好英语网旅行中如何避免智能手机巨额支出
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TRAVEL and smartphones go together — and these days, texting, updating Facebook and good old tweeting-while-eating are the least of it. Instant access to Yelp, TripAdvisor and endless other apps helps with everything from choosing an entree, tracking down discounts, posting a photo and checking the traffic ahead. Add a healthy dose of old-fashioned phone calls from poolside or mountain trail, and you might say staying connected has become something close to a constitutional right.
智能手机一直是旅行的好伴侣——而且近年来，发短信、更新Facebook状态和大家早已习惯的边吃饭边发推特，只是智能手机最基本的功能。随时登录商铺点评网站Yelp、旅游点评网站TripAdvisor和数不清的各种应用程序，可以帮助我们解决旅途中的几乎所有问题，包括餐馆点菜、寻找打折信息、上传照片和查询前方路况。再加上泳池边或山间小路上偶尔使用的打电话这种传统功能，人们自然会相信，保持智能手机信号畅通已成为一种近似于宪法保护的重要人权。
Just one catch: leave the country and your smartphone plan — much like the Constitution — no longer has you covered.
只是有一样：离开你的国家以后，你的智能手机资费计划像你所在国的宪法一样，无法再覆盖你的活动范围。
As many people have learned the hard way, calling and texting while abroad can bring painful bills; using data services can lead to insolvency. That’s because standard international roaming rates are outrageous: $2, $3 or even $5 a minute, 50 cents for a text message. A megabyte of data costs $15 to $20. That means that checking the status of your Facebook friends can cost about $3 or $4. That’s a lot to see your high school classmate’s backyard tomato plant.
许多人都用亲身体验获得了一个惨痛教训：在国外旅行时打电话和发短信极有可能给自己带来一张巨额账单，使用数据服务甚至能导致个人财务的破产。这是因为国际漫游资费标准一向高得令人恼火：通话每分钟2美元、3美元甚至5美元，一条短信也要花费50美分。每兆字节的数据要耗费15美元~20美元。这意味着查看朋友们的Facebook页面要花掉你3美元~4美元。如果想看看高中同学后院里的西红柿，就会花掉你一大笔钱。
The good news is there are ways to save. The bad news is there are lots and lots of ways, some complementary and none perfect. Here’s how I’d break it down for five kinds of budget travelers.
好消息是有不少方法可以帮你节省这些开支。坏消息是，这些方法虽然为数众多，有些互相补充，但没有一个是完美的。我在下面介绍了针对5种俭游者的省钱方案。
The Blissfully Disconnected
快乐断网族
You’re the type who leaves your cellphone and laptop at home, because traveling is about getting away from it all.
你是上路前将手机和笔记本电脑留在家里的那种人，因为旅行意味着从手机和电脑的捆绑中逃离。
What you should do: Write out your itinerary with hotels and contact numbers and leave it with loved ones. Try not to break your quill pen while doing so.
那你必须做好下面这件事：将行程连同旅馆地址和联系电话都写在纸上，并给亲友留一份。写的时候可不要折断了你的鹅毛笔。
But be aware: The world doesn’t really cater to your type anymore. Many budget hotels don’t bother with phones in rooms, and good luck finding a pay phone to make a dinner reservation or to check what time a museum closes. Better hope the local farmers speak English when you get lost biking. Send me a telegram and let me know how it goes.
但请注意：这个世界其实已不再适应你这种类型。许多经济型酒店的客房不装电话，所以如果你需要致电餐馆订座或查询博物馆的闭馆时间，就得上街寻找公用付费电话。祝你好运！对了，如果你在骑车旅行时迷路了，请祈祷当地的农夫都懂英语。个中滋味如何，请发电报告诉我。
The Semi-Connected
半连半断族
You don’t feel the need for constant connectivity, and can wait until you’re connected to your hotel’s or hostel’s Wi-Fi network to call home, check e-mail and plan the next day’s activities.
