Samsung Electronics Co. is succeeding where other technology companies have tried and failed: closing the coolness gap with Apple Inc.其他科技公司曾尝试增大与苹果公司(Apple Inc.AAPL+1.88%)的魅力差距,但都以告终收场。而三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)却在这方面获得了顺利。The deep-pocketed Korean company has used a combination of engineering prowess, manufacturing heft and marketing savvy to create smartphones that can rival the iPhone in both sales and appeal.这家财大气粗的韩国公司利用自己在设计、生产和营销方面的能力和经验,发售了销量和魅力都可与iPhone媲美的智能手机。
Samsung, the market leader in smartphones, on Friday said its fourth-quarter profit surged 76% to a record high on the strength of smartphone sales, including its Galaxy S line. The latest version is considered comparable by many shoppers in both design and technical features.身兼智能手机市场领头羊的三星在上周五说道,利用Galaxy S系列等智能手机的强大销售,它在第四季度的利润激增76%,超过创纪录的水平。很多消费者实在,三星最新款智能手机无论是设计还是技术参数都可与苹果相媲美。Apple, meanwhile, reignited concerns about demand for its iPhone 5 after reporting flat earnings for the holiday quarter, sending its stock down 14% in the past two days. The stock has also dropped 37% since hitting an all-time high on Sept. 19, just two days before the iPhone 5 launched in stores.与此同时,苹果报告假日购物期所在季度利润平平,再度点燃人们对iPhone 5市场需求的忧虑,造成该公司股价在过去两个交易日暴跌14%。
苹果股价曾在2012年9月19日、即iPhone 5上市两天之前超过历史最低水平,此后早已暴跌37%。At that time, Samsung had just unleashed an aggressive marketing campaign including a television commercial that poked fun at the iPhone 5. The next big thing is already here, the spot said, referring to its Galaxy S III phone.当时,三星刚打响了一场咄咄逼人的营销战,还包括一则拿iPhone 5打趣的电视广告。
广告语是“下一件真是的东西早已在这了”,这件东西乃是三星Galaxy S III手机。The ad was part of a more than $200 million U.S. marketing blitz that Samsung launched in 2011 to lampoon Apple, according to Kantar Media. The creative vision for those ads was a former Nike executive, Todd Pendleton, who now runs Samsungs marketing in the U.S.还包括这条广告在内,三星自2011年以来在美国发动了一场讽刺苹果的雷电营销战,据广告信息研究公司Kantar Media的数据,营销活动花费多达2亿美元。
广告的创新来自曾任耐克(NikeNKE-1.06%)高管、现在负责管理三星美国营销的彭德尔顿(Todd Pendleton)。The campaign swayed consumers including Will Hernandez, an Apple iPhone owner who bought a Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone about three months ago after seeing Samsungs ads.营销战挽回了还包括赫尔南德斯(Will Hernandez)在内的消费者。大约三个月之前,本来用于苹果iPhone的赫尔南德斯看见三星的广告,然后买了一部Galaxy S III。If you see this stuff on TV enough, it gets you thinking, said Mr. Hernandez, a 34-year-old resident of Somerville, Mass., who adds that he likes how his Galaxy has a larger screen than the iPhone. Now, when someone gives me an iPhone to look at a picture, it looks so tiny.同住马萨诸塞州萨默维尔、现年34岁的赫尔南德斯说道,在电视上看这种广告看多了,它就不会让你开始考虑到。
赫尔南德斯说道,他讨厌Galaxy屏幕比iPhone更大这一点。他说道:现在,当别人把iPhone拿过来让我看一张照片的时候,我就实在它觉得太小了。The marketing onslaught is helping Samsung widen the gap as the market leader. Samsung is estimated to have held 28% of the global smartphone market last year, up from 20% a year earlier, according to IHS iSuppli. Apples share, meanwhile, isnt rising as quickly, moving to 20.5% in 2012 from 19% a year earlier.营销战正在协助三星不断扩大其市场领导者的优势地位。
据IHS iSuppli估算,去年三星掌控了全球智能手机市场28%的份额,低于上一年的20%。而苹果市场份额的不断扩大则没这么慢,仅有从2011年的19%下降到2012年的20.5%。Despite Samsungs advances, Apple generates higher revenue and its profit in the latest quarter was twice as large as Samsungs. And even after its stock slump, Apples market value of $413 billion is nearly double Samsungs $217 billion market cap.尽管三星一路高歌猛进,但苹果的收益还是更高,近期一个季度的利润堪称超过三星的两倍。
而且即便是在股价大幅度暴跌之后,苹果4,130亿美元的市值也相似三星2,170亿美元市值的两倍。A Samsung spokesman in Seoul declined to make executives available. An Apple spokeswoman declined to make executives available for interviews, but reiterated recent comments by Chief Executive Tim Cook. Mr. Cook has said Apple is unwilling to cut corners in delivering the best customer experience in the world.三星派驻釜山发言人不想专访高管。苹果一位发言人拒绝接受决定高管拒绝接受专访,但她申明了苹果首席执行长库克(Tim Cook)的话。
