本文摘要：Ten years is a long time in the technology industry. It was 2006 when GoPro released its first digital camera — a waterproof, shockproof device with 32MB of memory for $80.十年在科技业是一个很长的时间。

Ten years is a long time in the technology industry. It was 2006 when GoPro released its first digital camera — a waterproof, shockproof device with 32MB of memory for $80.十年在科技业是一个很长的时间。2006年，GoPro公布了其首款数码相机——透气外用摔倒、32MB记忆容量，售价80美元。A decade on, GoPro is publicly listed with sales set to exceed $1.6bn in 2015. Its cameras sell for up to $500 but new competition is pulling the price back.十年过去了，GoPro早已上市，2015年的销售额将不会多达16亿美元。该公司照相机最低售价超过500美元，但新的竞争正在太低价格。

Last week, GoPro warned that the past quarter had not been as successful as it had hoped. Its shares fell faster than a base jumper, wiping hundreds of millions of dollars from its valuation.最近GoPro警告称之为，上一个季度不像之前期望的那么顺利。该公司股价下跌，抹去数亿美元市值。In 2006, GoPro’s action camera was unique but today it is facing an attack of the clones, led by the $100 Yi Action, above.2006年，GoPro的运动照相机还是独一无二的，但现在它面对以售价100美元的小蚁运动照相机(Yi Action)派的同类产品的竞争。

Shared likeness分享的相似性Its manufacturer, Xiaoyi, which makes home security cameras, is a China-based affiliate of local smartphone maker Xiaomi. It uses the tagline “See Different” but its cameras look pretty familiar.小蚁运动照相机的制造商小蚁(Xiaoyi)生产家庭安保摄像头，是中国智能手机制造商小米(Xiaomi)旗下的子公司。小蚁发售了“转变你的摄制方式”的标语，但它的照相机看上去非常眼熟。Placed side by side, it is not immediately easy to tell the Yi Action camera from the long-running GoPro design. Both are matchbox size with an off-centre fisheye lens and two big control buttons.如果把它们放到一起，很难一下子辨别出有哪个是小蚁，哪个是早已发售的GoPro。

两款照相机都是火柴盒大小，都有一个背离机身中心的超强广角镜头和两个较小的掌控按钮。The Yi’s waterproof case, an extra $30, even has the same three-ringed screw that fits many GoPro accessories.小蚁的透气型照相机价格还要低30美元，该款照相机甚至有三环螺杆，兼容许多GoPro配件。The similarity is more than skin deep. The Yi camera uses a 16 megapixel Sony Exmor R image sensor, similar to those in GoPro’s line-up, and the same Ambarella chipset that is used in GoPro’s cube-shaped Hero4 Session, its latest camera. The Session was priced at $400 but by December that had been slashed to $200.相似之处并非只有外观。

小蚁照相机用于了1600万像素的索尼Exmor R影像传感器，与GoPro的配备类似于，它还用于了与GoPro近期发售的立方体形状的Hero4 Session上一模一样的安霸(Ambarella)芯片组。Hero4 Session最初售价400美元，但到去年12月已大幅度暴跌至200美元。The Yi does make some concessions to cost, including an all-plastic case instead of the metallic plate often found on higher-end GoPros. With the ability to shoot in full 1080p high-definition at a slow-motion-friendly 60 frames a second, however, its specs are at least as good as the $200 GoPro Hero+.小蚁照相机显然节约了一些成本，还包括仅有塑料外壳，而不是较高端的GoPro照相机往往使用的金属材质。

然而，小蚁照相机需要以1秒60帧的速度摄制1080P的全高清画面，精彩取得慢动作效果，这样的配备最少和200美元的GoPro Hero+一样好。The images reflect the high-quality parts. I took a Yi and a GoPro Session on a road trip in snowy US National Parks in Utah and Arizona. Both cameras produced excellent pictures and videos, with the GoPro’s higher resolution noticeable only if you zoom in.图像体现出有照相机部件的质量十分低。我拿着小蚁和GoPro Session驱车前往美国犹他州和亚利桑那州大雪覆盖面积的国家公园。

