High Tech Computer Corp., a little-known but fast-growing Taiwanese gadget maker, unveiled a touch-screen smartphone, the latest salvo in its surprisingly successful effort to compete against bigger rivals like Apple Inc. and its iPhone.
籍籍无名却增长迅猛的台湾宏达国际电子股份有限公司(High Tech Computer Corp.)在和苹果(Apple Inc.)及其iPhone手机的竞争中已取得了令人难以置信的成功，而该公司日前发布的新款触摸屏智能手机使其又向前迈进了一步。
HTC's Touch Diamond, which was unveiled Tuesday in London and goes on sale next month in Europe, is the company's follow-up to the Touch, which has sold surprisingly well since its launch last June, a few weeks before Apple's iPhone hit shelves. HTC's new phone will be available in the U.S. in the second half of this year.
宏达国际周二在伦敦推出了一款名为Touch Diamond的智能手机，该产品定于下月在欧洲上市。该产品是去年6月推出的Touch手机的后续产品，而比iPhone早面市几周的Touch手机销售情况好得出人意料。预计Touch Diamond将于今年下半年进入美国市场。
HTC says it has sold more than three million Touch phones, which is more than half the number of iPhones sold in roughly the same period. 'We think we can do more' with the Touch Diamond, HTC Chief Executive Peter Chou said.
宏达国际推出的Touch Diamond智能手机宏达国际表示，公司售出了逾300万部Touch手机，在差不多同样长的销售时段中，iPhone销量仅比它多了不到50%。宏达国际首席执行长周永明(Peter Chou)表示，公司认为可以借助Touch Diamond实现更好的销售业绩。
Smartphones basically are small computers that with functions such as email, Internet surfing and Global Positioning System locators in addition to voice calling. The smartphone market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global cellphone industry. Both Apple and HTC are relatively small players in the market, which had sales of 136 million units last year, according to iSuppli Corp., an El Segundo, Calif., research company. Touch-screen models are among the hottest-selling items.
智能手机基本上就像一部微型电脑，除了通话功能外，它还具备电邮、上网及全球定位系统(GPS)等功能。此类产品是全球手机行业中发展最快的领域之一。调查公司iSuppli Corp.提供的数据显示，去年全球智能手机的销量为1.36亿部，而苹果和宏达国际在其中都只拥有较小的份额。触摸屏手机一直都是最受消费者青睐的产品类型之一。
Other makers of touch-screen smartphones include South Korea's Samsung Electronics Inc. and LG Electronics Inc. Nokia Corp., which is by far the biggest seller of smartphones, is expected to start selling touch-screen models this year.
其他触摸屏智能手机的生产厂家还包括韩国的三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)以及LG电子(LG Electronics Co.)。而预计在智能手机市场上遥遥领先的诺基亚(Nokia Corp.)将从今年开始销售触摸屏手机。
HTC's Touch Diamond runs on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile software and is slightly lighter and more compact than its predecessor and the iPhone. It comes with four gigabytes of internal data storage -- half that of the least expensive iPhone -- but has a higher-resolution, 3.2-megapixel camera.
广告Touch Diamond使用的是微软(Microsoft Corp.)的Windows Mobile软件，它与Touch系列以及iPhone比起来更轻也更紧凑。Touch Diamond拥有4G的内存，而最便宜的iPhone内存也有8G，但前者拥有具备更高分辨率、320万像素的相机。
The Touch Diamond supports high-speed transmission using the latest generation of wireless technology, and it is designed so users can surf the Internet using one hand, said Horace Luke, HTC's chief innovation officer.
宏达国际首席创意长霍拉斯•吕克(Horace Luke)表示，Touch Diamond支持基于最新无线技术的高速传输，而且其设计保证用户即使是用单手在网上冲浪也毫无问题。
Apple launched the iPhone with slower wireless technology; it is expected to unveil a high-speed model soon. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
苹果旗下的iPhone手机在无线技术方面稍显落后，预计公司将很快推出一款高速机型。苹果公司并未回复记者的置评要求。
HTC's success has earned it a role in Google Inc.'s initiative to produce a cellphone using software developed by the Web giant. Mr. Chou declined to give details on that phone but said that work is 'on track' and that HTC expects to release it in the second half of this year.
宏达国际的成功使得它在谷歌(Google Inc.)提出的基于其软件产品生产手机的研发创意中占据了一席之地。周永明拒绝就这个产品提供细节信息，但表示相关工作正在进行当中，宏达国际预计将于今年下半年发布该款手机。
Pete Cunningham, a senior analyst for Canalys, a London-based research concern, credits HTC with a 'clever strategy' of working closely with wireless carriers. He said HTC benefited last year from the global hype surrounding the iPhone and the fact that its somewhat similar Touch was widely available in markets in Europe and Asia where iPhone had not reached.
