR camera, two lenses for the SLR, a headset for making Skype calls, an in-ear phone headset, a wi-fi router, a docking station for the router, a second wi-fi router, a wireless card, an SD card reader, two memory sticks, an external battery, a few other things, and the cords.

He's going to ditch one of the tablets, he says. But he's ordered another gadget to replace it: a Bodybugg calorie-management device.

'Ten years ago, I probably carried three things and now I carry more than 30,' says the 38-year-old. 'That's the sensible load,' he says, and he's serious: He used to carry a fatter laptop and a Kindle.

Even as the world's frankengadgets take a cue from Swiss Army knives -- giving us TV-streaming cellphones and photo-emailing cameras -- some people still can't leave the redundant doodads back home. 'Each one of these gadgets does one thing slightly better than the other,' says Richard Wong, 41, a partner at venture-capital firm Accel Partners. His load: Two phones, one PC, an iPad.

Mr. Wong uses his iPhone to read the news, update Facebook or tweet. But he lugs around a Blackberry or a Droid phone, too, because for emails he prefers using a physical keyboard, not the iPhone's on-screen keyboard. The iPad? that's for Web surfing. The PC is there for 'intensive work.'

It's wise to carry lots of phones, phone-lovers say. For one thing, there's less worrying about getting a signal. 'I literally have one phone for every major network out there,' says Gilman Louie, a San Francisco venture capitalist. He's got a Palm Pre, two iPhones (one for overseas), a Nexus One and a Droid.

Some digerati concede the gear is partly for appearances. Brian Wong, a 19-year-old Canadian entrepreneur in San Francisco, admits it's overkill to carry around an iPad and a laptop. But he says it creates a better impression during presentations if he can 'swing out' an iPad as opposed to his laptop, with its screen cluttered with files and junk. 'It feels a lot more professional,' he says.

Some boast of using two gizmos at once. 'In the 10 seconds that you're waiting for one device to do one thing, you can use the other to do something else,' says Joel Simkhai, CEO of Los Angeles-based Nearby Buddy Finder LLC, which develops dating apps for mobile phones. He multitasks by surfing on an iPhone and talking on a Blackberry.

Grammy winning rapper Hakeem Seriki, also known as Chamillionaire, keeps four phones in his pockets. He uses a Blackberry for calls, an iPhone 4 for email and apps, his older iPhone 3GS to store music and a T-Mobile Sidekick for writing lyrics.

'I could probably live with one, but there's always something I don't like about each,' Mr. Seriki says. Sometimes he sleeps with an iPhone under his pillow, he notes, for quick access.

Those who successfully wean themselves roll their eyes at their gear-burdened brethren. Richard Bullwinkle, 40, whose job title is chief evangelist at a San Francisco digital-entertainment company, says he used to be 'the guy who had way too many gadgets, and traveled with a suitcase just for them.'

Then, last summer, he got the newest iPhone. Because it features an improved camera, video chat and the ability to run more than just one piece of software at a time, it 'changed everything for me as a gadget nut,' he says.

Two months ago, he took a big step. He went to Santa Monica, Calif., for three days with just the phone. 'I felt naked' without his old bag of things, he says, but got by.

Today, Mr. Bullwinkle feels liberated. 'I smile a little on the inside,' he says, when he spots other people at airport security dumping several phones and laptops into the screening bins -- only to get busted for having still more gadgets in their bags.

Mr. Libin of Evernote acknowledges there are 'a couple of redundancies' in his 26.2-pound backpack, such as not one, but two, headsets. But other than that, he says, 'I use everything all the time. There's no dead weight.'

His colleagues say they appreciate his comprehensive stash. 'It's cool to have a person near you that's like your own personal Best Buy,' says Andrew Sinkov, Evernote's marketing chief.

On a recent vacation to Hawaii with his wife, Sharmila Birbal, Mr. Libin took along his gadgets. Ms. Birbal says she long ago gave up on the idea of holidays with her husband minus the backpack. 'I was just grateful Phil was with me,' she says.

Though the couple stayed at a resort known as a low-tech getaway destination, Mr. Libin spent most of his time on a hammock with five devices. 'That was an ideal vacation,' he says.

Phil Libin力宾的数码宝贝摆满了一桌子菲尔•力宾(Phil Libin)拥有苹果公司(Apple Inc.)最新款的手机，让他能够上网冲浪，收发电子邮件，上推特，用GPS避免在日本迷路，并玩一个他喜欢的名为“僵尸时代”(Age of Zombies)的电玩。

但他说，这些还不够。

这也就是力宾总是随身携带一个重达12公斤背包的原因。他是开发记事簿软件的新兴企业Evernote公司的首席执行长；跟记事簿一样，他这个背包的内容也非常丰富：一台17英寸的笔记本计算机、一台iPad平板计算机、一台三星平板计算机、两部手机、一台单反相机、两个单反镜头、一副用于Skype通话的头戴式耳机、一副耳塞式的手机耳机、一台wi-fi路由器、一个路由器底座、另一台wi-fi路由器、一张无线网卡、一个SD读卡器、两个记忆卡、一个外置电池，还有电源线和其它一些东西。