你对随时上网并没有强烈的需求，并且有耐心等到下榻酒店或青年旅舍后再接入无线网络，然后给亲友打电话、收发邮件并计划次日的行程。
What you should do: Once you connect to Wi-Fi, e-mail, Web browsing and online chat are free. But phone calls are not, so be sure you have an account with an app like Google Voice or Skype that can dial out to real world numbers. Calling the United States is as low as one cent a minute; calling other countries (like the one you’re in — to make dinner reservations, to check on hotel vacancies, and contact local friends) is usually something like one-tenth the price of the standard cellphone plan.
你的省钱方案：只要你能连上无线网络，收发邮件、浏览网页和在线聊天都是免费的。但打电话不免费，所以请确认你已拥有Google Voice或Skype等应用软件的账号，那样你就能从电脑上拨打真实的电话号码。拨打美国的电话号码，话费可以低至每分钟1美分。拨打其他国家的号码（包括你正在造访的那个国家——餐厅订座、查询酒店空房以及联络当地的朋友），价格大约是标准手机资费的十分之一。
Choosing the company is a matter of personal preference. Google Voice has lower rates than Skype to virtually every country and is especially easy if you already use Gmail. Skype is reasonable too and maintains a loyal following. There are many other competitors, and all them claim to be revolutionary and cheap, but I’ve yet to find one that can beat the reach and dependability of those two.
至于选择哪家的软件，完全取决于你的个人喜好。不管打到哪个国家，Google Voice的价格基本上都比Skype要低，如果你之前已有Gmail的账号，注册起来非常容易。但Skype的价格也挺合理，而且之前已吸引了大批忠诚的用户。市场上还有许多别的竞争者，每家都宣称有革命性的创新且价格低廉，但根据我的体验，在覆盖范围和可靠程度两个指标上，Google Voice和Skype做得最好。
Keep in mind that while offering “free Wi-Fi” is practically an industry standard at budget hotels, and even some campgrounds, it can mean many things. A system that’s always online, is acceptably fast and actually works in your room (rather than the lobby) seems more the exception than the rule.
请记住，尽管现在经济型酒店乃至部分露营场地提供“免费无线上网”已成为一个行业标准，但在执行中可能遇到各种意外。一个永远在线的网络系统，如果能够迅速接入并能在你的客房（而不只是在酒店大堂）使用，那是幸运的特例而不是严格的规则。
Finally, when you go out for the day, bring your smartphone along for emergency calls and even for the occasional 50-cent text message if you make local friends or split with travel companions and need to meet up. Just be sure the international data roaming is turned off.
最后，你出门游览时，请带上自己的智能手机，这样遇到意外时就能及时求助。如果交了几个当地朋友，或者和旅伴暂时分开需要重新碰头，你可以花50美分给他们发条短信。但是要确认你关掉了国际数据漫游。
The Moderates
中庸稳健族
You love to make friends in a new country and want to be able to call and text them later. Tweeting every minute is too much, but you would like to alert your friends the moment you’ve reached the mountaintop/seen the Mona Lisa/eaten a bug. You want the option of checking with TripAdvisor or Yelp to decide between two restaurants. You need to check your e-mail occasionally.
你喜欢在陌生的国家交朋友，之后与他们保持电话和短信联系。每分钟都发一条推特有点夸张，但你确实希望在登上山顶/看到《蒙娜丽莎》/吃到虫子的时候，能及时告知自己的朋友。你还希望自己在两家饭店间摇摆不定的时候，能随时上网查看TripAdvisor或Yelp的评论。你还需要时不时地查一下电子邮箱。
What you should do: If your phone is “unlocked,” meaning you can use other providers, get an international SIM card. I tested two this summer, Telestial’s Passport card ($20) and OneSimCard’s Standard card ($30). They have slightly different features, but each works more or less the same way. Your main phone number, once you insert the card, is not American.
