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  3. The Tapping of Cellular Phone Software Electronic gadgets have changed a great deal in the past few years. Most obviously, t

The Tapping of Cellular Phone Software Electronic gadgets have changed a great deal in the past few years. Most obviously, t

admin2013-01-10  28
问题                 The Tapping of Cellular Phone Software
    Electronic gadgets have changed a great deal in the past few years. Most obviously, they have become smaller sleeker, smarter and more versatile. Billions of people now carry around tiny devices that are more powerful than the desktop computers of a few years ago. But these gadgets have also changed in a less obvious way. Once they were lumps of hardware brought to life by a layer of software; today they might be more accurately described as services in a box.
    It was ever thus with mobile phones, of course: the handset is useless without a network operator, and mobile phones are, in effect, the container in which operators sell their services. But the handset and the network service have hitherto come from different companies. Operators do not manufacture their own phones, and handset-makers are not operators.
    But now device-makers are increasingly providing the services that power their devices—or, to look at things the other way around, building devices that encapsulate services they wish to offer. Apple’s iPod started off as a piece of hardware in 2001, but it really took off in 2003 when Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, a service that makes it easy for iPod owners to download music, video and games to their devices, and which is now the leading online music retailer.
    There are several motivations for the gadget-makers’ shift into services. First, margins on hardware are generally lower than margins on services. Second, saturated markets in many parts of the world mean that hardware sales are slowing in some categories. Soon, everyone in western Europe who wants a satellite navigation will have bought one; what will the manufacturers do then? Make money from subscriptions and updates, of course. At least, that’s the plan. Finally, services provide a way to hold on to customers. If you have signed up for a service tied to a particular gadget-maker, the thinking goes, you are less likely to switch to a different manufacturer’s device in future.
    The world’s most successful gadget-makers are those that have been quickest to recognize the importance of offering accompanying services. Makers of stand-alone music-players, such as Rio, have been unable to compete with Apple; and Motorola, once the top dog in mobile phones, let RIM, once an obscure Canadian start-up, grab the mobile e-mail market.
    With elaborate branding and advertising campaigns, gadget-makers have long promoted the idea that they were selling something more than just a bundle of electronics in a snazzy case. Now, funnily enough, some of them really are.
What is the fundamental change of electronic gadgets?
选项 A、They have been improved in shape and appearance.
B、They have more powerful functions than the desktop.
C、They have less hardware but more software now.
D、They have been integrated with more services now.
答案D
解析 事实细节题。根据题干关键词fundamental change of electronic gadgets定位到原文第一段最后一句：Once they were lumps of hardware brought to life by a layer of software；today，they might be more accurately described as services in a box．起先它们仅是一堆硬件，安上一些软件后方能使用；而今，更准确地来说，它们是置于小盒子内的服务。可知这是其根本的变化，故选[D]项。[A]项和[B]项分别提到电子设备在外观上和功能上的改进，并不是其根本性的变化；[C]项“它们现在有较少的硬件和较多的软件”与原文不符。
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