苹果能不能攻下中国

    与此同时，苹果也正在采用更巧妙、更细致的方式进一步深入渗透中国市场。新版iOS 6操作系统就纳入了像新浪微博这样的流行网站，这是多少与Twitter类似的微博客。而Mac OS 10.8的升级中则包括了多个流行的普通话网站，如优酷（Youku）这类视频网站。尽管苹果在市场覆盖面上不如其中国对手和三星，但它也大幅增加了授权销售苹果产品的店铺：现在中国能买到iPhone的地方达到了11,000处，比去年大幅上升了138%。这一大举扩张的势头显然正在继续。上海的一个郊区就号称拥有两家苹果授权店。其中一个店的经理谢礼均（音）称：“生意一直很好。”

    谢先生的店位于六所高校附近，毫无疑问那些年轻的大学生会受到苹果产品的强烈吸引，因为能用上这么一款全球知名的明星产品能充分体验品牌的价值。华为的一位高管近期承认这种追捧之风“让我们有点恼火。我的意思是，我们尊重苹果和其他品牌，但是拜托，我们也能他们一争高下。”

    但是，华为发布新手机，或是三星推出新款平板电脑时，他们的零售店外可没人排长队，也没有骚动不安的客户，而今年年初在北京的苹果专卖店外却恰恰是这幅景象（苹果大获成功的另一个现象是：到处都有iPhone和iPod的仿制品——甚至有怪怪的、像极了苹果专卖店的仿冒店）。苹果的形象及其优质产品使它在中国仅用了几年时间就获得了如日中天的地位，它不需要占据最大的市场份额就能赚大钱。蒂姆•库克并没有给出具体时间表，但他并没有说错：随着中国人的收入不断增加，中产阶级不断壮大，中国最终会成为苹果最大的市场。之后，苹果也许真的不可限量。

    记者：奥马•阿克塔

    译者：清远

    Meanwhile Apple is moving in smaller, smart ways to further immerse itself in the China market. The new iOS 6 operating system integrates popular sites in China like Sina Weibo, the microblog that's more or less the equivalent of Twitter. And the Mac OS 10.8 upgrade includes a package of popular Mandarin sites, including Youku, a video destination. And while it lacks the massive reach of its Chinese competitors and Samsung, Apple has dramatically expanded the number of stores it permits to sell its devices; there are 11,000 places in China to buy the iPhone, up 138% from last year. The aggressive expansion plainly continues. One Shanghai suburb boasts two Apple licensee stores. "Business has been very good," says Xie Li-jun, the manager of one of the stores.

    Xie's store is located near six college campuses, and there's no question that young Chinese are drawn to Apple products for the badge value that comes from carrying one of the globe's iconic devices. One Huawei executive recently confessed that this buzz "drives us a little nuts. I mean, we respect Apple and all, but please, we can compete with them."

    But there are no queues and jostling customers at retail outlets when Huawei releases a new phone or even when Samsung launches a new tablet, as there were outside the Apple store in Beijing earlier this year. (Another sign of Apple's success: iPhone and iPod knockoffs are everywhere -- there are even fake Apple stores that look eerily like the real thing.) Apple's image and the excellence of its products have already made it potent in China in just a few years' time, and the company doesn't necessarily need to have the largest market share to make significant money in the market. Tim Cook doesn't put a date on it, but make no mistake: As incomes grow over time here, and as the middle class continues to expand, China will eventually be Apple's biggest market. And after that, well, maybe the sky is the limit.

    --Reporter associate: Omar Akhtar