【英语科技】宏达智能手机挑战苹果iPhone

While Apple Inc.'s iPhone seems always to be in the spotlight, HTC Corp. has been getting some attention in the smartphone market.

Demand for Sprint Nextel Corp.'s HTC Evo 4G produced lines at some Sprint stores when it launched last week, overloading Sprint's account-activation system and creating spot shortages. That followed the late-April launch of Verizon Wireless's Droid Incredible, another HTC phone that is now on back order.

A Taiwan-based manufacturer of phones that carry other companies' brands, HTC is still little known outside the wireless industry. But the company is building a reputation for sleek design and solid hardware, and now makes the flagship phones for three of the top four U.S. wireless operators.

While all eyes Monday will be on Apple and its expected new iPhone, a number of reviewers agree HTC has come the closest to giving the Cupertino, Calif., company a run for its money.

'Where there used to be nothing, now they're a force to be reckoned with,' said Lois Fagan, who manages Sprint's phone selection.

HTC's growing influence follows the company's shift from making phones primarily running on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software to emphasizing devices that use Google Inc.'s Android operating system. HTC made the Nexus One, the Google-branded phone that the Internet search giant rolled out to highlight the capabilities of Android. HTC has also invested more heavily in its own software, building a new user interface to work with Google's system.

HTC also took a page from Apple's playbook: Pay as much attention to a phone's design as its innards. Its 'secret sauce' is One & Co, a 20-person San Francisco design studio HTC acquired in 2008.

'HTC has really stepped up its software and device capabilities,' said John Harrobin, a senior vice president at Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC.

HTC CEO Peter Chou says the company is starting to get traction with customers. 'I was traveling last week and in immigration, they asked me where I work,' he said during a keynote address at the All Things Digital conference last week. 'And then the immigration officer said, 'Oh, I have an HTC phone.' '

苹果公司(Apple Inc.)的iPhone似乎总是处于聚光灯下，与此同时，宏达国际(HTC Corp.)在智能手机市场也获得了一定的关注。

美国无线服务供应商Sprint Nextel Corp.上周发布HTC Evo 4G这款手机时，部分专卖店门口排起了长队，账户激活系统超负荷运转，还出现了现货短缺的现象。在此之前，Verizon Wireless于4月底推出的Droid Incredible也是一款宏达国际产的手机，现在已经出现了交货延期的情况。

Associated Press上周五，一名顾客正在体验HTC Evo 4G手机。宏达国际是一家位于台湾的贴牌手机生产商，在移动通信领域以外仍然没有多少人知晓。但这家公司因其流畅的设计和扎实的硬件，正在赢得越来越多的美誉，现在，美国四大移动运营商当中有三家都由它来生产旗舰手机。

虽然周一人们的目光都会集中在苹果及其可能发布的新iPhone上面，但一些评测人士一致认为，宏达国际已经十分接近于对这家位于加州的公司构成竞争。

Sprint公司负责手机挑选工作的费根(Lois Fagan)说，他们过去什么也不是，但现在已经成为一支必须正视的力量。

宏达国际影响力渐长，发生在这家公司从主要生产微软(Microsoft Corp.)Windows系统手机转型为主要生产谷歌(Google Inc.)Android手机之后。谷歌推出贴自己牌子的Nexus One来证明Android系统的实力，而这款手机也是宏达国际生产的。宏达国际还以更大力度投入到自产的软件中，建立了一个同谷歌系统相配合的新用户界面。

宏达国际还借鉴了苹果的策略，像重视内部零件一样地重视手机的外观设计。它的“秘方”就是“One & Co”，一家位于旧金山的20人设计公司，2008年被宏达国际收购。

Verizon Wireless高级副总裁John Harrobin说，宏达国际切实地提高了它的软硬件实力。Verizon Wireless是Verizon Communications Inc.和沃达丰空中通讯公司(Vodafone Group PLC.)的合资公司。

宏达国际首席执行长周永明说，公司正在赢得消费者的注意。他在上周举行的“All Things Digital”大会上作主旨发言时说，我上星期出差办理入关手续的时候，移民官问我在哪里工作；然后这位移民官说，哦，我就有一部HTC手机。