你的省钱方案：如果你的手机“没有锁定”，也即你可以使用其他运营商的服务，就买一张国际SIM卡。今年夏天我测试了两种国际卡，分别是Telestial公司的“护照”(Passport)卡（19美元）和OneSimCard公司的“标准”(Standard)卡（30美元）。两种卡的功能略有不同，但总体来说差不多。一旦你将这种国际卡插入手机，你的主号码就不再是美国号码了。
For Telestial, it’s a British number; for OneSimCard, it’s Estonian. Telestial also provides you with an American number — OneSimCard offers it for $5 a month — that allows friends and family back home to text or call as if you had a local number. (You are charged 20 cents a minute to receive the call, though.)
Telestial的国际卡提供的是英国号码。OneSimCard则是爱沙尼亚号码。Telestial也可以为你提供美国号码，这样你远在美国老家的亲友给你打电话或发短信时，只需按照市话标准来付费。（但是，你在接听来自美国的电话时，仍要支付每分钟20美分的费用。）OneSimCard也有美国号码服务，但用户需要支付每月5美元的服务费。
Web browsing was surprisingly affordable in many places; in Scandinavia, it was 49 cents a megabyte on Telestial, which was enough to keep up with e-mail, tweet regularly and use the occasional app or Google search. Prices have dropped recently, to as little as 10 cents a megabyte with a $99 bundle from Telestial or 25 cents a megabyte with OneSimCard’s Daily Data Package.
在许多国家，浏览网页的价格之低常常令人吃惊。在北欧地区，Telestial国际卡每兆字节数据的价格是49美分，这已经足够你日常收发邮件、不时发几条推特，偶尔还能玩玩应用程序或用谷歌搜索信息。最近，这种服务又出现了一次降价，如果你购买Telestial的99美元资费套餐，每兆数据的资费会低至10美分。如果你购买OneSimCard的每日数据套餐，则是每兆数据25美分。
For pure Web browsing, install the Opera Mini app, a free, intuitive browser that saves money by compressing data to a fraction of what Safari or Chrome or many other mobile browsers do.
为了节省网页浏览的费用，请安装Opera Mini app。这是一款免费而直观的浏览器，可以通过大幅度压缩数据的方式帮你省钱，经它压缩后的数据只有Safari浏览器、Chrome浏览器或其他移动浏览器的几分之一。
Most of the time, you can travel from one country to another and your phone is unfazed, simply switching from one local company to another. (Data rates will change, but you can find them easily online.) You load your phone with credits and set your account to reload automatically.
大多数时间里，你可以在不同的国家旅行且不必为手机资费烦恼，因为手机会自动从一地的运营商切换到另一地的运营商。（数据资费标准会发生变化，但你很容易就可以在网上看到明细。）你只需预付话费，并将自己的账号设置成自动切换运营商即可。
But the international SIM cards can be quirky. For instance, to make a call, you enter the number and press enter or send. The call is instantly disconnected, and sometimes weird codes appear on the screen. Seconds later, the phone rings. You pick up, and then it connects your call. It’s weird at first, but you get used to it. My biggest complaint, especially with Telestial, was that calls sometimes did not connect — and occasionally forced me to restart my phone to try again.
但国际SIM卡有时候很古怪。比如，拨打电话的时候，你先输入电话号码，然后按下回车或通话键。这个呼叫会被立刻切断，有时你的屏幕上还会出现乱码。几秒钟以后，电话铃响了，你按下接听键，然后你的电话打通了。刚开始使用时你会觉得奇怪，但很快你就习惯了。我最不满意的是，有时候电话并不能接通，偶尔系统甚至还强迫我重启手机，才能再次拨打电话。这个问题，Telestial的国际卡出现得比较多。
If that sounds too frustrating and you’re an AT&T or Verizon customer, consider their newly competitive international data plans. AT&T, for example, now offers $30 a month rates that allow 120 megabytes of usage in over 140 countries. The cost of voice minutes, though, is still very high and can’t compete with the international SIMs. A final note: though the rates sound reasonable, beware. You can easily fall into your home habits and stay overconnected. Don’t. For a while, I was running through $10 or $15 of data a day.
