For as long as any of us can remember, people have been on a quest for the best in mobile communication.

但凡记忆所及，人们对移动通信向来求得是尽善尽美。

From the huge Motorola "brick" phones of the 1980s to the extending antenna, various branded "flip phones" of the 1990s to the "who's phone is the smallest" competition of Nokia and Sony Ericsson of the 2000s to the "who's phone is the biggest" period of Samsung and iPhone we're currently in, mobile phones are a major part of everyday life.

从八零年代的摩托罗拉砖型大哥大到九零年代天线突出、品牌林立的“翻盖式手机”，从千禧之初诺基亚与索尼爱立信的“争小"到当下三星和iPhone的"拼大"，手机已然成为人们日常生活中不可或缺的一部分。

The true question though is always, "what's next?"

然而，“接下来会怎样？” 才是真正的问题，且一向如是。

I want you to imagine a world with a mobile phone that isn't bound by screen size, interface or OS.

试想这样一个世界，手机可不受屏幕尺寸、界面或操作系统所限：

Instead of a typical screen, it would use holograms to display images in mid-air or on a surface.

没有经典的屏幕，而是使用全息图将影像呈现在半空或者物体表面。

Instead of typing your text messages, it would use voice recognition to transcribe the messages or send voice-to-voice messages.

不用你键字传信，却可以使用语音识别来转写、发送语音消息。

Instead of being rectangular, it would be cylindrical or free to take any other form.

并非长方形，而可能是圆柱形，或者可以随意变形。

Now before you tell me I've seen Star Wars one too many times, you should know that this is not a joke, not some Sci-Fi fan's wet dream but rather something being pursued by French designers Philippe Starck and Jerome Olivet.

要说你曾在《星球大战》中不止一次看到类似玩意之前，你应该明白这并非说着玩，也非某个科幻迷的意淫，而是菲利普·斯塔克（Philippe Starck）和杰罗姆·奥利维特（Jerome Olivet）这二位法国设计师正为之探求的梦想。

Codenamed "Alo", the two designers imagined this as challenge to a mobile phone market that is currently dominated by purely touch screen phones.

他们定代号为“Alo”，并设想对触屏手机独霸市场的现状来一场挑战。

Though the technology for the Alo to truly become a reality is a little ways away, the recent release of the bezel-less, edge-to-edge screened Xiaomi Mi Mix (designed by Philippe Starck) could indeed be a peek of things to come.

尽管在技术上Alo离真正问世尚有距离，但从近期发布的小米无边框、全面屏手机Mi Mix身上，足以对未来发展窥见一斑。 

译者：巴比伦塔