We always want our gadgets to be better. At one time, that meant a push for the fastest processor, better RAM, more hard drive space. Then the MacBook Air arrived, and attention turned to thinner and lighter notebooks. On the mobile side, that meant devices that were also lighter, thinner, with increasingly larger screens.
When Microsoft (MSFT) announced its Surface tablet earlier this month, much of the criticism lobbed towards at -- at least via Twitter -- focused on the tablet's display. "Surface for Windows 8 Pro" will have what the company calls a ClearType HD display, seemingly the company's answer to Apple's (AAPL) Retina display, but the cheaper "Surface for Windows RT" will not. This little bit of news irked some.
"If Microsoft Surface doesn't beat iPad in screen resolution, then I dunno. To me, screen rez is becoming more crucial to tablet experience, " Tweeted one.
"I think this new tablet from Microsoft will live or die on its screen. The Retina display is stunning and non-Apple HW [hardware] have lagged behind, " Tweeted another.
The almost-inevitable popularity of Apple devices packing sharper screens like the iPhone, iPad, and more recently, the MacBook Pro, has reshaped our idea of what we want from our gear. For many now, it appears to be extremely high screen resolution, and to some extent, I understand why. After all, if the screen is the one computer or tablet feature we interact with the most -- the literal window to content -- it makes sense that that "window" be as clear and sharp as can be. And on a product like the newest iPad, for instance, the screen is gorgeous. Turn the brightness all the way up and book pages resemble glowing sheets of paper.
On the other hand, I don't know if having a super-sharp display is all-that-necessary to have an excellent computing experience. I don't know anyone who complained about their iPad 2's screen -- at least until the next version came along. And having spent quality time with the newest, lightest, thinnest 15-inch MacBook Pro, I instantly appreciated that display's clarity but (mostly) didn't mind going back to the "antiquated" 1, 440 x 900 resolution of my old MacBook Air.
A device can still be a great one regardless of how many pixels it's packing. If early reviews of Google's (GOOG) Nexus 7 -- a device with a quality screen not-quite-up to Retina standards -- are any indication, Google finally has an excellent tablet on its hands.
Which is all to say, a quality display may be all well and good, but it's not the deal breaker some make it out to be.
What do you think? In
this post-iPhone 4, "new iPad, " and MacBook Pro-era, is a Retina
Display-quality screen a make or break feature now for new devices?
我们是否需要超清晰显示屏
苹果最新款笔记本配备有极其清晰的屏幕——个人电脑制造商们很可能会迫不及待地纷纷效仿。问题在于，大部分人可能根本分辨不出其中的差别。因此，目前还无法判断超清晰显示屏是否会成为决定移动设备成败的关键。
我们一直想让自己的电子设备变得更强大。曾几何时，这意味着更强大的处理器、更多的内存和更大的硬盘。之后，MacBook Air从天而降，更轻更薄的笔记本成了我们的追求目标。而在移动性方面，我们同样希望设备更轻、更薄、屏幕更大。
本月初微软（Microsoft）公 布其Surface平板电脑后，至少在Twitter上，绝大部分批评言论都将矛头对准了其显示屏。“Windows 8 Surface Pro版”将配备微软所谓的ClearType高清显示屏，这似乎是微软对苹果（Apple）视网膜显示器的回应，但价格较低的“Windows 8 Surface RT版”却不会配备这种高清显示屏。这一点让有些人很不痛快。
一位网友在Twitter发言称：“如果微软Surface不能在屏幕分辨率上战胜iPad，那我就不知道了。对我而言，屏幕分辨率对平板电脑的用户体验已经越来越重要了。”
另一位网友则在Twitter上称：“我认为屏幕将决定微软新款平板的成败。视网膜显示屏令人炫目，其它非苹果硬件都已经过时了。”
随着iPhone、iPad和最近的 MacBook Pro这些具备明锐显示屏的设备大行其道，苹果已经为我们重新定义了理想中的产品标准。对于许多人而言，目前最期待的似乎是超高分辨率的显示屏，而在一定 程度上，我能理解这一点。毕竟，显示屏是电脑及平板电脑中我们所接触最多的部件，说得形象点，就是“显示内容的窗口”，所以，可以理解人们希望这扇窗户尽 可能的清晰、明锐。例如，最新推出的全新iPad，屏幕效果非常出色。将亮度调到最高，电子书的书页看起来就像是色彩鲜明的纸张。
但从另一方面而言，我尚不清楚高清晰 显示屏对于出色的计算机体验而言，究竟是不是不可或缺的。我从没见过抱怨iPad 2屏幕的用户——至少在新款iPad上市前是如这样此。而且，在花了相当的时间体验过最新潮、最轻便、最纤薄的15英寸MacBook Pro后，虽然我立刻被清晰的显示屏吸引住了，但我（基本）不介意重新用回老款MacBook Air“过时”的1440 x 900分辨率屏幕。
一款设备的成功与否与分辨率的高低没有关系。根据谷歌Nexus 7的早期评测来看，尽管它的分辨率与苹果的视网膜视频还有差距，但谷歌终于算是打造出了一款出色的平板电脑。总之，高质量显示屏是件好事，但绝不像某些人想的，是决定产品成败的关键所在。
你的看法如何？在这个后iPhone 4、“全新iPad”和MacBook Pro时代，视网膜显示屏标准的屏幕是否是决定一款新设备生死的关键？
译者：项航
