While the technology industry is closely watching Apple Inc.'s patent war against rivals using Google Inc.'s Android mobile operating system, China already has homegrown software that is trying to take on Android in the country's fast-growing smartphone market.
在科技业密切关注苹果公司(Apple Inc.)与使用谷歌(Google Inc.)安卓(Android)移动操作系统的竞争对手之间的专利战之际,中国已经有了本土研发的、试图在中国迅速增长的智能手机市场上与安卓叫板的软件。
Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company by transactions, is seeing stronger demand from handset makers for its Aliyun mobile operating software it launched last year, Chief Strategy Officer Zeng Ming said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
阿里巴巴集团(Alibaba Group)总参谋长曾鸣在接受《华尔街日报》采访时说,移动设备生产商对去年推出的“阿里云”移动操作系统的需求增强。按成交额计算,阿里巴巴集团是中国最大的电子商务公司。
The company expects the number of smartphone makers using Linux-based Aliyun to increase to five by the end of this year from two currently: Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co., whose phones are sold under its K-Touch brand, and major home appliances maker Haier Electronics Group Co.
该公司预计,今年年底前,搭载基于Linux的阿里云的智能手机生产商数量将从目前的两家增至五家。目前的两家是:生产天语(K-Touch)手机的北京天宇朗通通信设备股份有限公司(Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co.)和主要家电生产商海尔电器集团有限公司(Haier Electronics Group Co.)。
'We want to be as strong as Android in China,' Mr. Zeng said on the sidelines of a conference. 'We have quite a few [new handset partners] lined up,' he said, declining to provide the names of the handset makers.
曾鸣在一个会议的间歇说,我们希望在中国能和安卓一样有影响力,有很多新手机合作伙伴将与我们进行合作。他拒绝透露这些手机生产商的名字。
Unlike Apple's iOS or Google's Android, on which apps are installed on the device, Aliyun runs Web-based apps that are stored on remote servers. The system also comes with its own mapping and email applications.
在苹果的iOS和谷歌的安卓操作系统中,应用程序是安装在手机上的。与此不同的是,阿里云运行的是存储在远程服务器上的基于网络的应用程序。此外,阿里云还有自己的地图和电子邮件应用。
As Apple's patent litigation against rival handset makers are widely viewed as an attack on Android, its U.S. court victory last month against Samsung Electronics Co. has fueled discussions about possible alternatives to Google's software.
由于苹果针对竞争对手手机生产商的专利战被普遍视为是对安卓发起的一次攻击,苹果上个月在美国法院对三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)的胜诉引发外界围绕可能替代安卓的其他软件展开了讨论。
While Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone is the most obvious candidate, other lesser-known platforms such as Aliyun are also drawing more attention than ever.
尽管微软(Microsoft Corp.)的Windows Phone操作系统是最显而易见的可能替代者,阿里云等其他不那么为人所知的平台也开始吸引比以往更多的关注。
'If I were a handset maker and if the only option is Android, I would be scared,' Mr. Zeng said. 'Any company would like to have at least two suppliers.'
曾鸣说,假如我是一家手机生产商,而且唯一的选择只有安卓,我会被吓坏的;任何公司都希望至少有两家供应商。
It took Alibaba about three years to develop the Aliyun operating system, which the company unveiled in July 2011. The project involved more than 1,600 engineers, the company said.
阿里巴巴集团用了约三年的时间开发出阿里云操作系统,该系统于2011年7月发布。该公司说,有1,600多名工程师参与了这个项目。
With one billion mobile phone users, the Chinese market has room for a broad range of handset vendors, from high-end players like Apple, to those selling inexpensive smartphones that cost less than $200-a category that has seen explosive growth in the past year. Given the market's diversity, Alibaba sees room for more mobile operating systems beyond Android and Microsoft's Windows Phone.
中国市场有10亿手机用户,在这里各类手机厂商都有生存发展的空间,从苹果等高端品牌厂商,到销售不到200美元低价智能手机的公司。低价手机市场过去一年出现了爆炸性增长。鉴于市场的多样性,阿里巴巴集团认为,除安卓和微软Windows Phone移动操作系统外,市场还有其他操作系统的生存空间。
China is also set to overtake the U.S. this year as the world's largest smartphone market. According to market-research firm IDC, China will account for 26.5% of global smartphone shipments in 2012, compared with 17.8% for the U.S.
中国今年将超过美国,成为世界上最大的智能手机市场。据市场研究公司国际数据公司(IDC)的数据,2012年中国将占全球智能手机发货量的26.5%,美国则占17.8%。
Mr. Zeng said Android faces challenges in China because Google's search, Google Maps and Gmail functions are unavailable or limited in the country.
曾鸣说,安卓在中国面临挑战,因为谷歌搜索、谷歌地图和Gmail功能在中国不是无法使用就是受到限制。
In 2010, Google rerouted its search engine from mainland China to Hong Kong due to censorship concerns. While Android is still available in China, Google has steadily lost market share in search and other online services to Chinese rivals.
