High-tech Goes Waterproof

Turning conventional wisdom on its head, waterproof electronic devices are making their presence felt in the market. Consumers can now operate digital cameras, liquid crystal TVs and other high-tech gear in places previously unheard of, including the beach, ski slopes or just about anywhere that water or moisture may be found.

Until now, manufacturers have had little success and few answers for waterproofing appliances, severely limiting consumers to the places they could be used. Summertime on the beach, hitting the ski slopes in the winter, a nighttime soak in the bath, washing one’s face in the morning or rinsing food in the kitchen – all were off-limits.

1. an を入れる。
2. wisdoms→wisdom
3. the を入れる。
4. coming on→making presence in
5. ハイフンをとる。
6. ハイフンをとり1wordにする。
7. the → at
8. (Digital appliances were lacking for customers in these situations.) を挿入。

1. Good idea to use quotes, since these appliances are most likely not 100% waterproof.
2. I'm curious as to why you used "intelligent". Perhaps you meant "high-tech"? or "advanced"?
3. …which 以下を書き換える→ …, once unimaginable are becoming a presence in the market.
4. property → properties
5. anytime, anywhere use → good!
6. You handled this sentence quite well. I think it is very difficult to make this sentence work in English. We’ll discuss in class.
7. …we didn't… 以下 → nice

1. Whole new class of → A whole new class of
2. increasing → on the rise
3. sea, ski resort, shower room à the sea, ski resorts, the shower
4. were not so aggressive in → did not aggressively pursue
5. common life scenes → everyday life
6. Water proof devices for use in everyday life were found lacking (こう書けば、もっとはっきりと表現できる)
7. カンマを追加。
8. combination of a color filter with microcavities に変更。
9. we will discuss why Sony has introduced the new structure に変更。

なお、文末にetc. や and so on をつけるのはできるだけ避けたい。文章を弱めることになる。

1. once considered unthinkable; long considered impossibleなどに変更。
2. wet conditions, damp environmentsなどに変更。これらのほうが自然。
3. roomを削除。
   訳者注：in your shower だけだとおかしいような気もしますが…
4. Electronic device に変更。
5. yet to seriously attempt に変更。
6. everyday と one word にし、quite a lot を削除する。
7. our を追加。
8. cooking に変更。
9. their limitations have restricted us に変更。

1. Nice word choice!
2. Typical ones include
3. Does the use of "watertight" and "waterproof" in the same paragraph confuse the reader as to just what level of water protection is provided by these consumer appliances?
4. Granted, this sentence posed real problems in English but try to avoid if whenever possible ending your sentences with "etc." or "and so forth". In most cases it only serves to weaken the message of your sentence.

○ 防水
waterproof, water resistant
実際上は waterproof が防水（耐水）を最も厳密に定義する。したがって、
Quoting it as "waterproof" is a good idea.

The Federal Trade Commission forbids the use of this term (waterproof) as it relates to watches. No watch is truly 100% waterproof.
http://guesswatches.com/Merchant2/glossary.htm

A watch that is water resistant can withstand water to a certain extent. When a watch is deemed just "Water resistant" it usually means that the watch will safely withstand splashes of water. A watch deemed "water resistant 30m" means that the watch can be immersed into water up to a depth of 30meteres/99 feet. Some watches are water resistant up 1000 feet. Check the watch manual to find out the exact level of water resistance your watch is. The "Water Resistant" feature is common on most watches.
http://www.prestigetime.com/info.html

上の場合は時計という mechanism の enclosure の特性（so that water cannot seep in）。日本語で「耐水」といえば紙に対するプラスチックが一例で waterproof、water resistant が可。
「防水仕様」には waterproofing で対応（waterproofing properties, functionality）。

水密 : watertight（水に関する leak-tightness）
撥水 : water repellant (repelling)
生活防水 : safe for everyday situations というほかない。

WRISTOMO は「結果として汗や雨水の対策が必須となり防水機能になった」
water resistant after the fact (cf. designed to protect against water)

DoCoMo の WRISTOMO は生活防水。
腕時計型ＰＨＳを開発

○ 家電
appliances （白物）
consumer electronics
electrical (electronic) devices (for entertainment)
high-tech gadgets, gear, gizmo (a cute expression)

○ これまでの常識を覆す
turning conventions upside down
turning conventional wisdom upside down
turning common (conventional) wisdom on its head
breaking (defying) all previous rules
going against common thinking (conception)

Totally changing our perceptions on how to use electronic products…

○ 朝は洗面所で顔、冬はスキー場にも足
頻出する times and places をすべて訳出すべきか？
テキストは too wordy であり、結局 anytime, anywhere ということ。

例として（ただしこれでも長すぎるが）、
whether at home or away (on vacation)
too many places were off-limits
for our water-friendly life style (gadgets), whether it be on the beach or at home in the bath

No loss in functionality

To be fair, waterproof digital cameras and radios have been around, but always left something lacking when it came to design and aesthetics. Bulky, clumsy and more fitting for a construction work site, camera designs failed to attract the casual consumer. Likewise digital radios, meant primarily for outdoor use, fell short on their waterproof claims and had poor reception, never living up to the ease of use and delight that normal cameras and radios deliver.

