APP亂入迷人眼 哪款通訊應用程序適合你

Digital messaging used to be so simple. Once the modem's screeches, clucks and beeps ended and I was connected to AOL's servers, all my friends would be right there, ready to chat. When cellphones untethered us from our computers, texting was all we needed. Sure, it turned our thumbs into gymnasts, but it was manageable.

發送信息曾經再簡單不過了。一旦調制解調器發出刺耳的嗶嗶聲，我就連上了美國在線(AOL)的服務器，我所有的朋友都會在那兒，做好了聊天的準備。當手機將我們從電腦上解放下來後，短信能夠滿足我們所有的需求。當然，這也使我們的大拇指變成了上下飛舞的體操運動員，但是一切都在掌控之中。

Now I feel like taking cover behind the couch to dodge the messages flying at me from every which way -- text messages, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts and Twitter direct messages.

而現在，我的感覺就像是躲在沙發後面，躲避着從各個渠道撲向我的信息―文本短信、iMessage、Facebook Messenger、谷歌環聊(Google Hangouts)和推特(Twitter)私信。

Having more options doesn't feel like a good thing. Everyone's on different services, which makes group conversations hard. Most popular services are also missing features like voice memos and read receipts.

選擇過多並不見得是件好事兒。每個人都在使用不同的服務平臺，這令羣聊難以進行。大多數熱門的服務平臺都不具備語音備忘錄和已讀回執等功能。

Plenty of upstart apps offer more powerful messaging plus lots of fun features, including sketch pads and meme generators. You haven't fully expressed yourself until you've used animated stickers.

很多新晉應用程序都具備更強大的信息收發和其他許多有趣的功能，包括素描板和搞笑圖片製作工具等。只有你在用過卡通貼圖之後，你才能淋漓盡致地表達自己。

I set out on a journey with friends and family to test four services: WhatsApp, which gained fame for Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of it, along with Kik, WeChat and Viber. I even called on my parents, who usually stick to texting and emailing, and have no patience for complicated apps and social networks.

我發動我的朋友和家人對以下四種應用服務進行了測試：WhatsApp、Kik、微信(WeChat)和Viber，其中WhatsApp以Facebook對其斥資190億美元的收購獲得了外界的關注。我甚至還邀請了我的父母，他們通常只是發短信和郵件，對於複雜的應用程序和社交媒體，他們全無耐心。

All of these apps work similarly. You download it (most are available for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and even BlackBerry) and enter your phone number. Then you watch as the app scans your phone's address book for contacts who use the service.

上述四種應用程序使用起來大體相同。你把它們下載下來（大多數應用程序都支持iPhone、安卓(Android)手機、Windows手機、甚至黑莓(BlackBerry)手機），然後輸入自己的手機號碼。接着等待應用程序掃描你手機通訊錄上該應用程序的現有用戶。

You can send a text to those not yet on the service, requesting the favor of their presence. Once your people start turning up, you can chat with them privately or form groups.

你可以向尚未啓用該應用程序的聯繫人發送消息，邀請他們加入。當你的聯繫人接受邀請後，你就可以同他私信或羣聊了。

I began with WhatsApp, the easiest for getting started and creating chat groups. When I enlisted my mom, she asked why these were different than text messaging, but quickly answered her own question.

我最先測試的是WhatsApp，這款應用程序最容易上手，也最容易創建羣聊。當我向我母親發出邀請後，她問我，這款應用程序與短信究竟有什麼區別，但是她自己很快就找到了答案。

She said chatting felt speedier than texts and iMessage. She loved sending short recorded voice messages to my sister and me. The app makes it easy to throw in photos and video, and to set your status so people know if you're available.

她說，相較於短信和iMessage，她覺得WhatsApp更迅捷。我母親很喜歡給我姐姐和我發送語音信息。這款應用程序令照片和視頻分享變得很簡便，另外，設置自己的狀態也很容易，這樣別人就知道你是否有空了。

WhatsApp was the only one my parents didn't need help figuring out. But the app lacks features, digital stickers and other multimedia gimmicks.

在這四款測試應用中，WhatsApp是唯一一款我父母不需要指導就能掌握的。但是，WhatsApp的功能有限，不具備數字貼圖和其他多媒體工具。

It also doesn't have functional tools such as desktop chat, which lets you keep up with your mobile buddies while chained to your computer.

WhatsApp還缺乏一些功能工具，比如桌面聊天等。當手機和電腦連接後，桌面聊天功能可以使你在電腦上和朋友繼續聊天。

Kik, incredibly popular with teens because of the crazy multimedia features, allows you to search the Web for fun stuff such as GIFs and YouTube videos and drop them into your chat. You can doodle, insert stickers (yes, I paid $2 for a South Park pack), even add your own words to popular meme photos. There's a Snapchat-like feature to transmit self-destructing images.