010年,由于对审查制度的担心,谷歌将搜索引擎服务器从中国内地请迁至香港。虽然在中国安卓系统能够正常使用,但在搜索以及其它在线服务上,谷歌的市场份额正在逐渐被其竞争对手蚕食。
'Android is not able to provide good user experience in the Chinese market…. but we can,' Mr. Zeng said.
曾鸣说,安卓无法在中国市场提供良好的用户体验,但我们可以。
Still, some handset makers say it won't be easy for any mobile operating system, even for Windows Phone, to replace Android, which has already built a strong ecosystem with handset makers and app developers around the world.
不过一些手机制造商说,任何一款手机操作系统(甚至包括Windows Phone系统在内)想要取代安卓都不容易。安卓已经同全球手机厂商和应用程序开发人员构筑了一个强大的生态系统。
According to IDC, 68.1% of smartphones shipped world-wide in the second quarter used Android, while 16.9% were Apple products running on iOS. Windows Phone accounted for only 3.5%.
IDC的数据显示,今年全球二季度出货的智能手机中,68.1%搭载的是安卓系统,16.9%是苹果iOS系统,Windows Phone系统占据的市场份额仅为3.5%。
Luo Zhongsheng, the head of the handset business at ZTE Corp., the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in China in the second quarter, said in a recent interview that he expects Android to remain dominant because it would take a long time for new app ecosystems to develop around other software platforms. 'Nobody can challenge Android for the time being,' Mr. Luo said.
中兴通讯股份有限公司(ZTE Corp.)手机事业部负责人罗忠生在最近一次采访中表示,预计安卓仍将占据主导地位,因为围绕其它软件平台研发一个新的应用程序生态系统需要很长时间。他说,目前无人能够挑战安卓。今年二季度中兴通讯是全国第五大智能手机厂商。
Alibaba's Mr. Zeng acknowledged that it will take time for Aliyun to become a major smartphone operating system. But the company remains hopeful and continues to bet on the business. Recently, Alibaba announced its first major update to Aliyun, including an upgraded search-engine function and more efficient management of data traffic.
曾鸣承认,阿里云想要成为一款主流智能手机操作系统还需要一点时间。但该公司仍然对此寄予希望并继续押注这项业务。近日,阿里巴巴宣布阿里云的首次重大升级,其中包括升级搜索引擎并提高数据流量管理的效率。
The advantages for Aliyun include, for example, the integration of the online payment services provided by Alipay, an Alibaba affiliate, into the operating system to make mobile transactions easier and more secure, Mr. Zeng said.
曾鸣说,阿里云的优势包括融合了阿里巴巴子公司支付宝提供的在线支付服务,这可令移动交易更便捷、更安全。
For Alibaba, which operates popular shopping websites Taobao and Tmall, part of the incentive for developing its own mobile operating system came from the expected migration of online shopping and other Internet activities from personal computers to mobile gadgets, Mr. Zeng said, adding that Aliyun could help generate more mobile transactions for shopping sites.
曾鸣说,对阿里巴巴而言,促使其开发自有操作系统的部分原因是网购以及其它互联网活动预计将从个人计算机向移动设备迁移的趋势。他还说阿里云会给购物网站带来更多移动交易。阿里巴巴目前运营着人气颇高的购物网站淘宝和天猫。
'E-commerce is one of few bright spots in China's economy now,' said Mr. Zeng, who expects Taobao and Tmall to host one trillion yuan ($157.6 billion) in transactions this year-more than double the 400 billion yuan posted in 2010.
曾鸣说,电子商务是眼下中国经济为数不多的亮点之一。他预计淘宝和天猫今年的交易规模能达到人民币1万亿元(约合1,576亿美元),是2010年4,000亿元交易规模的两倍多。
Mr. Zeng said the e-commerce sector isn't seeing the slowdown many other sectors in China are experiencing. Demand for online shopping continues to grow fast, and the market is becoming more competitive as many companies are focusing increasingly on e-commerce to seek new growth opportunities, he said.
曾鸣说,电子商务领域没有出现中国其它很多行业正在经历的增长放缓的局面。他说,网络购物需求仍在继续快速增长,随着很多企业越来越重视电子商务以寻求新的增长机会,这个市场的竞争也越来越激烈。
Online retail sales in China are projected to triple to more than $360 billion by 2015, and the country is also expected to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest market around that time, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. China already has 193 million online shoppers, more than 170 million in the U.S., the report said.
波士顿咨询公司(Boston Consulting Group)的一份报告显示,到2015年中国网络零售规模预计将增加两倍,超过3,600亿美元。届时中国预计也将超过美国成为全球最大的市场。这份报告说,中国目前已有1.93亿网购者,这一数字大于美国的1.7亿人。