Manufacturers, building upon the mistakes of past failures, have made dynamic strides developing waterproof devices. If possible, makers want consumers to put their products to the test, 24-7 if need be, for today’s latest models don’t suffer in design or performance like their predecessors. For the many designers who struggled to waterproof, making water an ally rather than enemy has paid off in capturing the "early-adopters", those gadget freaks who are always the first to get their hands on the latest technologies.

・ building upon the mistakes of past failures, と原文にない「反省」フレーズをサービスしてバランスをとる。
・ made dynamic strides「積極的になった」
・ 同じパラグラフで manufacturers と makers を混用。ちょっと抵抗がある。

原文に問題があるわけだが、最後のセンテンスは直訳のため意味を成していない。日本人翻訳者は、原文を「メーカーの多くは，苦労して防水家電を開発し，水を味方につけることで先進的なユーザーを取り込んだ」と読み替えて無難に処理する。

1. nice subtitle
2. customers → consumers
3. radio receiving propertyはhad poor reception のほうがよい。
4. and 以下を "and failed to reach a comfort level with consumers like other home appliances did." とするとよい。home-appliance はハイフンをとる。
5. ハイフンをとる。
6. forward-looking customers → ほかに、technology enthusiasts; gadget geeks; early adoptersなど。

1. この段落 → excellent
2. Lately のあとにカンマ → Lately,…
3. Overuse of the word "appliances". Mix it up a little. For example, "devices", "gadgets", "electronics", "high-tech gears" etc.
4. "Hipsters" doesn't work in this context. For technology better choices would be "gadget geeks", "gadget freaks", "early adopters", "gadget enthusiasts" etc.

1. → To be accurate, water-resistant cameras and radios do are currently available in the market.
2. to buy → from buying
3. 電波受信性は簡単に、reception ということができる。この場合は、the radios had poor reception.
4. Good!
5. getting aggressive in → aggressively
6. devices を使いすぎ。他の言葉に代える工夫が必要。例えば、gadgets, gear, appliance など。
7. ちょっと違う。the early adopters, the gadget freaks など良い。

1. Water-resistant without sacrificing functionality に変更。
2. radios に変更。
3. consumer-friendly に変更。
4. and are troubled with poor reception に変更。
5. Recently, consumer electronics manufacturers have been に変更。
6. 同じ段落内に water-resistant が４回出てくる。最初の１，２回の後は適当な代名詞を使って繰返しを避けるべき。

1. Rather than "existed" perhaps "are available in the market" or even a more casual "have been around". I would use the present tense to indicate that attempts have been made in the field of waterproofing.
2. professionals working in the field
3. Glad you handled 電波受信性 without any difficulty!
4. Avoid "stuff" if at all possible. Ok for spoken English but for written English it's a terribly weak word.
5. The problem here is with, "products stick around users…". When I read this, it sounds as if the products have the ability to follow their users wherever they go, as if they possess consciousness like loyal pets. Perhaps, "they want consumers to get maximum usage out of their products" or something to that effect. Have the devices be the recipient of the action rather than doing the action.
6. "fairly good" is a bit wishy-washy. I would use something more convincing, like, "Today's waterproofs live up to the performance and design standards expected by today's consumers."
7. This was a tricky one. The problem here is your usage of "drawing water". When this term is used, it usually implies physically pumping or pulling up water from somewhere, generally underground. For example, "We need to draw water up from the well during the dry season". Perhaps, "Enlisting water as an ally…" or "Making water the friend, rather than foe…"
8. I think the Japanese here is singling out only "early adopters" or those technologically savvy consumers.

○ 電波受信性能が…
This radio has poor (weak, great) reception.

○ いかつい（形）
rugged (and heavy-duty) look
unwieldy, awkward, big, heavy (might be), big and bulky, clumsy, clunky…

Sidetracking…
This car is a clunker. (really bad)
要するに「いかつい」が「不細工な」とされる。

○ 24時間365日
24-7, 24/7 (adv.)