Kik在青少年中極其風靡，原因是它具有非常強大的多媒體功能，該應用程序允許用戶在網絡上搜索GIF和YouTube視頻等有趣的內容並在聊天中進行分享。你可以隨意塗鴉、插入貼圖（我就花費2美元購買了一套南方公園的貼圖），你甚至可以在流行的搞笑圖片上寫上自己的話。Kik還附帶類似於Snapchat “閱後即焚”的功能。

Kik, though, doesn't offer easy access to basic video and audio messaging that my family loved in WhatsApp. And for all the fun I had using Kik with friends and colleagues, my parents couldn't have been less interested. Kik's interface is cluttered and confusing, like a teenager's bedroom.

我們全家都非常青睞WhatsApp上輕鬆收發視頻及語音信息的基本功能，但Kik並不具備這一功能。並且，我和朋友、同事在使用Kik時所得到的那種樂趣對我父母沒有產生絲毫吸引力。另外，Kik的用戶界面混亂不堪，就如同青少年的臥室。

Huge in China, WeChat falls between Kik and WhatsApp, with a handy Web chat mode and a large selection of stickers -- including animated ones from Pixar movies.

在中國極受追捧的微信介於Kik和WhatsApp之間，微信擁有便於使用的在線聊天模式，並且附帶大量的貼圖―其中包括皮克斯(Pixar)電影中的卡通貼圖。

Initially I scoffed at the chat sticker trend, but the cartoons are a fun way to respond to messages without having to say much.

起初，我曾對貼圖的風靡嗤之以鼻，但是卡通貼圖確實一種是勿需多言並且有趣的信息回覆方式。

WeChat's standout feature is an amusing walkie-talkie mode. Hold down the large circular button to talk, release it to hear your friends. Fun for a few minutes? Yes. Practical for everyday use? Probably not.

微信的出色之處還在於其有趣的邊走邊聊模式。按住大圓鍵即可講話，鬆開即可聽取好友的留言。用個幾分鐘是否有趣呢？是的。日常使用是否實際呢？答案可能是否定的。

WeChat is short on some basics. The overall interface is dull and certain expected features, like showing a message has been received, are missing. Also, my mom and my sister found it the hardest to set up.

微信在某些基本方面表現不足。微信的整體界面較爲乏味，並且缺乏一些應有的功能，比如顯示信息已被對方獲取的功能。此外，我母親和姐姐都認爲微信是最難設置的。

I looked at other popular apps -- Line, Telegram and KakaoTalk among them -- but they were so similar to WhatsApp and WeChat, I felt underwhelmed.

我還關注了其他一些流行的應用程序―其中有Line、Telegram和KakaoTalk―但是，這些應用程序和WhatsApp與微信極其相似，毫無新意。

Until I found Viber.

直到我發現了Viber。

Viber has many of the same text options as the others, but focuses on audio calling. Like Skype, if both users are on Viber, you can make audio calls over Wi-Fi or a data connection. Sound quality was good, though there was an echo on some calls.

Viber擁有與其他應用程序相同的很多文本信息發送選項，但更側重於視頻通話功能。和Skype相同，如果雙方用戶都登錄了Viber，你就能通過Wi-Fi或者其他數據連接方式進行視頻通話了。

While the app doesn't pack as many tricks as Kik, it puts a good chunk of them into a tidier control panel. It also has Mac and Windows desktop applications.

儘管Viber並沒有附帶Kik那麼多的花樣兒，但是它把不少有趣的功能都設置在了一個更爲簡潔的操作界面中。並且這款應用程序還有Mac和Windows的桌面客戶端。

As smart as Viber is, it needs a user-interface makeover before it can compete with WhatsApp.

即便擁有強大的功能，但Viber也需要重塑其用戶界面才能與WhatsApp相抗衡。

(The company says it is working on an update to its outdated iOS app.)

（該公司表示，正在開發iOS舊版客戶端的更新版本。）

So my journey ended with an edict that my family and close friends have group chats over WhatsApp, even though I'll miss stickers and could benefit from Web chat. (WhatsApp declined to comment on its road map.)

鑑於我的家人和好友都加入了WhatsApp上的羣聊，我的測試也宣佈告終。儘管，我將懷念微信貼圖，並且本可以受益頗多。（WhatsApp未就自身的路線圖置評。）

I may never get everyone on the same chat service, but I've already got some of my favorite people gathered on WhatsApp.

或許，我永遠不可能讓每個人都齊聚在同一個服務平臺上，但是我已經把我最喜歡的一些人聚集在了WhatsApp上。

Besides, the Facebook acquisition has piqued enough curiosity that more are starting to turn up everyday. It's almost like those simpler AOL days, but without the melodious modem sounds.

除此之外，Facebook對WhatsApp的收購也激發了強烈的好奇，越來越多的人開始使用這款應用程序了。以前那種使用美國在線的簡單日子似乎回來了，只是少了調制解調器悅耳的聲音。