【英语中国】中国联通洽谈引入苹果iPad和iPhone 4

Apple has entered talks with China's second-largest mobile phone carrier to bring its hit iPad and latest iPhone to the world's most populous country, raising hopes of reinvigorating sluggish sales of its products there.

China Unicom, which confirmed local media reports of the discussions yesterday, has sold a disappointing number of the iPhone 3, in part because local laws have left it without WiFi connectivity.

The iPad tablet has been enormously popular elsewhere in the world, selling 3m units at $499 or more in its first three months. The recently launched iPhone 4 is also shaping up as a hit, with customers queuing yesterday as the smartphone was launched in five countries.

But Apple has yet to make a serious impact in China, where regulations have kept the Silicon Valley company from penetrating a country that is expected to soon become the top buyer of personal computers.

China Unicom said it hoped the iPhone 4, which has gone on sale in the US and four other countries, would be available through China Unicom with WiFi as well as 3G internet access.

Any 3G models released through the much larger carrier China Mobile, which is also interested in iPhone and iPad deals with Apple, would have to use a technology standard that is more cumbersome.

China Unicom has 155m mobile subscribers, compared with China Mobile's 700m, but signed up more than 1m new 3G subscribers last month, bringing its 3G customer base to about 6.5m. That was the fastest monthly pace since it started 3G services in October.

Under the delicate regulatory balance designed by the government, the China Unicom uses 3GSM, the world's most mature standard, for its 3G services, whereas China Mobile was forced to adopt a more burdensome standard known as TD-SCDMA.

WiFi phones have been handicapped because Beijing requires handsets with the service to also carry a homegrown standard called WAPI, which is not on the iPhones made available by China Unicom so far.

Instead of getting the iPhone from Unicom with a long-term contract attached, Chinese consumers have mainly opted for cheaper imported devices available in electronics shops.

Although the iPad has not officially launched in China, it has already been on sale in the grey market.

苹果(Apple)已与中国第二大移动运营商——中国联通(China Unicom)——就有关在中国投放其热门商品iPad平板电脑和最新款iPhone手机进行洽谈，从而引发这样一种希望，即该公司有意改变在华产品销售不振的局面。

中国联通昨日证实了当地媒体有关洽谈消息的报道。联通在华销售iPhone 3的情况令人失望，部分原因是当地法规导致该款手机不能实现WiFi上网功能。

iPad平板电脑在世界其它地区广受消费者喜爱，上市3个月已售出300万部，其售价最低为499美元。最新推出的iPhone 4也正成为抢手货，该款智能手机昨日在5个国家同步上市，消费者排队购买。

但苹果还没有在中国造成较大影响，当地法规使这家硅谷公司难以渗透这个国家。中国预计很快将成为个人电脑销量最大的国家。

中国联通表示，希望兼具WiFi和3G上网功能的iPhone 4能够通过该公司供应。这款手机已开始在美国等5个国家销售。

规模比联通大的中国移动(China Mobile)也有兴趣引入苹果的iPhone和iPad，但是，通过中国移动发布的3G手机，须采用一种较为冷僻的技术标准。

中国联通有1.55亿手机用户，而中国移动有7亿之多，不过，上月中国联通的新增3G用户超过100万，其3G手机用户由此增加到650万左右，这是联通自去年10月推出3G服务以来最快的单月新增用户速度。

在政府主导的微妙的监管平衡之下，中国联通获准采用世界最成熟的3G服务技术标准3GSM，而中国移动则被迫采用比较麻烦的TD-SCDMA。

中国规定，具备WiFi功能的手机同时必须携带本国制定的标准WAPI，这阻碍了WiFi手机的发展。迄今为止，中国联通销售的iPhone手机都不带WAPI标准。

中国大多数消费者倾向于在电子商店购买价格较便宜的其它进口手机，而不愿向联通购买附带长期合同的iPhone。

iPad尚未在中国正式发售，但在灰市已经有售。

译者/杨远