○ 水を見方に付ける
Making water an ally rather than enemy

○ 先進的なユーザー
early adopters
gadget (gear, tech) freaks (enthusiasts)
digital-oriented

consumers on the cutting edge
consumers of the latest tech
consumers ahead of the learning curve (習熟曲線)

(those who) most likely to have the newest technology
can't wait, have to be the first one to get it

反対は laggards (to lag)

Market presence

Waterproof devices fall into two main categories: the first includes devices like the WRISTOMO, a wristwatch PHS phone developed by NTT DoCoMo and Seiko Instruments that added waterproof properties after the fact. The rest belong to products that were designed from the start for use in wet or damp environments, such as the beach or bath.

"We were looking for a way to create a wearable mobile phone that would always be on the user's person", said Godo Irukayama, manager of mobile multimedia development at DoCoMo, regarding the WRISTOMO. The WRISTOMO wasn't initially meant to be water-resistant, but since it was a wearable phone, it seemed inevitable that added protection against sweat and rain would become a must. Whether sleeping or swamped with work on the job, the WRISTOMO's body vibrates whenever receiving new data, conveniently keeping the wearer up-to-date with the latest information.

1. ハイフンをとる。
2. type を入れる。
3. then came to products with water-resistance → then added waterproofing after the fact のほうがよい。
4. could not be used → had failed in the past。
   Let's try to avoid the repetition of "can be used" and "could not be used" in this sentence.
5. His name is Godo Irukayama. I would say that Irukayama, from NTT DoCoMo commented rather than having "NTT DoCoMo commented that…"
6. Because the water-resistant would be used with sweaty hands or in the rain, they finally found that their products should be wearable.
   → I think you have the logic reversed in this sentence. Because the WRISTOMO is wearable, it was inevitable that waterproofing functionality would have to be added to protect against sweat and rain.
7. is to be strapped → straps
8. getting their hands full → has their hands full at work.

1. retrofitted → great word!
2. feature → features
3. I think you want to describe this product with more specifics. Some readers may not know what a PHS is.
4. Nice take on the Japanese!

1. of wrist watch type → the wristwatch type
2. DOCOMO and SEIKO instrument → DoCoMo and Seiko Instruments
3. この文章では、意味が明瞭でない。The first category includes products that ADDED waterproofing specifications AFTER THE FACT. The second category includes products that were designed FROM THE VERY BEGINNING to have waterproof features. ということをはっきりと書くと良い。
4. worthwhile to be noted → worth noting
5. 役職の書き方は、according to Godo Irukayama, manager of NTT DoCoMo’s Mobile Mutimedia Division とする。
   "without leaving their hands from his work" は簡単に "allowing for hands free operation during work" と書くことができる。また、できるだけ his、her などの性別を表す表現を避ける。
6. この文章だと、単に仕事が忙しいから電話が取れない、という意味に取られるので、例えば、"Since the phone can be worn on the wrist, the user is easily notified of incoming calls when the phone's main body vibrates, even when sleeping or in the middle of work." と書くとはっきりする。また、he とか she を使わなくてすむ。

1. Handy Phone に訂正。
2. この文はぎこちない。products designed for damp environments…、または products meant for… 等に変更。
3. この文もぎこちない。manufactures have made significant development strides, making their products operational…、または manufacturers have done a significant job in making their products operational 等に変更。
4. had been previously limited に変更。
5. NTT DoCoMo が話しているのではないので、Godo Irukayama に変更。
6. この They は不明確。NTT DoCoMo has に変更。
7. protection againstに変更。
8. notify に変更。George さんのコメント：同じ文章の中で、最初は「振動で着信がわかる」といっているにもかかわらず、後のほうで「仕事で手が離せないときなどには振動ではわからないときがある」といっており矛盾している。
   訳者注：「腕時計式に腕につけていない状態ではわからないときがある（ordinary ringtone or vibration of a handset）」が、「リストモなら腕に直接つけているのでより明確にわかる（will more clearly tell you）」としたつもりだったのですが、この文章ではわかりにくいようです。
9. ringtones に変更。

1. or the seaside
2. manager of
3. One challenge in writing English is to not only avoid "he" as a generic pronoun but to also avoid using "he or she" so as to be sex inclusive. If you find yourself at a point where "he or she" pops into your writing, take a minute to look at it and see if you can rewrite the sentence without having to mention those pronouns. My professor always says that a good writer can avoid having to use the troublesome "he or she" in their work.

○ 水気のある場所
wet places
wet (and/or damp) environments (areas)
water-threatened
"Damp" can be hot or cool.
"Watery" is not natural, but is close.

a lot of moisture in the air (風呂)
風呂は location というより space。
beach は水が近く、damp がよい。