两个照相机都摄制出有了精致的相片和视频，只有在缩放的时候才不会注意到GoPro的分辨率更高一些。Because both lack screens, most controls are done by wireless connection to a smartphone. I found the Yi app better than GoPro’s, which often struggled to connect to the camera. Neither excelled in low light but both survived the sub-zero temperatures of the Grand Canyon — unlike my iPhone, which lost its charge.由于两款照相机都没屏幕，大多数掌控通过与智能手机的无线连接已完成。

我找到小蚁的APP比GoPro更佳一些，后者往往很难构建与照相机的相连。两个照相机在低光环境的展现出都不怎么样，但在美国大峡谷零度以下的环境下还能用于——这与我的iPhone不一样，它的电池不会丧失电力。In short, other than queasy feelings about intellectual property, I see little reason why anyone would pay twice as much for a low-end GoPro when they could have the Yi — with change left for a selfie stick.简言之，除了对知识产权感觉忧虑以外，我不明白为何人们在可以卖小蚁的时候会花两倍的价格卖低配的GoPro——省下的钱可以买自拍电影杆。Three rooms for one1台设备监控3个房间If GoPro is seeing the effect of competition from this Chinese rival, Nest should be worried by Yi’s home camera. The Alphabet-owned smart-home pioneer’s Nest Cam is seen as the leading security webcam, but at $200, it already looked pricey.如果说GoPro看见了这家中国竞争对手的竞争的影响，那么Nest应当忧虑小蚁的家用摄像头。

Alphabet旗下这家智能家居先驱公司的Nest Cam被视作领先的安全性网络摄像头，但200美元的价格早已变得有些喜了。That was before Yi arrived with its product, which costs $60. You can remotely monitor three rooms for the price of one Nest Cam. Again, there are trade-offs: the Yi Smart camera has only 720p video resolution, unlike Nest’s 1080p, and the plastic finish is less elegant than its US rival’s metal body.那还是在小蚁发售其售价60美元的产品之前。你可以用一台Nest Cam的价格远程监控3个房间。某种程度，这里的权衡是：小蚁智能摄像头只有720P视频分辨率，而Nest有1080P，而且其塑料材质也不如美国竞争对手的金属机身美观。

At first glance, though, the two products again look similar. Take the camera modules out of their stands and I struggle to discern a difference.不过乍看之下，这两款产品再度变得有些相似。从支架上取下摄像头模块，我很难显现出两者的差异。Much of the magic of these devices is in the software. Nest Cam made big improvements over its predecessor, Dropcam, in eliminating false alarms. Yi Camera, however, apes the Dropcam’s tendency to jump at its own shadow. Every evening, it interpreted its own switch to night-vision mode as an intrusion alert.这些设备的许多神秘反映在软件中。Nest Cam在避免错误报警方面比其前款产品Dropcam有了明显改善。

然而，小蚁承继了Dropcam误报警告的偏向。每个晚上，它都会因自己改向夜间模式而收到侵略警告。The Yi, however, has a trick that almost makes this worth bearing. Whereas Nest charges $10 a month for cloud storage of videos, Yi Camera has its own micro SD card slot, to which clips can be saved at no cost.然而，小蚁用一个小技巧让人们完全可以承受这个缺失。

Nest对视频云存储每月缴纳10美元的费用，而小蚁自带micro SD卡槽，可以免费存储视频片段。Verdict结论Xiaomi’s smartphones have long been criticised for looking like an iPhone but, its software innovations are enough to fend off copycat accusations. However, Yi’s cameras have little such differentiation — just a big price advantage.小米智能手机仍然因貌似iPhone而遭到抨击，但软件创意不足以让其防止剽窃的谴责。然而，小蚁照相机完全没此类差异化，只是有极大的价格优势。Does the high quality of these GoPro and Nest rivals excuse the flagrant imitation? GoPro’s sudden drop in sales suggests many customers believe it does.GoPro和Nest的这些竞争对手的优质性能可以作为行径仿效的借口吗？GoPro销售忽然上升指出，许多客户指出可以。

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