WHEN Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, he could never have predicted what it would be able to do in the future. Now, 130 years later, it's no surprise when someone takes out a cellphone to make a call while on the move.
在1876年亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔发明电话之时，他绝对不会料到电话在未来能做何用途。在130年后的今天，人们一边走路一边拿出手机打电话，已经不是什么让人吃惊的事情。
But phones are no longer just used to make calls. Japan's 90 million cellphone owners also use their machine's modern technology and tiny screens (half the size of a business card) to play video games, send e-mails, read news, download music, store photos and surf the Internet. Since April, they've been able to use their cellphones to watch TV.
但如今电话的用处已不仅仅是打电话。在日本，有9000万手机用户还利用现代科技在手机的小型屏幕（只有名片的一半大小）上玩视频游戏、发电子邮件、阅读新闻、下载音乐、存储照片以及浏览网页。4月份以后，他们还能用手机看电视。
Following several months of test broadcasts, digital TV broadcasts for cellphones with special receivers began in Japan's major cities. The special cellphones are hard to find because only a small number were put on sale. The excitement surrounding mobile TV means that the limited number of handsets quickly sold out.
经过几个月的试播，带有特别接收器的用在手机上的数字电视广播在日本几个大城市开始出现。但这种特殊的手机很难找到，因为只有少量投入市场。电视手机给人们带来的兴奋感意味着数量有限的耳机很快就会销售一空。
Misogo Kado, a 37-year-old software designer from Yokohama, near Tokyo, bought one of the new cellphones earlier this month.
Misogo Kado是东京附近横滨市的一名37岁的软件设计师，他于本月月初购买了一款这种新手机。
He is a big fan of the new technology. "You know how every cellphone now comes with a digital camera? In the same way, this is going to become a standard feature," Kado said of the TV service. "It's not something you have to pay for. If you're buying a cellphone, you might as well get one with it."
他狂热痴迷这种新科技。“你知道现在手机都是带数码相机功能的吧？同理，这个也会成为一大特色，” 对于手机的电视功能，Kado这样说，“它不需要花钱。只要你买了手机，就会附带一个。”
While the service is new for Japan, it is not the world's first. South Korea and Britain have made TV available to their cellphone customers with the use of slightly different technology. The new service in Japan, however, is free.
虽然提供这项服务在日本还很新颖，但这却不是世界首例。在韩国和英国，用户已经可以使用手机看电视，只不过技术运用略微有些不同。但在日本，这项新服务却是免费的。
Not only that, it uses broadcasting airwaves instead of an Internet connection. The images are sent through the air by TV towers, not satellites.
不仅如此，它还通过电视频道进行播发，而不用网络连接，传输图像是用电视塔而不是卫星。
This terrestrial digital broadcast system means that more people will be able to use the service. Imagine what our phones will be able to do in another 130 years'time!
这种地面数字电视广播系统使得更多人能够使用这项新服务。设想一下，再过130年，手机不知又会出现哪些用途呢！
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