【英语科技】iPhone 4加快海外销售步伐 争夺全球市场

Hidden among flashier details of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4 unveiling was this surprise: 88 countries will get the latest device by September, a much smaller lag than in past introductions.

The shift shows how important overseas sales have become for Apple, which struggled before the iPhone to become a global player. The faster rollout comes as many analysts believe iPhone growth has peaked in the U.S., at least through its current sole partner AT&T Inc.

Apple got 63% of its revenue from outside the Americas region in the latest quarter. While Apple doesn't break out sales for specific products by region, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said in the quarterly earnings call that iPhone sales were seeing strong triple-digit growth in Europe and Asia. Apple called it 'the fastest international roll out' for iPhone.

Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 3GS in June and the phone was available in 64 countries at the end of September 2009, but it wasn't yet available in countries like South Korea and China, which are the fastest growing markets today.

Tim Bajarin, an analyst at researcher Creative Strategies, estimates that about 55% of iPhone sales are now made outside of the U.S., from about 25% two years ago. Added Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu, 'In the U.S., the only way to get a substantial amount of subscribers is through another carrier. [Apple] needs this accelerated [international] timetable to sustain growth.'

France, Germany, the U.K. and Japan, where Apple will offer the iPhone 4 simultaneously with the U.S., are some of the company's fastest growing markets. Research firm Canalys estimated that Apple's smartphone market share in France hit 40.5% in the first quarter, up from 11.5% in 2008.

While competition is growing from similar phones that run on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, analysts say Apple can still expand its market share, since in the past year it has increased the iPhone's international presence and added multiple wireless carriers in some countries.

'All of the infrastructure is already there for the iPhone 4, and the relationship with carriers is already there,' said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for researcher Gartner Inc.

Apple's mainstay Macintosh computers historically have not been big sellers outside the U.S., due primarily to the machines' higher prices and limited distribution. But analysts said Apple's iPod music players helped the company break into more markets and raised consumers' appetites for related products.

Apple's new iPad tablet computer, which launched in April, is also aimed internationally. The company began selling the iPad in nine countries last month and is poised to launch it in nine more countries in July.

Developers for Apple's App Store, which stocks programs that can be downloaded onto the iPhone and iPad, said they are already starting to see the strength of international markets in their own businesses.

Apple has been building its overseas presence with its Apple retail stores. The Cupertino, Calif., company had 62 international stores at the end of December out of 283 overall.

苹果公司(Apple Inc.)最新发布的iPhone 4有诸多眩目细节，而其后还藏着惊喜：这款新产品将于9月前在88个国家上市，比以往产品上市速度快得多。

Paul Sakuma/Associated Press苹果CEO乔布斯在展示新一代的iPhone手机。这一转变显示了海外销售对于苹果的重要性，在推出iPhone之前，苹果在全球市场一直表现不佳。此次更快在海外市场推出iPhone 4，正值许多分析师认为iPhone在美国的增长已经见顶，至少通过其当前唯一的合作伙伴美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)是这样。

苹果最新财季有63%的收入来自美洲以外地区。虽然苹果并不按地区公布特定产品的销量，但首席运营长库克(Tim Cook)在季度收益电话会议上说，iPhone的销量在欧洲和亚洲实现了强劲的百分比三位数增长。苹果称之为iPhone最快的国际增长。

苹果去年于6月推出iPhone 3GS，并于2009年9月底在64个国家上市，但当时在韩国和中国等地还没有推出，而这些都是当前发展最快的市场。

咨询公司Creative Strategies的分析师巴扎林(Tim Bajarin)估计，iPhone当前的销量约55%是在美国之外实现的，而两年前这个比例为25%。Kaufman Bros.分析师Shaw Wu说，在美国，能争取大量用户的唯一途径就是通过另一家运营商。苹果需要加快在全球上市以保持增长。

IPhone在法国、德国、英国和日本的上市时间将与美国同步，这些也是苹果增长最快的市场。研究公司Canalys估计，苹果第一季度在法国智能手机市场的份额占到了40.5%，较2008年的11.5%大有增长。

虽然运行谷歌(Google Inc.)Android操作系统的智能手机对iPhone形成了越来越大的竞争，但分析师们认为苹果仍将扩大市场份额，因其去年已经增强了iPhone的国际影响力，并在一些国家增加了多家无线运营商。

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images苹果公司的产品在欧洲和亚洲很受欢迎。上图为顾客正在苹果专卖店选购产品。研究公司Gartner Inc.的分析师米拉奈西(Carolina Milanesi)说，iPhone 4所需的基础设施已经完全具备，与运营商的关系也都已经有了。

苹果的支柱产品Macintosh电脑历史上在美国以外销售成绩并非上佳，主要是由于该机型价格高、销售渠道有限。但分析师们说，苹果的iPod音乐播放器帮助该公司打入了更多的市场，并让消费者对相关产品产生了更大的兴趣。

苹果今年4月推出的新产品iPad平板电脑也面向国际市场。该公司上个月开始在九个国家销售iPad，并准备7月在另外九个国家发布。

苹果App Store的开发商说，他们已经开始察觉国际市场对自身业务的强劲影响。App Store储存相关程序，可下载至iPhone和iPad。

苹果还通过其苹果零售店增强在海外的影响力。苹果总部位于加州，截至去年12月底总计有283间零售店，其中有62家海外门店。