【英语科技】苹果iPhone 4正式发布

Steve Jobs unveiled a new iPhone Monday in a presentation that was long on new features but short on surprise, as the Apple Inc. chief faces increasing competition in smartphones, particularly from devices based on Google Inc.'s Android software.

While Mr. Jobs described the iPhone 4 as 'the biggest leap since the original iPhone,' he offered few bombshells after Gawker Media LLC's technology blog Gizmodo shared details about the device in April after getting hold of a prototype. (Please see related story on B4.)

Mr. Jobs made a reference to the episode, telling the audience at Apple's annual conference for software developers, 'Stop me if you've already seen this' when he first displayed the device.

Among other things, Mr. Jobs lauded the iPhone 4's new display technology and a new stainless steel frame that doubles as an antenna. The phone has two cameras, including a front-facing one that allows video chats.

In the wake of Mr. Jobs's presentation at the company's annual Worldwide Developers' Conference, Apple's stock price closed down 2% at $250.94 on the Nasdaq in a weak market.Analysts said the new iPhone would continue Apple's growth, but was unlikely to markedly rev up the company's share of the global smartphone market, which now stands at 15.8%-No. 3 behind Nokia Corp. and Research In Motion Inc., according to research firm IDC.

Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research, said he expected the phone to be popular with existing Apple customers, but said it was unclear how many new subscribers it would bring to wireless carriers.

Mr. Golvin said demand for iPhones may be helped more by new data plans from Apple's U.S. cellular partner, AT&T Inc., which cap usage but lower the entry-level monthly service rate.

Whetting consumers' appetites for the new iPhone is crucial for Apple. Since launching the first iPhone three years ago, the touchscreen device has become Apple's largest business, accounting for 40% of its total revenue in its most recent quarter ended Mar. 27.

Analysts expect Apple to sell about 36 million iPhones in its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up about 73% from 20.8 million in the previous fiscal year. The Cupertino, Calif., company has been reporting triple-digit growth in iPhone sales and Mr. Jobs said Apple expects to sell its 100 millionth iPhone this month. But analysts said the iPhone 4 will face more competition, especially with the introduction of more phones that run on Google's Android operating system, including Verizon Wireless's Droid Incredible and Sprint Nextel Corp.'s HTC EVO 4G.

'It's entering into a different market than the one that the 3GS [Apple's previous iPhone] did last year,' said Chris Jones, an analyst for research firm Canalys. 'There will be a lot of diehard fans who will go out and get this device, but I think the rest of the install base will take their time to assess where they are with their [cellular] contracts.'

The iPhone 4, which will be available June 24 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan, will come in black and white and is 24% thinner than its predecessor. It also has a bigger battery that allows for seven hours of talk time.

Mr. Jobs also announced FaceTime, the company's new videoconferencing technology for the iPhone. Mr. Jobs said it will initially work over Wi-Fi networks rather a cellular connection.

The CEO said also Apple is adding Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search engine to the iPhone, although Google will remain the default option.

In the U.S., the phone will start at $199-the same as the entry-level price of previous models-with a two-year contract with AT&T. An iPhone 4 model with extra storage space will cost $299. Apple cut its price on the current iPhone 3GS model to $99.

Getty Images乔布斯在公司年度世界开发者大会上讲话周一，乔布斯(Steve Jobs)在发布会上揭开了新iPhone的面纱。这款手机给人的感觉是长于功能，但缺少惊喜。目前，苹果(Apple Inc.) iPhone在智能机市场中面临着越来越多的竞争，特别是来自使用谷歌公司(Google Inc.)Android系统的手机的竞争。

尽管乔布斯形容iPhone 4是“自第一代iPhone上市后最大的飞跃”，但却未让人有惊喜之感。主要原因在于今年4月，Gawker Media LLC的技术博客Gizmodo在获得原型机后透露了新iPhone的细节。

乔布斯还提及了这段小插曲。在他第一次展示这款手机时，他对参加苹果公司软件开发者年会的观众说，如果你们已经见过这款手机，就别让我说了。

乔布斯还大力称赞iPhone 4的全新显示技术及兼做天线的新不锈钢外壳等诸多亮点。这款手机有两个摄像头，用户可利用其前置的摄像头进行视频聊天。

在数小时前举行的苹果全球开发者大会WWDC 2010上，苹果CEO史蒂夫·乔布斯(Steve Jobs)发布了该公司的第四代智能手机iPhone 4。乔布斯在公司年度世界开发者大会上发布了新iPhone之后，受股市走弱影响，苹果公司的股票在纳斯达克收盘下跌2%，至250.94美元。分析师说，新iPhone将继续推动苹果公司的增长，但不太可能明显提升该公司在全球智能手机市场的份额。研究公司国际数据公司(IDC)数据显示，苹果公司目前占据智能手机市场15.8%的份额，位居第三，仅次于诺基亚公司(Nokia Corp.)和Research In Motion Inc.。

市场研究公司Forrester Research的分析师高尔文(Charles Golvin)说，预计这款手机将受到现有苹果用户的欢迎，但不清楚这款手机能给无线运营商带来多少新用户。

高尔文说苹果公司的美国手机运营商合作伙伴美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)的新数据计划或许对iPhone的需求有更大的帮助。新计划为用户的使用设定了上限，但降低了月服务费的门槛。

对苹果公司而言，激发用户对新iPhone的欲望是至关重要的。自三年前推出第一款iPhone之后，这款触屏手机已成为苹果公司最大的业务，在3月27日结束的上一季度中，这部分业务占苹果公司总收入的40%。

分析师预计到9月30日本财年结束时，苹果公司将售出3,600万部iPhone，比上一财年2,080万部的水平增加约73%。这家位于美国加州的公司一直报告iPhone的销售呈三位数增长，乔布斯说苹果公司预计将于本月售出其第一亿部iPhone。但分析师说，iPhone 4将面临更多的竞争对手，特别是更多使用谷歌Android操作系统的手机将发布，包括Verizon Wireles推出的Droid Incredible手机和Sprint Nextel Corp.推出的HTC EVO 4G手机。

Paul Sakuma/Associated Press
乔布斯在展示新一代的iPhone手机研究公司Canalys的分析师琼斯(Chris Jones)说，新iPhone将面对不同的市场，与（苹果公司的上一代iPhone）3GS去年进入的市场不同。会有许多超级粉丝去买这款手机，但我认为其他用户群将会花些时间评估一下他们与手机运营商签订的协议。

iPhone 4将于6月24日在美国、英国、法国、德国和日本上市。机身有黑白两种颜色，比上一代iPhone薄24%，且电池容量更大，支持长达七小时的通话时间。

乔布斯还宣布推出用于iPhone的新视频会议技术FaceTime，并说这项技术将首先通过Wi-Fi网络连接，而非通过手机网络连接。

乔布斯说，尽管谷歌仍是iPhone的默认搜索选项，但苹果公司还为新iPhone添加了微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)的必应(Bing)搜索引擎。

iPhone 4在美国的起售价为199美元，与上一代机型的入门价相同，并需与AT&T签订两年的使用合同。带有额外存储空间的iPhone 4机型售价299美元。苹果公司把现有的iPhone 3GS机型的价格调低至99美元。