三星抢在苹果前在华发售新机

Samsung Electronics’ new high-end smartphone will go on sale in China early next week, ahead of any other market except South Korea, as the company tries to steal a march on Apple’s new iPhones and halt its sliding share of the world’s biggest mobile phone market.

三星电子(Samsung Electronics)最新款的高端智能手机下周初起将在中国发售。该款手机将在韩国首发，紧接着便来到中国，早于其他任何一个海外市场。三星此举的用意是抢在苹果(Apple)新款iPhone之前进入中国市场，同时终止自身在这个全球最大手机市场份额不断下滑的态势。

Samsung, the world’s leading smartphone producer by sales, has lost market share in China over the past two years to cheaper homegrown rivals, and in the second quarter gave up the top spot, according to leading research firms.

按销量计算，三星是全球第一大智能手机生产商。然而根据主要研究公司的数据，最近两年来，三星在中国的市场份额被更为廉价的中国本土厂商不断蚕食，今年第二季度甚至丢掉了市场老大的宝座。

The Galaxy Note 4 is an upgraded model of Samsung’s large-screen “phablet”. It will go on sale in South Korea on Friday and in China before the end of the month, Samsung said on Wednesday, marking the first time the South Korean smartphone maker has given China priority over other export markets with a new device in the flagship Galaxy range.

Galaxy Note 4是三星大屏“平板手机”的升级版。三星于周三表示，该款手机将于周五在韩国发售，并将于本月底以前在中国发售。这标志着，三星在推出旗舰Galaxy系列的最新款机型时，首次把中国市场摆在了其他出口市场之前。

Samsung unveiled the Note 4 on September 4, just five days before Apple announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The latter is Apple’s first foray into the phablet segment, which Samsung has dominated since launching the first Galaxy Note in 2011.

三星在9月4日发布Note 4，五天后，苹果发布了iPhone 6和iPhone 6 Plus。iPhone 6 Plus是苹果首次推出的平板手机产品，而三星自2011年推出首部Galaxy Note以来，一直在这个领域占据主导地位。

Apple says it sold 10m of the new iPhones in the three days after their September 19 launch – a record for the company despite the fact that the phones are not yet for sale in China, where regulators have yet to give final approval for the devices.

苹果表示，新款iPhone在9月19日上市后，三天里销售了1000万部。由于中国相关主管部门仍未最终批准这两款手机在中国上市，新款iPhone并未在华出售。尽管如此，苹果公司这次还是创下了iPhone的最佳销售纪录。

While Samsung’s early launch of the Note 4 in China could help mitigate the threat from Apple to its phablet market share, analysts say a more serious problem for Samsung is the success of lower cost Chinese competitors.

三星抢先在华推出Note 4，可能会有助于减轻苹果对其平板手机市场份额的威胁。然而分析师表示，对三星来说，更严重的问题是成本较低的中国竞争对手所取得的成功。

“Chinese phones with the same functions as Samsung’s phones may cost only Rmb3,500 ($570), while Samsung’s cost Rmb5,300,” said Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the Mobile Phone China Alliance, an industry group. He warned that many Chinese consumers did not consider Samsung’s phones, with impressive technical specifications but pedestrian plastic exteriors, as deserving of a premium price tag.

手机中国联盟(Mobile Phone China Alliance)秘书长王艳辉表示：“与同样功能的三星手机相比，国产手机的价格可能只有3500元人民币（合570美元），而三星手机的价格却高达5300元人民币。”他警告说，许多中国消费者认为三星手机不值那么多钱，因为尽管三星手机的技术规格令人印象深刻，却配了乏味的塑料外壳。

“If it cannot lower its prices, Samsung’s market share in China will soon be washed away by Chinese competitors,” Mr Wang said.

王艳辉表示：“如果三星不降价，它在中国的市场份额将很快被中国竞争对手抢光。”

Samsung accounted for nearly a quarter of mobile phone sales in China in late 2011, but that fell to 12 per cent in the third quarter of this year as Samsung was overtaken by Chinese rival Xiaomi, according to the research group Canalys. A separate report from IDC also said Samsung had lost its leading position in the third quarter, but named Lenovo as the new top seller.

根据研究机构Canalys的数据，2011年末，三星占了中国手机销量近四分之一的份额，但今年第三季度却下滑到12%，其市场地位被中国小米(Xiaomi)超过。由IDC发布的另一份报告也表示，三星在今年第三季度失去了市场领导地位，不过该报告表示新的销量冠军是联想(Lenovo)。

The problems in China have contributed to a broader slowdown for Samsung, which has reported three consecutive quarterly declines in operating profit including a 24 per cent fall in the second quarter.

在中国遭遇的问题导致了三星整体业绩的放缓，其营业利润连续三个季度出现下滑，在今年第二季度下降幅度达到24%。

However, Lee Don-joo, president of strategic marketing at Samsung’s mobile phone division, said business conditions were “temporarily difficult”, predicting the Note 4 would “far outsell its predecessor”.

然而，三星手机部门战略营销总裁李唐珠(Lee Don-joo)却表示，三星手机业务状况只是遭遇了“暂时的困难”，并预言Note 4“销量将远超上个版本”。

Samsung shipped 10m units of the Note 3 to vendors in the first two months after its launch last year.

Note 3于去年上市，在头两个月里，三星向经销商交付了1000万部该款手机。

“We expect earnings to recover soon, given our technological innovation and strong fundamentals,” Mr Lee said.

李唐珠表示：“考虑到我们的技术创新及坚实基础，我们预计盈利将很快恢复。”