伦敦研究机构Canalys高级分析师彼得•康宁汉(Pete Cunningham)指出，宏达国际和无线运营商保持密切合作的策略堪称明智之举。他表示，去年iPhone在全球掀起的狂热以及Touch在亚欧市场的抢先大面积登陆均给宏达国际带来了好处。
While that advantage may fade as Apple rolls out the iPhone in more markets, Mr. Cunningham said the Touch Diamond is a more-competitive product than its predecessor. 'I think it is going to be a very strong product for HTC,' he said. 'They're already well-positioned, and I think they could sell some serious volume on this product.'
康宁汉表示，虽然这一优势可能随着iPhone打入更多市场而逐渐消退，但Touch Diamond将比Touch更具有竞争力。他指出，它有望成为宏达国际的一个拳头产品，这一产品有着非常好的定位，预计Touch Diamond的销量将较为可观。
Mr. Cunningham noted that HTC and Apple are not necessarily fighting for each other's market share. Since they both are small but growing players in the smartphone market, they are likely to take market share from competitors that have been slower to move on the touch-screen trend, he said.
康宁汉指出，宏达国际和苹果倒不一定会为争取市场份额而捉对厮杀。由于它们在智能手机市场都是成长中的“小角色”，这两家公司有可能会从那些未能及时顺应触摸屏发展趋势的竞争对手那里分得一杯羹。
HTC's success with the Touch has been driven in part by its relationships with a broad range of wireless carriers around the world that offer its phones to their customers, often at subsidized prices. HTC frequently works with more than one carrier in a market and sells its phones separately through electronics retailers.
宏达国际在Touch上取得的成功在一定程度上应该归功于它和全球多家无线运营商的良好关系，后者常常以优惠价格向客户提供手机。该公司往往在一个市场上和多家运营商合作，同时还通过零售商销售自己的手机。
The approach offers consumers options. The Touch, for example, was sold through retailers when it was launched last year for $499, but it was also available through some carriers free to customers who signed certain service contracts. By comparison, Apple has tended to work with a single carrier in each market it sells the iPhone, taking a share of the carrier's revenue from iPhone users, and it hews to a relatively rigid pricing policy. In the U.S., the iPhone is available only with a two-year service contract from AT&T Inc. The least-expensive model sells for $399, plus the cost of service.
这一策略使消费者有了多种选择。以Touch为例，在去年推出时，零售商开出的售价是499美元，但如果客户和一些运营商签订了某些服务合同的话，他们就可以免费使用这款手机。相比之下，苹果往往在一个市场上只绑定一家运营商，并从该运营商手中分走一部分iPhone用户带来的收入。此外，苹果的定价策略也比较死板。在美国市场中，用户只有同美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)签订为期两年的服务合同后才能使用iPhone。最便宜的iPhone卖399美元，服务费需另行计算。
HTC executives said they have arranged to sell the Touch Diamond through France Telecom SA's Orange subsidiary. It will be available through other operators across Europe, as well as in retail outlets, when it is sold next month. The phone is slated to go on sale in some Asian markets in coming weeks and in the U.S. and Latin America in the second half of the year. HTC wouldn't give a price for the Touch Diamond but said it will be similar to that of the Touch when it was launched.
宏达国际高管表示，公司已经安排由法国电信(France Telecom)旗下的Orange负责Touch Diamond的销售。下月正式上市时，消费者还可以通过欧洲的多家电信运营商、及零售商获得这款产品。公司计划随后几周在部分亚洲市场推出Touch Diamond，并在下半年进军美国及拉美市场。公司并未透露其价格，但表示会和Touch刚推出时差不多。
HTC is one of a wave of Taiwanese companies dropping contract manufacturing to build their own brands, often becoming rivals to their former big-brand customers. Acer Inc., for example, has become the world's third-largest personal-computer vendor after Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Asustek Computer Inc., which split off its contract manufacturing operations early this year, is enjoying success with its Eee PC, a low-end laptop that starts at $299.
目前有许多台湾企业正在努力摆脱合同制造商的身份，竖立起自己的品牌，而它们往往会和自己以前的大客户一争高下。宏达国际就是这股潮流中的一员。举例来说，宏碁股份有限公司(Acer Inc.)现在已经成为了全球第三大个人电脑企业，排名仅次于惠普公司(Hewlett-Packard Co.)和戴尔公司(Dell Inc.)。今年早些时候刚刚拆分了合同制造业务的华硕电脑有限公司(Asustek Computer Inc.)就因起价仅为299美元的低端手提电脑Eee PC而大获成功。
HTC is still significantly smaller than rivals like Apple, which reported total iPhone sales through March 29 of 5.4 million units, and which makes PCs and other products as well. But the Taiwanese upstart's performance is nonetheless surprising for a company that was founded just over a decade ago and that, until recently, was little known outside its industry.
宏达国际同苹果这样的竞争对手比起来仍显得相当弱小，截至3月29日，iPhone的总销量达到了540万部，而且后者还生产电脑及其他产品。不过对于一家成立仅仅十年的台湾公司来说，宏达国际所取得的成绩已是分外辉煌。直到不久前，它的名字在业外还几乎无人知晓。
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