三星魅力直逼苹果

Samsung Electronics Co. is succeeding where other technology companies have tried and failed: closing the coolness gap with Apple Inc.

其他科技公司曾尝试缩小与苹果公司(Apple +1.88%)的魅力差距，但都以失败告终。而三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)却在这方面取得了成功。

The deep-pocketed Korean company has used a combination of engineering prowess, manufacturing heft and marketing savvy to create smartphones that can rival the iPhone in both sales and appeal.

这家财大气粗的韩国公司利用自己在设计、制造和营销方面的能力和经验，推出了销量和魅力都可与iPhone比肩的智能手机。

Samsung, the market leader in smartphones, on Friday said its fourth-quarter profit surged 76% to a record high on the strength of smartphone sales, including its Galaxy S line. The latest version is considered comparable by many shoppers in both design and technical features.

身为智能手机市场领头羊的三星在上周五说，借助Galaxy S系列等智能手机的强劲销售，它在第四季度的利润猛增76%，达到创纪录的水平。很多消费者觉得，三星最新款智能手机无论是设计还是技术参数都可与苹果媲美。

Apple, meanwhile, reignited concerns about demand for its iPhone 5 after reporting flat earnings for the holiday quarter, sending its stock down 14% in the past two days. The stock has also dropped 37% since hitting an all-time high on Sept. 19, just two days before the iPhone 5 launched in stores.

与此同时，苹果报告假日购物期所在季度利润平平，再次引燃人们对iPhone 5需求的担忧，导致该公司股价在过去两个交易日下跌14%。苹果股价曾在2012年9月19日、即iPhone 5上市两天之前达到历史最高水平，此后已经下跌37%。

At that time, Samsung had just unleashed an aggressive marketing campaign including a television commercial that poked fun at the iPhone 5. 'The next big thing is already here,' the spot said, referring to its Galaxy S III phone.

当时，三星刚刚打响了一场咄咄逼人的营销战，包括一则拿iPhone 5开玩笑的电视广告。广告语是“下一件了不起的东西已经在这了”，这件东西便是三星Galaxy S III手机。

The ad was part of a more than $200 million U.S. marketing blitz that Samsung launched in 2011 to lampoon Apple, according to Kantar Media. The creative vision for those ads was a former Nike executive, Todd Pendleton, who now runs Samsung's marketing in the U.S.

包括这条广告在内，三星自2011年以来在美国发起了一场嘲讽苹果的闪电营销战，据广告信息研究公司Kantar Media的数据，营销活动花费超过2亿美元。广告的创意来自曾任耐克(NikeNKE-1.06%)高管、现在负责三星美国营销的彭德尔顿(Todd Pendleton)。

The campaign swayed consumers including Will Hernandez, an Apple iPhone owner who bought a Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone about three months ago after seeing Samsung's ads.

营销战动摇了包括赫尔南德斯(Will Hernandez)在内的消费者。约三个月之前，本来使用苹果iPhone的赫尔南德斯看到三星的广告，然后买了一部Galaxy S III。

'If you see this stuff on TV enough, it gets you thinking,' said Mr. Hernandez, a 34-year-old resident of Somerville, Mass., who adds that he likes how his Galaxy has a larger screen than the iPhone. 'Now, when someone gives me an iPhone to look at a picture, it looks so tiny.'

家住马萨诸塞州萨默维尔、现年34岁的赫尔南德斯说，在电视上看这种广告看多了，它就会让你开始考虑。赫尔南德斯说，他喜欢Galaxy屏幕比iPhone更大这一点。他说：现在，当别人把iPhone拿过来让我看一张照片的时候，我就觉得它实在太小了。

The marketing onslaught is helping Samsung widen the gap as the market leader. Samsung is estimated to have held 28% of the global smartphone market last year, up from 20% a year earlier, according to IHS iSuppli. Apple's share, meanwhile, isn't rising as quickly, moving to 20.5% in 2012 from 19% a year earlier.

营销战正在帮助三星扩大其市场领导者的优势地位。据IHS iSuppli估计，去年三星掌握了全球智能手机市场28%的份额，高于上一年的20%。而苹果市场份额的扩大则没有这么快，仅从2011年的19%上升到2012年的20.5%。

Despite Samsung's advances, Apple generates higher revenue and its profit in the latest quarter was twice as large as Samsung's. And even after its stock slump, Apple's market value of $413 billion is nearly double Samsung's $217 billion market cap.

尽管三星一路高歌猛进，但苹果的收入还是更高，最新一个季度的利润更是达到三星的两倍。而且即便是在股价大幅下跌之后，苹果4,130亿美元的市值也接近三星2,170亿美元市值的两倍。

A Samsung spokesman in Seoul declined to make executives available. An Apple spokeswoman declined to make executives available for interviews, but reiterated recent comments by Chief Executive Tim Cook. Mr. Cook has said Apple is 'unwilling to cut corners in delivering the best customer experience in the world.'