如果这种情况让你沮丧，而且你是AT&T或Verizon的用户，可以考虑它们最近发布的很有竞争力的国际数据资费计划。比如，AT&T现在提供的30美元月租计划，可以让你在140多个国家使用1.2亿字节的数据。但通话的费用仍然很高，无法与国际SIM卡竞争。最后一点：虽然这些数据资费看着很划算，但使用时仍需警惕。你很容易就会陷入在家上网时的行为模式，一不小心就会超量。千万不要这样。有一段时间，我每天都能花掉10美元或15美元的数据费。
The Power Users
超级连线族
You want connectivity 24/7, and you’ll sacrifice convenience — but not too much money — for it.
你必须保持一周7天、一天24小时接入互联网，为此，你愿意牺牲便利，但不想支付太多钱财。
What you should do: Buy local SIM cards. It’s the cheapest way to go. But it’s also the biggest hassle. Make that hassles.
你的省钱方案：购买当地的SIM卡。这是最便宜的方法，但也是最麻烦的方法。但再麻烦也要买。
First, you’ll need to research and compare domestic companies’ rates and coverage for each country you’re visiting.
首先，你需要研究和比较当地多家运营商的资费标准和覆盖范围。而且每换一个国家，这种研究工作都得重做一遍。
Then once you find a place to buy the card, you’ll have to activate it and get used to its systems (for dialing, adding credit, and so on). If credit disappears faster than you think it should, there’s little recourse. (The companies mentioned earlier have excellent American- or Australian-based customer service.)
其次，你每到一个目的地购买新卡之后，都必须将它激活，并适应它的使用方法（拨号、充值，诸如此类）。如果话费消耗的速度比你想象的要快，你也无可奈何。（上文提到的几家公司在美国和澳大利亚提供不错的当地客户服务）。
Finally, while in some countries getting a local SIM card is as simple as handing cash to a street vendor, in others you have to fill out paperwork, provide documents and sometimes even travel across the city to register and activate your account.
最后，虽然在一些国家买SIM简单到将现金递给街边商贩即可，但在有些国家，你却必须填写复杂的表格、提供各种文件，有时候甚至需要跑到城市的另一个端去注册并激活自己的账户。
The Addicts
手机网瘾族
You looked up from your smartphone once, and you didn’t like what you saw. Your greatest fear is that you’ll die and find out that heaven doesn’t have a Wi-Fi connection.
你从智能手机上抬起眼睛，看了一眼四周，但你并不喜欢看到的那个世界。你最大的恐惧就是，死了以后发现天堂里没有Wi-Fi!
Unless you just won a mega-lottery, forget about foreign travel for now. Head to some cozy spot in the United States where you and your smartphone can spend some uninterrupted quality time together. Find a cafe, check in there on Four Square, snap a picture of yourself and post it to Instagram, and remember not to leave before praising your latte’s foam design on Yelp.
除非你买彩票中了几百万，目前你只能将出国旅行的想法抛到脑后。在美国境内找个舒服的小地方，然后和自己的智能手机共度一段不受外界干扰的美好时光吧。找一家咖啡馆，在那里登录社交网站Four Square，给自己拍张照片，上传到Instagram，离开之前别忘了在Yelp上赞美一下眼前这杯拿铁咖啡的泡沫设计。
A trip abroad can wait, because, while there are a few companies that offer international plans for “Mi-Fi” devices, a sort of mobile hot spot with large data allowances in specific countries, they are still prohibitively expensive for budget travelers and won’t cover you everywhere anyway.
出国旅行的计划你可以押后，因为尽管有几家公司推出了基于“Mi-Fi”移动无线路由器的跨国资费方案并可在几个特定国家接收大量数据，但对于俭游者来说，这种服务仍然相当昂贵，而且目前还不能覆盖所有的国家和地区。