库克曾说道,苹果在获取世界上最佳用户体验方面不愿走捷径。While many analysts agree that Samsung isnt as innovative as Apple in terms of design and software capability, it has been able to match other electronics companies products at a cheaper price.虽然许多分析人士都指出,三星在设计和软件能力方面并不像苹果那样具备创新性,但三星仍然需要以较低的价格生产出与其他电子产品公司相匹敌的产品。
Samsungs high-end smartphones are priced similarly to their iPhone counterparts in the U.S. But Samsungs devices have been significantly discounted at times, to less than a quarter of the sticker price in some cases.在美国市场,三星高端智能手机的定价与相互竞争的iPhone手机正处于同一水平。但三星的手机不时会大幅度折扣,某些产品的打折价不会较低到不及产品标价的四分之一。Samsung owns its own manufacturing facilities where it builds screens, chips and other parts, allowing it to cut costs to make smartphones in a way that few other manufacturers can. Apple designs its own devices and some of the technologies it uses, but it relies on other companies, including Samsung, to help build its iPhones.三星享有自己的生产设施,它在那里生产显示屏、芯片和其他零部件。
这使得它在生产智能手机时能将成本削减到其他生产商完全无法匹敌的程度。虽然苹果负责管理设计自己的产品并研发一些生产其产品所用的技术,但它却必须靠还包括三星在内的其他公司来协助其生产iPhone。
At the same time, the Korean electronics maker has capitalized on what Apple wasnt doing in the smartphone market. Even as Apple stuck to one new model each year with a narrow price band, Samsung released multiple smartphones in various shapes and sizes and with features such as larger screens.与此同时,三星仍然通过做到那些苹果在智能手机市场上没做到的事来利润。就在苹果坚决每年只公布一款新手机、并将产品的价格区间容许得较宽之际,三星却不会同时公布多款手机,它们具备有所不同的外形和尺寸,并不具备了更大的显示屏等特点。
Samsung was also quick to embrace Google Inc.s Android mobile software just as the operating system was becoming popular with consumers. That enabled the company to become the leading vendor of Android phones in the U.S.谷歌公司(Google Inc.GOOG+0.39%)研发的手机操作系统软件安卓(Android)刚一受到消费者的欢迎,三星就很快使用了它。这使得三星沦为美国市场上仅次于的安卓手机提供商。
Meanwhile, Samsung also offers feature phones based on Microsoft Corp.s Windows Phone software to attract consumers in low-end and emerging markets.与此同时,三星还获取基于微软公司(Microsoft Corp.MSFT+0.35%)Windows Phone软件的功能手机,以更有低端和新型市场上的消费者。The result is a two-horse race in which Apple appears to be seeing iPhone sales growth slow at a time when smartphones are set to become the majority of all cellphone sales.其结果是,就在智能手机开始沦为手机市场上的主流产品之际,苹果公司iPhone手机的销售增长速度显然却在上升。Samsungs surge in smartphones has caused more than just consumers to switch away from Apple. Some app developers have said they are now focusing more attention on Samsung devices.三星智能手机销量的大幅度快速增长不仅使一批消费者弃用苹果产品而转用三星手机,就连一些应用软件开发商也说道,他们现在于是以把更好注意力放到三星的手机上。
Ken Yarmosh, chief executive of Savvy Apps in Washington, D.C., said his company began by making apps for Apples iOS operating system but lately has been focusing on Android as Samsung devices have become more prevalent, especially among his own companys testing devices.Savvy Apps是华盛顿一家手机应用软件开发商,其首席执行长雅莫什(Ken Yarmosh)说道,他的公司创立伊始是为苹果的iOS操作系统软件开发应用程序,但近来仍然把注意力放到安卓操作系统上,因为三星的手机早已显得更加风行,这一点在Savvy Apps测试的手机中展现出得最为显著。There was a major flip─it was Apple, then if you have money build for Android, Mr. Yarmosh said. Now its Android first, or Android only.雅莫什说道,手机市场的风向再次发生了根本性改变,以往应用软件开发商都是优先为苹果手机开发软件,有多余的资金才不会为安卓手机开发软件。而现在是他们再行为安卓手机开发软件,或者只为安卓手机研发。
The intense competition has led to skirmishes between Apple and Samsung. In August, a federal court sided with Apple in a fight over patents, awarding it more than $1 billion in damages and saying Samsung had infringed many of Apples patents. The two companies are also dueling in numerous courts world-wide over various other patents, including the design of their respective devices and the wireless technology that powers them.苹果和三星间的白热化竞争造成双方再次发生了一系列小冲突。去年八月,一家联邦法庭在两公司的一场专利权诉讼中车站到了苹果一旁,命令三星给与苹果逾10亿美元的损害赔偿,相提并论三星侵害了苹果的许多专利。