三星驻首尔发言人不让采访高管。苹果一位发言人拒绝安排高管接受采访，但她重申了苹果首席执行长库克(Tim Cook)的话。库克曾说，苹果在提供世界上最佳用户体验方面不愿走捷径。

While many analysts agree that Samsung isn't as innovative as Apple in terms of design and software capability, it has been able to match other electronics companies' products at a cheaper price.

虽然许多分析人士都认为，三星在设计和软件能力方面并不像苹果那样具有创新性，但三星一直能够以较低的价格生产出与其他电子产品公司相匹敌的产品。

Samsung's high-end smartphones are priced similarly to their iPhone counterparts in the U.S. But Samsung's devices have been significantly discounted at times, to less than a quarter of the sticker price in some cases.

在美国市场，三星高端智能手机的定价与相互竞争的iPhone手机处于同一水平。但三星的手机不时会大幅打折，某些产品的打折价会低到不及产品标价的四分之一。

Samsung owns its own manufacturing facilities where it builds screens, chips and other parts, allowing it to cut costs to make smartphones in a way that few other manufacturers can. Apple designs its own devices and some of the technologies it uses, but it relies on other companies, including Samsung, to help build its iPhones.

三星拥有自己的生产设施，它在那里生产显示屏、芯片和其他零部件。这使得它在生产智能手机时能将成本削减到其他生产商几乎难以企及的程度。虽然苹果负责设计自己的产品并开发一些生产其产品所用的技术，但它却需要靠包括三星在内的其他公司来帮助其生产iPhone。

At the same time, the Korean electronics maker has capitalized on what Apple wasn't doing in the smartphone market. Even as Apple stuck to one new model each year with a narrow price band, Samsung released multiple smartphones in various shapes and sizes and with features such as larger screens.

与此同时，三星一直通过做那些苹果在智能手机市场上没有做的事来获利。就在苹果坚持每年只发布一款新手机、并将产品的价格区间限制得很窄之际，三星却会同时发布多款手机，它们具有不同的外形和尺寸，并具备了更大的显示屏等特点。

Samsung was also quick to embrace Google Inc.'s Android mobile software just as the operating system was becoming popular with consumers. That enabled the company to become the leading vendor of Android phones in the U.S.

谷歌公司(Google +0.39%)开发的手机操作系统软件安卓(Android)刚一受到消费者的追捧，三星就迅速采用了它。这使得三星成为美国市场上最大的安卓手机提供商。

Meanwhile, Samsung also offers feature phones based on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone software to attract consumers in low-end and emerging markets.

与此同时，三星还提供基于微软公司(Microsoft +0.35%)Windows Phone软件的功能手机，以吸引低端和新型市场上的消费者。

The result is a two-horse race in which Apple appears to be seeing iPhone sales growth slow at a time when smartphones are set to become the majority of all cellphone sales.

其结果是，就在智能手机开始成为手机市场上的主流产品之际，苹果公司iPhone手机的销售增速看来却在放缓。

Samsung's surge in smartphones has caused more than just consumers to switch away from Apple. Some app developers have said they are now focusing more attention on Samsung devices.

三星智能手机销量的大幅增长不仅使一批消费者弃用苹果产品而改用三星手机，就连一些应用软件开发商也说，他们现在正把更多注意力放在三星的手机上。

Ken Yarmosh, chief executive of Savvy Apps in Washington, D.C., said his company began by making apps for Apple's iOS operating system but lately has been focusing on Android as Samsung devices have become more prevalent, especially among his own company's testing devices.

Savvy Apps是华盛顿一家手机应用软件开发商，其首席执行长雅莫什(Ken Yarmosh)说，他的公司创办伊始是为苹果的iOS操作系统软件开发应用程序，但近来一直把注意力放在安卓操作系统上，因为三星的手机已经变得更为流行，这一点在Savvy Apps测试的手机中表现得尤为明显。

'There was a major flip─it was Apple, then if you have money build for Android,' Mr. Yarmosh said. 'Now it's Android first, or Android only.'

雅莫什说，手机市场的风向发生了重大转变，以往应用软件开发商都是优先为苹果手机开发软件，有多余的资金才会为安卓手机开发软件。而现在是他们先为安卓手机开发软件，或者只为安卓手机开发。

The intense competition has led to skirmishes between Apple and Samsung. In August, a federal court sided with Apple in a fight over patents, awarding it more than $1 billion in damages and saying Samsung had infringed many of Apple's patents. The two companies are also dueling in numerous courts world-wide over various other patents, including the design of their respective devices and the wireless technology that powers them.

苹果和三星间的激烈竞争导致双方发生了一系列小冲突。去年八月，一家联邦法庭在两公司的一场专利权诉讼中站到了苹果一边，下令三星给予苹果逾10亿美元的损害赔偿，并称三星侵犯了苹果的许多专利。这两家公司还在全球各地的许多法庭上就其他各种各样的专利权进行着争斗，这些专利涉及它们各自手机的设计及手机使用的无线通讯技术等方面。

Apple also appears to be responding to Samsung's growth by aiming to diversify its iPhone line. The Wall Street Journal earlier this month reported that Apple is working on a lower-cost iPhone that could potentially launch later this year.

