【英语中国】索爱将关注智能手机 瞄准中国市场

Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Bert Nordberg said he expects smartphone use in China to expand to half of all mobile-phone users in the country within five years, as the company joins other global handset makers in shifting its focus to higher-end devices.

In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Nordbergalso said Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson of Sweden and Sony Corp. of Japan, is unlikely to create its own tablet-style personal computer even though rivals Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc.of South Korea are planning tablet launches. Sony is likely to produce any tablet that Sony Ericsson sells in the future, he said.

Tablets are 'very interesting,' Mr. Nordberg said, adding, 'I have focused very hard on devices you can have in your pocket.'

Mr. Nordberg said that as the price gap between smartphones and phones with fewer capabilities narrows in China, purchasing a smartphone will 'not be unthinkable' even for less-wealthy consumers. Smartphone penetration 'will quickly grow to 50% of the market . . . by 2015' or earlier, he said.

To address that expected boom in demand, Sony Ericsson is deepening its relationship with China's largest mobile operator, China Mobile Ltd., by offering a new handset using network technology and software developed in China, a third-generation wireless standard called TD-SCDMA. The Sony Ericsson phone, the A8i, runs an operating system developed by China Mobile based on Google Inc.'s Android.

Sony Ericsson will continue to offer handsets that work with the more popular network standard used by China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., China Mobile's competitor, Mr. Nordberg said. But Sony Ericsson is still evaluating whether it would be worthwhile to develop any handsets for release with China's third carrier, China Telecom Corp.

Sony Ericsson had 9.3% of China's smartphone market as of the second quarter, ranking fourth after Nokia Corp. of Finland, Samsung Electronics and Motorola Inc. of the U.S., according to the Analysys International research firm.

Market researcher IDC estimates that 26 million smartphones will be sold in China this year, up about 50% from 2009. IDC says smartphones accounted for about 11%, or 17.5 million, of the 160.6 million cellphones shipped in China last year.

Sony Ericsson, which struggled in recent years with losses and falling market share, has been focusing on higher-end devices running Google's Android operating system world-wide, in a bid to improve its margins and raise its share of global market revenue.

Sony Ericsson's average selling price in the second quarter rose to 160 euros ($203) from 122 euros a year earlier, and Mr. Nordberg said the company will continue its move from 'volume to value.'

He said that Sony Ericsson's share of market revenue is 7%.

尼爱立信（Sony Ericsson）首席执行长诺德伯格（Bert Nordberg）预计中国的智能手机用户数量在五年内将占所有手机用户的一半，索尼爱立信也加入到了全球手机制造商的行列，将其业务重点转移至高端手机。

索尼爱立信是由瑞典的爱立信(Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson)和日本的索尼公司（Sony Corp.）共同组建的合资公司。诺德伯格在周二的一个采访中说，索尼爱立信不大可能生产自己的平板个人电脑，虽然竞争对手三星电子（Samsung Electronics Co.）和韩国的LG电子（LG Electronics Inc.）打算推出平板电脑。他说，索尼爱立信今后销售的平板电脑有可能都来自索尼。

诺德伯格补充道，平板产品“非常有趣”，所有能放进口袋的小型设备我都非常关注。

诺德伯格说，在中国，随着智能手机与功能较少的普通手机之间的价差逐渐缩小，购买智能手机即便对较低收入的消费者来说也将“不再是天方夜谭”。他说，到2015年或之前，智能手机的普及率将会迅速增长至整个市场的50%。

为了顺应未来的这种需求增长，索尼爱立信正加深与中国最大的移动运营商中国移动的合作，推出了一款新手机A8i，该手机使用中国开发的网络技术和软件，即第三代无线通信技术标准TD-SCDMA。该款手机使用的是由中国移动基于谷歌（Google Inc）Android系统开发的操作系统。

诺德伯格说，索尼爱立信将会继续推出其他手机，以支持中国移动竞争对手中国联通使用的更受欢迎的移动通信标准。但是索尼爱立信仍在评估是否应该与中国第三大移动运营商中国电信合作开发新的手机。

据研究公司易观国际（Analysys International）统计，索尼爱立信第二季度拥有中国智能手机市场9.3%的市场份额，位列第四，排在芬兰的诺基亚公司（Nokia Corp.）、韩国的三星电子和美国的摩托罗拉公司（Motorola Inc.）之后。

据市场研究公司国际数据中心（IDC）预计，中国今年的智能手机销量将达2,600万部，比去年增长50%。该公司说，去年在华交货的1.606亿部手机中，智能手机所占的比例约为11%，即1750万部。

近年来陷入亏损和市场份额下滑困境的索尼爱立信正在调整业务重点，致力于在全球范围内开发使用谷歌Android操作系统的高端手机，从而提高利润，增加其在全球市场的份额。

索尼爱立信第二季度的平均销售价格从去年的122欧元上升至160欧元（203美元），诺德伯格说，公司将会延续其“从数量到质量”的策略。

他说，索尼爱立信的市场收入份额为7%。