谷歌无意开设实体零售店

    苹果（Apple）有专卖店。微软（Microsoft）也有。现在连三星（Samsung）也加入了这个行列。不过，谷歌（Google）目前暂时没有开店的计划，至少Android业务负责人安迪•鲁宾是这样说的。

    此前有消息称，谷歌正考虑开设实体零售店，不过，鲁宾在巴塞罗那移动世界大会（Mobile World Congress in Barcelona）上驳斥了这个传闻。他告诉一小群记者，谷歌“没有计划”进军传统零售领域。鲁宾在谈到消费手机的购买过程时表示：“消费者没必要再去商店体验产品。”至于谷歌的Nexus系列产品，鲁宾称该项目不“足以”构成谷歌开设实体零售店的理由。

    有人猜测，实体店可以帮助消费者亲身体验谷歌制造的产品，就像苹果的零售店促成该公司逆转局势、大获成功一样。“我们相信，开设实体店无疑有助于谷歌打造自身硬件业务。同时，它也可以借此展示其不断扩展的产品线，包括Chromebooks、Nexus、摩托罗拉（Motorola）智能手机和平板电脑、谷歌电视、谷歌眼镜等，”投资银行Sterne Agee分析师吴肖最近在报告中写道。更不必说，“此举还将有助于提升品牌和客户忠诚度。”

    三星近年来发展迅猛，已然成为名副其实的Android手机霸主，鲁宾针对这一热点问题也给予了解答。目前业界普遍认为三星今后将威胁到谷歌，例如，随着三星市场地位的巩固，它可以向谷歌要求更多的广告提成。谷歌收购了摩托罗拉，但鲁宾坚持把它作为一个独立部门，即使摩托罗拉是三星的直接竞争对手，也没有得到特殊照顾。而三星目前正在尝试其它操作系统，例如微软的Windows Phone以及鲜为人知的开源系统Tizen。

    鲁宾称：“这不是三星一家的问题。其它公司都在尝试别的平台。我认为这很正常，很好。”

    显然，谷歌的目标是确保所有手机制造商都能在Android设备上获利，而不仅仅是摩托罗拉和三星。鲁宾表示，自己参加移动世界大会的目的就是联络合作伙伴。（谷歌今年并没有布置展台，不过它租赁了一个小会议室，在里面装饰了很多标志性的Android小绿人。）Android生态系统日益壮大，就手机发货量而言，Android系统现已成为智能手机领域的老大。而华为（Huawei）等中国制造商的加入，有望进一步提升Android设备在中国市场上的销量。

    “我在展会上遇到了很多（来自中国的手机厂商），他们的路线图看起来很靠谱，”鲁宾说。“在我眼中，它们与其他手机厂商没什么不一样。我不介意它们来自哪个国家。”只要他们能销售更多的Android手机就行。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

    Apple's done it. Microsoft's doing it. And now Samsung's doing it too. But Google -- at least according to Android head Andy Rubin -- has no plans to open up its own shops.

    Rubin addressed recent rumors that Google (GOOG) is looking into opening retail stores at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, telling a small group of journalists that the company "has no plans" to jump onto the brick and mortar retail bandwagon. "You don't have to go into the store and feel it anymore," he said about the purchasing process for consumer handsets. As for Google's Nexus line of products, Rubin said the program isn't "far enough along" to necessitate a retail presence.

    Some have speculated that physical stores could help consumers experience Google-made products first-hand, much like Apple's (AAPL) retail stores helped turbocharge its epic turnaround. "We believe having local presence will undoubtedly help Google in building its hardware business where it can showcase its expanding product line including Chromebooks, Nexus and Motorola smartphones and tablets, Google TV, and Google Glass," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a recent report. Not to mention, "it will help build brand and customer loyalty."

    Rubin also answered questions about Samsung's growing power as the dominant manufacturer of Android-powered phones. There has been a lot of speculation about Samsung becoming a threat to Google -- for example, Samsung's increased clout could help it negotiate a larger cut of Google's advertising revenue. Google now owns Motorola, which Rubin insisted is kept as a separate structure and isn't given preferential treatment, even though it is a direct competitor to Samsung. Samsung, for its part, is experimenting with other operating systems, including Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Phone and a little-known open-source effort called Tizen.

    "It's not just Samsung," said Rubin. "I've seen various other people dabbling in other platforms. I think this is normal, it's fine."

    Obviously Google has an interest in making sure other phone manufacturers succeed in selling Android devices -- not just Motorola and Samsung. Rubin said he is here at Mobile World Congress to connect with partners. (This year, Google did not have a booth but operated out of a tiny conference room decorated with the company's iconic little green Androids.) The Android ecosystem has grown to represent the majority of smartphones that are now being shipped. And newer entrants like Chinese manufacturer Huawei could help increase numbers in markets like China even more.

    "I've met a lot of them at the show, and their roadmaps look solid," Rubin said of China-based phone manufacturers. "I wouldn't consider them any different than anybody else. I don't really care what country they come from." As long as they keep selling more Android phones.