苹果似乎还打算通过增加iPhone的产品线的种类来对三星的增长做出回应。《华尔街日报》本月早些时候报道说，苹果正在开发一款成本更低的iPhone，这款手机可能于今年晚些时候发布。

Despite the threat from Samsung, Apple still sold a record 47 million iPhones in the latest quarter, and the two largest U.S. carriers, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, said the majority of smartphones activated over the holidays were iPhones.

尽管受到了来自三星的竞争威胁，苹果在最后一个季度的销量仍然达到创纪录的4,700万部，美国最大的两家运营商美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.T+1.61%)和Verizon Wireless说，假期期间激活的大部分智能手机都是iPhone。

'Most people I know have iPhones,' said David Barnard, founder of App Cubby, which makes utility programs for Apple devices. The iPhone's popularity is not what is at question, he added, but rather that Samsung has taken a smart tack by attacking Apple's hip image. 'Painting the iPhone as a passé thing is such a perfect marketing message to counteract its coolness.'

负责为苹果设备开发应用程序的企业App Cubby的创始人巴纳德(David Barnard)说，我认识的大多数人都使用iPhone。他补充说，iPhone的受欢迎程度不容置疑，但是三星采取了一个聪明的策略，那就是攻击苹果的时髦外观。他说，把iPhone形容为一种过时的商品，这是一个完美的营销策略，让苹果显得不那么酷了。

Samsung executives began taking aim in 2009 after Apple began selling the iPhone in South Korea, where it briefly became the top-seller of phones in the country.

2009年苹果开始在韩国销售iPhone之后，iPhone一时间成为韩国最畅销的手机。此后，三星的高管开始以iPhone作为目标。

'All this time we've been paying all our attention to Nokia, ' a then-new chief of Samsung's telecom business, J.K. Shin, wrote in a memo to top executives in February 2010, which was revealed publicly last year in a trial. 'Yet when our [user experience] is compared with the unexpected competitor Apple's iPhone, the difference is truly that of Heaven and Earth.'

2010年2月，当时刚刚担任三星移动业务总裁的申宗均(J.K. Shin)在给高管的备忘录中写道，一直以来我们都在关注诺基亚，然而我们的用户体验却会被拿来与始料未及的竞争者──苹果的iPhone相比，两者之间实在是天壤之别。这份备忘录去年在一次庭审中被公开。

A few months later, Samsung unveiled its answer to the iPhone, the Galaxy S, an Android-based model that had several distinctive features, such as an FM radio and front-facing camera. It also had an element that would eventually become an ace up its sleeve-a bigger screen.

几个月之后，三星发布了Galaxy S系列手机，作为对iPhone的回应，这是一款基于安卓平台的手机型号，拥有一些相当有特色的功能，比如FM收音机和前置摄像头，它还有另外一个加分元素──更大的屏幕，正是这个元素最终成了三星手里的王牌。

Apple released its iPhone 4 in mid-2010 with a new design and a front-facing camera. It far outsold the Samsung product, but the Galaxy S had made a mark and was on the radar of Apple's leaders.

苹果于2010年年中发布了iPhone 4，该手机拥有全新的设计和前置摄像头，销量远远超过了三星的产品，但是Galaxy S已经给市场留下深刻印象，并引起了苹果高管的注意。

In 2011, Samsung rolled out Galaxy S II and then flooded the market with smartphones. It put Galaxy S models at the high end and created four more lines-such as the Galaxy M-each with numerous models.

2011年，三星推出了Galaxy S II，并在随后推出了大量智能手机型号。三星将Galaxy S定位为高端型号，推出了包括Galaxy M在内的四个产品线，每个产品线都包含诸多型号。

Samsung took another step last year by adding a new line called Note, which Samsung says is a cross between a smartphone and tablet due to its larger screen, measuring more than 5 inches diagonally. The first Note launched in October 2011 and an update came out a year later.

三星去年采取了另一项措施，增加了一个叫做Note的新产品线。三星说，这款产品是智能手机和平板电脑的交叉产品，因为它的屏幕更大，超过了五英寸。第一款Note于2011年10月发布，一年之后三星推出了升级版。

Samsung's latest efforts seem to be paying off, at least with consumers who aren't so loyal to Apple.

三星最近期的努力似乎得到了回报，至少赢得了对苹果不那么忠诚的消费者。

Dora Daniels, 26, of Oakland, Calif., said she learned about Samsung's latest Galaxy S III because of giant ads plastered around a downtown San Francisco transit station.

加州奥克兰26岁的丹尼尔斯(Dora Daniels)说，她从旧金山市中心公交站附近的巨大广告牌上得知了三星最新的Galaxy S III。

'It's silly because I don't want to be a slave to marketing but it really got into my head,' said Ms. Daniels, who recently switched to the Samsung phone from an older iPhone.

丹尼尔斯说，我想我是有点傻，我不想成为营销手段的奴隶，但是它确实让我十分着迷。不久前，她抛弃了自己的旧款iPhone，换成了三星手机。