力宾说，他打算舍弃掉一台平板计算机。不过，他已经订购了另一样数码设备来填补空缺：Bodybugg卡路里管理仪。

38岁的力宾说，十年前，我的背包里可能只有三样东西，现在却有30多样。这些东西的重量还可以。力宾说的是实情：他以前背的是一台厚重的笔记本和一个Kindle阅读器。

全世界的电子设备都在向瑞士军刀(Swiss Army)学习──手机能看电视，数码相机能通过电子邮件发送照片──但有些人还是不愿意把一大堆没啥用的小玩意儿留在家里。41岁的理查德•王(Richard Won)说，每个设备在自己的专长领域都要比其它的设备表现好一点。他是风险投资公司Accel Partners的合伙人。他的装备是：两部手机，一台笔记本计算机，一台iPad。

理查德用iPhone看新闻，更新Facebook，上推特，但他还是需要用到黑莓手机(Blackberry)或摩托罗拉的Droid手机，因为他喜欢用实体键盘写邮件，而不是用iPhone屏幕上的虚拟键盘。至于iPad嘛，那是用来上网的，笔记本计算机则是用来干大活儿的。

手机迷们说，多带几部手机没坏处。至少有一点，可以为信号问题少操一点心。旧金山风险投资家吉尔曼•路易(Gilman Louie)说，基本上每个主要的手机网络，我都会带一部相应的手机。他有一部Palm Pre，两部iPhone（一部在国外用），一部Nexus One和一部Droid。

一些数码迷承认，带这些设备也有一部分显摆的因素。19岁的加拿大人布莱恩•王(Brian Wong)在旧金山创业，他说随身带一台iPad和一台笔记本计算机太夸张，但在做商务演示时，如果能轻巧拿出一台iPad，而不是一台屏幕上遍布文件和乱七八糟东西的笔记本计算机，会给人留下更好的印象。他说，iPad给人一种专业得多的感觉。

有些人夸耀自己能同时使用两样设备。洛杉矶的乔尔•西姆凯(Joel Simkhai)说，在等待一个设备干某件事的10秒钟内，你可以用另一个设备干点别的。他是为手机开发约会软件的Nearby Buddy Finder LLC公司的首席执行长。他经常一边用iPhone上网，一边用黑莓手机通话。

格莱美音乐奖(Grammy)得主、号称变色龙(Chamillionaire)的哈肯•瑟瑞奇(Hakeem Seriki)口袋里有四部手机。黑莓用来打电话，iPhone 4用来收发邮件、玩应用程序，老款的iPhone 3GS用来存储音乐，T-Mobile Sidekick用来写歌词。

瑟瑞奇说，只用一部手机应该也行，但每部手机都有一些让我不喜欢的东西。他说自己有时候会把一部iPhone放在枕头底下睡觉，这样随手就可以拿起来用。

也有一些人成功地走出了数码产品堆砌起来的城堡，并对那些依然陷在城里的人不以为然。40岁的理查德•巴尔温科(Richard Bullwinkle)是旧金山一家数码娱乐公司的宣传总监，他说自己曾是一个拥有太多数码设备的人，以至于出门要用一个小提箱来装这些东西。

去年夏天，他买了最新款的iPhone。因为它有很多新功能，改进了摄像头，能够进行视频聊天，能够同时处理多个任务，巴尔温科说，它彻底改变了我这个数码发烧友。

两个月前，他向前迈出了一大步。他去加州的圣摩尼卡(Santa Monica)呆三天，只带了那部iPhone。巴尔温科说，没有以前那一大包数码设备，我觉得自己像没穿衣服一样，但三天时间还是安然度过了。现在，他觉得自己得到了解放。巴尔温科说，当我看到机场安检处有人把好几部手机和笔记本计算机放在篮筐里，却又因为行李里还有其它数码设备而不得不重新进行安检时，我心里暗自偷笑。

Evernote公司的力宾承认，他12公斤的背包里有一些设备是多余的，比如有两个耳机，但其实一个就够了。不过，他说，除此之外，我每一样东西都会用到，没有多余的负重。

力宾的同事说，他们欣赏力宾的大背包。Evernote的市场总监安德鲁•辛科夫(Andrew Sinkov)说，你身边有个这样的人，就好像身边有家百思买(Best Buy)电器店一样。

力宾最近跟妻子波芭尔(Sharmila Birbal)去夏威夷度假，他把那一大包设备也都带上了。波芭尔说她很久以前就已经放弃了和丈夫出去度假没有那个背包当电灯泡的奢望，她说，菲尔能跟我在一起，我就很知足了。

虽然他们俩呆在一个以原生态、低科技闻名的度假胜地，但力宾还是把大多数时间花在捣鼓五台数码设备上。力宾说，那是一个理想的假期。