庫克在北京。圖片來源：weibo.com
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????多虧一位反應(yīng)快的顧客認(rèn)出了蘋果（Apple）首席執(zhí)行官蒂姆?庫克，抓拍了若干照片，并將其發(fā)布到新浪微博上，我們才在周一得知庫克到了北京，并至少在京逗留了若干小時(shí)。 ????我們先不去分析蘋果首席執(zhí)行官踏足全球最大的iOS設(shè)備市場（史蒂夫?喬布斯顯然從未這么做）的象征意義，先來看看庫克到北京到底有何貴干？ ????蘋果在中國的公關(guān)代表稱，庫克“與中國官方相談甚歡。” ????中國媒體給庫克取了個(gè)綽號叫“庫克船長”，我們不妨設(shè)想，庫克與中國高層官員的會(huì)晤有可能會(huì)推動(dòng)一系列問題。其中包括： ????? 磋商已久，但一直懸而未決的合作，即通過中國移動(dòng)（China Mobile）出售iPhone。中國移動(dòng)是世界最大的手機(jī)運(yùn)營商，擁有6.65億手機(jī)用戶。 ????? 蘋果零售店的開店速度慢于預(yù)期，目前數(shù)目僅為6家，遠(yuǎn)未達(dá)到2010年設(shè)定的、本應(yīng)在上個(gè)月就已經(jīng)實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)，也就是蘋果零售店總數(shù)達(dá)到25家。 ????? 蘋果一直難以駕馭中國供應(yīng)商，使其遵守蘋果的供應(yīng)商行為準(zhǔn)則，尤其是加班問題。 ????? 蘋果正與唯冠（Proview）對簿公堂，爭奪中國市場的iPad商標(biāo)所有權(quán)。雖然香港法院已表示支持蘋果，但蘋果仍難以在大陸法庭獲得它所認(rèn)為的公平申訴機(jī)會(huì)。 ????庫克到中國來可不是兩手空空。蘋果年報(bào)顯示，他在2012年安排了創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的71億元美元預(yù)算，用于投資廠房及設(shè)備，其中大部分想必會(huì)投向蘋果的亞洲供應(yīng)鏈。這些應(yīng)該使他在與中國官員的會(huì)談中掌握了一定的砝碼。 ????資訊網(wǎng)站iPhonAsia.com的榮譽(yù)退休編輯丹?巴特菲爾德稱中國的工業(yè)和信息化部（Ministry of Industry and Information Technology）是關(guān)鍵癥結(jié)所在。 ????巴特菲爾德寫道：“中國工信部面臨的困境之一在于，它希望使中國三大無線運(yùn)營商【中國移動(dòng)、中國聯(lián)通（China Unicom）以及中國電信（China Telecom）】平等競爭。其中，中國移動(dòng)優(yōu)勢（相當(dāng)）明顯，而工信部有意用中國“自主創(chuàng)新的”TD-SCDMA 3G（恕我直言，TD-SCDMA 3G就好比二戰(zhàn)時(shí)建造的“云杉鵝”巨型飛機(jī)）制約中國移動(dòng)。另外兩家規(guī)模較小的運(yùn)營商，即中國聯(lián)通和中國電信，則因?yàn)閾碛小笆澜鐦?biāo)準(zhǔn)”的3G網(wǎng)絡(luò)而受益。 ????“問題當(dāng)然是TD-LTE（據(jù)傳下一代iPhone將支持該標(biāo)準(zhǔn)）能否幫助中國移動(dòng)擺脫TD-SCDMA的束縛。我們不妨看看是中國工信部先簽發(fā)必不可少的TD-LTE網(wǎng)絡(luò)牌照，還是蘋果先發(fā)布兼容LTE的iPhone 5，這是件很有意思的事?！?/p> ????譯者：項(xiàng)航 |
????Thanks to a quick-thinking customer who spotted him, snapped a couple photos and posted them on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, we learned Monday that Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook was in Beijing, at least for a few hours. ????Leaving aside the iconography of an Apple CEO setting foot in the world's largest market for iOS devices, something Steve Jobs apparently never bothered to do, what do we suppose Cook was doing there? ????According to Apple's local public relations representative, Cook had "great meetings with Chinese officials." ????We can imagine any number of issues that might benefit from high-level face-to-face meetings between Cook -- whom the Chinese press have nicknamed "Captain Cook" -- and Chinese officials. Among them: ????? The long negotiated but never consummated deal to sell iPhones through China Mobile (CHL), the world's largest cell phone carrier with 665 million mobile subscribers. ????? The slower-than anticipated roll-out of Apple Stores, which at six are nowhere near the goal of 25 that was set in 2010 and was supposed to have been reached last month. ????? The continuing difficulties Apple has had getting its Chinese suppliers to conform to the company's supplier code of conduct, particularly in regard to worker overtime. ????? Apple's ongoing legal battle with Proview over ownership of the iPad trademark in China. A Hong Kong court has sided with Apple, but the company has had a harder time getting what it sees as a fair hearing in courts on the mainland. ????Cook doesn't come to China with an empty hand. According to the company's annual report, it has budgeted an unprecedented investment of $7.1 billion for plant and equipment for 2012, much of it presumably destined for Apple's Asian supply chain. That should give him some leverage in those meetings with Chinese officials. ????Dan Butterfield, editor emeritus of iPhonAsia.com, points to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as a key sticking point. ????"One dilemma for China's MIIT," he writes, "has been their desire to level out the playing field for the three major wireless carriers in China -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. The (by far) dominant carrier is China Mobile, and the MIIT purposefully hamstrung China Mobile with their 'indigenously innovated' TD-SCDMA 3G ... which IMHO is akin to the Spruce Goose. The smaller carriers -- China Unicom and China Telecom -- have benefited via having "world standard" 3G networks. ????"The question of course is will TD-LTE [the standard the next iPhone is rumored to support] unshackle China Mobile from their TD-SCDMA bondage? It will be interesting to see which comes first, MIIT issuance of the necessary TD-LTE network license or the launch of the LTE compatible iPhone 5." |
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