【英语科技】苹果iPhone 4全球大热上市

Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4 went on sale globally Thursday, as crowds of hopefuls lined up for what is shaping up to be one of the company's best-selling products, even amid supply shortages and production snafus.

In the U.S., Japan and in Europe, people began streaming into stores early in the day to snag the new Apple smartphone. In Japan, more than 300 people lined up outside a Tokyo shop for Softbank Corp., the iPhone's exclusive carrier in the country.

At Apple's flagship store in San Francisco, lines were two blocks long and Apple staff members passed out doughnuts, cupcakes, coffee and water to keep people fortified. An Apple store in Austin, Texas, arranged to have chicken sandwiches from the local Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant delivered to customers waiting in line.

While first-day sales numbers weren't available, Apple previously said it had received more than 600,000 preorders for the iPhone 4 on its first day of preorders. Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics chain, said it had sold out of its limited iPhone 4 inventory.

Gene Munster, an analyst for Piper Jaffray & Co., projected Apple would sell 1 million to 1.5 million iPhone 4s in the first three days of sales, compared with 1 million during last year's launch of the iPhone 3GS. 'It's safe to say this will be a record,' he said.

Enthusiasm for the device ran high. In front of Apple's flagship San Francisco store Thursday, Peter Kim, a 27-year-old Yahoo Inc. employee, said he had been in line since midnight. 'I'm in a mixed state of aggression-slash-excitement-slash-exhaustion,' said Mr. Kim.

The eagerness was echoed across global markets, which have become an important contributor to the iPhone's sales growth. Research firm Creative Strategies estimates that 55% of iPhone sales are now from outside of the U.S., up from about 25% two years ago.

Apple introduced the device in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan. The iPhone 4 will also be available in 88 countries by the end of September, a more aggressive world-wide launch timetable than in the past.

In London, where tech enthusiasts set up camp Wednesday night outside Apple's flagship Regent Street store, Diana Dinis and Georg Fasching relaxed on red camping mats.

'I've had every version of the iPhone,' said Mr. Fasching, a 31-year-old product manager at a mobile-payment firm. 'The feature I'm looking forward to most is FaceTime,' Apple's new video-calling application.

Assoicated Press人们在东京的苹果商店外，排队购买iPhone 4苹果公司(Apple Inc.) iPhone 4周四在全球上市，满怀期待的人群排起等候的长龙。即使供应短缺、生产混乱，iPhone 4仍有望成为苹果最畅销的产品之一。

在美国、日本和欧洲，人们一大早就开始涌入店内，抢购新款苹果智能手机。在iPhone日本独家运营商软库(Softbank Corp.)东京门店外，排起了300多人的长队。

在旧金山苹果旗舰店，等候的人群排到了两个街区外，苹果店员向人们发放甜甜圈、蛋糕、咖啡和水，以便让人们耐心等待。得克萨斯州奥斯汀的一家苹果门店安排当地的Chick-fil-A快餐店送鸡肉三明治外卖给排队等候的顾客。

尽管首日销售量尚不可得，苹果此前曾说，在预订首日收到了60多万份iPhone 4预订单。美国最大的电子产品连锁零售商百思买(Best Buy Co.)说，有限的iPhone 4库存已经销售一空。

美国中间市场投资银行Piper Jaffray & Co.分析师明斯特(Gene Munster)预测，在上市的头三天内，苹果将销售100万至150万部iPhone 4，去年iPhone 3GS上市的头三天销售了100万部。他说，可以肯定的说，这将创造新的纪录。

消费者对iPhone 4的热情高涨。周四，在旧金山苹果旗舰店前，27岁的雅虎(Yahoo Inc.)员工金(Peter Kim)说，他从午夜就开始排队了。他说，我处于一种很复杂的状态，急切、激动、疲惫五味混杂。

这种急切的心情在全球市场都有所体现。全球市场成了iPhone销售增长的一个重要贡献者。研究公司Creative Strategies估计，目前有55%的iPhone销量来自美国以外，较两年前的约25%大大上升。

此轮，苹果在美国、英国、法国、德国和日本推出了iPhone 4。9月底之前，iPhone 4将在88个国家上市，这是比以往更雄心勃勃的全球上市时间表。

在伦敦，技术爱好者周三晚上在摄政街(Regent Street)上的苹果旗舰店外搭起了帐篷。迪尼什(Diana Dinis)和费辛(Georg Fasching)在红色的露营垫上休息。

31岁的费辛是一家移动支付公司的产品经理。他说，各款iPhone我都有，我最期待的功能是FaceTime。这是苹果新的视频通话应用软件。