【英语科技】iPad旋风刮到比亚迪

At the Computex trade show in Taipei this week, it's clear Apple's iPad has triggered a flurry of interest in tablets, and everyone wants in on the action. Maybe even Warren Buffett.

BYD, a Chinese maker of electric cars and batteries, is the latest contender. Steven Jiang, its product marketing manager, said on the conference sidelines that the company plans to sell a tablet early next year that will use an Intel chip and sell for less than $300.

Mr. Jiang also said BYD began a contract manufacturing business for PC brands two years ago and is in talks with some Chinese PC manufacturers about launching the tablet.

BYD was founded in 1995 and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2002. In 2008, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a unit of Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, took a 10% stake in the company for $230 million.

With so many companies unveiling plans for tablets, including big computer names such as Dell, Hewlett Packard , Acer and Apple, it's unclear whether BYD can compete. BYD's aggressive pricing target could be a key selling point - it would be cheaper than most tablets in the market and more competitive than Asustek's Eee Pad which will sell for as little as $399.

But the company will face marketing challenges amid a sea of iPad wannabes. For this, it will need to work with more established Chinese PC brands that already have a good distribution network and brand power.

-By Lorraine Luk and Yun-Hee Kim

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Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

本周在台北举行的Computex国际电脑展上，苹果(Apple)的iPad显然刮起了一阵旋风，人们都对平板电脑兴致勃勃，所有人都想掺一脚。或许就连巴菲特(Warren Buffett)也动了心。

AFP/Getty Images比亚迪董事长王传福中国电动汽车及电池生产商比亚迪(BYD)是最新一个加入平板电脑大战的竞争者。比亚迪产品营销经理Steven Jiang在展会间隙说，公司计划明年初推出平板电脑，将采用英特尔(Intel)的芯片，价格低于300美元。

Jiang还说，比亚迪两年前开始承包个人电脑品牌厂商的制造业务，正与几家中国个人电脑厂商就发布平板电脑展开谈判。

比亚迪创建于1995年，于2002年在香港证交所上市。2008年，巴菲特的
伯克希尔-哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway)旗下中美能源控股公司(MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.)以2.3亿美元收购了比亚迪10%的股份。

目前已有众多公司宣布了开发平板电脑的计划，其中包括戴尔(Dell)、惠普(Hewlett Packard)、宏碁(Acer)和苹果等大公司，因此比亚迪有没有能力参与竞争还是未知数。比亚迪超低的定价目标可能是一个重要卖点，其目标定价比当前市场上大多数平板电脑都低，比华硕(Asustek)的Eee Pad更具竞争力，后者售价仅399美元。

不过，由于iPad拥趸众多，比亚迪在市场营销方面将面临挑战。在这方面，比亚迪需要与更成熟的中国个人电脑品牌厂商合作，后者已经拥有良好的销售网络和品牌影响力。