三星智能手机的秘密武器:自产元件

Samsung Electronics Co.'s ( SSNHY) latest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4, takes advantage of the South Korean electronics company's chip- and display-manufacturing prowess to get its material costs closer to Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) costs for the iPhone 5.

凭借其制造芯片和显示器的卓越能力，韩国三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)缩小了最新智能手机Galaxy S 4在材料成本方面与苹果公司(Apple Inc.) iPhone 5的距离。

An analysis conducted by market-research firm IHS Inc. estimates Samsung's cost of materials and manufacturing to produce the U.S. version of the S 4 is slightly above $237 a unit, according to a report expected to be released on Thursday. That is higher than Apple's $217 production cost for a 32-gigabyte iPhone 5, which has a smaller and less-costly display screen.

一份预计于周四发布的报告显示，市场研究机构IHS Inc.的分析报告估计，三星生产一部美国版Galaxy S 4的材料和制造成本仅略高于237美元。苹果生产一部32G版iPhone 5的生产费用为217美元。相比Galaxy S 4，iPhone 5的显示屏尺寸较小，成本也较低。

Without a two-year contract, the 16-gigabyte version of the Samsung phone sells for $639 at AT&T Inc. (T), and the iPhone 5 with 32 gigabytes costs $749 at an Apple store.

如没有两年套餐合约，这款三星智能手机的16G版在美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)的售价为639美元，32G版iPhone 5在苹果专卖店的售价为749美元。

Pricing for an unlocked 32-gigabte S 4 hasn't been released.

32G版S 4裸机价格还未发布。

Most phone manufacturers buy components from many different suppliers. But Samsung, which builds everything from chips to displays, has used its production capabilities to produce many of the key components inside its S 4 phones.

大多数手机生产商会从很多不同供应商那里购买零部件。而产品涵盖从芯片到显示屏的三星充分利用了自身的生产能力，S 4手机内配置的很多关键零部件都是三星自产。

'Samsung's strength is this ability to in-source to itself,' IHS analyst Vincent Leung said in an interview. 'They just keep adding to the list of components that they can supply to themselves.'

IHS分析师Vincent Leung接受采访时说，三星的优势就是这种“内包”给自己的能力。他说，三星还在不断增加自供零部件的种类。

One key component that Samsung didn't produce for its phone sold in the U.S., was the applications processor. U.S. versions of the phone contain a Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) that contributes $20 to the overall cost, IHS says.

三星这款在美国销售的智能手机有一个非自产的关键元件，那就是应用程序处理器。IHS说，美国版手机采用的是高通公司(Qualcomm Inc.)生产的Snapdragon处理器，在总成本中占了20美元。

Versions of the phone sold in Korea and other markets around the world use a Samsung-made chip called Exynos 5 Octa that costs $28 in place of the Qualcomm chip. Samsung manufactures at least four different variations of the phone around the world, including two being sold in the U.S., one to AT&T, and another to Verizon Wireless, said Andrew Rassweiler, another IHS analyst.

在韩国和世界其它市场上销售的S 4则采用的是三星自产的Exynos 5 Octa芯片，成本为28美元。IHS另一分析师拉斯韦勒(Andrew Rassweiler)说，这款手机三星至少会在世界范围内生产四种不同版本，包括正在美国销售的两个版本，分别提供给电话电报公司和运营商Verizon Wireless。

'Samsung is demonstrating its ability to suit the tastes of carriers in different regions of the world,' Mr. Rassweiler said. 'It comes down to what the market is willing to spend on the features offered.'

拉斯韦勒说，三星正在展示其有能力适应世界不同地区运营商的要求，具体取决于当地市场愿为该手机功能投入多少。

The fact that Samsung used the Qualcomm-made chip is a testament to the U.S. chipmaker's prowess. 'Even with all the vertical integration it is doing, it isn't like Samsung has given up on Qualcomm,' Mr. Rassweiler said.

三星使用高通芯片是对这家美国芯片制造商出色技术水平的佐证。拉斯韦勒说，三星即使在进行产品垂直整合的时候，似乎也没放弃高通。

One interesting difference between the U.S. and Korean versions of the Galaxy S 4 is the imaging processor.

Galaxy S 4美国和韩国版之间有一个很有趣的区别：图像处理器。

U.S. versions of the phone contain an image-processing chip made by Japan's Fujitsu Ltd. that added $1.50 to the total cost. IHS's Mr. Leung says in the Korean versions, some of the image processing is handed off to Samsung's Exynos chip.

美国版配备的是日本富士通(Fujitsu Ltd.)生产的图像处理芯片，价格为1.50美元。Leung说，韩国版的部分图像处理工作则由三星的Exynos芯片完成。

Samsung also supplied the flash memory used to store data on the device.

这款手机配备的数据存储闪存也由三星自供。

IHS estimates that the phone's 16 gigabytes of memory added $28 to the material cost of the device.

据IHS估计，这款16G版手机的闪存成本为28美元。

The Korean company supplied its own display and touch-screen parts, which added $75 to the cost of components.

另外，该手机的显示屏和触摸屏零部件也为这家韩国公司自产，成本为75美元。

The combined display package also includes Gorilla Glass, a strong glass material made by U.S.-based Corning Inc. (GLW).

显示屏组合配置中还有大猩猩玻璃(Gorilla Glass)。这是美国康宁公司(Corning Inc.)生产的一种强化玻璃。

The S 4's display is nearly an inch larger than Apple's iPhone 5, raising the Galaxy's material costs.

相比苹果的iPhone 5，S 4的显示屏大了近一英寸，其材料成本也相应提高。

Samsung is also thought to have supplied itself with several unlabeled components, including the camera module and some wireless baseband chips.

此外，还有几种无标元件也被认为是三星自产，如手机摄像头和一些无线基带芯片。

A few non-Samsung suppliers include Broadcom Corp., which provided Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips, Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (BRCM), which provided a power management chip, and Triquint Semiconductor Inc. (TQNT), which provided some wireless chips. Subscribe to WSJ:

除三星外，该手机的其它几个供应商分别是提供了蓝牙和Wi-Fi芯片的博通(Broadcom Corp.)、提供了电源管理芯片的Maxim Integrated Products Inc.和提供了部分无线芯片的Triquint Semiconductor Inc.等。