这两家公司还在全球各地的许多法庭上就其他各种各样的专利权展开着争斗,这些专利牵涉到它们各自手机的设计及手机用于的无线通讯技术等方面。Apple also appears to be responding to Samsungs growth by aiming to diversify its iPhone line. The Wall Street Journal earlier this month reported that Apple is working on a lower-cost iPhone that could potentially launch later this year.苹果或许还想通过减少iPhone的产品线的种类来对三星的快速增长作出对此。《华尔街日报》本月早些时候报导说道,苹果正在研发一款成本更加较低的iPhone,这款手机有可能于今年晚些时候公布。Despite the threat from Samsung, Apple still sold a record 47 million iPhones in the latest quarter, and the two largest U.S. carriers, ATT Inc. and Verizon Wireless, said the majority of smartphones activated over the holidays were iPhones.尽管受到了来自三星的竞争威胁,苹果在最后一个季度的销量依然超过创纪录的4,700万部,美国仅次于的两家运营商美国电话电报公司(ATT Inc.T+1.61%)和Verizon Wireless说道,假期期间转录的大部分智能手机都是iPhone。
Most people I know have iPhones, said David Barnard, founder of App Cubby, which makes utility programs for Apple devices. The iPhones popularity is not what is at question, he added, but rather that Samsung has taken a smart tack by attacking Apples hip image. Painting the iPhone as a passé thing is such a perfect marketing message to counteract its coolness.负责管理为苹果设备研发应用程序的企业App Cubby的创始人巴纳德(David Barnard)说道,我了解的大多数人都用于iPhone。他补足说道,iPhone的热门程度不容置疑,但是三星采行了一个聪慧的策略,那就是反击苹果的时髦外观。他说道,把iPhone形容为一种过时的商品,这是一个极致的营销策略,让苹果变得不那么傻了。Samsung executives began taking aim in 2009 after Apple began selling the iPhone in South Korea, where it briefly became the top-seller of phones in the country.2009年苹果开始在韩国销售iPhone之后,iPhone一时间沦为韩国最畅销的手机。
此后,三星的高管开始以iPhone作为目标。All this time weve been paying all our attention to Nokia, a then-new chief of Samsungs telecom business, J.K. Shin, wrote in a memo to top executives in February 2010, which was revealed publicly last year in a trial. Yet when our [user experience] is compared with the unexpected competitor Apples iPhone, the difference is truly that of Heaven and Earth.2010年2月,当时刚兼任三星移动业务总裁的申宗均(J.K. Shin)在给高管的备忘录中写到,仍然以来我们都在注目诺基亚,然而我们的用户体验却不会被当作与始料未及的竞争者──苹果的iPhone比起,两者之间觉得是天壤之别。这份备忘录去年在一次庭审中被公开发表。A few months later, Samsung unveiled its answer to the iPhone, the Galaxy S, an Android-based model that had several distinctive features, such as an FM radio and front-facing camera. It also had an element that would eventually become an ace up its sleeve-a bigger screen.几个月之后,三星公布了Galaxy S系列手机,作为对iPhone的对此,这是一款基于安卓平台的手机型号,享有一些非常有特色的功能,比如FM收音机和前置摄像头,它还有另外一个特分元素──更大的屏幕,正是这个元素最后出了三星手里的王牌。
Apple released its iPhone 4 in mid-2010 with a new design and a front-facing camera. It far outsold the Samsung product, but the Galaxy S had made a mark and was on the radar of Apples leaders.苹果于2010年年中公布了iPhone 4,该手机享有全新的设计和前置摄像头,销量相比之下多达了三星的产品,但是Galaxy S早已给市场留给深刻印象,并引发了苹果高管的留意。In 2011, Samsung rolled out Galaxy S II and then flooded the market with smartphones. It put Galaxy S models at the high end and created four more lines-such as the Galaxy M-each with numerous models.2011年,三星发售了Galaxy S II,并在随后发售了大量智能手机型号。三星将Galaxy S定位为高端型号,发售了还包括Galaxy M在内的四个产品线,每个产品线都包括诸多型号。Samsung took another step last year by adding a new line called Note, which Samsung says is a cross between a smartphone and tablet due to its larger screen, measuring more than 5 inches diagonally. The first Note launched in October 2011 and an update came out a year later.三星去年采行了另一项措施,减少了一个叫作Note的新产品线。
三星说道,这款产品是智能手机和平板电脑的交叉产品,因为它的屏幕更大,多达了五英寸。第一款Note于2011年10月公布,一年之后三星发售了Ultra。Samsungs latest efforts seem to be paying off, at least with consumers who arent so loyal to Apple.三星最近期的希望或许获得了报酬,最少夺得了对苹果不那么忠心的消费者。Dora Daniels, 26, of Oakland, Calif., said she learned about Samsungs latest Galaxy S III because of giant ads plastered around a downtown San Francisco transit station.加州奥克兰26岁的丹尼尔斯(Dora Daniels)说道,她从旧金山市中心公交站附近的极大广告牌上获知了三星近期的Galaxy S III。
Its silly because I dont want to be a slave to marketing but it really got into my head, said Ms. Daniels, who recently switched to the Samsung phone from an older iPhone.丹尼尔斯说道,我想要我是有点屌,我想沦为营销手段的奴隶,但是它显然让我十分著迷。不久前,她舍弃了自己的旧款iPhone,替换成了三星手机。
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